My husband, Steve Mullen, and I took an action-packed independent trip to India, Nov. 14-Dec. 14, 2017, taking in the Golden Triangle of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, with additional visits to Shimla, Mumbai, Goa and Aurangabad. I’d like to share some travel tips.

Steve did much of the preplanning, shaping a rough itinerary and making initial flight and lodging reservations. We found it helpful to have a contact in India, and, for travel planning and assistance, I highly recommend...

For a local guide or driver in southern Italy, I highly recommend Private Tours of Southern Italy, or PTSI (Via Strettola S. Vincenzo, 80067 Sorrento, Italy; phone, in the US, 516/532-9482 or, in Italy, +39 338 6223980, www.amalficoastdrivers.com).

Four of us used this company to book a private, full-day tour of the Amalfi Coast. We did this a couple of months ahead of our tour, which started on May 14, 2018. It included stops at Positano, Amalfi and Ravello. The tour was outstanding...

My wife, Bonnie, and I have taken a number of cruises, including going with Princess Cruises to Alaska in 1997 and to New England and Canada in 2008 and with Norwegian Cruise Line around Hawaii in 2005. We particularly enjoy Holland America Line and cruised with them on a 4-month, around-the-world cruise in 2012, for 68 days around South America in 2015, on a 48-day South Pacific cruise in 2016 and on a 28-day transatlantic cruise, including the Norwegian fjords, in 2017. In 2018, we did an...