My husband and I wanted to visit India to experience the Golden Triangle, so three months before our Feb. 18-26, 2016, trip, we contacted Tailormade Journey (25 Grangewood, Wexham, Slough, South Bucks, England, SL3 6LP, U.K.; phone +44 1753 577 330, www.tailormadejourney.com). Our correspondence was with Gouri Wahie.
The land cost of the private trip for the two of us was £1,648 (near $2,185), with six nights in 5-star hotels, including breakfast.
My husband, David, and I had an excellent experience on our March 2016 trip in Jordan using Go2Jordan.INFO (www.your-guide-to-aqaba-jordan.com).
Our first contact with the company was with Eszter Papai (eszter@your-guide-to-aqaba-jordan.com). She thanked us for our inquiry and passed along some information about Jordan, including a series of travel tips for the area. She also told us they had an English-speaking guide, Zsuzsanna (Suzan) Gabor.
Fellow pilot Zaman Khan said, “India… all good memories and smells, but India is not for sissies.”
While my husband, Pete, and I were in Croatia, Sept. 20-Oct. 6, 2015, we spent six days touring from Zagreb to Split. Our arrangements were booked through Marina Juras, who owns Cromotion (V. Podbrezje 28, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; phone +385 1 6555 120, www.cromotion.eu), a small travel agency in Zagreb.
I found the website on TripAdvisor. The reviews of Marina, our guide Ivan and every Cromotion guide whom others had used were superlative, so I felt very comfortable in using her agency.
Like many travelers, my wife, Patti, and I had been to only a couple of the seven countries in Central America. We had been hesitant to go on our own after hearing all the reports of crime and gangs, not to mention, most recently, the Zika outbreak in many tropical countries.
After losing my sister Ellen in 2014, I began to feel an urgency to find my Romanian family roots.
When my father was alive, I (like most kids) was never motivated to question our family’s origins. Now that I was the last remaining member of my family, I wanted to find a genetic link, especially in Romania.
While visiting the Middle East in June 2015, I used the wonderful Egyptian driver Tarek. He speaks English well, his taxi is decent, and he’ll drive visitors to the pyramids and local markets for around $50. If he’s busy, his brother Rahim may be available, and he’s a gem also.
I’ve used Tarek and Rahim for over 20 years. I know their family and have been in their home. They may be reached in Cairo by phone at 01222 70 5229.
My daughter, Jill, and I traveled to Rwanda to see gorillas in the wild.
