Travelers' Intercom
Upsides to luggage tags
When taking a trip with multiple destinations, my wife, Patti, and I want any lost luggage to find us in the destination country.
Only lowest-class seating offered
I have a Merrill Lynch BankAmericard (Bank of America) credit card* on which I earn points. The card's brochure promises you can get a ticket for a round-trip flight costing up to $500 in exchange for a minimum of 25,000 points.
‘Wonderful’ Lithuania guide
While in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Sept. 27, 2017, the group I was traveling with stopped by the tourism information office in the Old Town. As that day happened to be World Tourism Day, we were told to draw a ticket from a box and were given a prize: free tickets to an Old Town walking tour. Our guide was wonderful!
Splitting trains in Europe
I expected that the transfer from Cˇeský Krumlov, Czechia, to Innsbruck, Austria, on July 31, 2018, would be a challenge for my sister and me. A search online provided several options, including buses and trains.
Volunteering with Primetimers
Many opportunities abound for doing "service travel" and making a difference somewhere in the world, often at minimal cost to the traveler.
Russian visas from ILS
My wife, Karen, and I needed Russian visas in order to take the tour "Waterways of the Tsars," traveling from St. Petersburg to Moscow with Viking River Cruises (Woodland Hills, CA; 855/338-4546, www.vikingcruises.com), June 1-13, 2018.
Snorkeling Raja Ampat
Lying in the Pacific Ocean's Coral Triangle, the Raja Ampat archipelago, in West Papua, Indonesia, is among the places with the world's richest diversity of corals and fish.
Visiting during Ramadan
Only after my wife, Paula, and I booked our May 2018 Moroccan trip did I discover that most of our trip would occur during the holy month of Ramadan.
Israel — Archaeology 101
In the fall of 2016, I realized I wanted to visit Israel after seeing a Jerusalem exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Convertible travel pants
I ordered three pairs of convertible travel pants ($134.95 each plus $7 shipping), one of each of the available colors, from Clothing Arts (Brooklyn, NY; 646/422-9222, www.clothingarts.com). I am very satisfied with my purchase.
Airlines’ meal policies and North America
After taking the "Cities of Light" cruise-tour from Prague to Paris with Viking River Cruises, on Oct. 16, 2017, I flew from Paris to Montreal, continuing home to Los Angeles.
Frank Lloyd Wright at Meiji-mura
On a day trip from Nagoya during our March-April 2016 sakura (cherry blossom) trip to Japan, my husband, Clyde, and I headed to Inuyama and its open-air architectural Museum
Pitfalls of booking air online
I am a volunteer advocate for author Chris Elliott's travel help forums, a service of the nonprofit organization Elliott Advocacy (www.elliott.org/category/the-troubleshooter), and I have learned more in the last three years than I ever could have imagined.
Cycling from Saigon to Bangkok
This epic trip, organized by SpiceRoads Cycling (45 [Sub Soi Pannee] Soi Pridi Banomyong 26, Sukhumvit Soi 71 Klongtan Nua, Wattana, Bangkok, Thailand; phone +66 2 381 7490, www.spiceroads.com), had three segments, and we had different guides/leaders, money, border-crossing formalities, bikes and even helmets in each of the three countries. The trip started in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam, on Jan. 14. The first four days, we cycled through Vietnam's flat and lush Mekong River Delta. The following week, we pedaled in Cambodia, including in its dynamic capital, Phnom Penh, and spent three days in Siem Reap, where we cycled to the Angkor Wat ruins. The final two days found us along Thailand's coastal beachfront areas, and our tour ended in Bangkok on Jan. 27.
Affordable international cell service
My wife, Karen, and I have often read about getting cell phones or SIM cards for overseas travel, but, as my wife and I have found, there is no need to do that due to affordable and universally useable cell service from Google's Project Fi (fi.google.com).*
Know your rights in the EU
Another reader's letter reminded me of an experience of my own. Heading home from Frankfurt, Germany, in September or October 2016, my wife and I boarded a United Airlines flight to Chicago, but the plane then sat on the ground hour after hour due to mechanical problems.
'Fabulous guide' in Bulgaria
My wife and I had visited over 50 countries but had never hired a private guide for more than a day trip.
Alltshellach with HF Holidays
"Beyond expectations" describes my thinking after hiking in Scotland's Glen Coe with HF Holidays (Catalyst House, 720 Centennial Ct., Centennial Park, Elstree, Hertfordshire, England WD6 3SY, U.K.; phone +44 20 8732 1220, www.hfholidays.co.uk), June 2-16, 2018.
Zaandam cruise of South America
It was the morning of March 30, 2017, and our captain, referring to the cruise season, said, "This is our last cruise. Let's go all the way around."
Venturing through Paris
My traveling companion of many years, Joan Anderson, and I had to smile when we saw the cover of the August 2018 issue. The woman on the cover was standing in front of the HomeExchange.com apartment we had just left!