Q and A
Domestic Travel Insurance  Q. We are planning a motor trip to the West, which involves no advance or nonrefundable payments, so we do not need trip cancellation insurance. However, we would like insurance that would cover medical evacuation and other serious needs. -- Beatrice Riback, White Plains
A. Before shopping for medical coverage for your vacation, you should check with the company that provides your regular medical insurance, or the employee benefits office of your employer. Your policy is likely to cover medical treatment anywhere in the country and may include medical evacuation; ask about "medical transportation." For example, according to the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, which represents the 73 Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies, some Blue Cross policies do cover travel by land, sea or air to the nearest treatment facility.
There are some companies that sell traveler's insurance for medical care separately from trip cancellation coverage. The coverage is secondary; that is, it covers expenses that other medical insurance does not. Examples are for covering a two-week trip; insurance is available for longer and shorter periods.
One such company is Travel Assistance International, 1133 15th Street, N.W., Suite 400, Washington, D.C. 20005; (800) 821-2828. Medical coverage for the two of you (that is, family coverage) is $75 for 9 to 15 days. The policy provides up to $15,000 for medical care, with a $75 deductible, with no limit on the amount for evacuation.
Another is Travel Guard International, 1145 Clark Street, Stevens Point, Wis. 54481; (800) 782-5151. This company's medical plan is $39 a person (or $78 for two) for up to 15 days. The coverage is $15,000 in medical costs and $20,000 for emergency evacuation.
Trip cancellation insurance is included with the medical coverage offered by Access America, 600 Third Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10163; (800) 284-8300. For family coverage for domestic travel, the cost is $69 for 9 to 15 days, for $4,000 for medical treatment, $1,000 for medical transportation and $600 for trip cancellation.
Another company is Tele-Trip, Mutual of Omaha, 3201 Farnam Street, Omaha, Neb. 68131; (800) 228-9792. There are a variety of plans offered; all options with medical evacuation also include trip cancellation. The cost for such coverage for a family is $105 -- $5,000 for medical treatment for accident, $50 a day for hospital care for sickness, $25,000 for evacuation, plus $1,000 in cancellation coverage, plus flight insurance, and baggage and life insurance -- or $194, for $10,000 in coverage for accident, $50 a day for hospitalization and $2,000 for cancellation. On the Canals of Wales
Q. We would like to take a trip on the canals in Wales. Can we get information? -- Marian M. Kirchkoff, Palmyra, N.J.
A. There are two canals chiefly used by boaters in Wales. They are both very narrow, and are plied by narrowboats, which have a beam of only seven feet. The going is slow: boats travel 4 miles an hour, and must stop to go through locks. The boats can be self-piloted or "hotel boats" with a staff who pilot the boats and cook for the passengers.
One of the canals, in the north, is the Llangollen Canal. The canal, 46 miles long, goes into the mountains of Wales, and passes through tunnels and along aqueducts, one 1,007 feet long and 120 feet above the River Dee. In the south of Wales is the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal. The canal, about 33 miles long, passes through the Brecon Beacons National Park and the Usk Valley.
One company that arranges narrowboat rentals on these canals is UK Waterway Holidays. Its American representatives are Ambassador Travel, (800) 234-8040 and Le Boat, Post Office Box E, Maywood, N.J. 07607; (800) 922-0291. According to Le Boat, on the Llangollen Canal, hotel boats start at $660 a week in the off season and $816 at peak travel season in summer; prices include all costs except for drinks. Self-piloted boats on that canal start at $722 a week for up to four people, and at $1,100 in high season. On the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal, hotel boats start at $660 in low season and $816 in high season; the company does not have self-piloted boats there.
Only self-piloted boats are booked through Blakes Vacations, 4916 Dempster Street, Skokie, Ill. 60077; (800) 628-8118. A boat for up to four people starts at $720 a week in low season, and $1,180 in summer. On this size boat, one sleeping room doubles as living room and sometimes kitchen; foursomes often take a boat for six to eight, the company says, starting at $825 to $1,350 depending on season. Portugal in February?
Q. Are pousadas and tourist attractions open in Portugal in February? What is the weather like? -- Alexia Hood, Douglas Manor, Queens
A. Winters are mild on the coast of Portugal. For example, in Lisbon, high temperatures in February average 59 (and often go into the 70's) and lows average 47. This is the rainy time of year, with an average number of 12 rainy days in February. Faro, on the southern coast, has an average high temperature of 61 degrees in February and a low of 49, but like the rest of the area, is drier, with only 7 rainy days. The north and central inland sections are much higher and are cooler in winter: Braganza, in the north, for example, has an average high of 51 and a low of 33 in February.
According to an American company that books the Government-run inns called pousadas, they are open year-round. With the exception of the Pousada do Castelo in Obidos, with only seven rooms, reservations are not usually needed except a few days ahead. Most attractions are open all year, though hours may be shorter in winter. Washrooms in First Class
Q. In my experience, airline personnel in first class rarely stop passengers in other parts of the plane from using the washrooms in the first-class cabin. What is the airlines' policy on this? -- Francine Myers Pilloff, Beachwood, Ohio
A. An informal sampling of airlines indicates that it is their policy not to allow business- or tourist-class passengers to use the restrooms in the first-class cabin. It is the responsibility of flight attendants to monitor the use of the washrooms, and they are instructed to discreetly tell passengers not in first class to use the toilets elsewhere. American Airlines, for example, says that on international flights, attendants put a sign on curtains blocking the entrance to the first-class cabin instructing non-first-class passengers to use washrooms to the aft. Passengers who see others using the washrooms should mention it to flight attendants, and perhaps later address complaints to the airline's customer service department.