International Travel News

Travelers' Intercom

February 2007 issue | Appears on page 0

Menu translators

For some years I have watched travelers in restaurants in central and southern France, northern Italy and the islands of Corsica, Sicily and Sardinia both struggling with menus in a mysterious foreign language and failing to use any of a series of little paperbacks on eating and drinking in the country they are visiting. When I ask them if they have ever come across restaurant guides, the answer is consistently negative.

The little books I have listed below not only will take the...

February 2007 issue | Appears on page 0

Telestial cell phone

I am sharing with ITN readers my satisfaction with Telestial, Inc. (1804 Garnet Ave., Ste. 385, San Diego, CA 92109; phone 858/274-2686, fax 2757 or visit www.telestial.com), the international cell phone and prepaid phone card company. I’d say Telestial rates a 10 out of 10 for continuing customer support after purchase. Knowledgeable humans (!) assist politely and patiently. They even return calls.

I purchased my first mobile and international phone, one and the same, from Telestial...

February 2007 issue | Appears on page 0

Minimizing transaction fees

Julee Roth raises an important issue about the recent changes in banks, credit cards, ATMs and foreign currency transactions and the new fees (Dec. ’06, pg. 12).

Regarding currency transactions, two bad things happened on our visit to Tuscany in September-October ’04. Hertz processed our Italian rental car transaction in U.S. dollars instead of euros, at an unfavorable exchange rate. They called it “Dynamic Conversion,” claiming that it was for our “benefit.” When I asked that the...

February 2007 issue | Appears on page 0

For the most euros per dollar

I think I have found the best way to get the most for our dollar as it continually declines against the euro.

On a trip my wife and I took to Italy, Austria and Germany in October-November ’06, I carried a credit card, a debit card and just a few hundred euros in my pocket.

The debit card I used to get euros from ATMs. Because I have direct deposit from my work to the debit account, there were NO fees charged for these withdrawals. And when I got my statement from the bank, I...

February 2007 issue | Appears on page 0

Shipping wine in checked baggage

The recently created prohibitions for carrying liquid substances in carry-ons aboard airplanes makes shipping wine in hold baggage an exercise in creativity to prevent breakage, leakage or other calamities. On a November ’06 trip to the Mediterranean, I managed to get a bottle of wine home safely in hold baggage, but I held my breath until I opened the suitcase in which it had been secured.

In search of a better solution than the one I employed, I conducted a survey of currently...

February 2007 issue | Appears on page 0

Complejo Tango

My husband Don, and I attended a marvelous “tango lesson/dinner show” called Complejo Tango Cena-Show (Escuela de Baile-Canto-Musica, Av. Belgrano 2608, C1096AAQ, Buenos Aires, Argentina; phone [54] [0] 11 4941 1119, fax 43082106 or visit www.complejotango.com.ar) in Buenos Aires in January ’06. It was one of the best events of our 24-day trip to South America.

Our travel agent prearranged the evening, which costs $60. It included a hotel pickup and return. Our group was small, 10 to...

February 2007 issue | Appears on page 0

Facets of tour not as expected

Following is a letter sent by a reader to Pacific Delight Tours (formerly Pacific Delight World Tours), a copy of which was mailed to ITN. It concerns a 15-day tour of Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos, April 4-19, 2006. The cost without airfare was $1,843 per person.

Five years ago a friend and I took a 21-day trip to China with Pacific Delight Tours, and we have referred many other travelers to your company for your impeccable tours.

In April 2006, three of us took a...

February 2007 issue | Appears on page 0

Disappointed on QM2

This letter deals with a cruise to Mexico and Hawaii, areas that ITN does not cover, however the ports are not at matter but the ship itself, which makes voyages around the world. — Editor

My wife, Marge, and I took two back-to-back cruises on Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2: Los Angeles-Ensenada-Los Angeles, Feb. 22-25, 2006, and Los Angeles-Honolulu-Lahaina-Kona-Ensenada-Los Angeles, Feb. 25-March 8. The costs for our Category B hull balcony cabin were $2,657 for the three days and $5,...