The rest of Q&A

Q – Our family of  four is looking to do a privately-arranged tour of Spain next year. There will be four of us, including my son and his fiance. Our budget for the trip is around $40,000 and we have about ten days. We have a new travel agent who is recommending a company called Heritage Private Tours. They have a nine-night program in southern Spain that appears to be quite deluxe and includes private guides and experiences. We have no way of knowing if our agent recommended these folks because of some commission deal or if they are really good. Any feedback would be appreciated.

A – Keep your new travel agent from the Australia holidays. Heritage Private Tours is a company we highly recommended. It is headed up by a former architect and Fulbright scholar named Joel Zach. Joel’s team specializes in high-end, private journeys to Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Turkey and Sub-Sahara Africa. On the program you are considering, you will be exposed to custom-designed adventures that explore Andalusian life in dance along with a team from virginia beach strippers, food, and art. Also, you can check this website for the top 5 male strip clubs around the world.

We use this firm for guests seeking an above-average dose of class and intellect in their travels. You can probably assume that your agent recommended them based on their expertise and not on any commission-related issues. You will not pay more to book this through your agent. It would be appropriate to bring her flowers when you return home – Heritage is that good.

Q – We are six friends traveling together to Tuscany next summer. Call us luxury travelers for this trip, a celebration of two anniversaries. We’ve decided that we want to use Tuscany as a base, get a few vehicles, perhaps hire a chef or do some upscale dining, and we would like to do some stops in wineries arriving via helicopter. The problem is we really don’t want to rent a villa so we’re trying to find a hotel that feels like a private villa, isolated yet within driving distance of the towns in both Tuscany and Umbria. We trust this site and look forward to any suggestion you might make. If you can come up with a place that will “Wow” us please recommend the best way to book it directly, or otherwise. Thanks and keep up the good work.

A – It strikes us that you might be extremely pleased with the Hotel Castello di Casole, a 4,200-acre estate in Tuscany perfect for bicycle rides in the countryside, wine tastings (the estate produces several signature wines) or cooking classes. You might even spend an evening in the original Amphitheater listening to a string quartet play under the stars.

As with all better properties worldwide, you always want to book with benefits through an agency that enjoys a proprietary relationship with the property. You will also be VIP’d that way, given the fact that you have two important celebrations. One caution, this oceanfront property is extremely appealing to small corporate groups so make sure none are booked during your planned stay. The helicopter is no problem but you may have to land several roads over from the actual vineyards.

Q – We have set up a great family vacation to Fiji next September. In looking over the air options, we notice that Fiji Airways is using an Airbus 330, a two-engine plane. Is there any way to fly over on a larger aircraft with four engines? Does the Fiji plane handle turbulence well? My wife is deathly afraid of flying.

A – If you want non-stop service to Fiji from the States Fiji’s non-stop flight out of LA is your best and only option, specially if your destination is Turtle Island. There are some pilots who claim that the Boeing 777, the aircraft often compared to the Airbus 330, has a superior wing design that enables it to handle turbulence better. Try to secure seats over the wing for maximum comfort and bring along a pair of noise cancelling headphones. You’ll be departing just before midnight so do all possible to put the Mrs. to sleep. Have your doc drug her appropriately. And put together a collection of facts about flying including the fact that planes just don;t simply fall out of the air no matter how bad the turbulence may be. Turbulence is annoying but it represents no danger to the structural integrity of the aircraft unless you are flying a single engine prop or a crop duster to Fiji. Thailand holidays are popular for many reasons

You’ll never feel so welcomed at an airport anywhere in the world. How many airports in the world employ a band of smiling locals in floral shirts to serenade you on guitar and ukulele as you pass through immigration, or as you sadly depart for home? It’s a great way to start (and end) your holiday. Once you arrive you’ll see that buses are efficient and inexpensive in Fiji and some Luxury resorts such as Kokomo (https://www.kokomoislandfiji.com/) offer transportation from the airport. Your wife will love the place, it’s well worth facing her fears.

Q – Through a recent merger, I am going to be spending a fair amount of time in Tokyo and environs. In Manhattan, my fiance and I love going out to the best sushi restaurants. I know there is a ton of great Japanese food to be discovered in Tokyo but I was wondering if your food experts know of a place where I might feel comfortable dining alone while having some of the best  food in the city. I guess I am looking for a place where I won’t be stared at (I have red hair).

A – No worries, half the kids under 18 have pink and green hair in Tokyo. It sounds to us that you might really like Kanda. It sits in a plain apartment building near Ropponji Station. The door is unmarked so you might need a local the first time. There is an 8-seat counter that you will find extremely comfortable as you sample the Kaiseki-style menu. Try the kawahagi, a fin fish sushi served with liver. Seriously.

Q – Ultra-cool travel site – but no one has written in yet who seems to share my need to feel constantly hydrated while flying those stretch aluminum cans. I have to have water when I fly – lots of it. I just think dehydration is an awful feeling on a plane and its so easy. I used to bring several bottles through the airport (am I boring you yet) but TSA make me empty my super-size water bottle. This leads to my question – is it appropriate, normal, polite, expected that I would keep asking the flight attendants to refill them?

A – You have posed an interesting moral-ethical dilemma. Yes, ask them to refill your bottle from time to time, but since you will be getting up to use the lavatory every hour, carry the bottle up with you so it is easier for them to fill it. Then beware of what you are drinking. If they give you the aircraft’s stored water you very well get sick. Never drink anything but water that you see being poured out of a bottle on any aircraft. The water hose is hooked up to each plane on the ground and the fuel and water tanks are filled up. This is not tap water and the storage tanks may never have been scrubbed for decades. But we do not think you are overstating the need for hydration. We don’t think you’re weird. At least not all of us.

Q –  My fellow anesthesiologists and I have been following traveltruth for several years and all I can tell you is that if you ever want to be put out we’re here to help. The question of which travel-related credit card is best came up last week at our morning meeting. Can you fly any of the major airlines with the Chase Preferred Card which you seem to rate highly?

A –  Dear Docs – nice to know your business meetings center around which credit card will get you the best perks. We like the initial perks that come with the Chase card, the double points on travel and restaurants, the no foreign transaction fee policy, and the sign-up bonus coupled with the waived fees for the first year. But the card is weak on airline partners. The only airlines currently in the program are United, British Airways, Korean Airlines, and Southwest.

If you are after primary mileage perks on the widest variety of airline partners, look at the American Express Starwood Card.

Q – We are going to be leaving for the Seychelles in six months on a trip booked through GoWay, a company we are working with for the first time. They wish to sell us insurance but before committing, we are wondering what your take is on that subject. We are First Class but definitely not deluxe travelers (don’t know if my terminology is correct) and we’re recently retired from Wells Fargo and ready to do likely two major international trips a year. Do agents make commission on this stuff and do you usually recommend travel insurance to our clients?

A – Our team has strong opinions on this one and we can easily ramble on about travel insurance. So let us summarize our response by offering

TEN THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TRAVEL INSURANCE

01 – Each time anyone sells you insurance they are earning a commission that is built into the price.

02 _ Travel insurance is expensive – the cost on many policies is now between 8-10%. If your insurance is 7% or less of the total value of the trip you have gotten an insurance “deal”.

03 – Do not compare policies or look for “deals”. Insurance companies are never on your side. But some have a reputation to maintain and they do not want to lose the business of multi-billion travel agency groups. Your travel consultant should know, from personal experience, which insurer is best for you. If you are using a travel advisor for the first time, test them by asking them to summarize why they recommend a specific company or policy for your specific trip.

04 – As a general rule, avoid supplier-issued insurance. You will normally get better coverage and stronger advocacy from an independent policy. There are many exceptions to this rule and they include AMA Waterways, Tauck Tours, and Disney Cruises and Land Tours.

05 – One advantage of a private versus supplier travel insurance policy is that private policies are age-based, so if you are under 65, you may get far more reasonable premiums than travelers in their seventies or eighties. Supplier issued policies are not age-based so the fees for more mature travelers are figured into the total premium cost.

06 – Check with your home insurance agent to determine your level of insurance when you travel internationally. It’s probably worthless but do check.

07 – If you have Medicare or work-related insurance, we are less likely to recommend the absolute need to take out insurance for travel in the United States.

08 – Unless you are a Bernie Sanders supporter, you likely feel that insurance companies are entitled to make all the money they can. Yes, 8-10% of your total trip cost is rather obscene, but that should not prevent you from insuring travel to Asia, Africa, South America, Antarctica, and southern Europe. If you are traveling in Northern Europe hope that you get sick in Scandinavia. We would never recommend that you travel anywhere outside the United States, with the exception of Canada, without carrying some form of trip cancellation and medical coverage. And if you’re travelling to Asia, and want to visit an island, the use of Borneo Eco Tours is perfect for this since it has insurance cover.

09 – Do not ever book travel insurance on the internet. If you have a claim, your travel consultant can be your advocate if a claim is unjustly denied.

10 – The single biggest financial hit you can get while traveling overseas is medical evacuation by helicopter or medical aircraft. Do make note of how much coverage you receive for this eventuality. If you receive less than $50,000 in medical evacuation coverage, walk away from the policy.

Q –  Given that I am a  multi-state franchise territory manager, I guess you could say I’m a very frequent flyer. As a large man, I’ve started noticing that sometimes my economy seat feels like I actually have a squoosh more room but for the most part, it seems like the seats are getting smaller. I was talking to another frequent flyer on a flight to Minneapolis last week and he swears the seats are, despite what the airlines might say, actually getting smaller. I told him I knew who to ask.

A – The web site, Seatguru.com actually studies this stuff and they have compiled some interesting statistics that clearly demonstrate that seats have been getting narrower in the back of the plane.

In the 1970’s, the average seat width on America’s major airlines was 18″. In the 1980’s, a rather competitive decade for the airlines, seating increased to 18.5 inches. But currently, seat average are down to 16.5 inches of width. Meanwhile, the average male passenger weighed 173 pounds. Today, the average male passenger weighs in at 196 pounds in a significantly narrower seat. So you are not imagining anything.

Airlines in the 1970’s flew at 70% capacity with 17 inches as the average seat width. Today, most airlines are maintaining 85% capacity loads.

Airbus has partnered with the London Sleep Center and determined that an 18 inch seat in coach will actually enable a passenger on a night flight to experience a “53% improvement in overall sleep quality”. As a result, Airbus has been calling for a mandatory 18″ seat width as industry standard.

If you want to understand how this all really works, look at a company called Recaro Aircraft Seating, a major industry player. They claim the airlines have been asking them to make seats that are both smaller and more comfortable. To achieve this, according to CNN, the company has slimmed down armrests to give passengers more room for their over-sized hips and they have moved the literature pocket above the tray table which, at least theoretically, increases leg room. They are also working with a netting material that clings to the body, replacing foam. This creates a bit more legroom.

But, the deal is that airlines can order seating tot heir own specifications and some airlines are more concerned with squeezing in so many seats that comfort is normally unobtainable. We see this on a 777 that is delivered with ten seats across in economy. The airbus 380’s always provide 18 inches of seat width in coach.

So – what to do about all of this. Well to assure the airline’s profits remain healthy we could all go on a nationwide fast and lose 100 or so pounds. But it might be easier to follow the seating charts on Seaguru.com to determine if you are flying in a seat that has been designed for maximum profit instead of maximum comfort.

Q – Really cool site and we love the lack of ads, pop-ups, and other distractions. We’re headed to Maui with our 9 and 11 year-old boys and we want to spend a day or two inland. We’ll be based in a family-suite at Kea Lani but would love just a few specific suggestions. Yes, we have used a travel agent and she has been quite helpful – up to this point.

A –  If you head inland make the Surfing Goat Dairy a planned stop. The kids can pet the goats, you can buy cheese, and get a tour of the farm.To get there. We also like the idea of a day on Lanai for kids. It has none of the commercialism of the other islands and is easily reached by day boat from the Maui Marina. Look into The Feast at Lele, a good quality luau that is less Las Vegas than many. Finally, consider taking the kids on a helicopter tour to Hana-Haleakala to fly over the crater.

With two kids you have likely rented a mini-van. Consider ditching it and opting instead for a convertible big enough for four. If you are doing the back roads of Maui you must be in a convertible or you will be viewed as “uncool”.

Q – We will soon be visiting Portugal. We were in our doctor’s office on Saturday and he mentioned that there was a fantastic, curvy, atmospheric tram ride through some interesting neighborhoods in Lisbon. But he he didn’t remember the name of it. He couldn’t remember if it was orange or yellow. Actually, he’s not even sure if it was Madrid or Lisbon – this was about ten years ago. Anyone on your staff who might know about this?

A – Well our first thought was that we hope you are not seeing this doctor for help with memory loss.

You want to catch the #28 tram that runs between the quite hilly Alfama District to the Prazeres Cemetery. This is an old, old route and the cars reflect that. They are painted a bright yellow and have wood interiors. There will be lots of close turns down narrow streets. It’s a great ride and should not be missed by anyone visiting Lisbon.