Travel Tidbits

On a tour of South Africa arranged by Graham Maskell of Africa 2000, my husband and I stopped near Lambert’s Bay to investigate plantations of rooibos tea. This area provides the correct climate and proper sandy soil for the shrubs to produce the fine needle-like leaves, which are harvested, mulched, dampened and fermented before being cleaned, sorted and packaged for sale. The no-caffeine product is a pleasant “pick-me-upper” and makes a good, lightweight souvenir. — JACKIE BLACK, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada

During a cruise in Antarctica, we spent the afternoon at Petermann Island....

With a BritRail Pass, I feel it is better to buy the adult/economy pass rather than splurge on a first- class Senior Pass. You have more room in first, but you don’t meet the local people as readily. — JEAN GOSSE, Shoreline, WA

A mildly disappointing part of our March visit to Vietnam was the three nights we spent in Hoi An. Hoi An is a UNESCO World Heritage Site; unfortunately, most of the buildings house flashy tourist shops now and there was little of the original Old Quarter. It is definitely worth a visit, but I wouldn’t stay there too long. Fortunately, there was a number of...

I took the “Walking Women — Alpine Aspirations” tour, June 18-28, 2008, with Elderhostel (Boston, MA; 800/454-5768, www.elderhostel.org). The ground operator in Switzerland was European Walking Tours.

In our base, Engelberg, we stayed in the family-run Hotel Schweizerhof, which was a lovely place — clean and orderly. After learning to use our Nordic walking poles, we began our outings.

We visited the Swiss Open-Air Museum Ballenberg, where old-fashioned farms and other buildings have been brought from many cantons and reconstructed. It was like stepping back into history....