What a fantastic and memorable vacation we enjoyed in Peru in May ’07! Thanks to Lima Tours (Belén 1040, Lima 1, Perú; phone [51-1] 619-6900, fax 619-6921, e-mail prs@limatours.com.pe or visit www.limatours.com.pe), our visit to their country was both informative and rewarding — one of our best tours ever.
My husband, Jack, and I have traveled to Ireland at least once and sometimes twice a year for the past 10 or 11 years but had never been to County Donegal in the northwestern corner of the country. Rereading about it and discovering that it is one of the least-visited counties in Ireland only whetted our appetite to “go see” for ourselves. This time scenery, mostly coastline, would be our focus.
My husband and I have done many trips all over the world, and our itineraries, up until this trip, were planned by American tour companies or on our own. Finding the prices somewhat high with U.S. companies for a trip to southern India, I tried an in-country company, Indian Panorama (No5 Annai Ave., Srirangam, Trichy, Tamil Nadu 620006, India; phone +91 431 243 3372, fax 243 2874, www.indianpanorama.in).
by Susan Lowe, Covington, WA
“You’re stopping over in Hong Kong again?”
I found the following inexpensive but comfortable lodgings during a February-March ’07 visit to South America (see April’08, pg. 49). Each had private bath, cable TV and, where needed, A/C. The price given for each is the approximate dollar amount for my single room.
• Hotel Rosario del Lago (Padres at Costañera, Copacabana, BOLIVIA; phone 591 2 862 2141, fax 862 2140, www.hotelrosario.com/lago).
In Malta, the Marina Hotel (Tigne Sea Front, Sliema SLM15, Malta; phone 00 356 2133 6461, fax 2133 0650, www.themarinahotelsliema.com) is a family-run hotel that offers sea-view rooms, which, while not luxurious, have all you need plus wonderful views of Valletta across the bay. Ask for an upper floor to avoid street noise. We enjoyed room 305 on our 6-night visit in May ’07.
Here are recommendations from a November ’07 trip to the Campania area of ITALY.
We’ve been to Venice six times, and the perfect hotel if you’re arriving by car or departing on a cruise is Hotel Cá Doge (Piazzale Roma, Sest. Santa Croce 467/e, 30135 Venice, ITALY; phone +39 041 5286 975, fax 041 2410 865, www.cadoge.it).
For those who were saddened by the closure of St. Margaret’s Hotel in Bloomsbury, London, in the spring of 2007, be of good cheer. The Marazzi family, who owned St. Margaret’s for almost 60 years (for those who haven’t heard, the property was sold and is being converted to an “upscale boutique hotel”), owns another London property.
We took a wonderful vacation to Sumatra and Java, Indonesia, Jan. 17-25, 2008, through Floressa Bali Tours (Jalan Gandapura III K / 16 Kesiman, Denpasar 80237, Bali, Indonesia; phone +62 361 467625, fax 467347 or visit www.floressa-bali.com).
I cannot say enough about the professionalism of their guides, the safe transport, the wonderful accommodations and our personalized itinerary, which included ecotourism and cultural tourism.