Q and A
LEAD:  Park Passes
Park Passes
Question: My family plans to drive to several national parks this summer. Are the special passes allowing access to any of the parks still available? - T. I., Chicago.
Answer: A Golden Eagle Pass, permitting entrance to all the national parks, may be obtained at any of the parks for $25. It covers a driver and passengers for the remainder of the calendar year. It does not apply to camping and other fees like those charged for cave and other tours. The easiest way to buy the Eagle Pass is at park entrances, but it may also be obtained by sending $25 to the National Park Service, Office of Public Inquiries, Post Office Box 37127, Washington D.C. 20013-7127. The Park Service also issues a Golden Age Passport, which may be obtained free at the parks by visitors aged 62 and older. The Golden Age Passport allows free entry into all national parks for driver and passengers and a 50 percent discount on Federal camping and other use fees. But it must be applied for in person. Applicants for both passes must be citizens or permanent residents.  Guyana
Question: On our way to Rio de Janeiro last month, we enjoyed a brief stopover in Georgetown, Guyana. Do you have information about visiting Guyana, including flights, hotels, places to visit, and are there any railroads? - V. T., Brooklyn
Answer: There are several flights from New York each week to Guyana, the republic between Venezuela and Surinam on the northeast coast of South America.
Guyana Airways (800-327-8680) operates nonstop flights to Georgetown from Kennedy Airport on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Flying time is about four and a half hours. A 21-day excursion fare is currently $563, round trip. including tax. B.W.I.A. (800-327-7401) has service from Kennedy via Port-of- Spain, Trinidad. There are daily flights to Trinidad, and connections to Georgetown, an airline spokesman said, on three or four days a week. She said the fare and tax was $609. A charter operation called Caraibe Enterprises (106-13 Liberty Avenue, Ozone Park, Queens, N.Y. 11417; 718-848-6100) says it offers weekly flights, on Thursdays, from Kennedy, with a refueling stop in Puerto Rico. The Caraibe fare, with tax, is $538.
Among several hotels in Georgetown is the Guyana Pegasus, which is operated by the Trusthouse Forte group. One travel agent with experience in the country said the Pegasus is the only first-class hotel there. Centrally situated, with views of the river and the Atlantic coastline, it has 100 air-conditioned rooms. The hotel has a freshwater pool, shopping arcade and hairdressing salon. The address of the Pegasus is Seawall Road, Kingston, Georgetown, Guyana (telephone, 52856). Reservations may be made through Trusthouse Forte (800-225-5843).
Guyanese tourist officials list Kaieteur Falls, which plunge more than 700 feet, and Lake Mainstay, which is ringed by palm trees and is noted for birdlife, among the sightseeing attractions. Some visitors also head for the National Cultural Center in Georgetown, where theatrical performances are regularly produced. Another feature is the markets, where the produce includes pineapples, mangoes and bananas. Leather sandals and jewelry are among the craft work on sale. Guyana does not have any passenger railroads.
Among travel agencies that specialize in arranging trips is Guyana Suntours (897A Nostrand Avenue, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11225; 718-771-6412). Another agency with experience is Red Carpet Travel Service (2629 Connecticut Avenue N.W., Washington D.C. 20008; 202-462-7600). Information is also available from the Guyana Consulate (866 United Nations Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10017; 212-527-3215), where visas may be obtained.  Route to Malta
Question: How I can travel from Istanbul to Malta? Information on where to find hotel information for Malta would also be appreciated. My many efforts have been nonproductive. - E. S., Ottsville, Pa.
Answer: One suggestion is to fly on Turkish Airlines or Alitalia, the Italian airline, from Istanbul to Rome and from there by Alitalia or Air Malta to Malta. Rome is a major gateway to the Mediterranean island between Sicily and North Africa and is used by many visitors making their way there from the United States. There are no direct, trans-Atlantic flights. In addition to Rome, cities with direct service to Malta include London, Paris, Frankfurt, Munich and Zurich. One agency that specializes in booking flights to Malta from New York is Malta Holidays, 3306 Broadway, Astoria, N.Y. 11106 (718-932-7800 or, from outside New York City, 800-321-1199). It also has some information on hotels.
While Malta does not have a tourist office in this country, the Consulate General of Malta (249 East 35th Street, New York, N.Y. 10016; 212-725-2345) has a tourism section that can supply color brochures about visiting the island. It also has brochures on some hotels, including the Hilton International.  Royal Display
Question: I believe that the royal greenhouses in Brussels are open only on certain days. Will I be able to see them during a visit in late April? - B. S. B., Bridgeport, Conn.
Answer: The Greenhouses of the Royal Palace at Laeken, a suburb of Brussels, are open to the public for about two weeks each spring. The period this year runs from April 21 through May 7, but the greenhouses, with their floral displays, giant ferns and grottoes, are not open every day. According to the official schedule, the 19th-century complex is open, from 9:30 A.M. to noon and from 2 to 5 P.M., on April 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 29 and 30 and May 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7 In addition, there are evening sessions (9 to 11; $2 admission), when the greenhouses will be illuminated, on April 21, 22, 23, 28, 29 and 30 and May 5 and 6. During the day admission is free.
Built by King Leopold II, the greenhouses are set in elaborate ironwork, cover six acres and house domes and galleries. The walk through them is a route of about a mile and takes visitors past banana trees and glades and displays of geraniums and fuchsias as well as a colony of birds and collection of orange trees. The Azalea House includes banks of red and pink blooms.