Bill Altaffer; San Diego, CA
I left San Diego via Asiana Airlines in June 2013, and 36 hours later I was in Kota Kinabalu (KK), Malaysia, the gateway to the Spratly Islands and my final destination. KK’s airport is new and modern — not the place I saw when I visited 25 years earlier.
My husband and I visited Belize in August 2013. We decided to stay on South Water Caye at the Pelican Beach Resort (P.O. Box 2, Dangriga, Belize; phone 501 522-2044, fax 522 2570). To reach the caye, a boat is arranged through the resort for the 45-minute ride from Dangriga.
When I finally decided to visit my last continent, Australia, I picked Eclipse Traveler (Lake Mary, FL; 800/276-1168) primarily because of their itinerary offering a chance to see a total solar eclipse north of Cairns.
Including a single supplement, the cost of my trip (Nov. 6-21, 2012) was $8,790, which covered round-trip airfare from Los Angeles, domestic flights in Australia and mostly 5-star hotels.
8-day/7-night cruise aboard Coral Princess II, departing Mondays from AUSTRALIA, March 3-31. Highlights: See tropical fish and coral with marine biologist aboard glass-bottomed boat/snorkeling and scuba diving/nature walk through rainforest on Dunk Island/James Cook Museum in Cooktown/Australian wildlife at Cooktown Botanic Gardens. Cruise, standard cabin AUD2,968 (near $2,800), stateroom AUD3,436, deluxe stateroom AUD3,971. Wild Earth Travel (P.O.
(Second of two parts)
When my wife, Gail, and I visited the Southern Caribbean island of Aruba in June 2013, we found multiple choices for exploring the island via land-based tours.
On the southern Caribbean island of Curaçao, visitors of all ages can interact with some of the 21 trained dolphins at the Dolphin Academy (phone +5999 4658900), located at the Curaçao Sea Aquarium in Willemstad.
In the “Dolphin Encounter” package, up to six people and a trainer stand in water and gently interact with a dolphin (15-20 minutes for $89 adult or $44.50 child).
“Dolphin Swim” is in the lagoon (30 minutes, $159).
My husband and I began planning our January ’04 trip to Australia and New Zealand about a year ahead. Several people mentioned that a stopover in Fiji would be a good way to end it. About that time, we read about a “Whale’s Tale day cruise.” We had our trip coordinator, ElderTreks (Toronto, Ontario; phone 800/741-7956), check it out and then made arrangements to include it in our trip.
A friend and I took a dive trip to the Philippines, July 7-22, 2011, organized by A-1 Scuba & Travel Center (Englewood, CO; 800/783-7282 or 303/789-2450).
As a tour operator, I was on Midway Atoll in March ’11 escorting a group of 15. Part of the Hawaiian Archipelago, the atoll is an unincorporated US territory, but everyone needs a valid passport to visit, even US citizens. Midway is probably best known as the site of the Battle of Midway, during WWII the turning point of the war in the Pacific.
by Linda & Peter Beuret, Santa Barbara, CA
For our 44th anniversary, my husband, Peter, and I decided we would like to snorkel in some clear, warm waters. A beautiful view with lots of time to read wouldn’t be bad either!