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Wanting to take a 2-week trip into lesser-known territory of the U.K., in September ’04 I covered a lot of ground, first visiting London, the Isle of Man and western Scotland (April ’05, pg. 16 & May ’05, pg. 79). At long last, I was leaving by ship for the Orkney and Shetland islands.
I made my ninth trip to Africa in July ’04, this time revisiting Uganda and Tanzania with three friends. We landed in Kampala, UGANDA, and spent two days there and a day in Jinja (the source of the Nile). Then we headed with our guide, Cliff Kisitu, to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, the home of the mountain gorillas. The trip took 10 hours, most of it over potholed dirt roads.
by Larry Taylor, Fullerton, CA
We took an 11-day tour of Iceland in July ’04 with Vantage Deluxe World Travel (90 Canal St., Boston, MA 02114-2031; phone 800/322-6677). The cost for two of us, including all airfare and an overnight stay in Baltimore on our return, was $7,328.
We flew United Airlines to Boston and Icelandair from Boston to Reykjavik. The Boston-Reykjavik leg was five hours and only the evening meal was served, and we were charged for all drinks except coffee or water.
I traveled with a group of 10 to Bhutan, Oct. 6-Nov. 3, ’04, on the “Kingdoms of Sikkim and Bhutan” tour with Valet Travel (4114 Adams Ave., San Diego, CA 92116; phone 800/506-1292 or e-mail valettravel_2000@yahoo.com). Valet’s Camille Carroll specializes in Bhutan; she’s traveled there 25 times in the last five years.
My sister and I had a fabulous 11-day tour with South African Airways Holidays (814 Ponce de Leon Blvd., Ste. 203, Coral Gables, FL 33134; phone 888/777-1138 or visit www.saaholidays.net) in March ’04. The cost from Atlanta, Georgia, was $2,250, including airport departure fees, all the meals for five days on safari and breakfasts at the city hotels.
Our 12-day cruise/tour “Holland and Belgium in Springtime,” March 27-April 7, ’04, was one of the best trips we’ve ever taken. Grand Circle Travel (347 Congress St., Boston, MA 02210; phone 800/221-2610 or visit www.gct.com) has many repeat travelers; we now understand why.
M.S. River Harmony was a clean, classy, well-maintained ship carrying 140 passengers in roomy outside cabins. Our meals were excellent on board, and wine was included with dinner. The entire crew went out of their way to make our stay a memorable one.
The host for our 10-day tour of England in May ’04 was Church House Tours (Shillingstone, Dorset, England DT11 0SL; phone the U.S. agent at 800/227-5550 or phone/fax 011 44 1258 860646, e-mail paul@ chtours.demon.co.uk or visit www. chtours.demon.co.uk).
My husband and I had made two trips to the China mainland and, since our first trip about six years ago, wished to visit the Silk Road cities. We had not found a company responsive to our request for this specialized itinerary until we saw several letters in ITN about ChinaPlus, Inc. (320 Decker Dr., Ste. 100, Las Colinas/Irving, TX 75062; phone 972/887-9088 or visit www.chinaplustour.com). They responded to our e-mail within a couple of hours and had what we thought was the perfect trip.
I took a memorable journey to the “end of the world,” Chile’s Patagonia region, with Adventures For Singles (1907 Daniel Green Ct., Smyrna, GA 30080; phone 877/813-9421 or visit www.adventuresforsingles.com).
The 10-day trip cost $2,397 from Miami plus $100 for a Chilean visa. It was a good value and the guides throughout the tour were excellent. We had a wonderful group of 30 participants who met as strangers and returned as lifelong friends.