Book at your own risk with this budget airline

For your story (VisitorsAugust 10) For the pleasure of a quiet place, my choice is the sacred island of Iona. It is a small island with a population of only 125 people, located off the west coast of Scotland. You can get there by ferry, and tourists’ cars are not allowed. The island was first settled in 563 by St. Columba. The 15th century Rose Granite Abbey has been restored, and its peaceful contemplative atmosphere was a highlight of our visit. Apart from this, the island also has natural beauty in the form of azure waters, sandy beaches, rare wild flowers, numerous birds and rich marine life.
Sandra Torpey, Hawthorn, Victoria

Understand what I mean

My quietest spot is Turquoise Bay near Exmouth, Western Australia, where the water is clear and warm (its name is said to promote clear thinking) and it’s packed with tourists most of the year. But put on your snorkel and mask and go with the flow, and you’ll feel as if you’ve fallen into or splashed into the water from the Finding NemoThe turquoise tranquility is broken only by the sound of water spraying from a snorkel, followed by the excitement of a turtle swimming by or a school of colorful fish darting around you. A nearby information center provides detailed information on when and where it is best to “go with the flow.”
Roxanne Le Blanc, Croydon, Victoria

Singapore Singing

I completely agree with Sandie Peleg and Julius Dhanu (Traveler’s Letter, August 10) commented on the low standard of the process for incoming passengers in Australia. We arrived at Sydney Airport after a nine-day stay in Singapore, our first overseas trip in five years, and Singapore met high standards for almost everything. After filling in the customs declaration form, we thought the process for Australians returning home would be fairly smooth. We did not expect to encounter such a mess.

Well-informed travelers head straight for the limited number of ticket machines, while the rest of us have no idea which direction to go or which queue to join. Border Force staff are shouting and extremely unfriendly, even rude. Signage is inadequate and the process unclear. It is certainly worse for those with limited English proficiency. The Australians we spoke to were also embarrassed by the confusion and rudeness encountered by foreign tourists. I recommend that all Border Force immigration officers should attend mandatory training on the Singapore trip.
Rod Brown, Gunnedah, NSW

Editor’s note: Our columnist Michael Gebicki researched this question and received a great response from readers. Click here to learn more.

Oh, Manchester

Julius DanuTraveler’s Letter, August 10) wrote that Sydney’s immigration process was horribly handled. Imagine that at Manchester Airport, the UK’s second largest airport, when we arrived, the immigration line was over 100 meters long, with people squeezing into the line from other gates. It took nearly an hour to go through immigration. The resigned look of most passengers told me that this chaos was not uncommon. Welcome to Manchester. Come back, Sydney, I say all will be forgiven.
Nick Halkyard, Avalon Beach, New South Wales

Palma Karma

How my eyes hurt when I see the words “parmi” and “parmies” (Traveler’s Letter, August 10). As Joanne Thom, from the Melbourne suburb of Greensborough, you’ll no doubt know that in Victoria, chicken parmigiana is “parma”.
Damian Gunn, Montmorency, Vic

Road Warrior

Listen to me, Joanne Tom. We just drove from Narooma in NSW to Western Australia and back again, a journey of 12,745 km. We experienced whales, the Nullarbor Plains, Wave Rock, Big Trees, the Silo Art Trail, Eyre Peninsula and more, and wonderful and not so wonderful accommodation from serviced apartments to dusty “executive cabins” in caravan parks. The road train was no problem. I played the Nullarbor Links golf course, with mixed results but great fun. It was a truly memorable experience, and driving on the left side of the road the entire time. I would not hesitate to do it again.
John Brown, Kianga, NSW

Family discord

My wife and I have been members of Emirates Skywards for over 10 years and have flown with them every year for the past decade (except during the pandemic) to Europe, with a few stops in Africa. So when they invited us to join the “My Family” Skywards program, we thought it was a great idea. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. We tried several times to upgrade to Business Class using our points, but couldn’t find our points when we checked in. The staff were very helpful but couldn’t upgrade us – despite calling – and there were no Business Class seats available.

Also, as an individual frequent flyer member we can use points for shopping – very useful if you are about to lose points. This is not the case with a family member as you can only use points to buy flights or Emirates “special events”. So you only lose points. My advice is to stick with their individual frequent flyer programs.
Tom Pinkey, Newtown, NSW

Level down

Codeshare flights can certainly cause trouble. I recently made a huge mistake by approaching a travel agent who insisted on booking six round-trip flights for me and my partner on Emirates. I wanted to fly Qantas using points, but they convinced us that for an extra $1,000 we could fly Emirates without using any points. They didn’t explain that I would not earn any tier points. It seems that Emirates is not a member of the oneworld alliance, but rather a “bespoke” partner. The result? I lost all the tier points I had previously earned and my Gold status.
Denise Hunter, North Sydney, NSW

Beggar’s Faith

Comment by Carolyn Beasley Singapore Airlines Business Class Not reflective of our recent experience. Instead of “eye masks, slippers” and “delightful refreshing amenities” being “provided”, we had to request – even beg – individual items. The in-flight information indicated that these items were available if requested: the claim was that this was to reduce waste. Maybe, but do airlines have to be so stingy?
Sally Davis, Malvern East, Victoria

Tip of the Week: Gorillas Among Us

We just returned from a three-week family road trip to Uganda (tip: they drive on the left). We toured with gorillas in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, watching a silverback gorilla tend to his family. We hiked along the trails to see chimpanzees, then watched them relax and groom each other. We walked with our guide, toured the savannah with a herd of giraffes, and took a night game drive to see leopards, watching them at a waterhole waiting for antelope or zebra. We enjoyed the company of our local guide, who introduced and taught us about the many different bird species in Uganda, including the unique shoebill stork. We also loved the soft-spoken language of the Ugandans.
Trish Williams, Camberwell, Victoria

Fill the bucket

Thanks to Ben Groundwater for the anti-bucket list (VisitorsJuly 17). I agree with all your suggestions, but I would like to add one more thing: never travel anywhere during the tourist season; never travel to any country that turns a blind eye to child labor exploitation, especially prostitution, or any country where women cannot leave their homes without a male relative and must wear a burqa.
Sandra Torpey, Hawthorn, Victoria

This week’s letter writer wins three Hardie Grant travel books. hardiegrant.com

televisionThis week’s tip writer won a set of three Lonely Planet travel books. shop.lonelyplanet.com