International Travel News

Travelers' Intercom

February 2015 issue | Appears on page 27

Expected single bed in cabin

By William Suter

Years ago, I took a really outstanding Vantage Deluxe World Travel cruise from the Black Sea to Amsterdam with my wife, prior to losing her. On the strength of that experience, in late October 2013 I booked a spring 2014 tour and cruise in northern Portugal with Vantage. I booked it, myself, by phone, since Vantage doesn’t accept travel agent bookings.

The basic program was a 6-day bus tour from Lisbon to Oporto (Porto) plus a 7-day cruise on the Douro River aboard the MS Douro Spirit...

February 2015 issue | Appears on page 28

Hurricane Odile ordeal

By Barbara Ransford

My husband, James, and I arrived at the lovely Hilton Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort (Carretera Transpeninsular Km. 19.5, Los Cabos, BCS, Mexico 23447; 877/354-1399, www.hilton loscabos.com) on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2014. We enjoyed a fabulous week’s sojourn and were scheduled to fly home the evening of Monday, Sept. 15.

On Sunday evening, Sept. 14, Hurricane Odile hit with a vengeance. Winds reached over 130 mph, ripping tiles off the hotel roof, downing huge palm trees and...

February 2015 issue | Appears on page 29

Marnella Tours for South America

By Mary K. Taylor

For trips to South America, I have used Marnella Tours (Raleigh, NC; 866/993-0033 or 919/782-1664, www.marnellatours.com) four times.

I’ve found everyone at Marnella Tours to be polite and responsive to my needs. The company knows South America so well that I’ve never been disappointed in their choices of ground operators.

Marnella Tours arranged a trip to Brazil for my husband and me in 2006 that included an Amazon River cruise, Iguazú Falls, a few days in the mining area and...

February 2015 issue | Appears on page 30

Chiapas with Traditions Mexico

By Lilla Wise

My husband and I love to travel in Mexico, with its combination of ruins, colonial cities, regional food, art and celebrations. We weren’t familiar with Chiapas, Mexico’s southernmost state, but a summary of a 10-day, 9-night tour sounded interesting, so we took the “Cultura Maya Roots & Celebration” tour with Traditions Mexico (Oaxaca, Mexico; phone 011 52 [951] 571 3695, www.traditionsmexico.com), March 22-31, 2014.

Itinerary features included the...

February 2015 issue | Appears on page 31

Armenia and Georgia

By Judy Mattlin

I have long been an admirer of James Tufenkian via articles published in design magazines. He has partially restored Armenia’s rug industry and is now building hotels in his homeland. In September ’13, my daughter, Amanda, and I vacationed in Armenia.

Amanda ordered our visas online ($10 each). We stayed first at the Yerevan Tufenkian Hotel (48 Hanrapetutyan Str., Yerevan 0001, Armenia; phone +374 60 50 10 30, www.tufenkianheritage.com), which cost $120 a night through Hotels.com. The...

February 2015 issue | Appears on page 32

McComb’s in Northern Ireland

By Dave and Joan Gwynn

For a 12-day cruise around the British Isles, in Southampton, England, we boarded the Ruby Princess of Princess Cruises (Santa Clarita, CA; 800/774-6237, www.princess.com) on Aug. 24, 2014. The cruise and ports of call all were very good.

In Belfast, Northern Ireland, we took an excellent bus tour up to the Giant’s Causeway via the Antrim Coast and ended with a tour of the city on our return. The price of the 7½-hour tour was £25 (near $39) for each of us.

The tour company we...

February 2015 issue | Appears on page 32

ToursByLocals port guides

By Steve Drosman

Planning for a Black Sea cruise, Sept. 22-Oct. 2, 2014, my wife, Barbara, and I weren’t interested in tours arranged by the ship, as the number of people in each group would preclude any individual attention. After speaking to a number of people, we learned about ToursByLocals.com (1112 W. Pender St., Ste. 500, Vancouver, BC, V6E 2S1, Canada; 866/844-6783, www.toursbylocals.com).

We used their guides for day tours in Nessebur, Bulgaria; Constant¸a and Bucharest, Romania, and Trabzon...

February 2015 issue | Appears on page 33

‘Excellent guide’ in Venice

By Martha Lance

As part of a 5-week trip to Malta and Italy in May-June 2014, my husband, Leroy, and I hired a guide in Venice for one day.

We had enjoyed the better-known sites on previous trips and wanted to see areas less frequented by tourists. Friends recommended Rosemary (Ziggy) Vanett (ziggyit2@hotmail.com), an American who has lived in and guided guests in Venice for many years. She was unavailable the day we needed her, but she recommended a colleague by the name of Jennifer Barrington (...