Travel Tidbits

If you’ll be shopping overseas and want to know the Customs regulations on what you can bring back, visit the website www.customs.gov/xp/cgov/travel. — CLAUDIA REED, Las Vegas, NV

In Angara on the Azorean island of Terceira, the Festival of Saint John takes place for nine days in late June. Unfortunately for the jet-lagged, parades, concerts and festivities take place from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.! At the festival, we came upon a “blessing the cattle” ceremony, where six young steers, decked out in crowns and paper streamers, led a procession with a band, guitar player and...

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  On our trip to Thailand in February ’02, we found Bangkok hot and crowded, and the pollution was unbelievable. The northern part of the country was much nicer.— BARBARA RAGLAND, Oroville, CA

  

New Zealand appeared very “user friendly” to me during a tour my wife and I took in January ’98. The costs were reasonable, though not inexpensive, and it seemed to be a great destination for even the most inexperienced independent travelers, if they could negotiate left-side driving. Those fond of breakfasts in the U.K. would love the hotel buffets in N.Z. Not being a fan of British...

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We took an exhilarating, 2-hour white-water rafting trip down Chile’s Sarapiquis River during a December tour with Overseas Adventure Travel (800/221-0814 or www.oattravel.com). We were told the Sarapiquis was a Class III river (medium to moderately difficulty). We would experience a few minutes of rapid paddling on our trip interspersed with periods of calmly floating down the river. Many of us thought that, if these were Class III rapids, we were ready to challenge Class IV or V. The expert boatmen on our rafts made the experience seem easy. — MASAO MATSUMOTO, Arlington, VA

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 On my tour of the Dalmatian Coast in July ’03, I took a day trip to Pula, Croatia. I think the best bet once there is to take a taxi to the coliseum. It’s too easy to get lost, otherwise. I arrived in the early morning and caught the last of the good light to photograph and also beat the tourist buses’ arrival. This is a good place to just sit and soak up the atmosphere for about an hour. A 15-minute walk up the hill takes you to the castle — only mildly interesting. If you’re in a time crunch, give it a miss. — SAMANTHA SARTAIN, Colorado Springs, CO

On a tour of Russia’s...

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The Palámidi fortress in Nafplio, Greece, was the best of all the fortresses we visited in that area on our trip. It was built by the Venetians from 1711 to 1714 but was seized by the Turks the following year. My wife and I must have burned up four rolls of film between us on the structure. Adding to its appeal were all the colorful spring wildflowers coming up in crevices between the rocks. If you’re more ambitious and have the time, you can walk up 999 stairs from the town to the fortress. — RICHARD BERNER, San Diego, CA

  

I spent the night at a farmhouse in the Burren,...

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A very surprising highlight for us on our trip to New Zealand was Kelly Tarlton’s Antarctic Encounter & Underwater World in Auckland. It features an excellent aquarium walk-through, a polar theme ride and a museum, all situated underground beneath a highway! — NORM LOEFFLER, Wichita Falls, TX

During our trip to New Zealand in March ’03, we were determined to find a yellow-eyed penguin on our own. Locals suggested Allen’s Beach (near Dunedin, South Island) at 6 p.m. Alone, we hid behind the rocks and blinked as a penguin swam in on a wave, stood up, waddled ashore, preened and...

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Sitting high above the Danube in Austria is the 900-year-old, baroque Melk Abbey. As we walked into its library, we were struck by the fact that, at the whim of a bygone archbishop, all the books have the same binding. The building features 365 windows, a magnificent carved pulpit and exquisite ceiling frescoes. — CARROLL CHANDLER, Dallas, TX   

When I visit England, which is about every two years, I immediately go to the post office for a phone card. I have had very good luck with them, getting lots of minutes for my money. — JEAN CATER, Dover, NJ   

On our New Zealand trip, en...

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My wife and I spent a week touring Sicily’s highlights with our daughter, son-in-law and two grandsons (ages 11 and 14) in the latter part of March ’04. The people were most friendly, the accommodations were very good and the food and ice cream were terrific. The temples at Segesta, Selinunte and, in particular, Agrigento were outstanding. Equally as interesting were the amphitheaters in Segesta and Taormina. Overall, it was a wonderful trip. — D.J. GARIBOTTI, Barrington, IL

The National Archaeological Museum in Athens contains treasures from excavations and locations all...

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