International Travel News

Travelers' Intercom

March 2015 issue | Appears on page 26

Road Scholar to England & Wales

By Michael McKay

My wife and I traveled with Road Scholar (Boston, MA; 800/454-5768, www.roadscholar.org), June 10-23, 2014, on the first departure of their new tour “The Best of England & Wales: Shakespeare to Snowdonia, Castles to Colleges.”

It cost $4,996 each, including airfare from New York City. There were 24 in the group. We spent two nights in Windsor and three nights each in Stratford-upon-Avon, Wales and Keswick plus a night in Manchester.

Generally, the itinerary was well planned...

March 2015 issue | Appears on page 27

Guide in Constanța

By Ann Cyr

While my husband and I were on a “Black Sea Treasures” cruise with Oceania Cruises in May 2014, a fellow passenger we met through Cruisecritic.com organized a day trip to Constant¸a, Romania.

The cost was $85 per person for our group of 10, which did not include tips for the driver and our guide, Ecaterina (Caterina) Patrichi (phone 407 248 72518, ecaterina.patrichi@gmail.com).

Caterina was excellent. She showed us many of Constant¸a’s highlights, with (included in the trip) a...

March 2015 issue | Appears on page 27

Baltics with Gate 1

By Amy Romano

My husband and I took the “10-day Classic Baltics & Warsaw” tour with Gate 1 Travel (Fort Washington, PA; 800/682-3333, www.gate1travel.com), April 29-May 8, 2014.

I’m a travel agent, but this was not a discounted tour in any way, as we paid full rate, so my review is as a traveler with an eye on what I would recommend to my clients.

We were so pleased with the 4-star hotels and their locations in Old Town squares, where most of the historical sites were.

We mostly...

March 2015 issue | Appears on page 28

Everest flight a highlight

By Gail Ellestad

I read the subscriber’s article about driving to Everest Base Camp, “To Mt. Everest and Beyond” (Dec. ’14, pg. 44). He and his wife went to the northern side of the mountain in Tibet, China. The route they took was similar to one we drove in Tibet in 2000, and a lot of it was neither scenic nor historic.

In the fall of 2009, I visited the southern base area of Everest, in Nepal, and I felt that the flight to Lukla, Namche and Tengboche was the best part of the trip.

With about...

March 2015 issue | Appears on page 28

Everest Base Camp in Tibet

By Emmy Allgood

Bob Henson’s article about his May 2014 visit to the Everest Base Camp (EBC) on the Tibet side of the Himalayas (Dec. ’14, pg. 44) brought back memories of my own visit there.

His description of the terrain and the cold, relentless wind are what my sister, Yarka Cleary, and I experienced as well in August-September 2010. (Regarding my age, let’s just say that Yarka, who is 2½ years younger, is a grandmother.) However, I was surprised Mr. Henson didn...

March 2015 issue | Appears on page 45

Ireland in a wheelchair with CIE

By Jack Rine

My wife, Jackie, and I, along with another couple, took a 10-day bus tour of Ireland in early September 2014 with CIE Tours (US office in Morristown, NJ; 800/243-8687, www.cietours.com). It was fantastic!

We booked the trip through Bethany Travel (Millsboro, DE; 800/806-8747, www.dreamvacationinc.com). I don’t recall the total cost.

As a wheelchair user for 47 years and a paraplegic, I’ve found that overseas travel can provide obstacles and challenges.

Our tour of...

March 2015 issue | Appears on page 45

Accessible transport in London

By Kathy Wilhelm

I was very impressed by Kathryn Tisdale’s description of her Europe trip and her tips for the mobility impaired (Jan. ’15, pg. 18). However, I do have a couple of related suggestions for London, which I last visited in December 2014.

I avoid the hop-on, hop-off buses. They’re expensive, they have no shelter on the top deck and, from reports I’ve read, it sounds like you can sometimes wait a long time.

Instead, I recommend using the buses of Transport for London (www.tfl.gov.uk/...

March 2015 issue | Appears on page 45

Multiple-entry China visa

By David Williams

In January I picked up my new 10-year China visa, which has unlimited-entry privileges. It is my understanding that all 10-year visas allow multiple entries into China*.

Incidentally, my new visa was procured through Lisa O’Brian at Universal Passports & Visas (Dallas, TX; 800/831-2098, www.universalpassportsandvisas.com).

I have used them before, for a visa for India, and got very efficient and fast service. The cost of my China visa included a fee of $140 plus $50 to...