Travelers' Intercom

April 2012 issue

Southern Africa with OAT

I took the “Ultimate Africa: Botswana, Zambia & Zimbabwe Safari,” April 28-May 17, 2011, with Overseas Adventure Travel, or OAT (Cambridge, MA; 800/493-6824), visiting Chobe National Park and the Okavango Delta in Botswana; Kafue National Park in Zambia, and Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. It was 18 days from start to finish, 16 in Africa.

The southern region of Africa felt very relaxed, with none of the turmoil of the north. I found no anti-American slogans and, in fact, was most warmly welcomed everywhere.

Botswana is rapidly growing in popularity as a...

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March 2012 issue

Your preferred ATM card?
My companion and I are looking around to find an ATM card that we can use abroad without incurring exorbitant foreign-transaction fees. We welcome our fellow ITN readers’ advice and expertise on this matter. Help!
June 2004 issue

It seemed no shuttle was forthcoming

We travel frequently and always use the local SuperShuttle for travel to the airport. SuperShuttle always tries to get us to make a reservation for our return home. For a December ’02 trip, we did make a return reservation since we were flying back to John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California; that regional airport closes at night, so we wanted to insure a trip home.

I had a reservation number and confirmed same before we left on our trip. Upon our arrival back at the airport, we went to the Ground Transportation Center where there were numerous shuttles. A SuperShuttle...

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June 2011 issue

Manila Hotel
The museum room at the Manila Hotel.

On a trip to the Philippines in late October 2010, my husband, John, and I stayed at the Manila Hotel for four nights. We stayed in the old hotel, opened in 1912 and full of history, and the whole experience was wonderful. A string ensemble played nightly in the lobby. It’s connected to a more modern tower hotel, but we loved the older charm, elevator, etc. Our room, with beautiful mahogany doors and woodwork, had two small balconies and faced the street and a park. It was difficult to contact the hotel directly, so I went through Hotels.com and got a deal at around $130 a night,...

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June 2004 issue

The Bay of Naples
The Bay of Naples.

On a 2002 Mediterranean cruise aboard Holland America Line’s Noordam, Naples was the last stop of our 10-day journey.

We’d been to Naples many times but had not really visited the city. Rather, it was a jumping-off point for visits to Capri, Sorrento, the Amalfi coast, Pompeii and Herculaneum.

We fell in love with this picture-perfect city, with the gorgeous spectacle of the Bay of Naples (above) in azure Mediterranean splendor.

MINEKO McCLURE Fairmont, WV

August 2004 issue

Handicapped-accessible travel

In June’s “Boarding Pass,” on page 121, Carol Vorchheimer’s plea for handicapped-accessible-travel outfits struck a note with us.

• Yes, shore excursions on cruises can be a problem (as we found on our April ’04 trip in Brazil), but the America West Steamboat Company (2101 Fourth Ave., Ste. 1150, Seattle, WA 98121; phone 800/434-1232) was so great in Alaska last year, we planned a trip with them on the Columbia River this summer.

• If you want the extreme in accessible ships, try a tall ship trip with Jubilee Sailing Trust (Hazel Road, Woolston, Soton, SO19 7GB, U.K.; phone +...

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February 2012 issue

Be aware in Argentina

On Nov. 30, 2011, while visiting the beautiful “Paris of South America,” as Buenos Aires is justly called, members of our tour group went exploring on their own. At around noon, one couple was waiting at an intersection to cross Avenida 9 de Julio, with many other Argentineans around, when the woman’s purse was grabbed. The thief got money and a copy of her passport (she had left the original in the hotel room’s safe). Another couple was going down to take the subway when a similar incident took place. In this case, the woman had some kind of money pouch inside her bra, but the assailant...

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January 2012 issue

Timor-Leste visit

A friend and I visited Baucau, Timor-Leste (East Timor), May 27-June 4, 2011. Timor-Leste uses the US dollar as currency.

In Baucau, I would avoid New Town. Because of high unemployment, shacks, crowds and no tourist sites, it “felt dangerous” to us. We recommend staying one night in Villa Antigua (Old Town) and two nights at the beach. Reservations weren’t necessary.

In Baucau, Pousada de Baucau (phone +670 724 1111) in Villa Antigua is the luxury traveler’s only option. It has all the modern conveniences and English is spoken.

We didn’t...

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