Hotels and Lodging

A trip to Ireland my husband, Maurice, and I took, Aug. 21-Sept. 2, 2006, was greatly enhanced by two excellent resources.

by Lillie Echevarria, Livermore, CA

Traveling to Malaysia with my friend Michelle in February ’05 was somewhat more challenging than traveling in neighboring Thailand, Cambodia or Vietnam due to the limited number of local tour companies available, especially in Borneo.

During a trip my husband, Joe, and I took to Argentina (Sept. ’06, pg. 84. & Oct. ’06, pg. 76), we visited Iguazú Falls. We are so glad we went. It was absolutely spectacular!

Stephen Hughes of Simply Nice Tours (250 S. Pitt St., Carlisle, PA 17013; 717/243-5112, www.simplynicetours.com) arranged everything for our July 26-Aug. 8, 2006, tour of Wales. This was the first time we took a tour offered by a small company where we were the only clients on that trip. We were a bit apprehensive about the logistics, but pickup in London and delivery to Heathrow worked beautifully.

In a letter on a tour in Turkey (March ’06, pg. 50), the reader mentioned that their two days of touring cost $562 for two people. It appeared to be all local travel, airport/hotel transfer, guide, admissions, etc. I was really surprised that they were delighted with the price; I have taken two trips to Turkey with FLO USA, Inc. (Lake Mary, FL; 888/435-6872) and would highly recommend them for travel to and within Turkey. Their prices are absolutely the best, the service is incredible and they advertise in ITN.

Hotelink, Ltd. (Southways Park, Lowfield Heath, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 9TQ, U.K.; phone [01293] 552251, fax 531131, e-mail tmale@hotelink.co.uk or visit www.hotelink.co.uk), serves all London hotels. In May ’06 we paid £23 (about $45) per person for the transfer service, arranging it through our hotel. They told us to be ready at 10:30 a.m.
At 10:45 a 12-passenger Mercedes van pulled up to the hotel door. The driver took our bags and put them in the rear of the van. He then picked up passengers at two hotels nearby.

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(Second of four parts, jump to part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4).

My husband, John, and I spent a wonderful 16 days in Italy with INTRAV (11969 Westline Industrial Dr., St. Louis, MO 63146; 800/456-8100 or www.intrav.com). We combined two tours, “Tuscany and the Cinque Terre,” Oct. 8-16, ’05, and “Apulia, an Undiscovered Gem,” Oct. 16-23, each with a land price of $2,495 per person.

The first tour was based in Lucca at Hotel Albergo Celide, a lovely small hotel just outside the city’s Renaissance walls.

My husband, Al, did his homework and found a tour company in Cairo that made all of the arrangements for a 19-day holiday go like clockwork.