From Key West to water adventures: Travel agenda

Where to go and what to know

Rail guru Mark Smith, known as the Man in Seat 61, reports that 155mph 'YHT' trains are now running between Ankara and Pendik station on the eastern outskirts of Istanbul.

1. High-speed Turkey

The rail guru Mark Smith, known as the Man in Seat 61, reports that 155mph "YHT" trains are now running between the capital, Ankara, and Pendik station on the eastern outskirts of Istanbul. The journey takes under four hours and costs £28 each way. By next year, trips will be faster and will serve Istanbul itself.

seat61.com/turkey2

2. Unlimited connections

Travellers transferring at the KLM hub, Amsterdam Schiphol, can now use the free Wi-Fi for as long as they like; until this month, internet use was limited to an hour. Just look for Schiphol Airport_Wifi. For comparison, both Gatwick and Heathrow cap free access at 45 minutes.

schiphol.nl

3. Make a splash

50 Water Adventures to do Before you Die (£16.99) is published this Thursday. It contains inspiration and tips on adventures from fly-fishing in Scotland to kiteboarding in the Dominican Republic.

bloomsbury.com

4. Victorian lines

To help you wallow in railway nostalgia, reprints of the very first 1873 edition of Cook's Continental Time Tables & Tourist's Hand Book are now available from the publisher of the European Rail Timetables, price £12.99. For 21st-century travellers, the new September 2014 timetable was published this week.

europeanrailtimetable.eu

5. Roman holiday tax

The hotel tax in the Italian capital doubled this week. Guests in a four- or five-star hotel will now pay €6 per person per night, rather than €3. Under-10s are exempt, as are tourist coach drivers. The tax must be settled in person at the end of the stay. In response, tour operators have threatened to invest marketing funds elsewhere.

etoa.org

6. Key base

The 96-room Marker Waterfront Resort arrives in Key West, the southernmost city in the continental US, in October. Claiming to be the first new hotel to grace the Florida city's old town in 20 years, it will occupy a two-acre patch of seashore, with three pools and a Mexican-inspired Cero Bodega restaurant.

themarkerkeywest.com

7. Sleep talk

Restaurateurs Chris Corbin and Jeremy King are best known for their London success The Wolseley. Now they are branching out with a hotel. Bookings are being taken from 9 October for The Beaumont in Mayfair.

thebeaumont.com

8. Yorks to Africa

Starting on 27 May next year, Jet2.com will fly from Leeds/Bradford to Enfidha. The weekly service from West Yorkshire to the Tunisian coast is on sale for £169 return, travelling out on the first departure and back a week later. The airport is a convenient jumping off point for the resorts along the gulf of Hammamet.

jet2.com