My wife, Elizabeth, and I took a cruise in the Galápagos Islands, Dec. 9-18, ’05, visiting on average one new (volcanic) island a day. The ship, Polaris, and all its personnel were provided by Lindblad Expeditions. Arrangements for the trip, however, were beautifully made by Carol Larsen of Betchart Expeditions (Cupertino, CA; 800/252-4910). She is simply a joy to deal with and totally effective as a tour director/expedition manager.

At a cost of $4,180 each, the tour included...

I joined a 10-day “Imperial Cities” tour of Italy with Gate 1 Travel on Oct. 10, ’05. Our group of 26 had a superb tour guide, Ms. Flavia Sciubba (flaviasole@hotmail.com).

Very personable, accommodating and charming, with a wonderful sense of humor, Ms. Sciubba is fully qualified to share her fantastic knowledge of Italy with international travelers. Her English is flawless. She is very cultured music-wise and art-wise and was scheduled to exhibit her modern paintings in Rome. A...

When one goes to Buenos Aires, the culture one most experiences is the culture. Yes, there are fine museums and interesting structures. However, it is walking through the barrios, going to a tango salon and the theater, visiting the street markets and enjoying a great variety of wonderful food and wine that makes Buenos Aires such a delight.

On our December ’04 trip to Argentina’s capital, we watched tango being performed in tango salons, in theaters and in the streets and even took...