My wife, Nancy, and I took the “Egypt & the Nile Tour with Jordan Extension,” Jan.12-29, 2016, with Go Ahead Tours (Cambridge, MA; 800/597-0350, www.goaheadtours.com). The cost for each of us was $4,500, which included airfare from Kansas City to Cairo via Zürich, with the return by way of Amman, Jordan. There were 24 people in our group during the Egyptian part of our tour, and 10 took part in the Jordan extension. Our Egyptian tour director, Amr, an Egyptologist, not only...

There were four of us who wanted to take several taxi trips in Athens, Greece, over three days in mid-October 2015 before heading to our ship to embark on a cruise. The taxi service we hired was John’s Yellow Cab (phone +30 694 447 5706, www.athens-taxi.net). When we arrived at the airport, John Grivogiannis met us with a sign showing our name and we were driven into town, a service for which he charged €45 (near $49). Since the fixed fare for standard taxis from the airport to...

I spent four nights in Tokyo in July 2015 on my annual world trip. After collecting my checked bag from the carousel at Narita International Airport, I walked into the lobby, where there are signs for different types of transportation. I wanted the Friendly Bus (yes, that’s its name). 

A ticket for a ride into the city cost $40. The bus departs almost every hour from just outside the airport lobby. It’s very well marked, and there are people who speak a bit of English...