June 2007

I traveled to Vietnam several years ago with an eco-friendly small-group tour company, Peregrine Travel (Melbourne, Australia; visit www.peregrineadventures.com. Book in the U.S. through Adventure Center, 1311 63rd St., Ste. 200, Emeryville, CA 94608; 800/227-8747, www. adventurecenter.com). In November ’06 I took their 12-day “Burma Unveiled” tour. The tour price was $1,375 plus $20 for the tips kitty and $1,100 for round-trip airfare from San Francisco to Yangon on Singapore Air.

If the thought of rain and fog has kept you from visiting Scotland in October, you may be missing a unique opportunity. During our 14-day Scottish odyssey, Oct. 9-23, 2006, only two days were dampened by wet weather.

My friend Pat Powers and I would like to bring to your attention what we believe to be a great bargain.

I took a trip to Egypt with Explore, booked through Adventure Center (1311 63rd St., Ste. 200, Emeryville, CA 94608; 800/227-8747), in December ’06-January ’07. Adventure Center is a broker listing hundreds of trips run by other operators. Explore is a British company specializing in low-cost small-group tours.

We asked readers to tell us what they buy at duty-free shops and why. Are there true bargains? Do the prices and selection vary in different countries? With the new airport security regulations, how do you handle your purchases? What advice can you offer? Below are replies received. If you have more to share, write to “Duty-Free Shopping,” c/o ITN, 2116 28th St., Sacramento, CA 95818, or e-mail editor@intltravelnews.com (please include the address at which you receive ITN).

by Margo Wilson, Scottsdale, AZ

India is HOT! No, not that kind of hot, although you wouldn’t want to travel there in the summer. No, India is a hot, get-there-now travel destination. It is also economically hot, with one of the fastest-growing economies in Southeast Asia.

My husband, John, and I and another couple visited Ireland and Scotland, finishing up with a few days in Amsterdam, Sept. 2-16, 2006. Since John is a home brewer, we are always on the lookout for good beer when we travel, and we found plenty of it in all three cities in which we stayed.

Beer prices were around €4-€4.50 (about $5.30-$6) in Dublin, about £2.40 (near $4.70) in Edinburgh, and €3.50-€4 ($4.60-$5.30) in Amsterdam.

During a 4-day stay in Amsterdam in July ’05, we took a day tour to Marken and Volendam, picturesque fishing villages less than an hour from town.

I was part of a group of eight friends who arranged a trip to Iran, Nov. 19-30, 2006, with the help of a guide, Saied Haji Hadi, or Hadi, at All Around Persia (Tehran, Iran; phone 0098-21-2357580 [or 81, 82 or 83], fax 2357584, e-mail info@allaroundpersia.com or visit www.allaround persia.com). All our correspondence was in English; we told Hadi what we wanted to see and he added the things we did not even know existed.

Thanks to Stephen O. Addison, Jr. (Sept. ’06, pg. 86), we found WOW! Argentina (Av. Santa Fe 882, 12F, C1059ABP, Buenos Aires, Argentina; phone +54 11 52 39 30 19, fax 39 17 14, www.wowargentina.com), represented by “Cintia.” This Buenos Aires-based travel agency is polished, professional and friendly.