What People SAY About TERC and our Different Services & Free Trip Planning Service     

about Trip Planning                                           about Rail and Reservations                                             about Safety, Accommodations, Packing,  etc!

    You will see below, we don't "just sell railpasses and tickets".  We also provide answers to your specific travel concerns.

Aloha, Mele--Just reporting in that our trip to Europe was fantastic, truly the dream we'd hoped for and then some. Just a quick "thank you" for all you did to help us arrange the Eurail and Britrail passes and airport connections in London, Eurostar, etc. for our travels. Everything worked out just fine. Met some great fellow-travelers along the way and we also enjoyed the sights, etc. and seeing our daughter's choir perform in London and Canterbury. Even surprised ourselves with a trip to Edinburgh, such a fairytale skyline. Beautiful! Croatia was wonderful, too, and proved to be a marvelous adventure. If others travel there, we have some suggestions to assist if needed. We're grateful to have returned from Heathrow a week before last week's horrific news. Once again, we thank YOU for your assistance and wish you well. We'll be in touch again when we make a return trip to Europe and will try some other countries next time. Aloha and mahalo, Dianna and Bill  of Oahu, Hi 15 August 06 I just wanted to let you know that we arrived back from Europe on Sunday. We had a great trip, but it was rough at the end, going and coming back from England. I think we should have spent the whole time in Norway. Anyway, I wanted to tell you that we were able to get the trains we wanted and were able to get a good savings on the "Norway in a Nutshell" package, with the  Norway pass. We even saved 50% on a ferry, without them counting it as one of the days. So, we saved on 4 days instead of 3. Thanks again for your help,  Irene  of Bronx, NY  15 August 06 Wife and Husband Thank you:  Hello, Mele,  The Eurostar tickets arrived this morning, as promised. What a sweet touch to add the British landing card. Once again, your excellence makes us happy and we will surely keep you on file for our next trip .  Be well, and, again, be very proud of how you conduct your business!   -Dori of Port Washington, NY  26 July 06 Dear Mele:  I'm Dori's fortunate husband, and I have to add my two cents! There is no substitute for excellence; it is something to be admired, treasured and recognized.  Thank you for the effort and thoughtfulness you put into what is really a minor purchase.  An exchange like the one you sent to Dori truly enhances the pleasure of such a trip. Thank you for your humanity!  John the "fortunate husband of Dori of Port Washington, NY  27 July 06 You folks have really validated that I am accomplishing my goal for "service" with all our transactions large or small, and this is much appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to e-mail your feedback and for reminding me that my little business is contributing to the "pleasure well" in our universe, AND Thanks for giving me a reason to sit a few minutes and smell your bouquet of roses.  Mele of TERC I recieved my train tickets today. Thanks for all your info and especially the map to find Bercy station. Your help will make catching the train to Rome easier and more relaxing now that i know what to expect.   Thanks again    Nancy of Desmoines, Washington  24 July 06 I just wanted to thank you for all your help on our trip. The train schedules and reservations were perfect. It was so easy just to look at our piece of paper and know the time of the next train and even what track to look for. We found a travel agent in Varenna who got us a reservation for that one segment from Milan to the Swiss Border. She could find only a second class seat but it worked perfectly and we didn't have to pay extra. We were so happy to have the seat reservations, especially on the train from Milan to Zurich. That train even had a space for baggage, which was very helpful. Everything worked wonderfully. Wengen was just perfect as always, and we find more English signs and announcements every time we go. It was too hot in Lake Como, and the air conditioning in our hotel operated only from 2 pm until 3 am! It was very pretty, although not nearly as pretty as Wengen. Thanks again so much.  Kay of Dallas, TX  24 July 06 You helped us exactly one year ago when we booked our trip (myself and our four children) to Europe last April. I saved all your emails, as your assistance was of great value! You put together all our Eurail travel, as well as our Chunnel passes, and everything was absolutely wonderful, thanks to you.>> Glad to hear things worked well for you. Always love the feed back. <<My friend Diane is going to Italy at the end of May (21-31), and she told me today she needed a travel agent. She told me she was booking her own train reservation departure just one hour after her scheduled landing in Zurich I advised her that this was probably a bad idea, given possible flight delays, customs, orienting herself in Switzerland, etc., and offered her your email address and number.>> You are hired! Good advice.   Also thanks for the referral. <<I just wanted to let you know that she will be contacting you. As well, we are planning our own return trip to Europe in July, so I expect to be in touch with you within the month myself.>> <<May I take this opportunity to say that I thought of you dozens of times on our trip last year, as everything you said turned out to be true, and we had the benefit of your years of experience. So, thank you again!>>  Laurie of Agoura CA 91301  10 April 06 Aaahhh, thanks again for the feed back. Mele of TERC Jeff here. Just thought I'd drop a line and let you know the train tickets in Spain & Portugal worked fine and I'd recommend those Spanish trains to anyone. They were great and very comfy. Also great food included in the 1st class tickets. The double sleeper from Lisbon to Madrid was excellent. The Portugese trains weren't that great but were on time to the minute as were the Spanish ones. Unlike always late Amtrak. Thanks for your help. Jeff of Oak Ridge, TN  10 July 05 Hello, I just wanted to let you know that all went well. Thank you so much for helping us with them. And getting us such a good price.  (Early bird tickets)  We had a great time. Thanks for helping us navigate the trains.  Karen of Duluth, MN 20 May 05 You very kindly organised rail tickets for us from Paris to Cologne for last September. I am just letting you know that everything went off very smoothly and we had no problems at all. The train ride was really excellent and we were pleased to see some of the countryside rather than flying over the top as usual.       Thankyou again for your part in making our holiday so good and, transport wise, trouble free.                                                                  Cynthia of Victoria AUSTRALIA     20 Oct 04 WOW mele! that was FAST!! i just got it right now! talk about fast service! i'm amazed! THANK YOU sooooooooooo much, mele, for all your help w/ this train ticket! i REALLY appreciate your getting me on the trains i wanted and making sure i'm taken care of. you're fantastic! next time i need any travel help, i'll contact you for sure! do you do only trains or do you do flights/hotels, too?  THANK YOU again, mele!  angella of San Francisco, Ca 13 Oct 04     Angella, Since we ship from Fresno, California, all our California clients get cheap 1 day ground UPS shipping.  Luck you folks!  Mele of TERC Train Reservations in Italy: <<We have arrived in Milano today and had a question on the railpasses we purchased. We were told to make a reservation to get to Firenze, but it cost an additional ¤22. Are we required to purchase these reservations? I was under the impression that the passes we purchased covered us for most of the travel we were to do. We spent almost $500 on these passes, but if a ¤22 reservation will be required each time, what did the $500 passes buy us?>> Yes you are If the route requires a reservation. But there are routes that do not require Seat reservations. You can ask for these departure times. The Italy Rail passes cover the cost of point to point tickets AND do not cover reservation fees if requried.  In my 6 July email to you re Timetables, etc. I did say "I am going to put the printed timetables into the US mail so you can have them to take with you. Keep in mind ES or Eurostar Italia Trains require an additional $19 per/person per/train seat reservation before you can board. Time tables that say "Please reserve" mean it is not required but suggested. " Did you get the timetables before you left???  <<Please help us out as we are leaving today, but obviously want to be prepared if this will happen on our travels each day."   I no longer have your e-mail with your list of destinations and dates of travel. Send me your destinations, dates of travel and desired time of travel, I and will find routes for you that do not require seat reservations. I will then e-mail timetables to you. I'm sorry the possibility of making reservations was not made clearer to you before you left.  Unfortuneately Italian train system has some of the most expensive reservation fees in Europe. Be assured that your rail pass saved you money over purchasing point to point tickets. Ms. Mele Fujiwara, Travel Consultant e-mail: TERCMele@aol.com PS:  Thank you so much for the information. We have figured out our way around and avoided most fees. After we looked, we were definitely happy about the deal you provided us. Thanks for your time in responding and helping us out in Europe..  Joseph Falcone 28 July 04 I wanted to thank you for helping me with Europecar reservations--they are wonderful to work with. We had driving adventures of course--bulls running through the streets in Arles and detours down streets narrower than a bike path--we used your ideas about Gibralter and other suggestions--thanks Karen of Alaska 11 August 03 Yes  We do Car rentals for Europe too!  Mele My wife and I returned last week from our 9 week European trip. I wanted to thank you for all the travel tips and for talking me into the 6 day Selectpass. It was very helpful.  Matt of Cornwall, NY   8 April 03 My Eurostar Youth Open Voucher was just delivered to me via UPS. I have received the ticket and enclosed information. Thank you very much for your help. I appreciate that you kept in contact with me concerning its progress and followed up on its delivery. I'm very pleased with this service and very relieved that this purchase was so convenient and timely. Sincerely,  Jennifer ot Montgomery, TX   4 April 03 Mele --   This itinerary is great. I will look it over with my companion and we will make some adjustments. Do the museum passes work at St. Chapel/Notre Dame etc and do you sell them? Do you plan vacations to other destinations than Europe? I have thus far enjoyed your services immensely, and would happily consider using you for other vacations in the future... including Hawaii... -- Kent  of CA  4 Feb. 02 Yes  they work at these sights. I can sell you museum and even transportation passes for London & Paris, BUT, instead I will give you information on how to get these things much cheaper in the cities you are visiting. And I ONLY DO EUROPE!  Doing More would decrease the qualify of our service and information. Thanks for your kind words and endorsement,  Mele  "I've historically coordinated my own schedules with myself and adult companions, using the Thomas Cook Timetable, spending hours considering options... I was fortunate to find Mele at TERCMele@aol.com when I went with my 3 daughters and it was the deciding factor in expanding the trip using a 3 country pass. I knew my freewheeling needed to be more refined with a party of 5. Even with Militant Optimism a teenager can make for a tough travel companion if we're stuck for half a day in a train station due to poor planning-thanks Mele for making sure this didn't happen...;-)"  enjoy your thoroughness and I have lots of friends that travel... keep up the good work. Lance Hall  MN 22 Dec 2001   And thank you Lance for "your words of recommendation".  Mele Fujiwara, TERC Travel Consultant and mother of 4! Hi Mele,     I got your package in the mail today, with all the free  train timetables and maps.  YOU ARE WONDERFUL! You better believe I'll be telling people who plan to visit Europe to contact you and have you do the work for them! In fact, I'm going to add something to that effect to my own website. YOU'RE THE BEST!  -Joe Monzo  CA. 31 Aug 2001 I am back and had the greatest time in Italy. Your train schedule really helped. The only time I had a problem was that I did not change in Bologna when I wanted to go to Verona Porta Nuvoa. I went all the way to Milano just to trace back to Verona!  I have information about local buses and trains to pass on. I will write to you later in details. This is to tell you that I have not forgotten my promise. Aloha, Takako  Hawaii  8 Aug 2001 Just wanted to let you know that we had a great trip to Europe and everything went like clockwork. Thanks for arranging the Chunnel tickets. Our train actually broke down on the way back to Paris and they are giving us free tickets. Don't know if/when we'll be able to use them. I would like to let you know about a special place we discovered.     We'll contact you soon for help with our next "foray".  Thanks,  Bob and Echo Miles Seoul, Korea 24 Jul 2001 Hi Mele: I really appreciate the chance to work with someone so knowledgeable about Italy. I've attached our itinerary below; hopefully it will format correctly..............Paul Davis  CA. 12 April 01 Dear Mele, Thank you for your help with regards to our trip to Italy and Austria. We had a great time and there were no problems.   Sincerely,  Keith Moody  Hawaii  28 May 2001 I received my rail passes in the mail and wanted to thank you for all your help and advice. You were an immense help in planning my trip. Thanks again,  Lauren Bush  Hawaii  29 April 2000

				mele -                                                                              27 June 99 Your web site is looking great. boy, you've done lots on it! I really like the way you've added all of the links. Very useful and too cool! Thanks for letting me know about my stuff. (Road Reports + ATM tip)  Again, Mele, I would like to thank you for all of your help in planning our trip. Your pack lite class was a godsend - wish I 'd taken even less than I did. I shudder to think how much unnecessary stuff I'd have dragged along with out the benefit of your guidance in this department. Your tips on places to go, see, do, eat at and stay at were most helpful also. It is absolutely so that without your generous guidance, assistance and support our trip would not have been the same. You are truly the "goddess of cost effective,  fun European Travel." mahalo nui.aloha       Marlee.

Ask TERC

 Free Europe Trip Planning  ·  Readers Tips  ·  Travel Tips  ·  Home