Travelers' Intercom
Tips on driving in Europe
Rick Steves gave some good, solid advice on driving in Europe (Aug. ’17, pg. 55), but he skipped over a few items that I consider very important, based on my 60 years of driving rented, leased and owned cars in 75 foreign countries, much of it in Europe.
‘Pay me what you want’
In the 1980s I did a whirlwind trip to Agra, India, while attending a conference in New Delhi. The first morning, I ventured out of my hotel to hire a pedicab to take me to the Taj Mahal.
Paid change fee on canceled flight
Around May 2016, when I was searching on Kayak.com for flights to Guadalajara, Mexico, the Mexican airline Volaris (www.volaris.com) always showed up as having the cheapest fares. When I looked at its Yelp.com rating, it was a dismal 1.5 stars.
Monetary award for canceled flight
I was scheduled to fly on United Airlines from Dublin, Ireland, to Washington, DC, on June 16, 2017. After hours of delay, United canceled the flight for mechanical reasons.
‘No forced marches’ with Intimate France
We took our third tour with George Nevin, owner and operator of Intimate France (Oakland, CA; 800/676-1247, www.intimatefrance.com), Sept. 6-18, 2015, this time to the Dordogne area of France.
Is a hotel safe safe?
For five days in May 2017, my husband and I stayed at a reputable 4½-star hotel in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The morning of the third day, I removed our passports from our room’s safe to carry with us. We were gone most of the day.
Praise for JMG Tibet Tours
We just read the subscriber’s letter “Critique of ’Stans & South Caucasus tours” (July ’17, pg. 24).
Iceland by Bus
It seems as if everyone is going to Iceland this year! I returned on July 7, 2017, from an excellent visit there and wanted to pass along something I wish I had known when I was making my plans.
Azores Getaways’ off-season deal
For the visit to our 105th destination (as defined by the Travelers’ Century Club’s list of countries and territories at www.travelerscenturyclub.org), we were seeking a cheap foreign trip that required less than an 8-hour plane ride.
‘Meet and assist’ with Delta
Prior to my flight to Italy on April 25, 2017, I called Delta Air Lines to request meet-and-assist services.
‘Traveling light’ packing list
Regarding Rick Steves’ tips in his article on “traveling light” (Dec. ’16, pg. 55), I offer the following.
‘Wonderful’ guest house in Morocco
On a week-long bird-watching trip to the High Atlas mountains in Morocco in March 2017, the tour group I was with stayed at a wonderful boutique guest house, Sel d’Aille
Fun day in St. Albans
My parents and I travel frequently to London and enjoy day trips on the train. On our May 2017 trip, we visited St. Albans, a small city on the outskirts of London.
Brazil tax on cruisers
We decided that Latin America would be our 2017 travel destination, sailing on a 22-day “Amazon Exploration” cruise aboard the 684-passenger Regatta of Oceania Cruises (Miami, FL; 855/335-2723, www.oceania cruises.com).
Driving in Bulgaria
The May 2017 issue contained an article on self-driving in Bulgaria (page 6).
Papua New Guinea, at last
I spent 12 days in beautiful Papua New Guinea (PNG), which is the eastern half of an island shared with Indonesia.
Enjoyed Moroccan guide
My husband and I learned about Youssef, an intelligent and resourceful guide, from another reader’s letter, “Guide in Marrakech” (Feb. ’17, pg.