Travelers' Intercom | International Travel News

March 2008 issue

Miho Museum near Kyoto

What to do on a free day in Kyoto? On our trip “Japan’s Cultural Treasures” with Overseas Adventure Travel (Cambridge, MA; 800/221-0814, www.oattravel.com), Oct. 10-25, 2007, we decided to try something other than temples, which certainly are abundant in the area.

So my wife, Anne, and I headed for the Miho Museum, which was designed by I.M. Pei and is tucked into a mountain slope in Shiga Prefecture, about a one-hour trip from the city.

The front desk folks at our Hearton Hotel kindly provided us with a detailed set of directions in English, which were most helpful. Earlier...

December 2008 issue

Trekking NZ’s Queen Charlotte Track

My wife, Eva, and I took the 4-day/3-night “Queen Charlotte Track” tour from Marlborough Sounds Adventure Company (London Quay, Picton, New Zealand; phone +64 3 573 6078, fax 573 8827, www.marlboroughsounds.co.nz), and we highly recommend this company.

They offer hiking, biking and sea kayaking trips a half day to five days long — great service, organization, guides and facilities. Our hiking trip, Dec. 27-30, 2007, cost US$1,000 each, all-inclusive.

At their office on the waterfront in Picton, we rented walking sticks and were given red duffel bags to pack what we wanted to...

April 2008 issue

Ludus Tours for Oktoberfest

Germany’s Oktoberfest is one of the biggest parties in the world. Each year more than six million visitors arrive in Munich for the 3-week festival celebrating beer, schnitzel and song. With so many people descending at the same time, it’s important to work with a tour company with experience, which is just what I got with Ludus Tours (Ludus Group, P.O. Box 50251, Austin, TX 78763; 866/343-6133, www.ludustours.com, www.oktoberfesttours.com and www.trackandfieldtours.com).

I spent a week with Ludus in October ’07. The package included five nights in a very comfortable 3-star hotel,...

May 2008 issue

Best Airline from/to the US

Qantas economy ‘excellent’

I had not flown with Qantas since 1983, but for an October ’07 flight from Auckland, New Zealand, to Los Angeles, since they were the best buy, I bought a ticket.

The economy class was excellent. The plane was clean, and all the stewardesses went out of their way to be helpful.

Next, the food — delicious, and plenty of it! We had a nice choice. They also went up and down the aisle with snacks, including, sometime during the middle of the night, a big basket of apples and water.

I got off the plane very happy.

JEAN CATER

October 2008 issue

Bargains in Bali

I traveled to Bali, Indonesia, May 14-26, 2008, and the island of the gods remains one of the cheapest destinations on the planet, just the opposite of my trip to Iceland and Norway last October.

Getting around in Bali is simple and cheap. Taxis are a bargain, and every driver, trying to improve his lot, will inquire about your “program” for the following day. He wants your business.

It is very easy to strike a deal to have him take you anyplace on the island, with unlimited stops, during a period of eight to 10 hours for about $30-$40. Just be sure you get one with a...

June 2007 issue

Great beer & food in Dublin, Edinburgh & Amsterdam

My husband, John, and I and another couple visited Ireland and Scotland, finishing up with a few days in Amsterdam, Sept. 2-16, 2006. Since John is a home brewer, we are always on the lookout for good beer when we travel, and we found plenty of it in all three cities in which we stayed.

Beer prices were around €4-€4.50 (about $5.30-$6) in Dublin, about £2.40 (near $4.70) in Edinburgh, and €3.50-€4 ($4.60-$5.30) in Amsterdam.

• In DUBLIN, we ate several times at The Bull & Castle (Christ Church, Dublin 2; www.fxbrestaurants.com/cindex.html), which was just down the street...

November 2007 issue

Renewing a passport

I read with interest the letter titled “Missed Cruise Due to Visa Snafu” (June ’07, pg. 32), about passengers not having enough blank pages left in their passports for stamping.

When I made my last visit to Tibet, in 2005, it was no longer possible to send a passport directly to the Chinese Embassy service in San Francisco. When I went to a visa service in Seattle, I was told that my passport was “no good” as it didn’t have two “real pages” left for Immigration to stamp.

I assumed that she meant that though the last page has a number on each side, it is not considered “two...

September 2007 issue

Assessing Botswana lodgings

My husband and I traveled throughout Botswana, then to Victoria Falls, in September and October 2006. We ﬂew into Gaborone, Botswana, and stayed at the Gaborone Sun International Hotel (phone 09267-3951111 or visit www.sun-international.com). Bed and breakfast can be booked at $147 per night for two.

This was the best hotel in town.

Its rooms were Western and very comfortable. They had a lovely pool, a helpful staff and very good food. Every evening, hundreds of yellow birds were in the trees outside of our room building incredible hanging nests.

There is a business...