“City Highlights Independent Studies” programs from Elderhostel (11 Ave. de Lafayette, Boston, MA 02111; phone 877/426-8056 or visit www.elderhostel.org) are shorter, include fewer meals and fewer group activities and are less expensive than the traditional Elderhostel European programs. I enrolled as a single in one of them, “Berlin: City of Many Faces,” Oct. 29-Nov. 5, ’04, and found it satisfactory in every respect.
by Jane B. Hanrahan, Alpharetta, GA
Travel in Nicaragua has changed considerably.
(Second of two parts, jump to part 1)
When we visit Mont-St-Michel, France, we prefer to stay on the island rather than the mainland because of the change in the atmosphere when the last of the day-trippers leave by about 5 p.m. It goes from a noisy, crowded, carnival atmosphere to one of magic, romance and solitude. You can walk the ramparts without running into anyone else, and looking up in the dark at the beautifully lit abbey is an unforgettable sight. We’ve made four visits to Mont-St-Michel.
by Dorothy Aksamit, Sausalito, CA
As avid travelers, we have been to over 100 countries. We love to cruise, and there is one thing we have a hard time finding good information about: how to get from the airport to the cruise port in an economical manner.
Most seasoned travelers at one time or another have arrived at a hotel with a reservation in hand only to be informed that the type of room they thought they had reserved was not available. In this edition of “Under the Microscope,” I will examine strategies for finding acceptable solutions for such situations and also measures for trying to prevent such occurrences in future travels.
In the situation described above, several things must be determined.
Jennifer Petoff, Yardley, PA
An excellent organization for anyone interested in walking in Britain is HF Holidays (Imperial House, The Hyde, Edgeware Road, London, NW9 5AL, U.K.; phone + 44 [0] 20 8905 9556 or e-mail info@hfholidays.co.uk. . . or book through Teachers’ Travel Service, Ltd., 21 St. Clair Ave. East, Ste. 1003, Toronto, Ont., M4T 1L9, Canada; phone 800/268-7229 or e-mail info@teacherstravel.com).