Group Tour

Admiring the ancient landscapes of Sicily and Puglia

When I think of Puglia, my mind’s eye sees swooping swallows, stands of ancient olive trees and fields carpeted with red poppies. I hear church bells chiming, announcing not just the hours but the quarter hours as well.

When my mind wanders back to my May-June 2016 Italian adventure — the 15-day “Sicily’s Ancient Landscapes & Timeless Traditions” tour from Overseas Adventure Travel and their 5-day pre-trip tour of Puglia* — I find myself returning to the city of Matera on day one.

Nicaragua trip ‘delightful’

I wanted to visit Nicaragua but found it difficult to find any tours that went there. I finally discovered an 8-day tour, “Wonders of Nicaragua,” through the travel department of the American Automobile Association, or AAA (travel.aaa.com). It was run by Alexander+Roberts (Keene, NH; 800/221-2216, www.alexanderroberts.com).

Indian Ocean with Adventures Abroad

Whenever I’ve wanted to go to an out-of-the-way place, I’ve relied on Adventures Abroad (2148-20800 Westminster Hwy., Richmond, B.C., V6V 2W3, Canada; 800/665-3998, www.adventures-abroad.com) to take me there.

A trip I took with them May 14-June 6, 2015, “Indian Ocean Islands,” showed me Seychelles, Mauritius, Reunion, Madagascar, Mayotte and Comoros. For transport, the company hired local boats, including the sailboat we used to go around Seychelles.

Rushed last day on Canada tour

From the Editor of ITN — Peter Schuetz of Shelby, North Carolina, wrote to ITN about a tour of western Canada and the Rocky Mountains, originally scheduled for June 27-July 5, 2015, that he took with his fiancée and a group of seniors.

Breakfast at Angkor Wat

Guests at Anantara Angkor Resort (National Road no. 6, Khum Svay Dangkom, Siem Reap, Cambodia; phone +855 63 966 788, angkor.anantara.com) can book a guided dawn tour of Angkor Wat Archaeological Park followed by breakfast at a secluded temple. Guests are then free to explore the complex, with its ninth- to 15th-century temples, the rest of the day.

Meaningful personal interactions enhance two back-to-back European tours

Hotel Takachiho dining

During our 6-week koyo (autumn foliage) trip to Japan in November-December 2015, my husband, Clyde, and I took many of our dinners at small, family-owned restaurants and izakayas (taverns), also exploring the side streets and back alleys where such places abound.

Enjoyed Bulgaria

I was in Bulgaria and, briefly, Romania for ten days and nine nights during the last half of May 2016. I joined a week-long tour but first spent two days in Sofia, adjusting to the time zone and also going on a day tour to Rila. Half of my trip was in the Rhodope Mountains and half in the Black Sea coastal area and countryside.

Central America with SITA

My wife, Patti, and I had already been to a few Central American countries when we were attracted by a tour advertised in ITN by SITA World Tours (Encino, CA; 800/421-5643, www.sitatours.com). We were interested in “Discover Central America” because it included four countries we hadn’t yet visited.

Road Scholar, Sri Lanka & India

“A Journey of Enlightenment in Sri Lanka & South India,” Dec. 2-18, 2015, was my second trip with Road Scholar (Boston, MA; 800/454-5768, www.roadscholar.org) and, again, it was a very successful one.

I paid $3,499 for the tour plus a single supplement of $965. This included internal flights between Sri Lanka and India. There were 11 in our group.

While our group was in Sri Lanka, an unprecedented flood was taking place in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, our next destination. The airport had been closed and it was a disaster area.

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