Features

April 2015 issue

A family of four tours the Netherlands with just a pack apiece
By Claudia Dantoin

The family that travels together, stays together. Such is the motto of the Dantoin family. Each summer, Mom and the four kids attempt a different international expedition. 

In preparation for each trip, we create a self-made itinerary, weaving in elements that include all of our interests while trying to live like locals in whatever country we happen to visit. Whether staying in a nunnery in Rome or enjoying breakfast with locals in a Paris boulangerie, we try to become natives. 

For our August 2014 trip, our team of five was to become four — Mom, Phillip,...

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May 2015 issue

Discovering Australia’s Arnhem Land
By Bill Reed

I had never heard of Arnhem Land until, quite out of the blue, Karolyn Wrightson of Essential DownUnder Travel (Asheville, NC; 877/977-4505, www.essentialdownunder.com) called and said, “I have a trip you can’t pass up!” 

Karolyn had set up previous trips to Australia and New Zealand for my wife, Betty, and me, so we were well acquainted with what she was able to assemble.

Arnhem Land 

To me, the name Arnhem Land did not mean much. It means a lot, however, to an Australian, and it means even more to an Aboriginal Australian.

A...

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July 2015 issue

Alternative London – finding treasures beyond the typical city sites
By Gerald Barnes

Many of the great cities of the world warrant multiple visits to discover all of their hidden gems. London is no exception. 

Despite visiting often, I still find exciting things to see and do. On a one-week visit in November 2014, I managed to see several museums and other sights that have been on my “to do” list for a long time. 

All these venues are an easy 15- to 20-minute walk from nearby Underground stations. Bletchley is about an hour’s journey by train from Euston Station, then a 10-minute walk.

The sites

Leighton House...

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August 2015 issue

Siem Reap to Saigon – a relaxing river cruise through Cambodia and Vietnam
By Rick Sinding

In contemplating a trip to Southeast Asia, there are few adventures more alluring than taking a slow boat down the Mekong River. Standing atop the breezy deck of a comfortable, modern riverboat as it cruises past lush rice fields, towering palm trees and lazy fishing villages affords one of those rare experiences that simultaneously relaxes the body while energizing the mind.

When my wife, Arlene, and I started preparing for our 2015 Southeast Asia trip several months in advance, we knew we wanted to spend one of our travel weeks on the lower Mekong, sailing from Siem Reap in...

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September 2015 issue

Enjoying village accommodations and spectacular underwater sights on a trip to Indonesia’s Raja Ampat islands
By Ann Cabot

In my extensive travels, my goal is always to find unique cultural experiences. When planning my January 2015 trip to Indonesia, I discovered just such an experience: the opportunity to stay in a traditional Papuan island village. Such a stay would offer accommodations in private bungalows and the chance to interact with locals, view exotic wildlife and swim over the most diverse coral reefs in the world.

Some of my family members, ages 42 to 70, were enthusiastic, so we chose three villages to visit and headed to Raja Ampat, a collection of remote South Pacific islands located in...

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October 2015 issue

There’s always more to see in Paris!
By Margo Wilson

After six visits to Paris over 42 years, the last of which was in 2010, I announced that I was “done” with Paris. But when my husband, Thom, and I were scheduled to begin a river cruise in Paris in April 2015, I couldn’t resist adding on three days at the beginning of our trip. 

Then my research began. What could we do that we hadn’t done before? What was new or different? 

Consulting my bulging file of articles culled from magazines and travel sections of the paper, I read about macarons, about Paris’ best pâtisseries and about some...

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November 2015 issue

Focusing on Guatemala’s ‘living Maya’
By Ken Mallory

The thump of bus tires on cobblestone streets announced our arrival in the city of Antigua, Guatemala. Six miles to the south, Volcán de Agua peered shyly through its cloud cover, reminding visitors that this is a land of volcanoes and welcoming our small photo-tour group to the Highlands of Guatemala, where our leader, Jim Cline of Jim Cline Photo Tours (San Diego, CA; 877/350-1314, jimclinephototours.com), promised to show us its remarkable landscape and share a more intimate view of a Mayan culture he called “the living Maya.”

Antigua

On arrival by chartered...

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June 2014 issue

Cuba – a long weekend in Old Havana
By Bob Henson
A people-to-people tour allows a chance to interact with the locals and see, firsthand, the efforts being made to restore the cityscape of Havana