International Travel News

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August 2015 issue | Appears on page 49

Passport pages tip

By Philip Wagenaar

When I handed my passport to the Immigration officer at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands in May 2014, I requested he put a stamp on a page that had already been used.

“The page is full,” the agent said. “I can’t put a stamp on top of a stamp.” So he turned the leaf and put a stamp smack in the middle of one of the blank pages, taking up an entire page that also could have been used for a visa or other stamps.

I decided to try to beat the travel officials at their own game. I...

August 2015 issue | Appears on page 50

Wednesday’s fares

By Ken Sherman

I read the item about Sunday being the best day of the week on which to buy a domestic airline ticket most cheaply (June ’15, pg. 58).

I go to California at least four times a year to see my kids, traveling round trip between Newark, New Jersey (EWR), and Los Angeles (LAX) using United Airlines. I have consistently found Wednesdays to be the best day to buy a ticket at the lowest price.

In the previous issue, I read that the best time to buy a domestic airline ticket most...

August 2015 issue | Appears on page 51

Sleepless flight

During an overnight flight on Air France from Houston to Paris on Dec. 14, 2014, my husband and I were in the economy-class section trying to sleep. However, the young ladies in the seats in front of us were talking all night.

Is it the cabin crew’s role to tell passengers to be quiet? Or is this just an inevitable hazard related to the crowded nature of air travel?

Since we rely on ITN as a forum for anecdotal experience in travel, I am interested in how other travelers have...

August 2015 issue | Appears on page 51

Snorkeling with Coral Triangle

By Linda & Peter Beuret

We enjoyed immensely Brenda Milum’s letter “Finding Good Snorkel Sites” (May ’15, pg. 28). We also snorkel around the world and have been to many of the places she described.

Two fine snorkel guides she mentioned, Lee Goldman and Ethan Daniels, recently formed the company Coral Triangle Adventures (El Cerrito, CA; 510/919-0540, https://coraltriangleadventures.com). They lead snorkel tours to places such as Papua New Guinea, Palau and Indonesia’s Spice Islands (the Maluku Islands),...

July 2015 issue | Appears on page 14

Bolivian visa fees

By Tony Leisner

When my wife and I passed from Puno, Peru (on Lake Titicaca), to Bolivia in a tour bus on May 7, 2015, we learned that group members each could get a single-entry, 30-day visa at the border for $55 cash. (They accept only very new US currency with no wrinkles or tears.)

The visa application can be expedited by preparing in advance, as my wife and I did. The authorities ask for a formal sworn affidavit, which we had filled in and printed in advance, along with a standard 2-by-2-inch...

July 2015 issue | Appears on page 14

Preparing for Iceland

By Diane Harrison

Iceland is a beautiful country that is very affordable in the winter, but the weather can change quickly. When my parents and I traveled there independently, Feb. 21-25, 2015, we had three days of gale-force winds and two days of significant snow, but we made the most of our vacation due to careful pre-trip preparation. Here are a few travel tips.

• Wear good walking shoes. They’re essential. In the snow, slush and ice, most travelers wore boots.

If you plan to visit the...

July 2015 issue | Appears on page 15

South Caucasus comparisons

By Ada Green

I took the tour “Discover the Caucasus: Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan,” Sept. 3-23, 2014, with Original World (San Rafael, CA; 888/367-6147, www.originalworld.com).

The 21-day program cost $5,255 plus a single supplement of $1,322 and, since the group had fewer than six people, a surcharge of $1,045 each.

That group tour was preceded by a 6-day/5-night private tour of the Republic of Georgia’s western section, Aug. 29-Sept. 3, arranged at a cost of $4,395 by...

July 2015 issue | Appears on page 26

Hurtigruten’s dinner beverages policy

By Bob Havlen

To view the northern lights, my wife, Carolyn, and I took a 12-day/12-night round-trip “Norwegian Coastal Voyage” out of Bergen aboard the MS Trollfjord of Hurtigruten (Bellevue, WA; 866/552-0371, www.hurtigruten.com), Nov. 20-Dec. 1, 2014. The sky show and the beauty of coastal Norway did not disappoint.

We booked the cruise through Hurtigruten’s website, paying $2,449 per person, double, for a slightly upgraded N-Class outside cabin on the fourth deck of the 9-deck ship. We...