Our theme today: International Travel ‘88, with...

Our theme today: International Travel ‘88, with features describing inexpensive air fares, journeys by train, the bargains of Mexico, camping in Europe, South America’s hideaways and a host of other articles aimed at vacation planning. One of our regulars, Dr. Karl Neumann, lectures on staying healthy while abroad, and Don James (our book reviewer) lists the season’s best travel guides. These and other features are spotlighted in this issue of International Travel ‘88--a reference we suggest you keep as a vacation guide.

Preparing

If you’re going overseas this summer, apply now for your passport. The nearer we get to summer, the longer the lines grow at the U.S. Passport Agency, 11000 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles 90024. For recorded instructions call (213) 209-7070. Answers to individual questions are given by dialing (213) 209-7075. The fees: $42 for a 10-year adult passport, $27 (five years) for persons under 18. Agency hours: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Again this year, director Sakae Hawley advises applicants to avoid the crowded 11 a.m.-2 p.m. period.

Our advice: Steer clear of long lines (and possibly a long drive) by applying at local post offices or county courts that handle passport applications.

Visas

Apply for visas at consular offices (listed in the white pages of your telephone directory) or avoid the hassle by contacting local agencies that handle these matters for a fee:

--Visas International, 3169 Barbara Court, Los Angeles 90069, has been in business 24 years. Offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Chicago, New York. Phone (213) 850-1192 for instructions. This same agency will assist you in obtaining a passport.

--Rona Travel Bureau Inc., 3550 West 6th St., Los Angeles 90020. Telephone (213) 382-2111. Specializes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe (Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Poland). Other visas for Japan.

--International Passports & Visas, 205 S. Beverly Drive, Suite 204, Los Angeles 90212. Telephone (213) 274-2020. Operates a satellite office at 16661 Ventura Blvd., Suite 400, Encino 91436. Telephone (818) 784-8472. International also helps obtain birth certificates, stands in line for you at the passport agency, performs translations for businessmen.

--World Wide Visa Service, 1712 N. Pacific Ave., Glendale 91202. Call (213) 245-0934. Weekdays, Saturdays by appointment.

--Intercontinental Visa Service, Suite 185, World Trade Center, 350 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles 90071. Telephone (213) 625-7175.

Note: Consulates list a variety of requirements. Some request extra photos. Others insist that travelers possess a round-trip air ticket. Certain African countries will want to see proof of cholera, yellow fever inoculations. For an 11-page booklet titled “Visa Requirements of Foreign Countries,” send a stamped, self-addresssed business-size envelope to the Bureau of Consular Affairs, CA/PA Room 2807, Department of State, Washington, D.C. 20520. In addition, a “Passport Survival Kit” with entry requirements for U.S. citizens plus embassy and consulate addresses is available from Visa Advisors, 1900 18th St. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20009. Telephone (202) 797-7976.

International Driver’s License

Like passports and visas, the rules for obtaining an international driver’s license are worth repeating again this year. Although not all countries require one, they’re inexpensive ($5) and worth possessing--just in case. Available at offices of the Automobile Club of Southern California. Take along your California driver’s license plus a couple of passport-size photos. Membership in the auto club isn’t required. Note: If traveling to Latin American countries, inquire about an Inter-American driver’s permit.

Camping Europe

Because a large number of European campgrounds are operated by private clubs, the National Campers & Hikers Assn. has come to the rescue of American travelers. The association will issue an international camping carnet (“a kind of camper’s passport for Europe and several other countries,” says the NCHA). With 24,000 members, this is the only club in the United States that provides members with the camping carnet . Membership is $16. The carnet costs an extra $7.

Details from the National Campers & Hikers Assn., Dept. NC1, 4804 Transit Road, Building 2, DePew, N.Y. 14043.

Piloting a Barge

Dick Hunt, ex-chief aviator for Cathay Pacific Airlines in Hong Kong, is piloting a barge these days in France. Two double cabins. Each with private bath. Hunt’s wife Jane describes life aboard as “like staying with friends in a country house.” Informality is the rule. Hunt sets a course out of Paris for the Champagne country or else south to the Loiret region. Occasionally, passengers board the barge in Paris. Otherwise, the Hunts fetch them by car. The Hunts are equipped to accommodate two couples or a family of six. Dining inside or on deck. On pleasant days, picnic lunches are spread alongside one of the towpaths. And on chilly evenings, guests lounge beside a fireplace. Contact Canal Safaris, 15 Bis Place, St. Nicaise, 51100 Reims, France, or the Hunts’ U.S. representative, Ellen Sack: toll-free (800) 237-3762, ext. 300. Rates: $1,700 per person for a six-day journey, $2,400 for 12 days.

British Homes

Selections in a rental pool of nearly 5,000 British homes, cottages, seaside bungalows, apartments and castles are listed in a new “homes-away-from-home” catalogue offered by British Travel Report. Properties in England, Scotland, Wales. Thatched and timbered houses. “Space and privacy that can’t be matched by hotels,” says BTR. Rentals start as low as $150 a week. Others in the $300/$400 range accommodate three to six guests. Catalogues available at travel agencies, or copies can be ordered direct from British Travel Report, P.O. Box 299, Elkton, Va. 22827. Call toll-free (800) 327-6097. Enclose $1 for postage/handling. Note: BTR’s popular B&B; program was listed in Travel Tips on Feb. 21.

Money Matters

Again this year, readers are invited to write for a free copy of “Money Sense Overseas.” Tells about the basics of buying, converting foreign currencies. Send a self-addressed, stamped No. 10 envelope to Unicorn Enterprises, 3602 W. Glen Branch, Peoria, Ill. 61614. The company will also include details about the money converter, Unicorn II. Pocket-size. Allows the converter to “float” with changes in exchange rates for all major currencies. In addition, the Unicorn gives metric conversions for distance, speed, weight, temperatures. Other conversions for world time zones. Sells for $3.95. Carried by some bookstores, travel agencies. If you can’t find it locally, send $3.95 plus 75 cents for postage to Unicorn Enterprises. (See address above.)

Olympics

Most major hotels in Seoul, South Korea, are sold out for the Summer Olympics, even though the games won’t get under way till September. Korea has no agency in the United States to handle reservations. Your best bet: Work through your travel agent. A few hotels outside the city are available. So are yogwans, the Korean-style inn with sleeping mats on the floor. (For booklets on the Olympics, write to the Korea National Tourism Corp., 510 W. 6th St., Los Angeles 90014.) Here are several tour operators who are specializing in Olympic packages:

--Olson-Travelworld, 5855 Green Valley Circle, Culver City 90230. Telephone toll-free (800) 992-9511 or (213) 670-7100.

--Universal Travel System, P.O. Box 17955, Los Angeles 90017. Telephone (213) 482-5633.

--Global Express Tours, P.O. Box 4503, Burlingame, Calif. 94011-4503. Telephone (415) 692-7874.

--Holiday World Tours, 3717 196th St. S.W., Suite 13, Lynnwood, Wash. 98036. Telephone toll-free (800) 845-8687.

--Net Tours, 150 Powell St., Suite 301, San Francisco 94102. Telephone toll-free (800) 792-0747.