11
I noticed while reading the letters submitted for the piece “The Good or Bad Tour Guide” (June ’06, pg. 50) as well as some comments printed in “Travelers’ Intercom” that many writers offered ways to augment their tour experiences.
In a letter on a tour in Turkey (March ’06, pg. 50), the reader mentioned that their two days of touring cost $562 for two people. It appeared to be all local travel, airport/hotel transfer, guide, admissions, etc. I was really surprised that they were delighted with the price; I have taken two trips to Turkey with FLO USA, Inc. (Lake Mary, FL; 888/435-6872) and would highly recommend them for travel to and within Turkey. Their prices are absolutely the best, the service is incredible and they advertise in ITN.
My husband, Ray, and I took a 24-day, 2-segment cruise in Europe on the Insignia of Oceania Cruises (Miami, FL; 800/531-5658, www.oceaniacruises.com), May 21-June 14, ’06.
For the first segmnent we embarked in Barcelona, and when we arrived in Lisbon we had visited six countries plus Gibraltar. Originally, we were booked to go to Libya, but because of problems with the government the itinerary was changed. The second segment, June 2-14, from Bilbao, Spain, to Dover, England, hit five countries.
When traveling out of Las Vegas on Southwest Airlines, my husband, Steve, always goes to our favorite airport sandwich shop, Capriotti’s, and buys us each a sandwich for the flight. On Christmas eve 2004 he ordered an extra Italian sub for the crew on the plane and told the guy behind the counter what it was for. At that, the sandwich shop guy threw in a turkey sandwich with all the trimmings. Together, they could feed four.
My husband and I have used easyJet many times over the past six or eight years and have been very satisfied with their service, prices and on-time performance. However, this spring I have become more and more frustrated with their online reservation system.
ITN was mailed a copy of the following letter, sent by a reader to Virgin Atlantic Airways.
by Lew Toulmin, Contributing Editor
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 not chosen cannot be acknowledged.
This month’s winner is ROBERT CLINE of Kokomo, Indiana:
I have been using wheelchair help in airports for three years. Dragging a bag and standing in line has become too much for me.
I became handicapped (I am a limited walker) in 1967, at the age of 41. Rather than spending the next 39 or 40 years in a nursing home, wallowing in self-pity and bemoaning my fate, I have — with my indefatigable wife — traveled to China, done Elderhostels with homestays in Mexico and France, spent eight months roaming around Europe at will and taken innumerable cruises.
Cruises are superb. You don’t have to pack and unpack as you move from hotel to hotel to hotel; the hotel does the moving while you remain conveniently located in the same quarters all the time.