Travelers' Intercom | International Travel News

May 2009 issue

Lightweight walkie-talkies

While spending several weeks in Spain in March-May 2008, my husband, Duane, and I found walkie-talkies to come in very handy for keeping in touch when apart.

A last-minute decision that Duane thought of while packing, we purchased a set of professional, 22-channel, 2-way, voice-activated BellSouth Walkie Talkies (model 2276GY) at a Walgreens drugstore for only about $20.

Palm-size and lightweight, they use four AAA batteries and have a 5-mile range. We used rechargeable batteries and brought with us a small recharger, which we had to use a few times during the trip.

We...

June 2011 issue

Cut ’em off at the pass

My husband, Tom, and I are in our eighties and, while it’s true that people drive fast in Italy, we had no problems driving there in September 2010. My husband is 86 and did most of the driving in Italy, though I did some.

In 2005 we spent three weeks in New Zealand, and we can’t understand why we’ve read no complaints about driving there. As in the US, there are broken painted lines to indicate that one can pass, but in New Zealand these lines are on curves and over crests of hills. On both the North and South Islands we had some near misses. Never again!

ANITA TOMASI Santa...

February 2010 issue

Traveling in Ethiopia

On my trip to Ethiopia in September-October ’09, I found that having a local travel agent is a godsend.

Through a friend serving as a Peace Corps volunteer, Nancy Ross, I lucked into Abeba Tours Ethiopia (PO Box 17447, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; phone +251 115 15 95 30/31, www.abebatoursethiopia.com), located in the lobby of the Ras Hotel. This company is run by an Ethiopian man and his American wife and managed by a creative, entertaining, capable young go-getter, Shimels Taye, who was a DJ in a former life and is fast transforming the outlook of the national tourist board.

...

January 2010 issue

Water bottle Aquaclip®

My wife, Jo, and I took a trip to Borneo in February ’09 with smarTours, and there was a couple in our group with their water bottles on Aquaclips®.

The Aquaclip® (Box 3656, Huntington Beach, CA 92605-3656; 877/420-4665 or phone/fax 714/848-7130) connects to the neck of the bottle and then slips over your belt or waistband. I was so impressed with it that I asked the couple to send me one (at my expense, of course) when they returned home.

After using it on a trip, I went online and ordered more from the company. Each costs $3, shipping included.

I have used it on...

March 2009 issue

Tour group audio systems

This is a postscript to my letter “Pros and Cons of Tour Group Audio Systems” (Sept. ’08, pg. 15), with clarifications.

My wife, Janet, and I cruised the Danube from Vienna to Nürnberg with Grand Circle Travel (Boston, MA; 800/248-3737, www.gct.com), Nov. 24-Dec. 12, 2008. En route we visited Melk Abbey and the Christmas markets in Linz, Passau and Regensburg and at the cruise’s origin and destination.

In each of these venues, the shore tour entailed the use of personal audio receivers and headphones. These were the property of Grand Circle (not the local tour guides) and...

December 2009 issue

Lost money for unused part of rental

For a stay in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in December ’08, my husband, Roger, and I rented a flat for 13 nights on Anchorena. During our stay, Roger had a medical emergency that required us to leave early.

Upon our arrival in Buenos Aires we had signed a contract which, in my opinion, did not clearly state that in the case of our leaving early, the whole fee could be kept by the apartment owner. Nevertheless, the owner refused to return any part of the rental fee, although we stayed only four nights. Because we had (foolishly) paid in cash, we had no recourse.

We got this place...

April 2009 issue

Finding kindness in Moscow

I just finished reading the reader’s letter titled “Impressions of Russia” (March ’09, pg. 32) and disagree with his evaluation of Moscow as dirty, expensive and unfriendly.

My husband, Bob, our friend Carolyn and I arrived in the city in early June ’08 at the end of a 15-day Trans-Siberian Railroad trip arranged for us by Tim at T.E.I. Tours & Travel (Pleasant Hill, CA; 925/825-6104, www.teiglobal.com). Moscow is a beautiful city with friendly people, and to us it didn’t seem any more expensive than any other major city in the world.

Tim booked us into Hotel Cosmos, a...

August 2011 issue

Tips for an NZ visit

My partner, John, and I spent the month of March ’11 touring New Zealand. The night before our flight home from the Auckland airport, we stayed at the friendly Parnell Inn (320 Parnell Rd., Auckland 1052, New Zealand; phone 09 358 0642 or, toll-free in NZ, 0800 472 763), located on the very charming Parnell Road.

Our large studio room cost NZD125 (near $100). It was a quiet room with plenty of space for end-of-trip repacking. The small refrigerator and tea/coffee-making supplies, standard for New Zealand accommodations, were augmented by tableware for two, including wineglasses....