Travelers' Intercom | International Travel News

April 2010 issue

Cut a rug in Romania

My husband and I took a tour in June ’09 that focused on dance, with choreographer Theodor Vasilescu (in the US and Canada, contact Ping Chun, 49 Junard Dr., Morristown, NJ 07960; phone 973/539-7020 or e-mail ping.chun@att.net). Theodor leads a tour each summer to different regions of Romania; some folks on our tour had traveled with him six times!

The land price for our 12-night tour was $2,000 per person and included all museum admissions, a driver, guide, classes in traditional dances like the hora and other circle dances, professional performances, parties and instructional DVDs...

November 2010 issue

West Africa visit

I toured Mali and Burkina Faso, Feb. 10-27, 2010, with Craig Canadian Group Travel, Ltd. (Toronto, Ont., Canada; 800/387-8890), who also arranged a post-trip, seven-day hotel stay for me for in Paris through March 6.

The tour was named “Into the Heart of West Africa,” and the cost for everything was $8,754. That covered round-trip air from Portland, Oregon, everything in Africa (except water during meals), the hotel room in Paris and an overnight in a Toronto hotel on my way back.

In Mali we had the best driver I’ve ever had in 50-plus years. His eyes never left the road —...

May 2010 issue

Cinque Terre hotel

Saltwater scents from the Ligurian Sea mixed with aromas of homemade focaccia from the nearby bakery, Forno di Monterosso, as my wife, Cindy, and I arrived at La Spiaggia Hotel (Via Lungomare 98, Monterosso al Mare; phone 0187-817-567), five minutes’ walk from the rail station.

Andrea Poggi has owned this grand, old hotel for years. Julia and Ella work the reception area and give the art of hospitality a new meaning.

There are 19 rooms, some, like ours, with balconies facing the deep-blue waters of the sea. For our 13-night stay, May 5-19, 2009, our room (No. 307) on the top...

February 2011 issue

El Salvador surprise

As a “country counter” avidly trying to reach my personal goal of traveling to 100 countries, I added El Salvador (number 70) to my list in January 2010. To be truthful, it had not been at the top of my list of destinations to visit, not because I didn’t want to go there but because I had not thought about going. It was almost by accident that I ended up there.

I was traveling through Honduras and Nicaragua with my travel buddies, Renee Pobjecky and Doug Bohannon. Our itinerary included several days in western Honduras. Through a series of events out of our control, we ended up with...

February 2004 issue

Fixing a flight mixup

What would you do if you discovered that you were booked on a nonexistent flight? This was the unbelievable situation that my wife and I recently encountered.

We believe in firming up travel arrangements as early as possible to avoid the disappointment of unavailable space. In April ’03 we booked, through Adventure Center (800/227-8747), a September tour of Romania, Explore Worldwide’s “Village Folklore and Danube Delta,” land only.

An intensive search on the Internet finally yielded a great price on flights. We would fly from Atlanta to New York’s JFK on Delta, connecting to...

March 2010 issue

Hotel in Palermo

In Palermo, Sicily, in May ’09, we stayed at the three-star Hotel Joli (Via Michele Amari, 11 90139 Palermo; phone +39 091 61 11765) for a little over $100 per night for the small room. The larger rooms are more expensive. WiFi was free.

There is another hotel with almost the same name. The one we stayed in is in a small, beautifully renovated old building. The area is convenient, and parking is available in the area.

We had taken the airport bus into town ($8 and 45 minutes) and walked the three blocks from Piazza Politeama, where we got off the bus. I downloaded a Google...

December 2010 issue

Travelers Aid + travel tip

I’m a volunteer for Travelers Aid (202/546-1127, www.travelersaid.org). This charitable organization, founded in 1914, has information desks and helps travelers at 36 sites in the US, mainly in airports but also at bus and train stations.

I’m one of 300 volunteers at Washington Dulles International Airport. (All staff are volunteers; program managers are paid.) We have three information desks in the main terminal manned daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. plus volunteers behind podiums in the other concourses and at two locations inside Customs and Immigration.

It’s a challenge to...

January 2005 issue

Re valuables at x-ray

Re the letter “Valuables Put in Peril,” about losing sight of items going through the airport x-ray. . . Your passport, the majority of your money, all your credit cards, I.D., tickets, etc., should never ever be in a coat, pants pocket or purse. If you have it in your hands in Frankfurt or almost any airport, it is going through the x-ray machine.

Keep frequently needed things in a neck pouch inside your shirt. The rest of your valuables belong in a money belt inside your pants, kilt, skirt or dress.

RICHARD MILBERG Champaign, IL