Tours in Review

For any traveler who has wondered if the additional cost of a tour with National Geographic Expeditions (1145 17th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20036; 888/966-8687, www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com) over other tour operators is worth the expenditure, rest assured that it is.

On Dec. 31, 2007, my husband and I left the States and arrived in San José to begin an 8-day tour called “Costa Rica Adventure.” The ground operator was Global Adrenaline.

Our group of 25 was divided each day into two buses, each accompanied by either of the outstanding Costa Rican naturalist guides,...

We were pleased with every aspect of our 18-day “Russia and the Baltic States” tour from Grand European Tours (6000 Meadows Rd., Ste. 520, Lake Oswego, OR 97035; phone 800/552-5545 or visit www.getours.com).

Our tour, May 20-June 6, 2006, visited FINLAND, RUSSIA, BELARUS, LITHUANIA, LATVIA and ESTONIA. The basic tour cost about $8,000 for the two of us, starting in Kansas City. This tour had a number of optional events. When booking the tour, you should be aware that these options will cost about $1,000 per couple if you choose all of them, but we were glad we did.

The hotels...

Here are some highlights of an 11-day tour to Algeria I took Oct. 27-Nov. 6, 2007, with Adventures Abroad (1124 Fir Ave., Ste. 101, Blaine, WA 98230; 800/665-3998). The land price of $2,290 included dinners and breakfasts. The single supplement was $400; insurance cost $334, and round-trip air from Miami to Algiers was $1,525.

Our group of 13, a few Canadians and the rest Americans, began our tour staying at Hôtel el Djazair in Algiers, which was truly deluxe. On the first day, we had a city tour and visits to the 17th-century Casbah, the Bardo Museum, the Museum of Islamic Art and...