Travelers' Intercom | International Travel News

July 2008 issue

Exploring Belize

My wife, Renate, and I traveled to Belize, Jan. 16-31, 2008. All arrangements for this trip were made through companies found on the Belize Tourism Board’s website (www.travelbelize.org; click on “Places to Stay”). The site offers hundreds of hotels, resorts, etc., and we were really lucky with the ones I mention and recommend them.

We spent the first three days at the Embassy Hotel & Mission House (Airport Ring Road, Ladyville, Belize; phone 011 501 225 3333, www.embassyhotelbelize.com), right across from the airport.

Managed and owned by John Collier and his wife, Judy...

December 2007 issue

Needed to change a connection

For our 50th anniversary, in August ’06 my wife and I left for Europe on a 2-month trip. We utilized a travel agency in Colorado for airline, train and hotel bookings. Our drive in a rental car through France would end at Strasbourg, after which we would take an Adriatic cruise.

The ship would depart its pier in Venice, Italy, at 6 p.m. on Sept. 20. To make that, we had been booked on Lufthansa flight No. 6911 from Strasbourg to Frankfurt, Germany, on that same day, connecting with Lufthansa flight 4084 to Venice, scheduled to arrive four hours before our cruise ship left port....

April 2007 issue

Prebooked St. Petersburg shore tour

My wife, Gloria, and I took Celebrity Cruises’ 12-night Scandinavia and Russia cruise aboard the Century, Aug. 14-26, 2006. The itinerary took us from Amsterdam to Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Copenhagen and back to Amsterdam.

In the pre-cruise literature there were draconian and confusing warnings about passengers taking shore tours in St. Petersburg not arranged through Celebrity Cruises and about the need for having a visa before leaving the ship.

On the first night, passengers were asked to provide details if they were going on any tours not sponsored by...

May 2007 issue

Overnights on Norway trails

We have traveled Norway from top (Kirkenes) to bottom and from east to west but not since 1983. However, some things don’t change. All over mountainous central Norway are hiking trails with magnificent views of lakes and glaciers, and the timberline is low at 1,000 feet.

There is no need to carry a tent and sleeping bag or much food because of the ubiquitous accommodations, from self-service “huts” to fancy hotels.

Joining, in Oslo or Bergen, Den Norske Turistforening, or DNT (P.O. Box 7, Sentrum, 0101 Oslo, Norway; phone +47 22822800, fax +47 22822801 or visit www....

February 2008 issue

Northern Spain’s Celtic roots

I took a trip to northern Spain, Aug. 8-28, 2007. Guitars, wine and arid plains, right? Yes, in other parts of Spain, but in the principality of Asturias, located on the coast between Galicia and Cantabria, bagpipes, apple cider and mountains are standard fare.

Upon arrival at the Aviles airport in Asturias, the most remarkable sighting is the triskele, an ancient Celtic symbol, which marks everything. T-shirts, shot glasses, jewelry and wood all are painted, pressed and carved with the triskele’s three spirals.

The three spirals represent the three aspects of a...

August 2008 issue

Beautiful Uluru

Ayers Rock, or, as it is now designated, Uluru/Ayers Rock, is the world’s second-largest monolith.* This huge red rock is spectacular, especially at sunrise and sunset. It changes from red to orange and various shades of purple as the sun rises or sets.

Ayers Rock is in the middle of nowhere, but there are more than 1,100 rooms at five lodges.

Because of its isolation, Ayers provided a wonderful opportunity to view the stars during a June tour of Australia with Overseas Adventure Travel (800/493-6824, www.oattravel.com). We could easily see the Southern Cross and many other...

March 2008 issue

‘Petra By Night’

I visited the famous UNESCO World Heritage Site of Petra, Jordan, in October ’07. A daytime visit is a long and hot walk but definitely worth the effort. For me, however, the highlight was the lesser-known night trip to the Siq and Treasury.

Starting at the Petra Visitors Center, you walk down the road through the kilometer-long Siq (a narrow gap between rock faces) to the famous Treasury. The entire route is lit only with lanterns on the ground (actually paper bags each with a candle inside) and moonlight.

At the Treasury, the lanterns cover the ground in front of the...

November 2008 issue

NZ Interislander

I’d rate the trip from Wellington (North Island), New Zealand, to Picton (South Island) aboard the Interislander ferry a “must” for the scenery, but my wife, Eva, and I did have some problems on our most recent visit, in December ’07-January ’08.

From Route 1, the signs were adequate for finding the ferry terminal in Wellington; we had to backtrack only one time.

Initially, I had reserved a 2 p.m. trip through an Internet travel site. When I went to confirm, less than a week before we were to take the ferry, Interislander couldn’t find our reservation and said it was too late...