Travelers' Intercom
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.
'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!
Consequences of rebooking on own
Returning to Seattle from a European vacation on May 12, 2018, one hour before our scheduled departure from Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), we learned that our easyJet flight 8322 to London Gatwick Airport had been unceremoniously delayed four hours.
Travel Guard claim promptly paid
My husband and I were ready to take the "Morocco Sahara Odyssey" with Overseas Adventure Travel, or OAT (Boston, MA; 800/955-1925, www.oattravel.com), but a week before our departure on April 22, 2018, my husband had to cancel for health reasons.
Using mobile phones in Morocco
Typically, when Americans travel internationally, their wireless carrier will offer some version of a reasonably priced international roaming plan for voice, text and data.
KLM delivered!
On May 30, 2018, a friend and I flew overnight on Delta Air Lines from Seattle, Washington, to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, where we were to catch a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines connection to Bristol, England.
China with Chamber of Commerce
I was not interested in visiting China until a very affordable opportunity presented itself through my hometown chamber of commerce. As a veteran of a couple of these 10-day trips, I now can attest that they're a great way to see the cultural highlights of China at low cost. This opportunity started back in 2008, when the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) set up an agreement with a wholesaler, sponsoring trips to China to raise funds for chambers all over the country. Up to 10,000 people now take this trip each spring and fall. On my first trip, in April 2010, it cost a mere $2,000 for a 10-day trip that hit the majority of the places I wanted to see, starting in Beijing with Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs plus lunch with a local family.
Escher exhibit in The Hague
Did you know that Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972), usually known as M.C. Escher, was Dutch?
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.
Swiss Rhine & Moselle with Vantage
When I signed up for "Switzerland, the Heart of the Rhine & Moselle" with Vantage Deluxe World Travel (Boston, MA; 888/514-1845, www.vantagetravel.com), the cost of the trip, including air (Miami-Basel, Amsterdam-Miami), insurance and an optional Luxembourg excursion, wa
Trip to the Netherlands
Trip to the Netherlands My husband, Bernie, and I decided that, after we took a 24-day cruise aboard the Seven Seas Voyager and stayed a few days in the United Arab Emirates, we would go west to make it an "around-the-world" trip.
Boutique hotel in Berlin
I created a Berlin opera festival for myself. I was in Berlin, Germany, for six nights in May 2018 and attended four operas.
Island visits with Chilean Special Journeys
Have you ever wanted to travel to a very remote place but thought it was a good idea to have someone help with the plans? Well, my husband, Fred, and I did. Our desired destinations were Robinson Crusoe Island and Easter Island.
The three Guianas
A trip my wife, Susan, and I made to Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana got us to within one country of having visited all of South America, with only Bolivia left.