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Airline Carry-On Limits
It is best to check specific airlines for "updates" re. carry on luggage both for size, number of pieces allowed, as well as contents. Blue links below will take you to Airline's most current news. For other Airlines go to TERC's Airline page.
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new Northern Italy Tips: My husband and I returned from a trip to Northern Italy from October 1-14th, 2000. I would have to agree with another of your readers: Even during the off-peak season, rooms were hard to come by during the week as well as on weekends in Ravenna, Verona, Padua, Florence and Milan. We wasted many hours searching for a place to stay whenever we traveled from one town to the next. Although we have always traveled in the past without reservations--preferring to do things on the spur of the moment--we are now firm believers in reservations. We would like to pass on a few suggestions for rooms: Menaggio, Lake Como: Hotel Garni Corona, Largo Cavour 3 (tel. 0344-32.006). A double room with private bath was L110,000 with breakfast L13,000 per person. The room was large and quiet, with a balcony overlooking the lake, with a modern bath. The proprietors were English-speaking and very friendly. We were extremely pleased with the value. Their buffet included a variety of sliced meats and cheeses, hard-boiled eggs, several types of fresh-baked breads and cereals, fruit, yogurt, and a choice of espresso, capuccino, hot chocolate or tea. (You can't even obtain this variety in the local cafes: Breakfast is usually a croissant and capuccino.) Venice (Venezia): Hotel Roma, Via C. Beccaria, 11 (tel. 041/921967-924070). At L140,000 for a double with private bath, their prices were half of what we were quoted for similar hotels directly in Venice. This hotel was located in Marghera (a suburb of Venice), and it only took a 10-minute bus-ride to get to the Vaporetto dock in Venice. Again, the room was large with a modern bath and all the conveniences of a modern American hotel. They were a 5-minute walk from the bus stop and the people at the desk all spoke excellent English. Their breakfast was above average and was included in the price of the room. Hotel Casa Mia, ,Viale Vittorio Veneto 30 (tel.. 02.6575249). L150,000 for a double with private bath. Very conveniently located to shopping on Corso Buenos Aires, a 20-minute walk (or 5-minute taxi ride) from the Central train station, 1/2 block to the metro. Parking in Milan is definitely a problem--we paid L42,000 per night to park in a public lot next to the hotel. There is NO parking available on the streets until after business hours. People here even park on the sidewalk. As an aside, we found our car a liability on this two-week trip to Northern Italy. Parking was at a premium even in small towns such as Menaggio and Bergamo. In Ravenna, only residents were allowed to park in certain parts of town. We stayed in Rio Maggiore, Cinque Terra, and paid L15,000 per night for parking and had to walk three blocks down a steep hill with our luggage to our hotel. (That was the easy part. From there it was another block and three flights of stairs to the room with easy access.) The areas we visited were all lovely and we would definitely return but next time we would hook up with a tour or take the train and backpacks. Carol Morrison of Costa Mesa, Ca October 30, 2000 STORE YOUR TRAVEL DOCUMENTS with Lonely Planet's FREE on-line Travel Vault. Storing details of your important documents in the vault is the best option if you travel in a country with easy Internet access. Your password-protected vault is accessible on line at anytime. Create your own vault at www.ekno.lonelyplanet.com. I created a vault and it is very easy. They even have a service which allows family & friends to leave you e-mail and voice mail at ekno...you can send your friends the instructions from on-site. I have not yet done it, but I imagine you can scan & upload copies of your documents to the vault. Try it, it's great! Aloha, Cherry Sciotto of Oahu 12 Oct. 2000 CHAMONIX UP DATE: Aloha, Bonjour Mele, It's very nice to hear from you. We hope you & your daughter are doing well. From time to time, we get some guests from Hawaii & they tell us how you're doing! We really enjoy meeting you & your group , on your visit to Chamonix. Here is the answers to your question. The Tunnel is still closed The best way to get to Aosta is to take the train from Chamonix to Aosta (Chamonix-Martigny-Aosta) Best regards A bientot 25 Aug, 2000 Laurence & Manu of Chalet-Beauregard, Chamonix Mont-Blanc, France www.chalet-beauregard.com reservation@chalet-beauregard.com tel/fax 04 50 55 86 30 Senior Discounts on French Rail . Once in France, travelers 60 years and over can buy the Carte Senior, which gives 25-50% reductions on first or second class French rail tickets depending on day and time of travel--plus how early you make a reservation. Cards can be purchased at railroad stations and at French Travel Agencies for FF285 (aprox. $41) Even without the Carte Senior travelers over 60 are eligible for the Decouverte Senior discount--which is a 25% reduction on many TGV trains. Of course proof of age is required and these are only available in France. Mr & Mrs Albert Shigekuni of Oahu brought TERC this information 28 June 2000 Europe ID Tip Many places in Europe will ask for ID to hold as security while you rent museum head phones, a bike, cash a traveler's check, crossing borders, etc. Francis Santa Monica of Hi said he took his driver's licence and used it instead of his passport--which stayed safely in his money belt in "theft vulnerable areas". 26 May 2000 Cinque Terre Cyber Report: Hi Mele, This is Kelli Lim emailing you from Ostella 5 Terre in Monorola. The weather here is beautiful. We did a hike through all five towns yesterday. You were right - the French Riviera was nothing compared to this. London, Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Nice (Monaco, Monte Carlo, Cannes - just in time for the international film festival) have been great. This is our last day in Cinque Terre and then we are off to Venice. Thanks again for all your help. Everything has worked out so well. I am excited to tell you all about it when I get back. Hope everything is well with you in Hawaii. Kelli Oahu 19 May 2000 Florence Museum Reservations--One Number will Reserve Uffizi - Accademia (Home of David) and Bargello I called the Accademia and was given the following number to make reservations for all 3 museums. They don't require CC until you pick up tickets at Florence Museum box office. From the USA dial 011 0 39 055 29 4883. Don Everett 12 May 2000 PLUS as well as CIRRUS worked in Italy, Switzerland, and France ATMs for Gwyn and Wayne Hirasa who just returned from Europe mid April. (This is a major change from a year ago. see ATM article) Gwyn said the service charge for each ATM transaction was 50 cents. And of course they got the best possible exchange rate using the ATM vs. Travelers Checques. Wayne added that the ATMs made it convenient to get money after hours for their next day sight seeing , thus saving valuable day-time sight seeing time and avoided standing in bank or exchange service lines. The Hirasas also saved more hours by Making Museum Reservations before they left Honolulu. They called all their Italy Museums and booked the Uffizi in Florence on line, a couple of weeks before their trip. Then they just walled to the head of the line 5 minutes before their reservation time and walked in. (They reported that lines were very long--particularly at the Ufizzi and Bargello in Florence and the Cistine in Rome) They are sure they saved 1-2 hr per museum. Hhhmmmmm that sounds like 1 more day to their trip. Contact TERC for museum phone numbers for any country.
29 April 2000
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