Travelers' Intercom | International Travel News

July 2007 issue

Car and driver in Morocco

On a trip to Morocco, Dec. 20, 2006-Jan. 4, 2007, I arrived in Casablanca with only a hotel reservation and some ideas but no firm plans. I had read articles about Morocco in ITN, checked the Internet and had referred to Lonely Planet and Footprint guidebooks as well as several fine pamphlets (“Imperial Cities,” “Museums,” “The Kasbah Trail,” “Casablanca,” etc., published by the Moroccan National Tourist Office (Orlando, FL; 407/264-0133, www.visitmorocco.org).

I also arrived without my checked bag, but it came, in time. Be advised that if this happens to you (and don’t forget to...

May 2007 issue

Needed more info than website had

With quality tour guides, land arrangements and itineraries plus value pricing and intensive mail solicitation, it comes as no surprise that Vantage Deluxe World Travel is enjoying popularity.

We took our second trip with Vantage, duplicating the 11-day tour of Iceland described by an ITN reader (June ’05, pg. 73) plus adding a 2-day Greenland extension and were impressed with the quality of our August ’06 tour. . . once we got there. We were much less impressed with their Customer Service.

As explained by Mr. Lewis, CEO, in the Vantage automated telephone message, the demand...

February 2007 issue

Leave only footprints

On a mountain in Austria several years ago, my wife, Flory, and I became tired from walking and stopped at the top at a café. We draped our sweaters over the backs of the chairs and ordered two espressos. After paying, we continued our walk. Five minutes later we realized we had forgotten the sweaters.

Since then, whenever we leave a place, a switch flips in our brains, resulting in a large illuminated “STOP” sign. We halt in our tracks and carefully look around to make sure we have not forgotten anything.

May I suggest you do the same?

PHILIP Wagenaar

...

August 2008 issue

Saving on calls overseas

While planning for a July ’07 trip to Norway (July ’08, pg. 32), I was given a tip for making long-distance telephone calls.

The first time I called Norway, at 11:20 p.m., I was charged $12.18 for one minute. Then a friend told me to dial 10-10-987-011+ country code + phone number. When I did that, my bill was only $1.13 for 15 minutes — much more reasonable.

I wish I’d known of this pay-per-use service in March ’08 when I called a relative in Ontario, Canada, and exchanged a lot of genealogical information at a cost of $61.47. Those 42 minutes would have cost only $3.05...

January 2008 issue

Novel Approach: Tip of South America

I was so entranced by Joshua Slocum’s account of going through the Strait of Magellan in 1895, “Sailing Alone Around the World” (multiple publishers), that I had to go. It involved long air trips to get there, but it was worth it. This was several years ago.

The striking thing that stays with me is that the scene was a study in black, grays and white and that the only beauty there was provided by the weather, which could be quite dramatic — dark gray in one direction and, in the other, bright sun on distant water showing under deep-black storm clouds.

One day we saw a rainbow...

November 2007 issue

Re international driver’s license

My daughter, who is a medical missionary in Togo, said she needed an international driver’s license to drive in Ghana for supplies. I was going to get one for her, so I went on the Internet and found all kinds of websites for these licenses. Of course, each wanted my credit card number, etc., in order to process the paperwork.

Be aware that any such website is a complete and total scam. There is no such thing as an international driver’s license. There is, however, an International Driving Permit, which is available through the American Automobile Association (888/937-5523, www.aaa....

March 2007 issue

Courteous in France

We took a 2-week tour of France, Oct. 7-20, 2006, with Trafalgar Tours (Long Island City, NY; 866/544-4434 or www. trafalgartours.com).

The flights both ways from Philadephia were with Air France. The aircraft were very clean, the crew was courteous and friendly, and the food was the best I’ve ever had in some 30 years of flying. Charles de Gaulle Airport was a little confusing, but the routes were well marked in English, and the security staff was also very professional.

We had a very good time on our 2,600-mile tour “The Best of France,” and I never once encountered anyone...

July 2008 issue

72-person ‘small-group’ tour

My husband, Steven, and I took the 10-day “Life in Japan” tour, May 13-22, 2007, with General Tours. The cost was $6,328 for both of us, including one extra day in Tokyo, another in Kyoto and the optional tour to Nikko. We purchased airfare separately.

In two phone conversations with General Tours representatives, we were told that our group would have only 13 people. Upon meeting the tour in Japan, we found that five General Tours groups (on the tours “Life in Japan,” “Inland Sea of Japan,” “Japan Sampler,” “The Spirit of Old Japan” and “From Japan to China’s Yangtze”) had been...