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I just read the readers’ letters in the article “How Much to Tip Airport Wheelchair Attendants” (Aug. ’11, pg. 40). During our travels, my wife does much the same as those travelers, though the amount she tips is about $5.
However, when we were in the Frankfurt airport about a year ago, the electric-cart driver told us that if he or his colleagues were to accept a tip, they would be fired.
JAMES C. WAMBOLD
State College, PA
“There’s no denying it: traveling in Ethiopia is not easy.” So says my Lonely Planet “Guide to Ethiopia and Eritrea” in the chapter “Getting Started.”
I had never really thought much about Panama City beyond its canal, but my wife, Rose, and I ended up making plans to join a Friendship Force (Atlanta, GA; 404/522-9490) group from Olympia, Washington, for four days there in April ’11 before the group went on for a week’s home hosting in Santiago, Chile, and then Alajuela, Costa Rica.
by Lew Toulmin; Contributing Editor
We asked any of you who attended a concert, a recital or any music or dance performance or stage production outside of the US in the last couple of years to tell us how you learned about it and how you obtained tickets. To that end, we requested the following of you.
Those exploring Britain by bicycle can use a collection of pocket-sized map cards called “Cyclist’s Britain in a Box” (2011, Interlink Publ,. ISBN 1566568579 — 50 cards, $19.95).
Each card has a cycling route fully illustrated, with directions, plus info on transportation and points of interest. Routes vary in difficulty, and many begin near transportation hubs in towns.
by Betsy and Bob Burnett; Jeffersonton, VA
Although we had traveled to many places, we hadn’t visited India, but the lure of the exotic and the prospects of visiting a cousin living there were the perfect excuses to go in November ’10. Accumulated frequent-flyer miles sweetened the pot.
In Italy in July ’11, perhaps the best 80 euros (near $115) that my wife, Linnea, and I spent went for the 12-hour “Best of Tuscany Tour” with Walkabout (Via dei Neri, 30/32R, 50122 Firenze, Italy; phone +39 055 2645746 [9 a.m.-7 p.m.] or +39 328 0867738 [24-hour]), arranged through our travel agency.
In a modern motorcoach, our first stop was Siena, where we had a guided walking tour through this medieval city of ocher-yellow buildings, terra-cotta rooftops and green shutters.
The winning entry to the essay contest announced in the June ’11 issue (page 46) is Jack Hutter of Knoxville, Tennessee. The topic was “My Way is Norway,” and his essay appears below. Jack will receive a 50-dollar gift certificate for Magellan’s Travel Supplies (800/962-4943).
In February ’11, eight people, including our guide, met for dinner at the majestic Taj Mahal hotel in the heart of Delhi. The members of our group had traveled to India from several different states but had one thing in common: we all had taken trips, which had been spectacular, with Rothschild Safaris (Denver, CO; 800/405-9463). Rothschild’s first venture into the wildlife safari experience in India, this trip was a departure from their usual African tour offerings.