Having lived year-round in Mexico for the past 10 years and during the 10 winters before that, I was delighted to read Marvin Delavan’s appreciation of Mexico City (officially, Mexico, D.F.) in his article (April ’14, pg. 46). I regard it as one of the grandest of the 49 capital cities I’ve visited around the world.

Mr. and Mrs. Delavan paid $18 for a taxi from the airport into the city and $160 per night for their hotel, but travelers on a tighter budget can also enjoy the city. ...

Although Amsterdam is, in general, a very expensive city, you can eat out inexpensively if you know what you’re doing (just no lobster or steak). Each day of my stay there, Sept. 5-16, 2013, I ate my largest meal at lunch and just a light snack for dinner. 

One of my favorite things to eat in Amsterdam was their yogurt. It’s fantastic! I bought my excellent yogurt, apples and bananas at one of the four branches of Albert Heijn, a version of a supermarket, near my...

An efficient and economical way to visit the South Pacific islands is by cruise ship. You unpack once, and the per-diem cost is usually less than flying to these destinations and staying in a hotel. The downside is that, generally, you have less than a day in each port.

Twice a year, major cruise lines reposition their ships from summer runs in the northern climes to the South Pacific and Southeast Asia. In 2013, I took the repositioning voyage of the MS Volendam of Holland America...