International Travel News

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October 2007 issue | Appears on page 0

Israel desert sights

Timna Park, in Israel, is huge; it reminded us of Big Bend National Park in Texas. It is the site of 6,000-year-old Egyptian copper mines. You can see the slag from the copper mines and the remains of the smelting ovens. It is also the site of nomads’ encampments and tabernacles that were erected by nomads in the desert.

The scenery is just breathtaking. There is a multimedia visitor center that explains everything you will see. (Park entry, ILS31 [$8] adult, ILS25, child. Write DN...

October 2007 issue | Appears on page 0

Fitting in with Tours of Provence

What immediately follows are two letters from ITN readers who each took a 2-week tour in France with Tours of Provence.

Seven seasoned travelers came together on June 30, 2006, for a much-anticipated 2-week immersion into the culture of Provence led by Rohan Hindman of Tours of Provence. Prior to arriving, we all were exhorted, by e-mails and phone calls, to read, understand and bring a document called “LeGuide,” prepared by our host.

The “LeGuide” itinerary for our day of...

October 2007 issue | Appears on page 0

Pines for a past Princess

My traveling companion Arlene and I took a one-week cruise aboard the Star Princess, Jan. 20-27, 2006. Our cruise was in the western Caribbean, departing from Ft. Lauderdale, but the ship travels worldwide. We paid $1,069 each, double occupancy.

We had taken two cruises on Princess ships many years ago. In 1989 we took a Mediterranean cruise on the Royal Princess, which was a spectacular vessel, and in 1991 we sailed the Sea Princess in the South China Sea — not quite so spectacular...

October 2007 issue | Appears on page 0

Australia coupon books

In response to the reader’s letter about using the Entertainment® Book for discounts in Australia (July ’07, pg. 14), I must caution travelers on my experience with Entertainment Publications.

In early spring 2006 I ordered coupon books for the cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Perth for a total of about $80. This price included a discount, since I had already bought the Sacramento coupon book.

My trip was planned for August ’06. Upon receipt of the books in late May, I took a...

October 2007 issue | Appears on page 0

Day tour from Cairo

Flamengo Travel & Tours has a branch in Cairo International Airport run by a pleasant man, Mr. Said Atia (phone 012 212 6291 or 224 3587, fax 586 1621… or at 1 a El Sherifein St., Cairo; phone/fax 023931044).

For an October ’06 trip, I had prebooked (but not paid ahead) with another tour company, whose representative did not show up at the airport at the scheduled time; in fact, they were an hour late. I then booked with Flamengo for a transfer from the airport and some guided...

October 2007 issue | Appears on page 0

Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef

My husband, Peter, and I joined 12 other snorkelers on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef for two weeks, Nov. 7-25, 2006, on a tour led by Ann Fielding of Island Explorations (Box 1107, Makawao, HI 96768; 808/572-8437, www.maui.net/~annf).

Ann, a marine biologist, organized the special trip for snorkelers because we all had been bugging her to do an “all snorkel” trip.

We all flew on our own into Gladstone, the jump-off point for Heron Island, and flew out of Cairns, the end point...

October 2007 issue | Appears on page 0

Guatemala insights

My wife and I took a great 2-week tour, “Guatemala: Land of Eternal Spring,” April 17-30, 2007, led by an exceptional director, the best we have had in our many years of travel. Sergio Garcia (not the Sergio Garcia), a full-blooded Maya, speaks excellent English and is well educated and extremely knowledgeable about his country and its extraordinary culture.

This tour was with Odysseys Unlimited (Watertown, MA), an agency that emphasizes in small-group travel. There were 14 in our...

October 2007 issue | Appears on page 0

Athens day tour

My wife, Margaret, and I, during a September ’05 trip to Greece, took a day tour of Athens with Dimitri from Spiros Taxi (Athens, Greece; phone 011 30 6944 285 686 or visit www.athenstaxi.net). Spiros himself was on vacation, but Dimitri turned out to be an able substitute who knew the area and its history and spoke excellent English.

Normally, Dimitri told us, he would take us to the Acropolis first, but because of an unfavorable weather forecast (which turned out to be erroneous) he...