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The “Dalmatian Coast” trip from Overseas Adventure Travel (One Broadway, Ste. 600, Cambridge, MA 02142; 800/955-1925 or www.oattravel.com) was one of the best my wife, Susan, and I ever did. Each little port we put into — Split, Hvar and Korcula in Croatia, and Kotor Bay in Montenegro — was nicer than the one before.
I enjoyed reading Judith Anshin’s account of her junket to Guatemala (Jan. ’06, pg. 6). I traveled there one on one with tour operator/owner Enrico Caputo of Otupac Tours (Km. 200.1 Carretera a Coban, Santa Cruz Verapaz A.V., Guatemala; phone 502 7951 4444 or visit www. otupactours.com).
We explored 12 Mayan sites, most of them remote and many in active excavation by archaeologists. Among the sites we visited were Takalik Abaj, Cancuen, Ceibal, Aguatecca, Pomona and San Claudio. Enrico’s passion for the Maya made the past a living entity.
A Natural Focus, LLC (56 Montague Rd., Westhampton, MA 01027; 413/527-5903 or www.anaturalfocus.com), conducts personalized natural history tours in northwest Costa Rica. I had a great experience on a 10-day tour in January ’06. The cost was $1,670 per person, double occupancy, not including airfare from the USA, which was $606 from Atlanta.
A. Baur & Co. (Travel), Ltd. (5, Upper Chatham St., Colombo 1, Sri Lanka; phone +94 11 2448087, fax 2448493 or visit www.baurs.com), came highly recommended to us, and that was certainly justified.
by Louis Bechtel, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
Here are two hotels from our June ’05 trip to Adelaide, AUSTRALIA.
Let me tell you about a tropical paradise my husband found on the Internet: Taman Harum Cottages (Box 3216, Ubud, Bali, INDONESIA; phone [62-361] 975567, fax 975149 or visit www.tamanharumcottages.com). The owner/manager is Ib Hariyana (Hari, for short).
Everyone had their own bungalow with an upstairs patio that overlooked miles of impressive green rice paddies. Our bathroom was like a semi-outdoor grotto, with lush plants and high boulders giving us complete privacy. During our stay in November ’05, the room rate was $45 a day.
The Rose Hotel (118 Surawongse Rd., Bangkok, 10500, THAILAND; phone [66] 02 266-8268-72, fax 266-8096 or visit www.rosehotelbkk.com) was a great little hotel for the price. I paid about THB1,600 ($40) for my single room in December ’05. The hotel is located in the heart of the night market and has a restaurant, Rose Hip Dining Space.
BILL KIZOREK
Lisle, IL
Of the cities we visited while touring Rajasthan, INDIA, in January ’06, we liked Jodhpur best of all. It was less touristy than the other places, and it had a great fort and a very lively market area with a clock tower.
Throughout our trip, we noticed that ATMs were few and far between. We used travelers’ checks.
The food everywhere was wonderful and cheap.
Here are six hotels we stayed at. All were quite satisfactory, and the rooms each had a private bath with a Western toilet.
