Travelers' Intercom
Private small-group tour with TripUSAFrance
My husband, Bob, and I and nine friends enjoyed 12 fabulous days and 13 nights seeing France like locals, not tourists, with Julia and her father, Stephane, of TripUSAFrance (Arlington, VA; 703/485-6894, tripusafrance.com).
Quick visit to Reykjavík
I had the opportunity to make a brief visit to Reykjavík, Iceland, in July 2019.
Recommended carry-on bags
My wife, Sue, and I travel often, and we only use carry-ons. We each own a Briggs & Riley (www.briggs-riley.com) International Carry-On Expandable [$569 for 2-wheeled or $599 for 4-wheeled] and one backpack or laptop-size roller bag.
Regent Seven Seas Explorer transatlantic
On a transatlantic cruise aboard the Seven Seas Explorer, I sailed from Miami to Lisbon, Portugal, stopping at a few islands along the way, March 25-April 8, 2019.
Credit cards declined in Baku
My wife, Susan, and I took a group tour through the Caucasus in September 2019 and wanted to share a problem we had in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Guide for the Balkans
My wife and I took a private tour of the Balkan countries with Bulgarian guide Martin Semerdjiev (martinert@yahoo.com). We selected him after seeing a reader’s report in ITN (Dec. ’18, pg. 36).
Advice on visiting Amsterdam
My wife, Thea, and I have visited Amsterdam in the Netherlands several times over the last few years, most recently in June 2019.
Hotel standouts in northern Italy
Since I was going to be in Italy for a tour of Tuscany in early May 2019 (Aug. ’19, pg. 6), I decided to stay on to spend time with my friend Maria Rizziello.
Couple’s experience with Azerbaijan guide
For our May 2019 trip to Azerbaijan, my wife and I booked Elnur Babayev as our driver/guide. We found him on TripAdvisor and contacted him through his website, bakuguide.ga.
Hotel Wi-Fi security
In the letter “Protecting a Bank Account from Theft” (July ’19, pg. 38), a subscriber said that, while traveling, he checks his bank balances online, not by using an unprotected Wi-Fi but using one that requires a password, such as in a hotel.
Private tour of Mallorca
We took a 4-hour private tour of Mallorca, one of Spain’s Balearic Islands, through Nofrills Excursions (Avenida de la Playa, 13 Bajos, 07410 Alcudia, Baleares, Spain; phone +34 971 897 06767, www.nofrills-excursions.com) in July 2019.