Travelers' Intercom
Moorea’s Club Bali Hai
I made my 24th annual visit to the island of Moorea in French Polynesia, March 3-31, 2012. Tahiti and its neighbors in this archipelago are the loveliest islands I’ve visited in the South Pacific.
B&B near Hjo, Sweden
My wife, Jan, and I and our 12-year-old granddaughter, Paige, traveled independently in Scandinavia for a month in summer 2012. We made advance reservations in only three cities (Oslo, Göteborg and Bergen), where accommodations were reported to be tight and expensive.
Engine failure in Antarctica
Oceanwide Expeditions’ m/v Plancius departed Ushuaia, Argentina, with 74 passengers on March 29, 2012, for what was to have been a 38-day, end-of-season Antarctica cruise that would end at Cape Verde in the Central Atlantic, the ship then being repositioned to the Arctic for the summer cruise season.
China Supreme Travel
My husband, Joe, and I were to visit China, Oct. 26-Nov. 4, 2011, as part of our around-the-world tour. I was apprehensive about booking internal tickets, myself, because Chinese airline websites are confusing, and I was concerned about not knowing about flight time changes because of the language barrier.
Italy train tickets from Trenitalia
Kathy Wilhelm made excellent points in her letter “Buying Train Tickets Online” (Nov ’12, pg. 11).
New Zealand by camper van
When my husband and I headed Down Under a few years ago, we thought that the month we would spend in New Zealand would be an appetizer before the main event, Australia. We couldn’t have been more wrong.
Oceania ‘the best’
I took the “Exotic Lands” cruise of Oceania Cruises (800/386-9283), and what an appropriate title that was!
ExpressWays London transport
Six of us flew into London and took a cruise out of Dover in August ’12. Having never been to London, I spent quite a bit of time researching transportation.
Wine tasting in Beaune
My wife, JoAnn, and I made our fifth visit to Beaune, the wine capital of Burgundy, France, March 1-4, 2012. Beaune was a delight.
<em>Blue Train</em> blues
While traveling in Southern Africa, my wife, Barbara, and I flew to Pretoria, South Africa, for a trip on the Blue Train.
Zuiderzee Museum, Arnhem
My husband, Ed, and I love learning about the history and culture of a country so tend to gravitate toward natural history and folk or open-air museums. In April 2012 in Arnhem, the Netherlands, we toured the Openluchtmuseum (Sept. ’12, pg.
International Expeditions in India
My husband, Ed, and I chose “Tigers & the Taj” for our fifth trip with International Expeditions (Helena, AL; 800/234-9620). Our trip, March 10-25, 2012, cost $6,680 per person, excluding international air but with a discount for having traveled with the company.
Tips for an Ireland visit
My wife, Paula, and another couple and I visited the Republic of Ireland, June 14-25, 2012. I have a few tips on topics that did not receive sufficient coverage in the guidebooks and Internet resources which we consulted pre-trip.
Market visit and lunch in São Luís
After a morning walking tour of the historical section of São Luís, Brazil, our guide, Juan Pitacco (jmpitacco@hotmail.com), showed us the central market square, or Praça do Mercado Central.
Buying train tickets online
I am a big fan of rail travel and have taken quite a lot of trains in both Europe and Asia. These days, I often wait to buy my tickets in-country. On my last European trip, in Serbia, Bosnia and Hungary in fall 2011, I would buy each ticket on the day of travel or the day before travel.
Capital One account changes
As someone who takes advantage of the Capital One no-foreign-transaction-fee credit card, I was excited to read from many sources in the September ’12 issue (page 38) that Capital One had a high-yield money market account with a debit/ATM card with no foreign transaction fee.
Culture and color of Guatemala
Eager to explore Guatemala, my wife, Gail, and I chose Caravan Tours (Chicago, IL; 800/227-2826) for our trip, Jan. 2-11, 2012.