Columns

(First of two parts)

The need for a dose of relaxation following a heavy work schedule resulted in a March 2017, 6-night visit to the Caribbean island of Saint Martin, comprising Sint Maarten (Dutch) and Saint-Martin (French). 

It had been well over a decade since my wife, Gail, and I had visited the island, and much development had occurred, especially on the Dutch side. In terms of size, the French portion of St. Martin is 21 square miles and the Dutch, 16. 

The island’s precolonial inhabitants were the Arawak, who migrated from northern South...

Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 494th issue of your monthly foreign-travel magazine.

Those of you who regularly visit our website — www.intltravelnews.com — in order to read the latest issue, post a question on the Message Board or access years’ worth of travelers’ articles and letters for your trip planning, well, you may have noticed some improvements lately.

Now when you look for information on a destination, tour company, hotel, etc. (just type a place name or company name into the Search bar), the results will come up with the most recent...

 (Second of three parts)

The second stage of my August 2015 Scandinavian adventure began with a drive from coastal Bergen into the heart of Norway’s enthralling fjord region. I was journeying, partially hosted, with a group of 38 intrepid travelers on the 12-day “Scandinavian Explorer” tour offered by smarTours (New York, NY; 800/337-7773 or 212/297-0955, www.smartours.com). 

Upon our arrival at the hamlet of Voss, we boarded an express train for the climb to Myrdal Station, where we switched over to the Flåm Railway. 

For the next...