Good news for backpackers and anyone else looking for an affordable room in central Sydney. The Sydney Harbor YHA, set to open in November, has just opened bookings. All 106 rooms — 354 beds — are en suite with some looking out to the Sydney Opera House. Known as The Dig Site at The Rocks (Cumberland and Gloucester streets), it's where structural remains dating from 1795 and more than 750,000 artifacts have been found since excavation began in 1994.
Expect to pay $35 per night in a six-bed share or $133 for a double or twin room with harbor views. A roof terrace offers free views to all guests. Book at http://www.sydneyharbouryha.com.au.

— Advertiser staff

BIG APPLE FESTIVAL

FOR 72 HOURS NEXT MONTH, YOU TOO CAN BE A NATIVE NEW YORKER

If you're headed to the Big Apple next month, The New Yorker Festival celebrates its 10th edition Oct. 16-18. The event started in 2000 as both a bit of branding and a way to celebrate the magazine's 75th anniversary. For an increasing number of out-of-towners, however, it has become an annual pilgrimage, a self-imposed cultural retreat attended with thousands of other New Yorker fanatics.

The festival also solves a problem for visitors: It lends structure and forces you to make decisions in a city with overwhelming choices. For 72 hours, you have a to-do list, smart company, the illusion of blending in and hurrying the heck up.

Among this year's great events: photo-artist Chuck Close is leading a tour of his studio with writer Adam Gopnik, and New Yorker critic Peter Schjeldahl is giving a tour of the Frick Collection. You can listen to author Annie Proulx or sit in on a panel discussion with Matthew Weiner, creator of TV's "Mad Men." Neko Case will be in concert.

Do leave wandering time for a movie on the Upper West Side, or a swing by Three Lives & Company, a quaint corner bookstore in Greenwich Village. Tickets: $35 to $100, go on sale online at noon Friday. http://www.festival.newyorker.com.

— Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune

MAUI MARATHON

RUNNERS HAVE UNTIL SATURDAY TO SIGN UP FOR 39TH ANNUAL EVENT

Runners alert: There's still time to register (through Saturday) for the Maui Marathon on Sept. 20. One of the nation's most scenic runs, the 39th annual Maui Marathon begins in the pre-dawn hours with most of the 26.2 miles within 50 feet of the Pacific, between Kahului and Ka'anapali. The Westin Maui Resort & Spa welcomes runners to a Carbo Lu'au on Friday and all comers to check out the weekend's sports and fitness expo. An awards ceremony and reception after the marathon round out the weekend.

The three-day event also features a 1-mile keiki run, a 5K run and plenty of local entertainment. Aid stations along the route will host live music and hula. Register at www.mauimarathon.com; hotel packages at www.westinmaui.com.

— Advertiser staff