International Travel News

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December 2009 issue | Appears on page 52

Luggage tagging

My husband, Ed, and I always have an ID on our suitcase carrying handle plus another luggage tag taped onto either the bag or on the pull-behind handle. Why two luggage tags? In case our luggage is lost and one tag has been pulled off, there is still another one to be read.

As we are leaving home, on each ID we put our name and the name and address of our first location abroad. We do not want our luggage going back to our house when we are in, say, Russia.

For our return trip,...

December 2009 issue | Appears on page 52

Rail fares lower in person

I read the subscriber’s letter “Venice to Munich by Train” (Aug. ’09, pg. 40) lamenting the fact that, for a first-class DB Bahn rail ticket from Bolzano to Munich, she paid €93 by ordering it while in the US instead of getting it in Italy for €75.

For people leaving from Italy, I found a bargain train fare called “Smart Fare” (aka “Smart Price”) offered by Trenitalia (www.trenitalia.it). I used it in May ’08 and paid only €29 to go from Milano all the way to Geneva, Switzerland, on a...

December 2009 issue | Appears on page 53

Sarchi mini-carts

My wife, Kathy-Lee, and I enjoyed the Costa Rica story by Jeanette Dewey (Sept. ’09, pg. 20), as it brought back memories of our 10-day trip with Caravan Tours in April ’08.

One thing not mentioned about the town of Sarchi is that you can buy any size ox cart and have it shipped to you by the factory Fábrica de Carretas Chaverri (Box 19-4150, Sarchí, Costa Rica; phone [506] 2454-4411 or 4412, fax 4944 or visit http://sarchicostarica.net).

Ours measures 20 by 23 by 39 inches....

December 2009 issue | Appears on page 80

Dazu Wheel of Life

Dazu was one of the stops on our fabulous month-long trip to China with China Focus Travel (San Francisco, CA; 800/868-7244, www.chinafocustravel.com) in August ’07.

The Dazu Rock Carvings have eluded the ravages of war, purges and treasure hunters, the vivid carvings still standing to relate stories culled from Taoist, Confucian and Buddhist beliefs.

Among the outstanding carvings is the Wheel of Life (pictured above; photo by Claude Hansen), in which a giant, toothy...

November 2009 issue | Appears on page 12

Buying Paris Métro and bus tickets

I have had an apartment in Paris for more than 25 years and spend about 20 weeks a year there, making several visits each year, most recently in September ’09. Lately, as I reported (June ’09, pg. 14 & Aug. ’09, pg. 57), the manned ticket counters for the Métro are being replaced by ticket-dispensing machines which, even for the locals, are difficult to understand.

I thought ITN readers might appreciate being taken, step by step, through the process of purchasing Métro and bus...

November 2009 issue | Appears on page 13

Tel Aviv’s Bauhaus architecture

Having just arrived at Ben Gurion International Airport outside Tel Aviv, Israel, I found that I had an afternoon at leisure before rushing off to see such ancient sites as Capernaum, Qumran and Masada with General Tours, Nov. 4-11, 2008. Fortunately, I had an Eyewitness Travel guide to “Jerusalem and the Holy Land” that mentioned Tel Aviv’s so-called “White City,” designated a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site in 2003.

Tel Aviv is reputed to have over 4,000 buildings in the New...

November 2009 issue | Appears on page 14

On buying an extra seat

I’m writing in response to the news item “Passengers of Size Pay Double” (July ’09, pg. 23), on United Airlines.

Before I started flying in business class in my older years, I found that when my wife and I booked bargain fares in economy class, buying a third seat was far less costly than flying in the forward cabin, yet it provided significantly increased comfort, especially on long flights.

United calls it EXST (extra seat), and for a long time they would not offer mileage...

November 2009 issue | Appears on page 16

Arrangements for Greece

After staying with friends in a villa in Spain (Oct. ’09, pg. 12), my wife, Betty, and I flew on April 10, 2008, from Valencia to Athens via Rome on Alitalia, with our scheduled arrival in Athens quite late. Our friend Jan, a retired airline executive living in Kansas, flew from Valencia on another carrier.

A word about low-cost airlines — portions of our itinerary involved flying within Europe, and we found a site online, www.whichbudget.com, which shows, worldwide, who flies where...