Travelers' Intercom

A subscriber suggested using Matrix.itasoftware.com simply to find out which airline partners fly to particular destinations (“Mileage-award-ticket Secrets,” Dec. ’17, pg. 11). After using that site to determine which airlines fly to Panama City, Panama, and San José, Costa Rica, I then also checked out the airfare comparisons on that site, and I found them to be quite inaccurate. It seemed to always point me to Delta Air Lines. For other airlines, it listed prices much...

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In the letter titled “Traveler’s Power Strip” (Nov. ’17, pg. 49), a subscriber recommended packing the Simran SM-60 power strip with three universal outlets and surge-overload protection.

Someone who plans on taking a cruise, however, should be aware that, while there is no problem with simple multioutlet strips or extension cords, cruise lines do not allow ones that have surge protection because of the possibility of fire.

An article from 2013, which...

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I am a longtime resident of Cape Town, South Africa, and have the following suggestions for places to visit.

The V&A Waterfront (www.waterfront.co.za) is certainly worth a visit, and it now boasts the new Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (https://zeitzmocaa.museum), topped by an exceptional hotel, all in a redevelopment of what used to be grain silos — spectacular architecture.

Rugby football fans will enjoy the The Springbok Experience Rugby Museum (www....

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We saw Carter Lane, a block southwest of St. Paul’s Cathedral, on London Walks’ tour “Shakespeare’s and Dickens’ London — The Old City.” Photos by Stephen Addison

One of the highlights of each of the two most recent visits that my wife, Paula Owens, and I made to London (December 2015 and November 2017) was a walking tour with London Walks (London, England; phone 020 7624 3978, www.walks.com). 

As a veteran of many walking tours on several continents, I haven’t found a better walking-tour operator than this 50-year-old organization.

The concept is simple: tours run regardless of the weather, begin at a Tube-stop exit, last...

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From the Editor — ITN subscriber J. Roger Nowell of Seattle, Washington, related an experience that his wife and daughter had when they tried to have their luggage interlined (that is, have their bags moved from one airplane to another without having to claim and recheck them) between two British Airways flights, one from Nice, France, to London, England, and the second from London to Seattle.

Mr. Nowell wrote, “My daughter, Sara, made the reservations because she had 125,...

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Dennis and Jill Miller at the Great Wall.

My husband, Dennis, and I took an incredible customized trip to China arranged for us by Alick Peng (alick@odysseytours.net) of China Odyssey Tours (phone +86 15697730073, www.chinaodysseytours.com). We went to Beijing, Xi’an, Guilin and Shanghai, March 12-24, 2017. 

Mr. Peng arranged all of our guides (who spoke excellent English and took very good care of us), drivers (who were safe and punctual), activities (all of which went flawlessly), two flights within China (I wish...

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As part of a 3-week, self-planned trip to Northern Europe, my husband, Steve, and I traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia, staying only three days, Aug. 23-26, 2017. With our short stay, we wanted to maximize our time there, plus knowledgeable friends (from Russia and Bulgaria) strongly suggested arranging for a tour if we wanted to visit the State Hermitage Museum.

On Aug. 7, after visiting their website, I emailed Dancing Bear Tours (Bryantsev str. 18-67, St. Petersburg, 195269, Russia...

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My friend Dan and I went to Iceland in August of both 2016 and 2017, flying Delta from Minneapolis, with connections in Albany, New York.

For our last night in Iceland, we went to Keflavík, the town next to the airport. We took the airport bus for a round trip (about $42) and then at the airport took a taxi to Hotel Grasteinn (Bolafótur 11; hotel grasteinn.is/en/location), a nice, new hotel on the north end of town.

In 2016, the price there was $170, with breakfast included. In...

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