Travelers' Intercom

February 2012 issue

Driver in Bali

During three wonderful weeks that my wife and I spent in Bali in September-October ’11, our vacation was made easy and enjoyable thanks, in large part, to our driver, Billy Dewa (e-mail billybaliman0908@yahoo.com), whose services we used on six occasions. For $40 per day, Billy — in his clean, air-conditioned SUV — would meet us promptly at our hotel in whatever part of the island we were staying. We would tell him where we wanted to go and he would take us there using routes that afforded us opportunities to stop at scenic vistas, sacred temples and luxurious waterfalls as well as places...

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September 2006 issue

Star Clipper ships

I read the June ’06 “Cruising World” column and totally agree with everything Lew Toulmin wrote about the Star Clipper ship. My husband, Tom, and I took the Royal Clipper on its relocation cruise from Barbados to Civitavecchia, Italy, April 16-May 7, ’06. It was a wonderful sailing experience. We couldn’t have asked for better accommodations, crew or meals.

We booked the trip with TravLtips (Flushing, NY; 800/872-8584) at a per-person cost of $3,042 plus $295 in port charges for a category 3 cabin. Airline tickets, transfers and land tours also could be purchased from TravLtips....

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May 2012 issue

Tuscany’s ‘Little Jerusalem’
View of Pitigliano, Italy
My wife, Rosalie, and I were in Italy in June ’11 and visited the hilltop town of Pitigliano in southern Tuscany. There’s no train station in Pitigliano, which is two hours north of Rome and about 30 miles southeast of Grosseto. A car is recommended. After you enter the town through the defensive wall, it’s best to park near the town hall. This wonderful medieval town is small enough to walk around in on foot.
March 2012 issue

Seeks low-price barge cruise
In the January ’12 edition of ITN, on page 54 a subscriber mentions having taken a six-day barge cruise in France at a cost of what works out to $524 per person a day. My wife and I would like to experience a barge cruise but not at $524 per person per day. We would be very grateful to anyone who could provide information on companies that will charge a much lower rate for a barge cruise in France or Holland.
April 2012 issue

In and around Riva del Garda
At Passo Sella in the Dolomites of Italy, near Bolzano.

It was chilly in early May 2010 when I first visited Riva del Garda, Italy. It also rained almost the entire time. In 2011 I chose to arrive a couple of weeks later, May 19-21, and what I found was sunshine!

Rovereto is the train stop for Riva. From there, you take either a bus, which drops you in town (so you still have to get yourself to the hotel), or a taxi. I called efficient and English-speaking Christiano Toffola of Taxi 2 Taxi Rovereto (phone +39 33 88 445 445) and the ride to my hotel cost me about €40 (near $53) plus tip.

The Best Western Hotel Europa (Piazza...

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October 2012 issue

Capital One account changes
By Mark Price

As someone who takes advantage of the Capital One no-foreign-transaction-fee credit card, I was excited to read from many sources in the September ’12 issue (page 38) that Capital One had a high-yield money market account with a debit/ATM card with no foreign transaction fee.

I went online but could find no way to apply for such an account, so I called Capital One and was informed that Capital One had purchased ING a couple of months previously, and Capital One no longer offers such an online account.

Customers are directed to the ING website to open an online account and...

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March 2012 issue

Switzerland for scenery
No matter when I take a trip, I always seem to travel one week too late. Upon arriving at a B&B or hotel, the host asks, “And how are you enjoying your visit to (wherever)?” When I answer, “Fine, but I wish it weren’t raining so hard,” the response is, “You should have been here last week. It was beautiful.” I am sure it was, but even though I consider myself a professional tourist, I still haven’t figured out how to travel last week.
June 2004 issue

Found Russia ‘fascinating’

I noticed in the Travelers’ Intercom section a couple of rather negative reports of Russian riverboat experiences (March ’04, pg. 32 & April ’04, pg. 82). Having enjoyed three such trips over the past six or seven years, I would like to reassure other travelers that these trips can be exceedingly enjoyable and interesting.

Our travels to Russia were with GT Cruises (which now promotes these cruises under the name Peter the Great Cruises), and as to the ships and crews I can speak only of theirs. My wife and I always traveled on our own, but often there were tour groups aboard...

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