International Travel News

Travelers' Intercom

July 2010 issue | Appears on page 49

Luggage lashing, take two

I work for an airline in the baggage service office and would like to respond to the reader’s observations regarding lashing bags together to save on extra-bag fees (May ’10, pg. 16).

When two bags are secured together to form one piece of luggage, there is only one bag tag or claim check issued, resulting in only one of the bags having the bag tag attached to it.

There are times when the method used to secure bags together fails and the bags end up being separated. It is next...

July 2010 issue | Appears on page 49

Guide to cruise ships

My wife, Gerry, and I have found the “Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships” by Douglas Ward (Berlitz Publishing, 800/432-6277 — $29.99) very useful. It is published annually.

In addition to rating a ship and its accommodations, food, service and entertainment, it offers a good insight into the passengers you are likely to find (general ages, whether they are mostly single or married or families with children, whether they care about entertainment versus lectures,...

July 2010 issue | Appears on page 49

Funniest Thing for July '10

Tell ITN about the funniest thing that ever happened to you while traveling in a foreign country. (ITN prints no info on destinations in the United States.) There are no restrictions on length. The ITN staff will choose each month’s winner, who will receive a free one-year subscription to ITN. Entries not chosen cannot be acknowledged.

This month’s winner is NED JOHNSON of Seneca, South Carolina:

On a trip to Kenya, a van picked us up from the airport and was taking us through...

July 2010 issue | Appears on page 60

A special place — Dar Said in Sidi Bou Said

We couldn’t have picked a better place for our first four nights in Tunisia than the Dar Said (Rue Toumi, Sidi Bu Said, Tunisia; www.darsaid.com.tn), a small, elegant boutique hotel with rooms set around small courtyards.

No two rooms are alike, but all are smartly decorated with lots of Tunisian touches. Some have views of the hotel garden and the Gulf of Tunis beyond.

The hotel’s superb Dar Zarrouk Restaurant is just across the street. The price for dinner for two, soup to...

July 2010 issue | Appears on page 72

Cows in Lima

By Chloe Ryan Winston

During my November ’09 visit to Lima, Peru, the milk producers’ association had decorated the parks with bright, colorful statues of — what else? — cows! But they weren’t just any cows. These imaginative bovines existed as no real cows did. The sizes and shapes might have been realistic, but the creative colors were unlike any sported by typical cows. Cameras clicked as delighted visitors rambled from one cow to another, amid arguments over which cow was the...

June 2010 issue | Appears on page 11

Car from Jucy Rentals in NZ

We waited until we arrived in Auckland, New Zealand, to book our rental car in February ’10 and we’re so glad we did.

Because we did not want to rent two separate cars to cover both the North and South Islands, a local tour office suggested an independent rental company operating in both Australia and New Zealand: Jucy Rentals (2-16 The Strand, Parnell, Auckland 1010, New Zealand; phone 0800 399 107 or, toll free from the US, 800/650-4180, www.jucy.co.nz).

Jucy was one of the...

June 2010 issue | Appears on page 11

Bilbao vs. Madrid

For four exhilarating days, Dec. 11-14, 2009, I “basqued” in the élan of bodacious Bilbao. It was my fifth visit to that blossoming metropolis. Also a fifth visit, I stayed in Madrid, Jan. 4-11, 2010. While, I think, Madrid is getting by on its past, Bilbao has eagerly embarked on the future. For me, it is the most exciting and vital city in Spain.

Here’s an interesting contrast. Bilbao’s Museo de Bellas Artes (Plaza del Museo, 2, 48011 Bilbao, Spain; phone 94 439 60 60, www....

June 2010 issue | Appears on page 12

Swiss trains — DIY planning

I’m often asked to assist with travel plans in Switzerland because I grew up there, know the three languages and have been there at least once a year since 1981. Gene McPherson’s wonderful trip report, “Bicycling Switzerland and No. Italy” (March ’10, p. 32), brings to mind some points that I’d like to share.

Switzerland is expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. There are unbelievable bargains to be had when the European budget airlines fight it out with the high-speed trains. Also, in...