Central America

by Rita Bocher; Wynnewood, PA

Despite the negative news coverage of the area, during the two months that my husband and I enjoyed in the delightful town of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, we felt safer than we probably would have in most US cities comprising 140,000 residents.

In Belize, the Ka’ana resort (P.O. Box 263, San Ignacio Town, Belize, Central America; phone, in US, 877/522-6221 or 305/735-2553) offers a private overnight stay for up to four guests in luxury tents at the base of a Mayan temple.

After all visitors have left, the guests will arrive at dusk for dinner cooked on a traditional Mayan stove and a tour of the site. After breakfast, the guests will take a boat to visit Mayan ruins across the lake.

by Fritz Oelrich; Stafford, Va.

8 days / 7 nights, through March 2013. Highlights: San José / Tortugeuro National Park to see howler monkeys, egrets and toucans / pre-Columbian ruins at Alma Ata Archaeological Park / have lunch with a Tico family / Arenal Volcano / thermal pools at Tabacon Hot Springs / walk suspension bridges through the treetops at Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. Land, from $1,450. Single supp., $150. Grand European Tours (Lake Oswego, OR; 877/622-9109).

My wife, Susan, has end-stage renal disease and needs to have dialysis treatments at least three times a week. My question for ITN readers is, ‘What are some travel packages on which this is possible?’

To get the ball rolling, I’ll tell you about a company we used for a cruise we took.

Re Lew Toulmin’s article “Tips on Last-minute Cruising” (April ’12, pg. 59), I also recently discovered and investigated a “last-minute cruise” listed on Vacations To Go (Houston, TX; 800/338-4962). With Silversea Cruises, the 17-day cruise, Jan. 10-27 2012, was from Fort Lauderdale through the Panama Canal to Valparaíso and Santiago, Chile.

At any of four luxury hotels in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, book three nights or more (including Dec. 21, 2012) and get the room for free on the night the Mayan calendar ends. If the world ends, the hotel will repay you double your money.

Rates run $350 per night, double, for a one-bed, one-bath condo to $1,130 for 3-bed/3-bath with views. Contact Condo Hotels Playa del Carmen (866/479-2738). Festivities, Mayan ceremonies, tours and performances are planned.

Tell ITN about the funniest thing that ever happened to you while traveling in a foreign country. (ITN prints no info on destinations in the United States.) There are no restrictions on length. The ITN staff will choose each month’s winner, who will receive a free one-year subscription to ITN. Entries not chosen cannot be acknowledged.

This month’s winner is SHEILA MONK of Richland, MO: