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). It had a chalkboard sign outside advertising homemade pici (thick, hand-rolled pasta), one of my favorites, for €12 (near $13.50), but I couldn’t find it!
Reduced single supplements are offered on selected 2008 departures of tours and cruises with Tauck.
For example, on the 12-day/11-night “Istanbul & the Black Sea” small-ship cruise (excluding airfare, $6,390 per person, double occupancy, with a single supplement of $4,235), the single supplement for the Aug. 12 and Sept. 24 departures is $1,235.
On five departures of “A Week in Paris and Provence” (land-priced $2,990, with a single supplement of $1,001), the single supplement is reduced to $551.
The single supplement now will be waived or offered at 50% off on all land trips and some river cruises of Overseas Adventure Travel (Cambridge, MA; 800/493-6824, www.oattravel.com) and its sister company, Grand Circle Travel (Boston, MA; 800/959-0405, www.gct.com).
The Grand Circle Corporation companies Overseas Adventure Travel and Grand Circle Travel are offering this Best Price Guarantee: if a solo traveler booked on a 2010 OAT or GCT trip finds a comparable trip at a lower price, the company will match the lower price and take an additional $500 off.
As a single traveler, I read with great interest the article “Avoiding the Dreaded Single Supplement” in Lew Toulmin’s column “The Cruising World” (Jan. ’14, pg. 53). On the subject of single supplements, I’m always looking for any tips. Routinely, as in Mr. Toulmin’s article, these articles suggest matching up with someone of the same gender on a trip, whether a cruise or land tour. Really??
Back in the good old days of the 1950s, most ocean liners had a few single cabins available for their single customers. The builders of those ships realized that, yes, there actually were single people in the population!
by Martha Mangan; Santa Cruz, California
I was sorry to read, in the subscriber’s letter “China Countryside Tips” (June ’12, pg. 14), that her tour company abandoned her partway through her trip. While I sympathize with her situation, I can’t agree with her conclusion that you should not travel in China without a guide or a Mandarin-speaking companion or that you should stay only in high-end hotels.
by Rita Bocher; Wynnewood, PA
We asked independent travelers to tell how they go about finding nonreserved rooms when they arrive someplace they’ve never been to overseas. We printed responses in the January ’09 issue. Here are a few more.
If you have something to add, write to Winging It Finding a Hotel, c/o ITN, 2116 28th St., Sacramento, CA 95818, or e-mail editor@intltravelnews.com (include the address at which you receive ITN). ITN prints no items on destinations in the United States.