Travelers' Intercom
Croatia with HF Holidays
Those planning to visit Croatia should note that there are several ways to get there.
Creditor arrangement
In the letter titled “Bills Paid Before Travel” (Feb. ’08, pg. 64), R. Casey Hasey outlines his methods for being “carefree for a long trip” by arranging for every bill possible to be paid by credit card.
Swallow’s Next excursion not a ‘visit’
During a very pleasant cruise through Ukraine with smarTours, Sept. 25-Oct. 7, 2007, at Sevastopol I took an optional overland excursion to the famous Swallow’s Nest.
Don’t miss Wieliczka
The Wieliczka Salt Mine just outside of Kraków, Poland, is something not to be missed.
Ludus Tours for Oktoberfest
Germany’s Oktoberfest is one of the biggest parties in the world. Each year more than six million visitors arrive in Munich for the 3-week festival celebrating beer, schnitzel and song.
Tour guide in Chile
We were going to be in Santiago, Chile, for three days before a trip to the Antarctic, so we read with great interest the letter titled “Chilean Guide Excellent” (Aug. ’07, pg. 70).
Andes’ Lake Crossing
The highlight of a March trip to Chile was the Lake Crossing (Cruce de Lagos), where we actually crossed the Andes by boat and bus from Puerta Varas to Bariloche in Argentina.
The Galápagos: ‘overrated’
The claim is that on the Galápagos Islands you will see animals that are found nowhere else on Earth: marine iguanas, giant tortoises and thousands of birds, including red-billed tropicbirds, pink flamingos, storm petrels and penguins, not to mention whales, fish by the thousands, etc.
My father’s town
A lifelong dream of mine was to see the town where my father was born: the Volga-German colony of Reinhard in Russia.
West Africa private tour
My husband and I shared many of the same adventures as the writer of the article “Intrepid Travelers Begin Their Overland Journey through West Africa in Mali” (Dec. ’07, pg. 46).
Getting the most from guides
On a trip to Viet Nam and Laos, I was so distressed by overly loquacious and hard-to-understand guides that I am reluctant to take any more guided tours. Listening is tiring, especially for those of us with hearing problems and for everyone who has difficulty understanding speakers with foreign accents.
Bus lacked promised rest room
I went on the tour “Imperial China & the Yangtze River” with Go Ahead Tours, Oct. 5-22, 2007. Go Ahead’s hotels, riverboat and Chinese guide Jonathan all were very good. The buses, however, were not.
Re tours’ expected hotels
My wife and I have been either traveling or living abroad for nearly 50 years. With rare exceptions, we have always traveled independently.
Novel Approach: Mongolia
For people who would like to learn more about Mongolia, I recommend the book “The Blue Sky: A Novel” by Galsan Tschinag (2006, Milkweed Editions. ISBN 9781571310552 — 192 pp., $22). It is the story of a nomadic shepherd boy coming of age during the l950s in the Tuva Valley in upper Mongolia.
‘Petra By Night’
I visited the famous UNESCO World Heritage Site of Petra, Jordan, in October ’07. A daytime visit is a long and hot walk but definitely worth the effort. For me, however, the highlight was the lesser-known night trip to the Siq and Treasury.
Planning a Cyprus trip
A friend and I took a 10-day “Discovery of Cyprus” trip with Homeric Tours (55 E. 59th St., 17th Fl., New York, NY 10022; 800/223-5570, www.homerictours.com) in October ’07.
Keeping in Touch
Libraries for Internet I, like Nancy Tan (Dec. ’07, pg. 54), have had problems finding Internet cafes in the UK.