Travelers' Intercom
Online tickets pros, con
I cannot agree more with Rick Steves’ advice (Nov. ’16, pg. 53) regarding how to avoid waiting in line at various attractions throughout the world.
Caucasus with Kutrubes
My husband, Gerald Liedl, and I made a trip to Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Oct. 5-15, 2016, with Kutrubes Travel (Boston, MA; 800/878-8566, www.kutrubestravel.com).
Cash-back cards better than miles
The airlines have continued to decrease the value of their mileage programs by requiring more points for rewards, changing the way points are earned and making it more difficult to use points to book flights on desirable days.
‘Extraordinary’ guide in Costa Rica
While staying in Costa Rica for a month in January-February 2017, my husband, John Doellinger, and I spent the first week on a tour with Natural Habitat (Boulder, CO; 800/543-8917, www.nathab.com). For weeks three and four, we rented a condo in Playa Langosta, Guanacaste, through Airbnb.
Karelia with Nordic Travel
The Republic of Karelia lies in northwestern Russia along the border of Finland. A friend and I, both senior women, toured the area at the end of June 2016.
Oporto Discovery Tours
On a cruise from Paris to Barcelona with Oceania Cruises, when the ship reached Oporto, Portugal, my husband and I took a 4-hour tour of the city with Oporto Discovery Tours (phone +351 911 715 594, oportodiscoverytours@gmail.com).
Veneto agriturismo and trattoria
During a 2-week trip to Italy in May 2016, I spent my final nights at the little Agriturismo Ca’ Beatrice (Via Triestina, 99/A, 30173 Favaro, Veneto, Italy; phone +39 041 635 322, www.agriturismocabeatrice.it), located in the Veneto region.
Rabbie’s in Scotland
Prior to taking a 6-day tour of the Outer Hebrides and the Isle of Skye in June 2016, I stayed at the Portree Independent Hostel (www.hostelskye.co.uk) in Portree, Scotland.
Denpō-in temple garden, Tokyo
The item “Horseback Archery, Tokyo” (Feb. ’17, pg. 4) mentioned the Yabusame festival in Asakusa, which is a district in Tokyo’s Taitō ward. During a visit to Japan, we visited Sensō-ji, an ancient Buddhist temple in Asakusa.
Costa Rica bird-watching
While visiting Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula on Jan. 3, 2017, we had a full-day private tour off of our cruise ship near the town of Puerto Jiménez.
RuMeID luggage tags
My wife, Patti, and I ordered two luggage tags from RuMeID (Centennial, CO; 303/799-4256, www.rumeid.com) on the TripAdvisor store, and they have a unique feature: each RuMeID tag comes with a QR code that helps you be reunited with your bag if it’s lost.
Hotels versus B&Bs
My, oh, my! After reading the readers’ letters about Airbnb (Nov. ’16, Dec. ’16 & Jan.
New Zealand hospitality
It was 1983 and our first trip to New Zealand. My wife, Carol, and I were wandering around the South Island in a motor home when we noticed a sign for strawberries. We pulled over, walked to a shed and asked about the strawberries.
Harpa + other Iceland highlights
We made it to Iceland and back! The trip my husband, Ted, and I took was a 5-day package called “Hot Springs & Northern Lights,” which we booked with Icelandair (www.icelandair.us) for Nov. 13-17, 2016.
Tibet, China, with Ceylon Express
China had been on my list for a while, but it wasn’t until my husband, Jerry, saw a Viking Cruises brochure that included Tibet that we became inspired.
Acquiring Uzbekistan visas
Uzbekistan was included in a trip to the ’Stans that my husband and I were planning to take in April 2016, so we applied for visas from the Uzbekistan Embassy in Washington, DC, mailing our applications and passports to them via the US Postal Service (USPS) on Jan. 27.
No-fee Chase debit card
I was issued a Visa debit card through my Chase Private Client account in January 2017. The accompanying material definitely said that the card could be used at any ATM anywhere in the world with no foreign transaction fee (FTF). An ATM fee might be charged, but Chase would reimburse me for that fee.*
Introduction to Muscat, Oman
After cruising down the Red Sea, the ship I was on docked at Muscat, Oman, on Nov. 7, 2016, and I disembarked.