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Book Bag
More best books of the century
Readers recommend their favorite works of travel fiction and nonfiction.
By Don George
[06/23/99]

Vagabonding
Adventures in the skin trade
Our correspondent's brothel tour of Phnom Penh takes some unexpected twists.
By Rolf Potts
[06/22/99]

My sacred place
For an introspective wanderer, a two-room flat in a generic Japanese suburb offers all the possibilities of a traditional shrine.
By Pico Iyer
[06/19/99]

Wanderlust
Love on the line
On the road, the rest of the world can begin and end in a stuffy phone booth.
By Diane LeBow
[06/18/99]

Travel Advisor
Saving money in Williamsburg
Our expert offers advice on family deals at the colonial attraction, plus safety in Indonesia, smoke-free Vegas and hot-air balloons.
By Donald D. Groff
[06/17/99]

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By Donald D. Groff

June 24, 1999 |I will be in London for graduate school next year and was planning on coming back to the U.S. for Christmas and New Year's. However, courses begin in the first week of January -- should I risk getting stuck in the U.S.? Will the Y2K bug affect travel between the U.S. and U.K.?

Turn-of-the-calendar air travelers worldwide are pondering this vexing question, for which there is no firm answer at this point. However, you're fortunate in that both the United States and the United Kingdom are being judged among the top-ranked countries for Y2K preparedness.

It's a fair bet that if your airline can't deliver because of some Y2K-related  problem, you're not going to get stuck holding the ticket, though you might be delayed or otherwise inconvenienced. You might ask yourself where you'd rather be if chaos breaks out -- sipping warm Courage ale or swilling warm Miller -- but I suspect it's merely a theoretical question.

The May 1999 issue of Consumer Reports offered a balanced look at what could go wrong in various sectors, and it recommended that travelers avoid connecting flights and have hard-copy documentation for hotel and other reservations.  For those who don't have to return to classes, it recommended trying to leave at least a week before New Year's Eve and returning at least a week after.

The U.S. State Department plans to report on each country's preparedness and by September include an assessment in each consular information sheet. Monitor the  site for the United Kingdom as well as the Federal Aviation Administration site.

The U.S. Consumer Gateway has links to the Y2K sites of U.S. airlines, British Airways and other transportation modes.

Another site to monitor is the International Civil Aviation Organization's Year 2000 home page.

Among British sites to watch is one that reports on  Infrastructure Sectors, including airlines and other modes of transportation.

One other tip. When traveling during that critical period, carry your own food and water -- good advice even on routine flights.    

I will have a stop in Rome for five to six days before heading to Sweden. I have never stayed in Rome before, and particularly as a woman traveler, I am a bit nervous to be traveling alone in Italy before I meet up with family in Sweden. Any tips for low- to moderate-priced lodging in Rome?

A little trepidation before a trip is quite common, especially when going to a destination for the first time. Soothe those nerves by reading the accounts of  women travelers who have gone before you. There's been a genuine surge in the past decade in books devoted to traveling women, not to mention a handful of periodicals that revolve around the same subject.

There also are many more how-to primers, including "Safety and Security for Women Who Travel," by Sheila Swan and Peter Laufer (Travelers' Tales Guides, 1998).

Other books by and for women travelers can be found through Maiden Voyages, the online supplement to the magazine of the same name.

As for reasonably-priced lodging, a book worth seeking out is "An Insider's Guide to Italian Hotels $50-$99 a Night for Two," by Margo Classe (Wilson Publishing, 2d edition 1999; phone (888) 663-9269).  The author visited 26 Italian cities to research the book, and 69 of the hotels are in Rome. It's especially useful because it describes the hotels' neighborhoods and gives you the pros and cons. Not all the hotels described are under $100 all the time; some say such rates apply only off-season or in rooms without private bathrooms. Still, the intelligence is firsthand and tells it like it is -- just what you need to make an informed decision.

A fine site for leads on lodging, as well as for descriptions of the Italian lifestyle, is In Italy Online.

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