WE'RE thinking of taking our two daughters (aged 42 and 43) and our granddaughter, 12, to Disneyland for our golden wedding anniversary. We'd like to know the difference between the Hong Kong and California Disneylands and whether the Hong Kong equivalent is a good substitute.
DOC: Well, if nothing else your letter proves that it's never too late to take your children to Disneyland, wherever that may be. Personally my choice, having visited neither, would be Hong Kong Disneyland the newest of the Disney theme parks, since it's a shorter and more affordable flight from Australia and just consider all of those shopping opportunities.
Then again, Disneyland in California does have a 55-year-old heritage as well as more attractions.
Sean Harrigan from Disney in Australia (disney.com.au) says the California park is "the original Disneyland" and the one most Australians think of when people mention they are going to Disneyland.
"It has two theme parks Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park," Harrigan says. "Taking into account all the attractions and entertainment on offer you will probably need three days to see it all."
Although smaller in size compared with the other Disney parks, Hong Kong Disneyland draws "the best of the best" attractions and entertainment from the various Disney destinations, taking shows otherwise only found at Walt Disney World, Florida (Festival of the Lion King) and onboard the Disney Cruise Line (Golden Mickeys), plus attractions from both US destinations.
Harrigan says that, should you opt for Hong Kong, you would probably need to allocate a day and a half to fit in all of its attractions. Hong Kong Disneyland is on Lantau Island and is the only Disneyland to feature a mountain backdrop, which makes it especially photogenic.
The whole park also features an amazing range of plant-life and gardens which, as Harrigan says, takes you out of the "traditional mindscape of what you expect a major city like Hong Kong to be". For the ages mentioned there is something for all to do at both locations. "More thrill rides are definitely to be found in California, Hong Kong Disneyland has a few as well plus the new "Toy Story Land", Harrigan points out.
COULD you please explain overseas car insurance?
We want to be covered for most eventualities and always have Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) which is included in the car hire rate. But that does not cover the Collision Damage Waiver Excess (CDWE). We always have travel insurance and that covers us for the aforementioned CDWE up to about the same dollar amount that car rental companies list. When the car rental company offers Personal Accident Insurance I say no because we have our travel insurance to cover it. Am I correct in doing it this way?
DOC: The Doc approached the team at Travel Insurance Direct (travelinsurancedirect.com.au) for an answer to your question.
A spokeswoman for TID says that it's important to know what cover you really need when you're hiring a car and what is already covered by your travel insurance. She explains that quality travel insurance normally automatically includes coverage for your excess should you damage your hire car, so you may not need to pay extra for this. Similarly if you have an accident, your own medical expenses, including repatriation home with a medical team if required, also are covered by quality travel insurance policies. That's important because while the damage to the car may only be worth $10,000, the cost of overseas medical care and repatriation can easily mount up to hundreds of thousands of dollars, especially in the US.
Good travel insurance policies also cover the cost of your family travelling to visit you in hospital overseas if you've had a serious accident. However, travel policies do not cover liabilities arising from the operation of any vehicle such as injuries to other drivers or passengers or property damage. For that reason Travel Insurance Direct warns travellers to make sure that the limit of liability offered by the car-hire company is sufficient for the country in which they are travelling. In some places the legal minimum amount of insurance required (often known as the "sum insured") is nowhere near the amount required to protect you from lawsuits in the event of a serious accident.
So, do take the time to read the fine print on this and be prepared to upgrade the level offered by the car-hire company to a higher amount, which will afford more protection. THIS year it looks as if I will be spending Christmas alone. Rather than staying at home I'd like to travel somewhere. Any ideas of what I could do that won't break the bank?
DOC:
Worry not (though do get cracking as Christmas is near). The world is your egg-nog, er, oyster. The Doc cultivated Barry Mayo, from TravelManagers (www.travel managers.com.au), a network of 300 holiday advisers who come to you rather than you going to them, who says that if you want to meet women of all ages, I would recommend a surf or yoga retreat in Bali.
"At Christmas time it is more expensive than usual but Bali always has amazing value," he says. "You'll also find women from their early 20s through to 50s at these retreats whereas at surf retreats in Australia you are more likely to find younger backpackers."Mayo says it's also a great time to go to Tasmania and join a walking tour in some of "Australia's most beautiful scenery in a perfect climate surrounded by fresh Tasmanian produce such as sparkling wines, cheeses and seafood". It's low season in the Outback but for a cooler experience you could try opal mining and staying at one of the underground accommodations at White Cliffs, just a short drive from the magnificent Darling River Run.
Finally, the Solomon Islands is one of the friendliest places you will find. "Before you land you will make friends," Mayo declares. "It'll be peak season but the Solomons offer great value all year round."I WONDER if you know anything about accessing local currency in Buenos Aires, as I have heard that ATM withdrawals are limited for foreign visitors and charges are excessive.
Could we change Australian dollars in banks there without difficulty or would US dollars be a better way to go? It seems that Argentine pesos cannot be purchased through any source where I live. DOC: Ted Dziadkiewicz, from the Latin American tour experts Contours Travel (contourstravel.com.au), says that in Argentina "they don't know what our (Australian) currency looks like" so the best bet is to take US dollars with you.
It's also important to source clean notes so they are not thought to be counterfeit. "Accessing money through ATMs in Argentina is expensive, at around $US5 for every $US100 you withdraw," Dziadkiewicz says. "The best way to get Argentine pesos is to take your US dollars with you to a bank, along with your passport. "Banks have very fair exchange rates, security guards and cameras. The odds of receiving counterfeit money at a bank are slim. "Don't ever exchange money with a stranger and avoid casa de cambios (currency exchange outlets) because of the high exchange rates there. "An exception is one cambio I have found which everyone in the know visits in the Gallerias Pacifico (shopping mall) in the basement where the food court is located. They have excellent rates."