My wife and I spent 3½ weeks in Chile in January ’08. We had been there before and, in addition to wanting to explore new places, we had friends to visit, so we decided to design our own plan, but we needed help with reservations and logistics.

We called upon Scott Jones, longtime resident of Chile and director of Chilean Special Journeys (phone 888/345-6077, www.chileanspecialjourneys.com), which we found via an ad in ITN. Communication was easy because Scott, headquartered in...

Three friends and I took a thoroughly enjoyable brief trip to Scotland, Jan. 14-19, 2009. Our purpose was twofold: visit St. Andrews University in St. Andrews and spend two days in Edinburgh (where a delightful taxi driver referred to two of us as “Edinburgh virgins”).

The weather was cold, wet and windy, but the Scots were unfailingly friendly and helpful and the sights, beautiful. Even in just-under gale-force winds, Edinburgh Castle was a highlight to us though not to our umbrellas...

I was delighted to read of Randy Keck’s enjoyment of the Azores (April ’09, pg. 72 & May ’09, pg. 75). My husband, John, and I, traveled there March 31-April 6. Azores Express (800/762-9995, www.sata.pt) was our agency also. We paid $1,209 each for round-trip air from Boston, inter-island flights and six nights’ accommodations.

We visited the islands Terceira and São Miguel. We drove ourselves around each with a rented car but didn’t dare try navigating the central portions on our...