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Hear the roses
On our trip to New Zealand in March ’03, we chose to go to spectacular Doubtful Sound instead of Milford Sound. Getting there involved a motorboat across Lake Manapouri, a diesel-powered bus and another boat — hours of diesel motors and human voices.
Recommended Seville tours
My family and I had a wonderful 10-day trip through Spain in June ’05. We fell in love with Seville, where we had a fabulous local guide. Concepcion Delgado (phone 902-158-226 or mobile 616-501-100 or visit www.sevillawalkingtours.com) speaks excellent English and loves sharing her city with others.
Friendly haven
While awaiting information relative to a traveling companion who had been taken to the Wrexham hospital on May 23, ’05, my wife, Evie, and I spent several hours in the lobby of The Hand Hotel in Chirk (Church St., Chirk, Wrexham, LL14 5EY, Wales, U.K.; phone +44 1691 773472, fax 772479 or visit www.han
Owner-led Chilean Special Journeys tour
Chile I joined the 21-day “Chile in Depth” tour from Chilean Special Journeys (Montville, ME), April 7-27, ’05. This tour was led by CSJ’s owner, Scott Jones.
Kudos for TACA
I would like for people to know how nice the airline Grupo TACA is.
Eye on travel insurance »Long-term travel insurance coverage
A letter from Grace Slavsky of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, asked, “Is it possible to buy travel insurance covering trip cancellation/medical evacuation, etc., on an ANNUAL basis for us travelers who take several trips throughout the year? It would save us frequent travelers a lot of hassle.
Would have appreciated a ‘ranked waiting list’
ITN was mailed a copy of the following letter, sent by a reader to Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT), a subsidiary of Grand Circle Travel (GCT).
Thoughtful gift
In the late ’90s, my wife and I took a Bolivia and Peru tour with Overseas Adventure Travel (Cambridge, MA), as I had always wanted to visit Machu Picchu. The group size was limited to just 16 people plus the tour guide.
About roundabouts
I have to quibble with the advice on roundabouts in the letter “Tips for Driving in Britain” (Aug. ’05, pg. 74).
Malta festival a highlight
We took a 2-week trip to Malta plus an add-on week in Sicily, April 16-May 6, ’05, with Grand Circle Travel (Boston, MA; 800/221-2610 or www.gct.com). For my wife and me, the cost was approximately $6,254 from Los Angeles. The experience became a once-in-a-lifetime highlight.
Biking, boating the Loire
My wife, Nel, and I took a bike and boat trip in the Loire Valley in May ’05.
El Salvador in depth
El Salvador is the smallest, most densely populated country in Central America, but it is bypassed by most group tour companies. In April ’05, I was lucky enough to find the “golden ticket” that got me not just into the country but entry into homes, social programs and even the American Embassy.
‘Fabulous’ guide in Turkey
Five of us took a personal tour of western Turkey with Mehmet Ozbalci in March ’04. A reader had recommended him in a short letter (May ’99, pg. 117). He truly is a guide “extraordinaire.”
Spectacular in Suriname
The Central Suriname Nature Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is about an hour’s flight south of the capital, Paramaribo.
Fine eating in Paris
My husband, Ward Hoffman, and I have been to Paris more than 20 times and, we confess, we go there these days primarily to eat and take walks, often covering eight or nine miles a day. Before we leave, we do a lot of research on where we want to eat.
Acropolis in the a.m.
On our trip to Athens, Greece, we could see the Acropolis from the street in front of where we stayed, Hotel Attalos (29 Athinas St.; phone +30 210 3212 801 — 2005 price, from €62 [$75]), in the Monastiraki area.
Rental car CDW waivers
In his August ’05 “Discerning Traveler” column, Dr. Philip Wagenaar offered some tips for handling collision damage waivers (CDWs) when renting a car, to which I would like to add some notes. The CDW is a good way to save money, but it has to be watched.
Displeased with aspects of ACCL cruise
We took the 11-night “Belize/Barrier Reef/Guatemala” cruise on American Canadian Caribbean Line’s Grande Caribe, Jan. 24-Feb. 4, ’05. We had cabin 44A, and the cost for the two of us was $5,151.
Health news
The leg exercises recommended for frequent flyers help prevent deep vein thrombosis, a blood clot in the calf of the leg that can break loose and lodge in the lungs as a pulmonary embolus. Frequent flyers Richard Nixon and Dan Quayle had this condition.