Q: I'm tired of spending on single supplements. How can I save when I travel alone?
A. Surcharges for lone travelers typically range from 25 or 50 percent to 100 percent of the per-person, double-occupancy rates, so you may pay twice what people with a companion do. To avoid these surcharges, travel with a friend of relative, or look for tour companies or cruise lines that offer to match you with a roommate of the same gender.
Among tour companies that offer these single share programs are The Women's Travel Club (www.womenstravelclub.com) and Elderhostel (www.elderhostel.org). Cruise lines that offer them include Holland America (www.hollandamerica.com) and Cruise West (www.cruisewest.com). If no roommate can be found by the sail date, you get to stay by yourself without paying the single supplement.
Most likely, however, a roommate will be found and assigned to you both in tours and cruises. Consult an experienced travel agent to help you find the right tour or cruise for you.
Q. We are mostly armchair travelers now, though we still take a trip every other year. Could you recommend some good travel books to give each other and our grandchildren for Christmas?
A. Some we've enjoyed recently include "Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World's Greatest Trips" (National Geographic Society, $40), a collection of favorite trips by writers for National Geographic Traveler magazine.
These trips include popular destinations such as the Caribbean and off-the-beaten-path adventures such as horseback rides in the Andes and hikes at Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. A coffee-table book, it has 400 pages, 400 color pictures and fun "10 best" lists for such things as bridges to cross and elevators to ride.
If you have a specific trip in mind, try the "DK Eyewitness Travel Guide" for your destination. These useful books are filled with colorful photographs and cutaways, floor plans and reconstructions of important sights. Visit www.dk.com.
For the grandchildren, we suggest the "National Geographic World Atlas for Young Explorers Third Edition" (National Geographic Children's Books, $24.95), chock-full of color photos, maps and graphics to entice children to learn about our planet. The book is supported by a Web site where they can see videos of animals in their natural habitat (such as penguins in Antarctica) and listen to music from various parts of the world. Visit the Web site www.nationalgeographic.com and search for "World Atlas for Young Explorers."
Q. My sister had a stroke and is in a wheelchair. Something I'd really love to do is take a cruise or trip with my husband, my sister and her husband. Any suggestions for reasonably priced vacations?
A. Most cruise lines have wheelchair-accessible cabins and public rooms.
Look into economy-priced and moderately priced lines such as Norwegian, Carnival and Royal Caribbean International. Normal prices on these lines range from $85 to $100 per person per day. Lower promotional fares are often available, such as Royal Caribbean's four-night Bahamas cruise leaving from Miami Jan. 7 for $239 per person, double (third and fourth person in the same cabin pay $209 each); and from $219 per person, double (third and fourth person in the same cabin pay $189 each) on Jan. 14. With promotions, cabin availability is limited. Port charges and government fees ($46.02 per person for these two cruises) are extra, as is airfare. Consult a travel agent specializing in cruises for available promotions and discounts.
Another option is a "trip around the world" with your sister at the international pavilions at Epcot, one of four major theme parks at Walt Disney World in Orlando (Georgina once rode around Epcot's wide esplanades and the other Disney parks in a motorized vehicle available for rent there when she broke a foot). Rooms at economy-priced resorts such as Disney's All-Star Resorts or Disney's Pop Century Resort start at $82 per night (maximum four people per room). Visit www.disneyworld.com.
(Humberto and Georgina Cruz are a husband-and-wife writing team who work and travel together. Send questions and comments to AskHumberto@aol.com, GVCruz@aol.com, or c/o Tribune Media Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, NY 14207. Personal replies are not possible.)
