Arthur's Blog: Travel Show Listener Q&A

The questions posed to my daughter and myself by listeners to The Travel Show every Sunday (noon to two, wor710.com) are not simply of interest to the people asking them, but have a broader significance, in my view, by exposing the travel concerns that large numbers of people have. I'm quoting a number of them, in the hope that these will prompt dealing with those concerns.

Q. You have several times cited the travel warnings (against going to particular countries) of the British Foreign Office. How do we access those warnings? 

A. Go to fco.gov.uk/travel. A great many people regard these British reports as superior to those of our own State Department, in terms of the clarity with which they are stated.

Q. We've been told that an Italian firm named "Adventure Belissime" is excellent to use for a trip we are planning to Venice. Are they reliable? 

A. The only way you will be able to answer that question is by requesting references from that company -- the names and phone numbers of other American travelers who have used them in the past. In this way, you follow the same course as if your were choosing a dentist or an accountant. You ask for references in any number of these travel situations.

Q. Is there Wi-Fi in India? 

A. The big hotels in India have Wi-Fi to the same extent as any large hotel anywhere in the world would have Wi-Fi.

Q. Who shall I use for obtaining an air-and-land package to Hawaii? 

A. PleasantHolidays.com is the largest tour operator to Hawaii and has a broad range of well-priced air-and-land packages.

Q. We'd like to rent a vacation home for our stay in [and here they name a resort area in the sunbelt]. Whom shall we contact? 

A. The largest source is Homeaway.com, but FlipKey.com is coming on big, as is EndlessVacationRentals.com.

Q. I'm taking a group of 20 girls from Newark to Orlando, and back. An agent we've consulted claims that $985 per person is the least we can pay for round-trip airfare. 

A. Change travel agents.

Q. We had planned to visit our son, who is working in Thailand, by taking a flight there via Tokyo. But our son claims there are unacceptable levels of radiation in Tokyo. 

A. If there were, hundreds of thousands of affluent Japanese would have emigrated from Tokyo, but they haven't. Draw the right conclusion.

Q. Our daughter, who is engaged to be married, wants to register for a trip with a firm that accepts wedding gifts of cash to be used towards their honeymoon. Can you recommend anyone? 

A. A great many such companies (and local travel agents) perform that function. Try TravelersJoy.com for starters.

Q. Does anyone in the U.S. operate cheap, legal trips to Cuba? 

A. Cheap? No. But YMT Vacations (tel. 800/922-9000) has the least costly packages to Havana, including round-trip airfare there from Miami.

Q. Do I buy Euros in advance of a trip to Europe, or once there? 

A. Once there. The exchange rates here are horrendously unfavorable, and beyond that you don't want to be walking about with large amounts of cash. Use your ATM card (and four-digit pin number) to obtain Euros once there, and take out only a small amount at a time.

Q. How far in advance should we book airfares in order to get the cheapest price? 

A. Experts differ, to the same extent as financial experts differ over buying bonds versus stocks. Some say six weeks in advance. Others recommend three and a half months for domestic fares, and five and a half months for international ones. There's unanimity that you don't book them longer than the above periods in advance, and you certainly don't book them just a couple of weeks in advance.

Q. We're in our 40s. Can we stay at low-cost hostels in Europe? 

A. Absolutely, and a great many people of all ages do so. For a large array of hostels from which to choose, go to HostelWorld.com, Hostels.com or Hostelz.com.

Q. I have been booked for several months for a trip to China/Tibet, but Tibet has now been closed out to us, and the city of Kunming substituted. Should I cancel? 

A. Kunming, like a great many other Chinese cities, has a population of some seven milloin persons, and is full of museums, theaters and colorful malls. It's in a zone of moderate climate, and will afford you a unique view of a typical Chinese metropolis.