My husband, Michael, and I were headed back to Spain in early September 2019. This time, friends Jane and Paul (J&P) would be joining us for part of the trip. J&P had never been to Spain, so here are some of the things we did to make sure we all would still be friends when we returned.

Some ground rules We planned to rent apartments in San Sebastián and Barcelona and reserve a hotel in Laguardia, so we asked J&P how they wanted to be involved with the accommodation...

I was blissfully ignorant of what my travel future held for me when I boarded a plane in Memphis, Tennessee, on Feb. 15, 2020, headed (via Toronto and Frankfurt) to Tunis, Tunisia.

My plan was to spend six days in each of two North African countries, Tunisia and Algeria.

This would be my third attempt at trying to visit North Africa. Twice before, a friend and I had taken a Viking “South Mediterranean” cruise with port calls in Tunis and Algiers, but due to...

After a 15-hour flight from San Francisco, via Dubai, on Emirates airline, my husband, Bill, and I arrived in Tehran, Iran. This was the beginning of our 3-week September 2019 tour with JMG Tibet Tours (Lauderhill, FL; 866/548-4238, www.jmgtibettours.com).

Though I don’t enjoy writing, I really felt compelled to share this amazing experience because so many of my preconceptions were wrong.

About the tour

This was owner Jeff Garrett’s first venture taking a...