January 2017

Before my wife, Ging, and I visited Sicily in July 2015, friends of ours who had visited told us the following regarding transportation there: 

• Local, internal airlines often operate on “Italian time,” meaning late, very late and domani (tomorrow).

• The main rail route seems to generally follow the coast, though there are many side spurs heading inland.

• As for how fast people drive on the highways, you could swear (and you often do) that you have entered the Monaco Grand Prix track.

ITN asked readers to name benefits of staying in an Airbnb as opposed to a hotel and to point out any “red flags” to watch out for when reading a description of an Airbnb rental property. The following are some travelers’ firsthand experiences using Airbnb, and more will be printed.

“Colorful” is an understatement when describing the Portuguese island of Madeira’s annual Flower Festival.

For my third visit to this lovely island, I decided to travel April 4-17, 2016, in order to see this wildly popular festival being held April 7-17 in the capital of Funchal. During that time, at least four huge cruise ships were in port for a day or two at a time, and most of the hotels were full.

I took my daughter and son-in-law on their first trip to Italy, Sept. 10-22, 2015. I worked with an agent to design a private tour, including Rome, the Sorrento area, a train to Florence and some time in the Tuscan countryside. We were joined by a friend in Florence, adding details that needed to be worked out.

Having only two weeks to spend in Cambodia and Vietnam, my husband, Paul, and I decided to do an independent tour rather than a group tour.

After visiting family in Singapore, we flew to Phnom Penh to start our tour, which had been arranged by Indochina Odyssey Tours (Sai Dong, Long Bien, Hanoi 10000, Vietnam; www.indochinaodysseytours.com). It took place Jan. 18-Feb. 1, 2016, and cost $2,172 per person, including three internal flights.

My wife, Janet, and I and our 16-year-old granddaughter Ginny booked a conservation trip to Kenya for August 2016, but in order to broaden Ginny’s knowledge on various levels, we also wanted to give her a one-week safari experience prior to the trip.