I took a tour of the Hokkaido University campus in Sapporo, Japan, Aug. 31, 2016. Participating with me on the guided tour were seven Japanese nationals and a man from Berlin, Germany. Flags were used to help us all stay together.The walk took about one-and-a-half to two hours. We each were provided a detailed map in English. Volunteers were also available to help guide in numerous languages.Hokkaido University was established in 1876 as Sapporo Agricultural College. It is a comprehensive...

I was a member of a group of five senior women who took Golden Tours’ “Simply Stonehenge Tour” on the morning of March 18, 2016. It cost $319 for all of us, or $63.80 per person. I booked the tour three months in advance on the company’s website. Stonehenge, itself, was awe-inspiring. Getting to and from it was a nightmare.As advertised, the bus picked us up at our hotel. However, it was already 40 minutes late by the time the tour guide on the pickup bus called...

When Quark Expeditions sent me information about a North Pole trip aboard a Russian nuclear icebreaker, it was the Murmansk stop that sold me. I remembered that during World War II, merchant mariners took chances sailing to that Russian port in the Arctic to deliver supplies to our Soviet allies.

I previously had a good experience with Quark Expeditions (Seattle, WA; 888/332-0008, www.quarkexpeditions.com) in the Antarctic. For this Arctic trip, I chose their least expensive fare ($26...