A query in ITN’s “Person to Person” section led to a deluge of recommendations for Africa 2000 (P.O. Box 1204, Hilton 3245, South Africa; phone +27 33 3433911, fax 3431786).
My husband, Frank, and I and three other couples (a very nice group size) worked for many months with the Africa 2000 owners, Gill and Graham Maskell, to develop a trip which suited all our interests and budgets. The result was the trip of a lifetime, March 25-April 17, 2008.
Kenya Deborah Urquhart at Wild Africa Ventures, Inc. (10505 Wheatland Ave., Shadow Hills, CA 91040; 800/358-8530, www.wildafricanventures.com), made all the arrangements for my family’s 11-night trip to Kenya, and everything went exactly as planned.
Our September ’07 trip cost $3,880 per person. One single supplement was $1,224.
The food at Ol Tukai Lodge in Amboseli National Park was especially good, but there were so many people at dinner that it was extremely noisy. It is a much larger lodge than we prefer.
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.
Interlake China (Box 33652, Seattle, WA 98133; 206/368-9074, www.interlakechinatours.com) arranged a 10-day tour of three Silk Road cities and Beijing for my husband, Ed, and me. The land and internal air price was $2,578 each for our Oct. 13-22, 2007, trip.
We visited Urumqi, Turpan and Dunhuang before ending the tour in Beijing. Turpan was our favorite place. As we drove there from Urumqi, we had great views of snow-covered mountains along the way.
Bora Özkök of Cultural Folk Tours (Cypress, CA; 800/935-8875) was one of the best guides that I have ever traveled with.
We really enjoyed the 29-day “Bora’s Grand Tour of Turkey” from Cultural Folk Tours International (5631 Lincoln Ave., Ste. B, Cypress, CA 90630; 800/935-8875, www.boraozkok.com).
My husband, Marty, and I took a delightful trip with China Plus, Inc. (320 Decker Dr., Ste. 100, Irving, TX 75062; 888/868-8811, www.china plustour.com). Our 14-day tour, Sept. 18-Oct. 3, 2007, included Beijing, Xi’an, Shanghai and Lhasa and cost us $7,400 for two, not including international airfare.
We were part of a small group of 19 people. Our tour leader was terrific, we had competent local guides and drivers and we experienced excellent timing going through the airports. We had wonderful deluxe accommodations everywhere we stayed.
As my husband, Manley, and I are somewhat limited physically, we wanted to see as much of Bhutan as possible but without a lot of physical demands. For a 15-day tour that we took with a friend, April 21-May 6, 2007, we used the superb services of Blue Poppy Tours & Treks (24 Lonsdale Sq., London N1 1EN, U.K.; phone 020 7700 3084 or fax 7609 2029… and Box 1296, Thimphu, Bhutan; phone 00 975 2 333540, fax 333541, www.bluepoppybhutan.com).
I spent three wonderful weeks in Viet Nam, Jan. 28-Feb. 19, 2007. I had never before taken a custom, privately guided tour and it was not my intention to do so this time. However, after contacting Vietnam Orient Tours (Fremont, CA; phone 510/794-8989, e-mail tourvietnam@aol.com or visit www.vietnamorienttours.com), I found myself letting them put together the whole trip.
Europe My husband and I, along with another couple, took the 16-day river cruise “Castles Along the Rhine and Danube” aboard the ms River Odyssey, Sept. 26-Oct. 11, 2007, with Vantage Deluxe World Travel (90 Canal St., Boston, MA 02114-2031; 800/322-6677)
Including airfare, fuel surcharge, fees and taxes but excluding insurance, the cost per person was $5,310 per person for an “A” category room; add-on airfare from Cincinnati was another $100.