Travelers' Intercom

March 2012 issue | Appears on page 34

Your preferred ATM card?
My companion and I are looking around to find an ATM card that we can use abroad without incurring exorbitant foreign-transaction fees. We welcome our fellow ITN readers’ advice and expertise on this matter. Help!
March 2012 issue | Appears on page 47

Bolzano delights
Rooftops characteristic of those in Bolzano

Once a year, I travel to my favorite country: Italy. During my 2011 trip, I visited Bolzano, May 15-18.

Located very close to Austria, Bolzano is 70% German-speaking; the signs are in German, and the architecture is decidedly German. The town’s main attraction is the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology, home to “Ötzi the Iceman,” but the area has so much else to offer, especially if you like being outdoors. The mountainous setting is beautiful.

For me, part of Bolzano’s appeal...

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March 2012 issue | Appears on page 48

More comfort on long flight

We took a fascinating trip, called “Life Along the Mekong River by Barge,” with Road Scholar (Boston, MA; 800/454-5768), Sept. 27-Oct. 11, 2011.

Everything about the trip was perfect, but the air travel was a challenge: Atlanta-Los Angeles-Hong Kong-Ho Chi Minh City westbound and Siem Reap-Bangkok-Hong Kong-Los Angeles-Atlanta return.

Of course, the LAX-Hong Kong legs were the ordeals — 14½ and 13¼ hours, respectively. That’s why ITN readers may be interested in a strategy to...

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March 2012 issue | Appears on page 49

Dumped in Dublin
I enjoyed reading of the variety of ways air travelers get all their liquids and gels into a one-quart bag (<a href="/2011/05/managing-liquids-and-gels-carry-only">May ’11, pg. 40</a> & <a href="/2011/06/managing-liquids-and-gels-carry-only">June ’11, pg. 42</a>). I, too, travel this way and put whatever I need in little half-ounce sample containers and containers holding up to two ounces that I’ve bought at a travel store. I have traveled to Australia, China, Egypt and many places in Europe with no problem. However, at the end of a trip to Ireland in May ’10, my husband and I were going through security in the Dublin airport when the agent took my one-quart bag out of the bin and informed me that she was going to throw out all of the travel-sized containers.
March 2012 issue | Appears on page 49

Tour guide in South Africa

My wife, Nenko, and I have taken 14 tours and traveled extensively independently, and we have never met a finer guide than Ron McGregor, our guide on the 14-day trip “South Africa — Highlights and Safari” with smarTours (New York, NY; 800/337-7773).

Our trip, Aug. 23-Sept. 8, 2011, cost $2,999 per person (land and internal air) plus $899 each for a three-day extension to Victoria Falls. The itinerary included Johannesburg, Cape Town, Kruger National Park, Swaziland, Zululand, Soweto...

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March 2012 issue | Appears on page 50

Try Daily Market in Otavalo
Four blocks south of the Otavalo Craft Market is the Otavalo Daily Market. This is where locals food shop. It’s not as big as the Ben Thanh Market in Saigon, Vietnam (which we visited in 2009 and September 2011), but we felt it was well worth the visit.
March 2012 issue | Appears on page 50

Switzerland for scenery
No matter when I take a trip, I always seem to travel one week too late. Upon arriving at a B&B or hotel, the host asks, “And how are you enjoying your visit to (wherever)?” When I answer, “Fine, but I wish it weren’t raining so hard,” the response is, “You should have been here last week. It was beautiful.” I am sure it was, but even though I consider myself a professional tourist, I still haven’t figured out how to travel last week.
March 2012 issue | Appears on page 51

Handy, homey gift
My wife, Lyn, and I found that dish towels imprinted with the name of our city are great to give as gifts overseas, and towels indicating a foreign city or country are great to give as gifts back home.