Travelers' Intercom
Liked pace of Dacey’s Cornish Tours
I took a one-week tour of Cornwall with Dacey’s Cornish Tours (St. Paul, MN; 651/484-4689, www.daceyscornishtours.com) in June 2016 and highly recommend it. The price was about $1,300, which included full English breakfasts at the hotels.
Traveling light
While I’m a firm believer in traveling as light as possible and have my own favorite ways of accomplishing this, I have a few comments regarding Rick Steves’ article in the December 2016 issue.
Iran’s Gonbad-e Qabus
Starting from Tehran, it took nine hours by car to reach the modern city of Gonbad-e Kāvus, located in Golestān Province in northern Iran, east of the Caspian Sea and near the Turkmenistan border.
Entering Uruguay & Paraguay
My wife and I visited Uruguay and Paraguay, spending five days in each country, Dec. 5-17, 2016, and wanted to share some border entry improvements we encountered.
Guide in Marrakech
My family and I attended a wedding in Marrakech, Morocco, in October 2016. A few weeks before leaving, I found a private tour guide, Kharroubi Youssef (y.kharroubi@yahoo.com), through TripAdvisor.com. After reading the reviews, I contacted him through TripAdvisor.
A ‘solo travel’ moment
While in Bolzano, in May 2016, I went looking for a restaurant I had seen earlier, Cucina Casalinga Toscano, or Toscano Doc (Via Cappuccini 8A, Kapuzinergasse, Bolzano, Italy; phone +39 0471 181 20 78).
Italian hospital praise
After reading the “Discerning Traveler” column about hospital conditions and treatments in Naples, Italy (Sept. ’16, pg. 51), I felt I should report on a very positive experience that my wife, Mary, and I had at the public hospital in Puglia, Italy.
Benefits of a Travel Agent
Rebecca F. of Brownell Travel When my wife and I began overseas travel in the 1970s, one of the few ways we were able to get airline tickets was through travel agents. This was especially true for us, since we lived in a very small town.
Jazz fest and more in Havana
I attended Cuba’s 31st Annual Havana International Jazz Festival, which was held in 2015 on Dec. 11-19.
Belize with BZM Tours
An organized tour that my wife, Annaloy, and I would take in Belize did not include the Caracol ruins, so, in February 2016, before joining the group tour, we took an independent tour in San Ignacio that turned out to be excellent.
Dining in southern Italy
My wife, Victoria, and I have been visiting Italy for more than 50 years, but very rarely have we gone south of Rome.
‘Pleased’ with Trip Mate
Having read the travelers’ upsetting trip-insurance experiences in the July and August 2016 issues, I wanted to share one that was positive.
Da Vinci Museum in Venice
When my wife, Fyllis, and I spent a week in Venice with Untours, Sept. 7-14, 2016, we followed the busy tourist trail to the usual places.
Touring Quito with a policeman
While it’s easy to tour the historic district of Quito, Ecuador, on your own, it’s not very satisfying unless you speak Spanish, as my wife, Paula Owens, and I learned during a visit in July 2016. Few exhibits in the area’s churches and museums provide explanations in English.
Douro River with Vantage
I took a 12-day tour and cruise in Portugal, May 14-25, 2016, with Vantage Deluxe World Travel (Boston, MA; 888/514-1845, www.vantagetravel.com).
St. Petersburg independently and visa-free
While planning a trip to St. Petersburg, Russia, I read Nylah Chilton’s letter about visiting that city for two days with Viking Ocean Cruises and not needing a Russian visa so long as she was on the cruise-tour operator’s organized shore excursions (July ’16, pg. 46).
On transportation in Sicily
Before my wife, Ging, and I visited Sicily in July 2015, friends of ours who had visited told us the following regarding transportation there: • Local, internal airlines often operate on “Italian time,” meaning late, very late and domani (tomorrow).