Travelers' Intercom | International Travel News

May 2009 issue

‘Mind the gap!’

ITN readers who have ridden the London Underground and trains are familiar with the unending “Mind the gap” announcements at each station and the weak jokes associated with them. I even have an English postcard with “Mind the gap” printed on it in big black letters.

While on a port stop during a cruise in April ’08, my companion and I were returning by SNCF train from Paris to the Le Havre, France, terminus. We waited until the crowd had left the train, and as I stepped onto the station platform I was shocked to see someone wedged between the carriage and the platform. A woman’s...

September 2011 issue

Sans visa, no entry to Syria

From the Editor — Suzanne M. Stein of Chesterfield, Missouri, was partway through an Adventures Abroad tour of Iran, Syria and Jordan, Sept. 30-Oct. 31, 2010, when a paperwork problem forced her to leave the group. What travelers can do so the same thing never happens on any tour they’re taking is part of what I’ll cover here.

Ms. Stein wrote to ITN, “The morning of the group’s flight from Tehran, Iran, to Damascus, Syria, several of us with no Syrian visas in our passports became aware that we needed them. We were told to fly to Damascus anyway. Upon...

June 2011 issue

Cliffs of Rügen

Jasmund National Park, on the island of Rügen off Germany’s northeast coast, is noted for its chalk cliffs. We walked up a steepish path to Victoria-Sicht (Victoria’s View). Rising more than 400 feet from the sea, the impressive cliffs were glisteningly white in the afternoon sun.

ARTHUR & JEAN THOMAS Florham Park, NJ

February 2010 issue

Princess pirate drill

I was on the last voyage of Princess Cruises’ Tahitian Princess from Cape Town to Singapore, Oct. 18-Nov. 19, 2009. The ship went into dry dock when it reached Singapore, and it will come out as the Ocean Princess.

A sign of the times — when the ship left Madagascar, we were to sail to Seychelles and then Muscat; however, Captain Stefano Ravera informed us that because of the most recent pirate activities north of Seychelles, we would not call at Port Victoria there. For the safety of passengers and crew, we would sail farther east, then north to Muscat, avoiding the area.

...

November 2009 issue

Need a car for more than 30 days?

I am responding to the request for information on renting a car for more than 30 days (July ’09, pg. 31).

When we needed to have a car for more than 30 days in Italy in 2004, I found that the cheapest and best way was to lease. The lease included all costs, including 100% insurance coverage. There were no surprises. Of course, we paid for the gas and we needed to say if more that one person would be driving.

The car was new. It was “pick it up and drop it off,” no questions asked, and we decided where and when we wanted to pick it up and drop it off.

We had all the...

January 2010 issue

Railpass insurance

I write regarding the letter “Staged Distraction” from the gentleman whose railpass was stolen from his jacket on the seat (Nov. ’09, pg. 51).

First, railpasses, along with everything else of value, belong in a neck pouch or money belt except when the train conductor asks to see them!

Second, Rail Europe (phone, in US, 800/622-8600 or, in Canada, 800/361-7245, www.raileurope.com) sells railpass protection coverage.

My wife, Roberta, and I are going from New York to Cologne via Brussels on American Airlines on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26 (2009), and returning from Zürich...

March 2009 issue

Preparing for an Australia trip

My husband, Ray, and I took the “Ultimate Australia” tour with Overseas Adventure Travel (Cambridge, MA; 800/493-6824, www.oattravel.com). In selecting this tour, we had been interested only in small-group itineraries that would take us to, at a minimum, Melbourne, Kangaroo Island, Uluru (Ayers Rock), the Great Barrier Reef and Sydney.

Our OAT tour took place Oct. 18-Nov. 4, 2007, and the experience was superb. (In 2009, this 17-day tour starts at $4,295 with air from Los Angeles.) Our travel group was congenial and the guide was articulate and knowledgeable.

...

December 2009 issue

Bill shock in Dubrovnik

We had a surprise in Dubrovnik, Croatia, that hopefully others who read this can avoid. My husband took me out for a belated birthday dinner in May ’09 at Restaurant Nautica (Brsalje 3, 20 000 Dubrovnik, Croatia; phone +385 [0] 20 44 25 26), an excellent restaurant just outside the city walls. The view couldn’t have been better, with the dining terrace sandwiched between lit city walls and a fortress and with the blue Adriatic off to one side.

What we didn’t catch, being completely enticed by the setting, was that part of the menu was in kunas and part was in euros. Imagine our...