Travelers' Intercom
A special place — Dar Said in Sidi Bou Said
We couldn’t have picked a better place for our first four nights in Tunisia than the Dar Said (Rue Toumi, Sidi Bu Said, Tunisia; www.darsaid.com.tn), a small, elegant boutique hotel with rooms set around small courtyards.
More on foreign-transaction fee
After sending ITN my letter about the foreign-transaction fee (FTF) imposed when I bought tickets from Aer Lingus with my Visa card (May ’10, pg. 14), I pursued the matter with Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PFCU) and learned the following.
Into and on from Hong Kong
Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) is quite a distance out from both Kowloon and central Hong Kong. It is cheap and easy to take a regular bus to the city.
India travel tips
I spent six weeks traveling in India in February-March ’10 (June ’10, pg. 27). Here are some tips based on that experience.
The Angel in Wales
The Angel Hotel (15 Cross St., Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales, NP7 5EN, U.K.; phone 01873-857121) is a great hotel located in the market town of Abergavenny.
Rescued by Regent Seven Seas
We booked the “Circle South America” cruise aboard the Seven Seas Mariner of Regent Seven Seas Cruises (Ft. Lauderdale, FL; 877/505-5370), Jan. 9-March 16, 2010, and one of the optional excursions offered was a two-night, three-day trip to Machu Picchu in Peru.
Iguaçu from both sides
I highly recommend Triplíce Tour, located in Hotel Del Rey (Rua Tarobá 1020, CEP 85851-220, Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná, Brazil; phone [45] 2105-7500).
Tried-and-true souvenirs
In regard to Rick Steves’ article on shopping and souvenirs (April ’10, pg. 63), I would like to add my favorite souvenirs.
Guide to cruise ships
My wife, Gerry, and I have found the “Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships” by Douglas Ward (Berlitz Publishing, 800/432-6277 — $29.99) very useful. It is published annually.
‘Masterful job’ by GCT
About to depart for home on April 17 after Grand Circle Travel’s “Holland & Belgium in Springtime” — an excellent cruise-tour aboard the R/V River Aria — we got word that all flights were canceled due to the ash cloud from Iceland.
Istanbul guide
My companion and I visited western Turkey on the 14-day/13-night “Glories of Turkey” tour from Neon Tours (Istanbul, Turkey; phone +90 [212] 274 90 00), a subsidiary of Key Tours (Fairfax, VA; 800/576-1784), i
Belize delights
“The Flying Sauna” was what we dubbed the 16-seat puddle jumper that flew us from Belize City to Placencia. My mother, brother and three-year-old nephew, Daniel, and I were on the last leg of the flight that began our 8-day vacation in Belize, April 21-30, 2010.
Charged foreign-transaction fee
The letter “Foreign-transaction Fee” (May ’10, pg. 14) really struck a nerve with us. In early April we were on a cruise from Miami to Barcelona with Oceania Cruises, and while on board we decided to place a deposit for a 2011 cruise.
Obtaining a visa for India
My wife, Eve, and I booked a trip to India and a pretrip visit to Sri Lanka with Overseas Adventure Travel, or OAT (Cambridge, MA; 800/493-6824), for February-March ’10. After an amount of ordinary procrastination, in early December we applied for our India visas.
Thai food in India
In Delhi, India, I recommend the splendid Spice Route Restaurant in the Imperial Hotel (Janpath, New Delhi 110001, India; phone +91 11 2334 1234). The venue itself is like visiting an art gallery.
Won’t leave without me
The letter titled “Private Shore Tours” (April ’10, pg. 14) was written by a traveler with a preference for taking independently arranged excursions as opposed to ones purchased from a cruise ship.
Western Front tour
When planning a trip for October ’09, my wife, Marilyn, and I decided to include a tour of the World War I battle sites in northern Belgium and France. This would be a special tour for my wife, whose uncle’s name is inscribed on the Canadian War Memorial at Vimy Ridge, the site of a significant battle.
Notes from visit to China
I joined a group of 34 well-traveled people on May 14, 2009, for an 18-day trip to China with smarTours (New York, NY; 800/337-7773, www.smartours.com). It included a Yangtze river cruise and time in Hong Kong.
Swiss trains — DIY planning
I’m often asked to assist with travel plans in Switzerland because I grew up there, know the three languages and have been there at least once a year since 1981. Gene McPherson’s wonderful trip report, “Bicycling Switzerland and No. Italy” (March ’10, p. 32), brings to mind some points that I’d like to share.