Travelers' Intercom | International Travel News

June 2005 issue

Overbooking is standard practice

I am writing with reference to the letter titled “Confirmed on Tour, Then Bumped to Another,” from ITN readers Clair and John Kohler, and the response of Grand Circle Travel (Feb. ’05, pg. 30). Frankly, I was astonished and actually angered by what happened to the Kohlers, particularly because it involved a large and, I thought, reputable tour company.

I regularly receive brochures from Grand Circle, and after reading the Kohlers’ letter I checked the terms and conditions in a recent brochure and found the following: “Grand Circle reserves the right to change the departure date of...

November 2005 issue

Pedal pushers

We always read with interest the letters in ITN about bicycle tours, since we have found it such a refreshing way to travel.

In spring 2004 we took our seventh trip with Hindriks European Bicycle Tours (Huntington Beach, CA; phone 800/852-3258 or visit www.hindrikstours.com). We have enjoyed every one of them. (See Feb. ’05, page 38.)

Here are some examples of treasures we have found while cycling:

• Riding along the dikes in Holland and passing within three feet of a heron in the process of swallowing a frog, the rear legs still sticking out of its mouth.

•...

March 2006 issue

Southern Chile agent

My husband and I were in the southern part of Chile in January ’05 and found the best tour operator we’ve encountered in our years of travel. He is Enrique Pavez of Lagos Andinos (Antonio Varas 445, Puerto Montt, Chile; phone/fax 56-65 254988 or mobile [9] 7079445, e-mail sales@lagosandinos.cl or visit www.lagosandinos.cl).

Enrique speaks excellent English, and the word “can’t” is not in his vocabulary. In a 5-day period, we requested and got a tour of Petrohué Falls and the Chilean countryside ($60 per person), including Puerto Montt, Petrohué Falls, Lake Llanquihue, Puerto Varas...

December 2006 issue

Around the world in 80 days

My husband and I have taken several trips around the world. On our most recent such trip, in 2005, dubbed “Around the World in 80 Days” (actually 83), we shopped in Hong Kong’s wet market, had an elephant massage in Thailand (my husband’s back massaged by an elephant’s foot), visited the National Museum of Bahrain and soaked in Iceland’s Blue Lagoon.

You can, too. It’s easier and less expensive than you may think. But long-term, independent, international travel requires some special planning.

TICKETING — The biggest obstacle is lack of time. Using a circle ticket or...

April 2006 issue

Guide in Lithuania

I’m a genealogist, and I wanted to explore the towns and villages in Lithuania where our parents and grandparents lived in the early 1900s. Through the Internet, I found Ms. Nijole Pakalniene of Lithuanian Holidays (Šeimyniškiu˛, St. 1a, LT-09312 Vilnius 5, Lithuania; phone +370 5 2636064 or visit www.lithuanianholidays.lt). I asked for a Jewish guide who spoke English, and she paired us with Chaim Bargman.

Chaim is very knowledgeable and dedicated to Lithuania and its history. He speaks five languages. He showed us memorials, museums, ghettos, cemeteries and mass grave sites of the...

October 2006 issue

Japan’s Good-will Guides

Japan’s Good-will Guide program made for two rich and delightful experiences during my May ’06 visit.

In Kyoto, I spent a full day with volunteer guide Mitsuharu Nakagawa, who enthusiastically and tirelessly showed me his city, taking me not only to Kyoto’s must-see sites but to those areas known best to those who live there.

My second experience was the happy result of a mandated 7-hour wait for a flight home out of Tokyo’s Narita Airport. Instead of cooling my heels for a long day at the terminal, I took a 10-minute train ride that delivered me to an unexpected treasure:...

June 2005 issue

‘Outstanding’ guide in Romania

From April 1 to May 15, ’04, we spent four weeks on our own in the Czech Republic and Hungary and then another two weeks in Romania, ending up back in Bucharest.

Szeged, Hungary, is a city we highly recommend. It reminded us of Paris with its pedestrian mall, parks, cafés, ice cream parlors and shops. We stayed at Hotel Tisza (e-mail info@tiszahotel.hu), which had just been renovated, for about $80 a night.

For our tour of Romania, an outstanding Romanian guide, Andrei Nicolau (phone +40-722-576-456 or e-mail nicolau34@yahoo.com), picked us up in Szeged. Having always...

November 2005 issue

‘Fabulous’ guide in Turkey

Five of us took a personal tour of western Turkey with Mehmet Ozbalci in March ’04. A reader had recommended him in a short letter (May ’99, pg. 117). He truly is a guide “extraordinaire.”

Not only is Mehmet knowledgeable about Turkey and its wonderful history, he is a caring, patient, engaging individual.

Every day was a new adventure visiting all of the wondrous sights plus small villages and the friendly people of Turkey. On one occasion we enjoyed lunch outside in a remote village restaurant with a saz player serenading us; the saz is an instrument that is plucked....