Informing the international traveler since 1976.
May 2007 issue.
Articles are displayed in the order they appear in the magazine.
Boarding Pass
Dear Globetrotter: Welcome to the 375th issue of your monthly overseas travel magazine. Do not try this at home. . . or even away from home. Several tourists on a bus in Costa Rica fought back when three muggers held them up on Feb. 21 this year. A group of 12 passengers on the Carnival Cruise Lines ship Carnival [...]Travel Tidbits
Online at www.airtreks.com, Airtreks (San Francisco, CA; 877/247-8735) will plot and plan your round-the-world trip for free, giving you the latest prices and best routes to take. — CLAUDIA REED, Las Vegas, NV We liked Lviv, the capital of western Ukraine. Just over 50 miles from the Polish border, it has, like Poland, been overrun by [...]South Africa — Exploring the Cape
by Beth Habian, Features Editor We all travel for different reasons. Some, needing to escape extremely hectic lives, like to go to a quiet corner of the world to relax, enjoy a lush, natural environment and indulge with fabulous food and wine. Others need a bit more excitement, opting to get down and dirty with an [...]Air France, SF-Paris
I have been a big fan of United’s nonstop from San Francisco to Paris, but it has been dropped, so this time (Feb. 14 and 26, 2007) we went Air France. An excellent trip, 11 hours’ flying time. The staff were courteous and attentive. Good food, needless to say better on the westbound trip than on [...]Swiss Pass a bargain
On a 2-week Christmas trip to Switzerland, Dec. 23, 2006-Jan. 4, 2007, my wife, Anita, and I had a wonderful, exciting time while using the Swiss Pass (www.sbb.ch) exclusively. We had read in ITN and other sources about this remarkable bargain but previously had always rented a car. The cost for two traveling together for 15 [...]Road signs in Japan
In the article “Traveling Solo in Tokyo” (Jan. ’07, pg. 46), the author states, “As you get farther outside of Tokyo, the signs all switch from Romaji to Japanese characters.” I have skied in Japan every February for the last five years, renting a car and driving around back roads in Hokkaido, Niigata, Nagano and Iwate [...]Scouting out a flight Georgetown-Paramaribo
My wife and I have traveled to much of the world, but what stumped us was how to go by air from Georgetown, Guyana, to Paramaribo, Suriname. When we plugged the flight into the usual search engines, no answers appeared. Somehow we knew that an airline called META existed and flew, or once did fly, [...]‘Secret’ London gallery
One of my favorite London museums is the Guildhall Art Gallery (Gresham St., Guildhall Yard, London, EC2P 2EJ, U.K.; phone 020 7332 3700 or fax 020 7332 3342). This gallery is one of the best-kept secrets in London. I discovered the Guildhall while reading a newspaper article on the tube! The original art gallery opened in [...]Funniest Thing For May
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 [...]Lessons Learned in France
by Harlan Hague, Stockton, CA (first of two parts, continue to part 2) When I do something really dumb during a trip, I say to my wife that after I have traveled a few more years I won’t do that. I have been traveling for over 40 years. Sometimes the lessons come hard, and sometimes I [...]Frequent-flyer-miles Catch 22
An impossible situation occurred in September ’06 while I was booking a February ’07 air trip. My wife, Tina, and I would fly Delta from New York to Amsterdam, then take KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to Hong Kong, take a cruise, then fly out of Bangkok to Amsterdam and back to New York. After much difficulty, [...]Needed more info than website had
With quality tour guides, land arrangements and itineraries plus value pricing and intensive mail solicitation, it comes as no surprise that Vantage Deluxe World Travel is enjoying popularity. We took our second trip with Vantage, duplicating the 11-day tour of Iceland described by an ITN reader (June ’05, pg. 73) plus adding a 2-day Greenland extension [...]Phone rates as posted
I purchased a Mobal Communications phone to use on a trip to the Middle East, March 11-April 17, 2006. We started in Jordan and went on a ship through the Red Sea, the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean. When I got my bill, I noticed that some of the calls from the middle of the trip, [...]Mobal ‘the best buy’
I was looking for an international cell phone to rent for my summer 2006 trip to Romania and the prices were outrageous. After a lot of research to find the best buy, I discovered Mobal Communications’ GSM world phone (New York, NY; 888/888-9162 or www.mobal.com). There’s one flat fee of just $49, there are no monthly [...]Jungle adventures in Belize
I traveled to Belize in December of 2006 for an exciting 8-night “Jungle Safari Package” booked through Belize Jungle Dome (Mile 47, Western Highway, Banana Bank, Belmopan, Cayo District, Belize; phone +501 822-2124, fax +501 822-2155 or visit www.belizejungledome.com). When making inquiries several months earlier, I received immediate e-mail responses from Karen Turner, the manager, whereas [...]Immersed in Peru’s jungle
My friend, Patricia, and I traveled to Peru’s Amazon Basin during the high-water season one March. We found the surroundings so foreign that adjectives don’t suffice. It’s easier to use comparisons: tarantulas the size of cantaloupes, a rodent the size of a sheepdog, a termite nest the size of a beer keg, a monkey the [...]Italian language schools
I began learning Italian in my late 50s by taking a class at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. However, I did not really start learning and using the language until I began attending a variety of private and state language schools in Italy, taking classes in Rome, Puglia and Sicily. When I visit Italy now, [...]Hotel Room Woes: Go up the chain
I’m writing in response to the situation posed in the January ’07 issue, page 115, in which a hotel guest reported a malfunctioning television and mini-bar to the desk and nothing was done. ITN asked what steps should have been taken. A 4-star hotel worthy of the rating should have been both able and eager to [...]Hotel Room Woes: Present your solution
Based on my experience with hotel staff around the world, it seems the people out front are usually working at a hotel because it’s a good job to have while they’re in college or while they have something else as a career that just isn’t there yet. They’re very nice but have little training and [...]Not-so-safe safe
Siem Reap is the town nearest to Angkor Wat, Cambodia, and on my visit to the famous temple, Jan. 11-14, 2007, I stayed in one of the town’s smaller hotels (about 30 rooms). The room had an in-room electronic safe into which I put some U.S. dollars, my passport and a few travelers’ checks. I didn’t [...]Egypt’s enchanting Siwa Oasis
by Roxana von Kraus, Boston, MA “American? Welcome. Welcome to Egypt!” My being the only foreigner at the Alexandria bus station, my passport received special attention, with all the data recorded carefully in a worn-out register. I was on my way to the ancient Siwa Oasis, located 600 kilometers west of Alexandria and about 62 from Libya. [...]Airport Hotel Bonus Inn, Finland
In the middle of August ’06, I found myself in Helsinki, FINLAND — one of the world’s “Top Ten Most Expensive” cities — without a hotel room! So I logged onto the Internet (imagine travel today without the Net?) and within minutes had a room at the independently owned Airport Hotel Bonus Inn (Elannotie 9, [...]Etap Hotel Roissy near Charles de Gaulle airport
Looking for an inexpensive place to stay at Roissy Aéroport Charles-de-Gaulle Paris Nord? I stayed at the Etap Hotel Roissy (335 rue de la Belle Étoile, ZAC Paris Nord 2, Roissey en FRANCE 95974; phone [+33] 892 68 3056, fax 149 89 3342 or visit www.etaphotel.com). There are 20 Etap hotels in the Paris area. [...]Hotel Pax and Hotel Alphubel in Switzerland
I returned to SWITZERLAND in September ’06, this time with a cousin. • In Zermatt we stayed at Hotel Alphubel (3920 CH Zermatt; phone +41 27 967 3003, fax 967 6684 or visit www.zermatt.ch/alphubel), which is an easy walk from the train station. Our single rooms, each with a full bath, had a balcony facing the [...]Switzerland’s Hotel de la Paix
My husband, David, and I have stayed 12 times at Hotel de la Paix (Bernastrasse 24, 3800 Interlaken, SWITZERLAND; phone +41 33 822 70 44, fax 822 87 28 or visit www. hotel-de-la-paix.ch), most recently in August ’06. This charming and intimate hotel, located in a residential street only three minutes’ walk from the West Station, [...]B&Bs and convents near Cinque Terre
My two girlfriends and I took a 2-week independent trip to Italy, June 7-21, 2006. We always plan our trips ourselves (no packages), customizing them for what we want to see and leaving plenty of free time in between the sightseeing for cafés, hiking, etc. This trip included Venice (plus Murano, Burano and Torcello islands), our [...]Thailand’s Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel
For a 13-night program to Bhutan that I was leading, our group departed for Paro, Bhutan, on Sept. 29, 2006, from Bangkok, THAILAND’s, new Suvarnabhumi Airport, which had officially opened at 3 a.m. on Sept. 28. Due to an early departure on Druk Air, our group stayed at the Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel (Suvarnabhumi Airport, [...]Hotels in Narita, Nagasaki, and Shinagawa
We stayed at these three places on an October ’06 trip to JAPAN. • Holiday Inn Tobu Narita (320-1 Tokko, Chiba, Narita, 286-0106 Japan; phone 81-476-321234, fax 320617 or phone Holidays Inns at 888/465-4329 or visit www.holidayinn.com). I booked via the Internet and couldn’t believe the price: ¥7,507 (about $66). I thought maybe it was for a [...]Winchester Mansions and Garden Route Game Lodge
While visiting Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA, my husband, Joe, and I decided to stay in the residential neighborhood of Sea Point. We chose Winchester Mansions (221 Beach Rd., Sea Point, Cape Town, South Africa; phone +27 21 434 2351, fax 434 0215 or visit www.winchester.co.za) for our September ’06 stay because of their sea-facing rooms. Even [...]Ecuador’s Hacienda Cusín
On a 2-week trip to Ecuador in January ’06, my wife, Barbara, and I chose to splurge a bit and stay in Hacienda Cusín (visit www.haciendacusin.com or phone U.S. rep, Myths & Mountains, at 800/670-6984), near Lago San Pablo and about 10 kilometers southeast of Otavalo. We reserved a few days prior to arrival by [...]Hiking the Azores
by Harvey Hagman, Fort Myers, FL Below us was a giant volcanic crater, the Caldeira das Sete Cidades, whose 1,000-foot sheer walls drop like green curtains in spots around its 7-mile circumference. Within its bowl rest mythical volcanic lakes. In sunlight, one is blue, the other green, colored from the tears, according to legend, of a princess [...]India & Sri Lanka with Ceylon Express International
I enjoyed another exceptional trip arranged by Varini de Silva of Ceylon Express International (9542 Dumbreck Dr., Huntington Beach, CA 92646; 800/423-9566, www.ceylonexpress.com). This one, 30 days in length, for four people, was to southern India and Sri Lanka, Feb. 1-March 2, 2006. Land and internal air cost $6,220 per person. Airfare from San Jose, [...]Hope Cottage Tours in England
I read about Hope Cottage Tours (Hope Cottage, Mackney Lane, Brightwell cum Sotwell, Oxfordshire, OX10 0SQ, U.K.; phone 44 [0] 1491 837100 or visit www.hopecottagetours.co.uk) in ITN’s MART Classifieds and began to e-mail Sue Robson, its owner and tour guide, about arranging a customized itinerary for my husband, Jim, and me. Sue was most informative, and [...]Italy with Odysseys Unlimited
Having made several trips to Italy, I was looking for something new. I discovered the tour “Northern Italy” from Odysseys Unlimited (85 Main St., Ste. 101, Watertown, MA 02473; 888/370-6765, www.odysseysunlimited.com). From Miami, my 14-day trip, May 24-June 6, 2006, cost $3,695 plus a single supplement of $595. On most tours I have taken, I usually [...]Egypt with Somak Safaris
Our family of four took a 10-day trip to Egypt, Nov. 16-27, 2006. We booked it with Prem Sharma of Somak Safaris (2700 East Imperial Highway, Ste. N, Brea, CA 92821; 714/985-3456, www.somaksafaris.com). (We had also traveled through Somak in 2004, to Tanzania.) The cost of $3,060 per person included round-trip airfare from Los Angeles to [...]Affordable Japan
by Charles Longo, Tucson, AZ Japan appeared on my radar screen a number of years ago — when the U.S. Navy granted me a free trip for just signing on the dotted line. A post-college career in Hawaii with frequent assignments on nearby Guam provided opportunities to eventually see the country from top to bottom. But [...]Party time in western Ukraine
My wife, Emily, and I received the e-mail in early August ’06. It read, “Join Scope Travel in Ukraine for Lviv Carnival Celebrating Lviv’s 750 Anniversary Sept. 28-Oct. 6, 2006 — $1,499 + tax.” It promised gala concerts, jazz festivals, parades, choral shows, children’s concerts, youth ensembles, folklore dance competitions, bazaars, kiosks, fireworks and more. About [...]JTB Sunrise Tours in Japan
My wife, Paula, and I visited Japan for the first time in October ’06. Wanting to travel independently (as usual) but being a bit intimidated by the language barrier, we compromised by using a series of four all-day guided tours to cover much of our sightseeing. After extensive research, we booked all of our tours with [...]Japan’s Ainu
The island of Hokkaido, Japan, conjures up images of wild land and misty mountains where wild bears once roamed. However, on the Muroran, Hokkaido, port stop of our September-October ’05 cruise aboard Princess Cruises’ Diamond Princess, what we first saw were tunnels. We went through at least five long, dark tunnels before we even got [...]Overnights on Norway trails
We have traveled Norway from top (Kirkenes) to bottom and from east to west but not since 1983. However, some things don’t change. All over mountainous central Norway are hiking trails with magnificent views of lakes and glaciers, and the timberline is low at 1,000 feet. There is no need to carry a tent and sleeping [...]Private tour of Myanmar
I took a 2-week vacation to Myanmar, Nov. 27-Dec. 9, 2006, and had a wonderful time. Mr. Aung Kyaw Lynn of Majestic Mandalay Tourism Services Company (65 Ayeyarwady Street, Ahlone Township, Yangon, Myanmar; phone 95 1 212882 or e-mail akl-kkn@mptmail.net.mm) arranged everything except reservations for international flights, which I made separately, New York-Bangkok-Yangon and back. I [...]‘Superb’ guide in BA
The owner/operator of a taxi in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Pablo Menendez (phone 15 5613 4386 or e-mail pablo336menendez @hotmail.com), was superb in transporting my husband, Dave, and me from the international airport to the domestic airport and, on our return, to our hotel in March ’06. We were so impressed, we engaged him further for a [...]Guide in Cameroon
I wish to recommend an excellent French- and English-speaking guide in Cameroon: Titang George Ndong (National Tour Guide, P.O. Box 19 Saa., Centre Province, Republic of Cameroon; e-mail titanggeorge@yahoo.fr). I met George through my land operator, Cameroon Tours & Travel, as he was assigned as my research guide in 2001. I have taken several trips with [...]Shortchanged in Egypt
I’d like to mention some things that happened during a 17-day Egypt tour I took in Cairo, Sinai and along the Nile in December ’06-January ’07. A woman in our group was shortchanged at the money-exchange bank, but she caught it in time. At the restaurant in our hotel, the waiter shortchanged me 10 Egyptian pounds for [...]Poor pinotage
In the article on East Africa in the March ’07 issue, on page 45 the author gave a description of the wines he tried in Zimbabwe: “. . . some of which was drinkable and some of which was truly horrible (e.g. something called ‘pinotage’).” Actually, pinotage is a fine varietal popular at the best wineries [...]Re leaving clothing behind
Please allow me to express a dissenting opinion to that of the reader who suggests that one can lighten the load while traveling by packing clothing that one no longer wants and disposing of it en route (March ’07, pg. 84). While this is not the first time I have heard this suggestion, it always [...]Not a locksmith but. . .
Several articles have mentioned the TSA-approved locks. My wife and I had been using the plastic cable ties instead of locks, as the locks put a great deal of strain on the loops of the zippers and have even caused some of the loops to break off. In April ’06 we took a trip to the [...]Beautiful Ljubljana
Stunningly beautiful: that is how we found Ljubljana, Slovenia, on our trip there in May ’05. Every building was eye candy, tinted in lovely pastels, embellished with contrasting adornments. A statue of Joze Plecnik, the Slovenian architect who masterminded this delightful city, stood in the main square, a naked woman on his shoulders. A friendly tourist [...]Saint’s best friend
In Salta, Argentina, Iglesia San Francisco, with its prominent campanario (bell tower), is a landmark church. On Aug. 16, 2005, as we approached it, there were people coming from every direction, bringing their meticulously groomed dogs who were adorned with red ribbons. The crowd was so thick, about 2,000 people, it was difficult to get [...]All Aboard! » New Spanish high-speed
by Jay Brunhouse The sensation of riding on Spain’s high-speed train from Madrid to Zaragoza (Saragossa) is, more than anything, one of smoothness, without the bumps and jolts common on some of Spanish Railroads’ (RENFE’s) teeth-rattling old trains. The journey passes so comfortably, in fact, that it is easy for a rider to forget the blazing [...]Ask Steve » Fled moldy cabin before sailing
Q: Dear Steve, my husband and I were to sail on a 30-day South Pacific cruise with (a major ship line) on January 22nd. We arrived at the port on time and healthy. We were aboard the ship for all of four hours, two of which were spent having lunch and touring the ship. When we got [...]The Discerning Traveler » Carry-on luggage — ‘The only way to fly’
Nostalgically, my hands hold the genuine leather of the old travel wallet, which, for years, has held my essential travel documents. It still looks as good as it did 51 years ago, when my aunt surprised me with it as a going-away present. I reminisce about the olden days, when friends showered you with gifts each [...]Mideast and Mediterranean » Following the Euphrates
by Ed Kinney From Aleppo, Syria, to the Iraqi border Currently, the image of the Euphrates River is one of death and destruction as it flows slowly through the Baghdad area of Iraq. Lest we forget, hundreds of villages both in its historical past and still today have depended upon its waters as it travels from its [...]Far Horizons » Intergenerational-family group travel
by Randy Keck Attending the ITMI (International Tour Management Institute) annual symposium in January 2007 provided the opportunity to get updates on two emerging group-tour-industry trends. One of these is the dramatic increase in student travel programs, a subject I will address in a future column. Another is the growth of family travel, also now known [...]Report Cards
From Sohren, GERMANY, March 18, 2007. . . • Using the website www.flyhahn.com and flying into Frankfurt-Hahn Airport on Ryanair, I found this incredibly great hotel deal: €35 (near $47) per night, single (or €40 with breakfast), at Hotel-Pizzeria Venezia (Niedersohrener Str. 14, D-55487 Sohren, Germany; phone +49 [0] 6543/98 88-0, fax 98-88 38 or [...]
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