Travelers' Intercom
Venezuela arrangements
Two friends and I took a 10-day trip to Venezuela in December ’08. While our itinerary, which included visits to Caracas, Mérida and Canaima National Park, didn’t exhaust what Venezuela has to offer, we enjoyed our visit and some fine food and unique sights, especially at Canaima.
One crooked cabbie
I spent three weeks with a group in Hanoi, Vietnam, starting Nov. 3, 2008. Some of us frequently took a cab between our hotel and the Old Town shopping center. Usually the cab cost around 45,000 dong (near $2.50).
On buying an extra seat
I’m writing in response to the news item “Passengers of Size Pay Double” (July ’09, pg. 23), on United Airlines.
Sunsets in the Dordogne
My husband and I read with great interest the article on the Dordogne region of France (Sept. ’09, pg. 6). During October ’08 we spent a week there as part of a 3-week trip to France and it was, in many ways, the most special part of our trip.
Cutting all ties, temporarily
I just finished reading Rick Steves’ “Techie Tips for Travelers” (Sept. ’09, pg. 58). It’s all good information, I’m sure. Call me old-fashioned or “out of the loop,” if you will, but doesn’t anyone travel to get away from it all anymore?
Trying out large-group tours
My husband, Rodney, and I took the “Imperial Russian Waterways” tour with Vantage Deluxe World Travel, Aug. 5-26, 2008, which included a 3-night Kiev pretrip and a 3-night Stockholm post-trip extension for a total of 22 days.
Need a car for more than 30 days?
I am responding to the request for information on renting a car for more than 30 days (July ’09, pg. 31).
Buying Paris Métro and bus tickets
I have had an apartment in Paris for more than 25 years and spend about 20 weeks a year there, making several visits each year, most recently in September ’09. Lately, as I reported (June ’09, pg. 14 & Aug. ’09, pg.
Panama highlights
On a custom tour our family took to Panama in June-July ’09 (Oct. ’09, pg. 32), we stayed on SAN CRISTOBAL ISLAND at the Dolphin Bay Hideaway (phone +011 [507] 6417 7351 or [507] 6772 9917, www.dolphinbayhideaway.com), a small, private B&B in Bocas del Toro.
Counts on travel agents
I agree 100% with Kent Shamblin’s letter about paying a small fee to have a professional travel agent book a trip (Sept. ’09, pg. 49).
Arrangements for Greece
After staying with friends in a villa in Spain (Oct. ’09, pg. 12), my wife, Betty, and I flew on April 10, 2008, from Valencia to Athens via Rome on Alitalia, with our scheduled arrival in Athens quite late. Our friend Jan, a retired airline executive living in Kansas, flew from Valencia on another carrier.
Traveling in Costa Rica
The Costa Rica tour a subscriber wrote about in the September ’09 issue (page 20) seems to offer good value for the money, but she did err in one matter.
Spirit of India ‘marvelous’
In defense of the company Spirit of India, I must respond to the reader’s letter titled “Temporarily Left in the Desert” (Sept. ’09, pg. 28), about an experience on a tour in Mongolia.
Staged distraction
Although we are supposed to be savvy travelers, in April ’09 we were taken in by a scam that we were not ready for.
Taura’a on Easter Island
On Easter Island, Hotel Taura’a (Atamu Tekena s/n, Hanga Roa, Easter Island, Chile; phone [56] [32] 210 0463, fax [32] 255 1310, www.tauraahotel.cl) has 10 delightful rooms and serves delicious breakfasts. The surroundings are beautiful.
Travel agents can help
I would like to commend Kent Shamblin for his letter “Relies on Travel Agent” in the September ’09 issue. His recommendation to travelers to find a good professional travel agent is excellent.
No help in reaching ship
The following lists a series of events that occurred when my two friends and I were scheduled to leave Sacramento, California, on Jan. 15, 2009, and go to Buenos Aires one day prior to boarding the Star Princess for a cruise to Antarctica.