Informing the international traveler since 1976.
Sep 2005 issue.
Boarding Pass
Dear Globetrotter: Welcome to the 355th issue of your monthly overseas travel magazine. U.S. citizens and foreign nationals who until now have been able to cross borders between the U.S. and certain destinations without passports soon will need passports to do so, due to requirements of the new Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. As of Dec. 31, 2005, passports [...]Travel Tidbits
On a visit in April ’01 we enjoyed strolling on Aix-en-Provence’s main street, Cours Mirabeau. Lined with the beautiful plane trees that are characteristic of this part of France, it is a huge, wide street with many cafés, restaurants and shops. Cézanne lived here for many years, and you can take a walk to significant [...]St. Moritz — Summer in a Swiss winter resort
by Don and Betty Martin, Columbia, CA We had our faces pressed against the cool window like kids outside a candy store. However, we were enjoying scenic candy as our train climbed through a steep, wooded valley toward the noted Swiss Alps resort of St. Moritz. Each twist in the tracks brought a new alpine vision: verdant [...]Don’t be caught short
Airlines and guidebooks often fail to warn travelers about the (sometimes substantial) entry and exit fees and taxes that some countries charge. These fees vary widely from country to country, over time and according to the nationality of the traveler. What can be most surprising about these fees is that often they are payable only [...]Sydney Smartvisit Card
After reading an item about the Discover Adelaide Card (March ’05, pg. 75), I set out to see if such a card for Sydney exists. It does. Here are my impressions and comments. As Bill Bryson writes in “In a Sunburned Country,” “Life cannot offer many places finer to stand at eight thirty on a summery [...]Science museums in Italy
We would like to add some ideas to the readers’ “less-well-known museum” suggestions printed back in the June ’04 issue. We spent nine days in Tuscany in May ’05. In Florence, the plethora of art museums may obscure the existence of the small, stunning Museo di Storia della Scienza (Museum of the History of Science). It [...]Funniest Thing for September
Tell ITN about the funniest thing that ever happened to you while traveling in a foreign country. There are no restrictions on length. (ITN prints no info on destinations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean.) The ITN staff will choose each month’s winner, who will receive a free one-year subscription to ITN. Entries [...]North Atlantic adventure — Iceland, Greenland, & the Faroe Islands
by Jack Ogg, Photos by Connie Ogg, Houston, TX My fourth-grade teacher, Mrs. Dobbs, told us that Iceland was greener than Greenland and Greenland icier than Iceland. I chuckled over that remembered phrase as my wife, Connie, and I planned our North Atlantic trip. One of our guidebooks included the Faroe Islands, so we incorporated them [...]Flights via São Paulo
In the fall of 2004 we decided to make a spring trip to Brazil. In mid-November, after looking at different options, we called Gate 1 Travel and booked a 10-day trip for March 10, ’05, called “Kaleidoscope of Brazil,” which was sponsored by Varig Brazilian Airlines. I believe the cost of this trip was $2,676 each, [...]Little things tainted great river cruise
After deliberately leaving some time to pass for reflection, I have a few comments about our Eastern Europe river cruise in August ’04. Grand Circle Travel (GCT) was the operator, and our flights were arranged on Lufthansa by GCT. When I saw where our assigned seats were for our Aug. 3 flight from New York’s JFK, [...]Surcharge for rising fuel cost
In August of 2004 we booked the trip “Athens, the Greek Islands and Beyond” for June 4-26, ’05, with Grand Circle Travel. The total cost for two was $7,596.80. We were told that if we paid early in advance we could save $398 and that paying in advance would “lock in the cost of the [...]Looked after by Andes Adventures
I would like to tell you about a company that really came through when things went awry. The company is Andes Adventures (1323 12th St., Ste. F, Santa Monica, CA 90401; phone 800/289-9470 or 310/395-5265 or visit www.andesadventures.com). I booked a 10-day tour to Machu Picchu, Peru, with Andes Adventures for Oct. 7-16, ’04. The cost [...]Travel Downunder
During April ’05 my husband and I traveled in Australia. I worked with Wendy Schatz, an Australian, of Travel Downunder to plan the trip, initially giving her a wish list of places we wanted to see and the types of activities we liked. In addition to being able to e-mail Wendy, I was able to [...]Lightkeepers on Kangaroo Island
Out of 66 people with correct answers for the January ’05 “Where in the World?” photo quiz — re The Remarkable Rocks on Kangaroo Island off South Australia — I was fortunate to have my name drawn. A last-minute decision while in Australia in November ’03 took us to Kangaroo Island, where we stayed at [...]Laid-back in Belize
During the middle of July ’04, my wife, Ione, and I spent two weeks in Belize City and San Pedro (on Ambergris Caye), Belize. Our American Airlines flights from Miami were comfortable and on time. Due to flight schedules, we stayed overnight at La Quinta Inn & Suites Miami Airport West (8730 NW 27th St., Miami, [...]Chile & Uruguay meals
During our month-long travel in several South American countries in March ’05, we enjoyed a lot of good food, but two meals we had in Chile and Uruguay were a pleasant change from meat-loaded meals such as parrillada in Argentina and churrascaria in Brazil. • In Santiago, Chile, half the fun was getting to the restaurant [...]Savoring the wine country of Portugal’s Douro River Valley
We’ve traveled through various wine regions before, but never have we been so impressed as during our cruise along Portugal’s Douro River in the heart of port wine country. It was late summer 2004, just before the harvest, and the hills ascending from the river were covered with vines in martial array as if they [...]Best and worst places to drive
I have never been tempted to write to a magazine before, but the topic Best & Worst Places to Drive immediately drove me to my computer! (Excuse the pun.) In May ’04 my husband and I rented a car to travel throughout Italy. One of our destinations was Florence. Driving in Florence, Italy, is the closest my [...]A novel approach to travel
In 1998 I became interested in the Silk Road, so a friend lent me a book, “The Silk Road — A Novel of Eighth Century CHINA” by Jeanne Larsen. It was interesting for the places, the place of women and a bit of magical realism. Shortly thereafter the catalog from Elderhostel (Boston, MA; 877/426-8056 or www.elderhostel.org) [...]Walking Hadrian’s Wall — roaming through history in the north of England
by John Scheleur, Arnold, MD To mark my 60th birthday with something more than just an attempt to blow out 60 candles, my wife and I set out in September ’04 to walk across northern England, following the 84-mile path of Hadrian’s Wall. ‘Why in the world would a man want to travel over 3,000 miles [...]Egypt — fulfilling a date with destiny
by Nili Olay, New York, NY I believe I was always meant to go to Egypt… I received my undergraduate degree in ancient Near Eastern Studies (Egypt, Palestine, Turkey, etc.) from the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago. I was married to an Egyptologist who, for a while, worked at the Metropolitan Museum in NYC. But while [...]Tanzania, land of splendor and grace
We took a trip to Tanzania arranged by Roy Safaris (P.O. Box 50, Arusha, Tanzania; phone 255 27 250 8010, fax 255 27 254 8892, e-mail roysafaris@intafrica.com or visit www.roysafaris.com). We flew to London on Dec. 16, ’04, and then to Nairobi, Kenya. After a slight glitch on our flight from Nairobi to Kilimanjaro, we met [...]Water hole watch
In July ’03 we took a group of 10 friends to East Africa, i.e., Kenya and Tanzania. For my husband, Mark, and me, it has become a nearly annual sojourn to a very favorite place; a trip there in July ’05 was our 12th. After Africa, every place else seems to pale. Africa is generally a [...]Packaged Africa
I have often read articles on Africa. Having taken, in 1999, a 7-day trip to Tanzania and a 7-day trip in Kenya in which we visited several reserves, I know that it is a complete waste of time to visit the Giraffe Manor in Nairobi as well as The Ark (famously written up) in Kenya [...]Visit to Israel and Jordan
Five women and I spent two weeks in Israel and Jordan in October ’04. I made our arrangements directly with Walter Zanger (Einkarem, Simtat ha-Yekev 4 Jerusalem 95745, Israel; e-mail walterz@netvision.net.il). This is the fourth time that I have used Walter as a guide. He is one of the best in Israel. For his driver/guide services and [...]Driving in Italy
For a November ’04 trip in Italy (July ’05, pg. 55), we short-leased (this is different from a rental) a brand-new Peugeot 407 from Auto France (Wood-Ridge, NJ; 800/572-9655 or www.autofrance.net) for a total cost of $1,329 for 18 days, and that cost was comparable to a straight rental. The cost would have been $310 [...]Allow cell phone use on planes?
Knowing that lawmakers are considering allowing cell phones to be used on planes, in the July ’05 issue (page 122) Rich Harvey of Athens, Ohio, asked if anyone else was opposed to the idea. Several readers replied, as follows. Cell phone use on planes? NO, NO, a thousand times NO! It’s bad enough that passengers can [...]Dual citizenship
I read Dr. Wagenaar’s article about having a second passport (April ’05, pg. 102). I have two passports: American and British. I got mine through birth and parentage; I don’t think it’s worth the cost to actively seek out a second one. Generally, the utility of having two passports is being able to choose between them [...]Check your passport
We have a trip to Russia planned in a few months and I just found out that to visit Russia a visa is needed and there must be two blank pages in the visa section of one’s passport. Mine is full. Pages can be added, but the passport has to be returned and it can take [...]Seniors at the wheel
I read the article on seniors and car rentals in the July ’05 “Discerning Traveler” column. Another car rental agency on the European continent is Sixt GmbH & Co. (Zugspitzstr. 1, 82049 Pullach, Germany; phone 888/749-8227, 877/474-2566 or +49 [0] 89 7 44 44 0 or visit www.e-sixt.com). When we motored Portugal for two weeks in 2002, [...]Guide in Tuscany
Six of us had several delightful days in May ’05 doing excursions from Florence in a 6-passenger Mercedes minivan with tour guide Dr. Marcello Grandini (Frazione Padule 109/A, 50039 Vicchio-Firenze, Italy; phone/fax 011-39-055-8407830 or e-mail marcello.tourguide@tiscali.it). Marcello is extremely knowledgeable and well trained and speaks excellent English. He took us on full-day excursions to Pisa, Lucca [...]Eugenie le Bain
One of the delights of the area in which I live, the Laree region of southwest France, is Michel Guérard’s famous restaurant, Eugenie le Bain. My wife and I last ate there at the end of May ’05. The food was so well prepared and so well presented. After the amuse-bouche (a little starter), my wife [...]All Aboard » 75 years’ Glacier Express
by Jay Brunhouse On June 26, 1930, the highly anticipated Glacier Express chugged for the first time over the 6,668-foot Oberalp Pass. Privileged passengers between Zermatt and St. Moritz praised the prime rolling stock deployed by the (then) three cooperating rail partners. A dining car, specially ordered by Mitropa in Neuhausen, completed the train. Travel time [...]Modernizing the greatest shortcut on Earth
What cruise destination is older than most grandmothers, needs an $8 billion face-lift and yet still earns $1 billion in revenues every year? It’s the amazing Panama Canal, one of the seven wonders of the modern world. Why fix it if it ain’t broke? According to Roberto Alfaro, Panama’s ambassador to the U.S., “Almost 45% of [...]Travel & Health » The sun and skin
by Larry G. Barratta, M.D., Ph.D. Traveling to any exotic destination where sun, surf and beach activities are involved and where there are concerns of being overexposed by the sun can be the beginning of more than just a bad case of sunburn. Skin cancer is a serious health condition that comes in several forms, melanoma [...]The Discerning Traveler » Car rentals and leases
(Third of three parts) In this issue I will continue last month’s discussion of overseas car rentals and leases. Picking up the car If you drive directly to your hotel after picking up the car, it will help to map out your route ahead of time. This is facilitated in a country covered by the Michelin Red Guide, [...]Latin America Watch
by Deanna Palic CRUISE NEWS • Clipper Cruise Line, a division of INTRAV, offers spectacular savings on South American cruises this fall aboard the 122-passenger expedition vessel M/S Clipper Adventurer. On a space-available basis, the discount offer applies to any Category 1-5 cabins booked on Clipper’s 13-day cruise “Exploring the Route of the Conquistadors” (departing Colón, Panama, on [...]Mideast and Mediterranean » Mosques of Kairouan, Tunisia
Fifteen hundred years ago, Kairouan was only a desert crossroads, a caravan stop in the sands of what is now Tunisia in North Africa. But this quickly changed. In fewer than 100 years following the death of Muhammad in A.D. 632, caravans from Saudi Arabia had spread his word of Islam from India to the [...]Adventure Travel » Morocco — Africa’s California?
by Wayne Wirtanen (First of three parts) Partway through my visit to Morocco in September ’04, I realized that there were similarities there to what one might find on a trip in California. A quick look at a map showed that Morocco is roughly the same size as California, it has a long, west-facing ocean shoreline and, like [...]Report Cards
On CHINA, May-June, ’05. . . • Laurus Travel (3195 Granville St., Ste. 45, Vancouver, B.C., Canada V6H 3K2) arranged our trip to China, May 18-June 2, with China Odyssey Tours (Guangxi, China; visit www. chinaodysseytours.com). The price was $3,500 per person for the 18-day trip and included airfare from the U.S., four flights within China and [...]
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