Travelers' Intercom

August 2009 issue

Double-check Delta, Northwest tix during merge

Because I planned to use a companion ticket for my wife, Betty, I had to book our Delta round-trip flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to Chicago O’Hare, Oct. 14 and 21, 2009, by phone rather than online. I made my reservations on May 31 and was placed on flights actually operated by Northwest and stopping in Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) both ways.

I confirmed the schedule and transaction online on the Delta website. My printouts showed the Delta flight numbers along with the Northwest flight numbers, with the notation that Northwest would be operating the flights.

I’ve had some...

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October 2011 issue

Visiting Kulusuk

A feature article in the May ’11 issue made mention of Kulusuk, Greenland. I spent nine days there in August ’09 as the village celebrated the 100th anniversary of its founding. I had visited the village first in September ’08, when I took the three-day extension that Vantage Deluxe World Travel offered in conjunction with a wonderful tour of Iceland.

Kulusuk is not an easy place to reach. There are two flights per day, but they are totally dependent on weather. People have gone there for a “day trip” and been stranded for six weeks.

There is...

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March 2009 issue

Luggage cart cost

In October ’08 we found airports in Italy now requiring a one- or 2-euro piece to secure a cart to transport your luggage. When you return the cart, you get your money back.

At the Malpensa airport in Milan we were picking up a rental car, and it would have been a LONG walk to take the carts back. So that was about $1.30 per cart.

RICHARD FINERMAN

Palm Springs, CA

December 2008 issue

The HK shuttle shuffle

At the completion of an April ’08 Silk Road tour in China, I traveled on my own from Shanghai to Hong Kong for my 15th visit since 1961. While Hong Kong has changed since the British left and is now rather expensive, it is still one of my favorite cities.

As many ITN readers know, the new, world-class international airport is located on Lantao Island and is 35 to 40 miles from Kowloon. I stayed on Kowloon, from which there are express trains leaving every 20 minutes for various locations in the former colony.

Before I left on my tour, I had made arrangements on the Internet...

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April 2009 issue

LEGOLAND Village family hostel

My 7-year-old son, George, was, in his own words, “really into LEGO.” Knowing he would be a little boy for only a little while longer, my husband, Skip, and I decided to indulge him and took him to Denmark’s LEGOLAND in June ’08.

Rick Steves’ “Scandinavia” guidebook recommended staying overnight at either the LEGOLAND hotel or hostel. The hotel was out of our budget, so I booked a 2-day park package at the family hostel LEGOLAND Village (Ellehammers Alle 2, Billund, Denmark DK-7190; phone +45 7533 2777, fax 2877, www.LEGOLAND-village.dk).

I recommend the place, with one big...

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May 2009 issue

Billed for tour before accepting it

In December 2008, I called Grand Circle Travel to arrange March 2009 travel for two to Sicily. GCT calls the basic trip a “14-Day Extended Vacation.” They also offer a 6-night pretrip to Malta and a 7-night post-trip on the Amalfi Coast of Italy. I had hoped to arrange for air transportation and all three trip elements, which would include hotels and some meals plus travel insurance.

I provided credit card information, then asked to review the charged elements of my trip. As I was given the elemental costs, I challenged the travel insurance at $475 per person and the post-trip cost...

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September 2011 issue

Sans visa, no entry to Syria

From the Editor — Suzanne M. Stein of Chesterfield, Missouri, was partway through an Adventures Abroad tour of Iran, Syria and Jordan, Sept. 30-Oct. 31, 2010, when a paperwork problem forced her to leave the group. What travelers can do so the same thing never happens on any tour they’re taking is part of what I’ll cover here.

Ms. Stein wrote to ITN, “The morning of the group’s flight from Tehran, Iran, to Damascus, Syria, several of us with no Syrian visas in our passports became aware that we needed them. We were told to fly to Damascus anyway. Upon...

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February 2010 issue

Week in Nicaragua

After reading an article in the USA Today travel section in September ’07 about Nicaragua’s growth in tourism, we started making plans to travel there in mid-September ’08.

Following the violent revolution in the ’70s, many people simply forgot about Nicaragua as a travel destination. Slowly, that is changing. Our seven-day trip proved to be worth every second.

Due to a late arrival and early return departure, we elected to stay our first and last nights at the Camino Real Hotel (phone 505 255 5901, www.caminoreal.com.ni), near the Managua Airport. Complimentary transfers...

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