Finding Cheap Seat on Cargo Flight

Question: Now that Eastern Airlines is offering cheap passenger rates on cargo flights, are similar services available on other lines?

Answer: Only Eastern sells low-cost seats on certain air freight flights. Pan American hopes to provide similar service later this year.

Q: Where is the miniature village in the Pacific similar to Holland’s Maduradam?

A: A tourist attraction, “Window on China,” is the Lilliputian town at Lungtan near Taipei, with houses that are knee-high.

Q: Is Amtrak introducing turboliner service similar to the high-speed French passengers trains?

A: Amtrak has a turboliner operating only in New York state, patterned after equipment used by the French National Railways, with potential speed of 125 m.p.h.

Q: Is it true that foreign hospitals demand a deposit before admitting a tourist even in cases of emergency?

A: Foreign hospitals normally treat emergency patients but some may demand as much as a $1,000 deposit for medical services. Most accept insurance plans sold here such as Medex ($3 a day for $100,000 benefits), phone (800) 336-3310. Travel Assistance International, phone (800) 821-2828, offers a credit guarantee for $5 a year membership fee and $30 for one week’s coverage. Purchase of BankAmerica travelers checks also incorporates medical coverage for a small additional fee.

Q: Do I need a passport to vacation in the Caribbean?

A: Trinidad and Tobago are the only Caribbean islands requiring a passport of U.S. citizens. Most others require only some kind of proof of citizenship (birth certificate, voters registration card, etc.). Barbados and the French West Indies require an ID with a photograph.

Q. Where can I get information about bicycle tours?

A. Numerous bicycle tours are offered year-round in all parts of the world. American Youth Hostels, 132 Spring St., New York 10012, phone (212) 431-7100, has 150 domestic and international trips.

Q. On a trip through Virginia, which museums and military sites are of special interest?

A. There are many for military buffs. Included are NASA’s Langley Space Research Center, Langley Field; Virginia Military Institute Museum, Lexington; Manassas Battlefield Park, Manassas; Douglas MacArthur Memorial, Norfolk; Marine Corps Aviation Museum, Quantico; Richmond Battlefield Park, Richmond; Yorktown Battlefield Park, Yorktown; Army Transportation Museum, Ft. Eustis; Quartermaster Museum, Ft. Lee, and Army Engineer Museum, Ft. Belvoir. Contact Virginia State Travel Service, 6 North 6th St., Richmond, Va. 23219.

Q. Where can we rent a motor home for our European trip and what’s the approximate cost?

A. Motor homes can be rented in most European countries. Prices range from $200 to $500 a week depending on size. You can book through your travel agent.

Q. A cruise line told me that I must make a deposit six months ahead for an advance booking discount; another said it was two months. What is the regulation?

A. There is no regulation and each line sets its own policy, details of which are available at travel agencies.

Q. Is there any airline with round-the-world service through New York?

A. Taiwan’s China Airlines circles the globe through New York with other stops at Anchorage, Taipei, Amsterdam and Dubai.