AirTags will be useless if airport security keeps doing this

Playing tag

I recently returned from Wellington, New Zealand. After checking in my luggage I received a call from security to retrieve items that needed to be removed from my suitcase. After spending some time locating the security officer, I was asked to put my hearing aids in my hand luggage and told that a rechargeable hair dryer could not be taken on board at all.

Fair enough. But while waiting at Sydney Airport I tried to check my luggage’s location using my AirTag. My suitcase arrived in Sydney, but the AirTag was removed in Wellington. No one mentioned this. Apparently, it’s to do with the battery. Does this mean AirTags cannot be used on checked in baggage? Has this happened to anyone else?
Jane Ellis, Cremorne Point, NSW

Letter of the week: Cheers for Algiers

Anthony Dennis’ story on his Viking cruise shore excursion to the Algerian capital of Algiers (Traveller, August 16) brought back some great memories of a two-week stay in Algiers in 2023 for work. Yes, the kasbah and the sights are amazing, as is the cuisine at Le Repere restaurant. The rest of Algiers is quite an experience too, from a busy rush hour in a city without a single traffic light – police control major intersections – to the warm friendly locals who are desperate to provide assistance and spruik their country’s attributes.

I can highly recommend the Hotel Djazair which was formerly Hotel St George (still referred to as such by most locals even 40-plus years after its rebranding). This hotel was Dwight D. Eisenhower’s headquarters for his invasion planning during World War II. It has amazing architecture and Ottoman tiling throughout. I found it to be a stunning and welcoming place while obviously still developing as a tourism destination.
David Jarrett, Leppington, NSW

Milk of human unkindness

I welcomed the article by Penny Watson (Traveller, August 28) and I was especially taken with her desire for decent tea and fresh milk when staying in a hotel. Only last week, arriving at the Marriott Hotel in Bucharest, Romania, all I yearned for was a lovely cup of hot tea. Our hotel room contained a deluxe coffee machine with pods but only four fancy herbal tea bags. I went to the reception to request some English Breakfast tea bags and a small amount of fresh milk. It seemed that such a request had never been made before. I was informed that the teabags would be delivered but if I wanted fresh milk, it would be charged to my room. Astounded, I declined the “offer”. A fortnight before, staying at the Scandia Hotel in Frankfurt, Germany, I made the same request. Thankfully, tea bags and fresh milk were promptly delivered free of charge.
Narelle Murray, Glen Waverley, Vic

Planet the priority

With the news that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is at severe risk of collapse, I think it is time to curb Antarctic tourism. It is reported that the ice sheet contains enough ice to raise sea levels by three metres. Such sea level rise could have catastrophic consequences for coastal cities, sea life in warmer oceans and Antarctic fauna. Tourism to Antarctica is increasing exponentially from a few thousand in the 1990s to 120,000 in 2023-2024. This is known to threaten fragile ecosystems, disturb wildlife, potentially spread invasive species and add to carbon emissions. I have no doubt that those travelling there would have a thrilling experience, but perhaps we need to put the planet’s survival before our own enjoyment in this case.
Lorraine Phillips, Wollongong, NSW

Bureau blues

Ian Stuart, there is another scam in Istanbul (Traveller Letters, August 23). Foreign exchange bureaus. Bleary-eyed and jet-lagged, arriving from an overnight flight, I changed $US10 for Turkish lira. In my innocence, I accepted a sum without a receipt. I got the equivalent of one dollar’s worth. A Turkish person next to me looked on in astonishment. A fellow employee, behind the cashier, pulled her eyelid down to warn me of her colleague’s mendacity. The tip. Take a calculator and be familiar with the current exchange rate.
Mike Fogarty, Weston, ACT

Dire hire

Your reader, Paul Demaine (Traveller Letters, August 16), was remarkably lucky getting a result from the British Rental and Vehicle Leading Association (BRVLA). As an industry “dispute scheme”, be aware it’s run by the rental companies themselves. I assisted in a claim against Europcar billing a not requested “free” upgrade. The BRVLA found in favour of the rental company because it was Europcar’s word against that of the driver.
Michael Berg, Randwick, NSW

Get rail

I do not understand why travellers risk unwanted costs by the practices of hire-car companies. When travelling in Europe we always choose train travel. The networks are extensive and easy to use. We have been able to get anywhere we want using train services. Many accommodation places provide free public transport tickets during your stay. Notably, this occurred on our recent stays in Konstanz in Germany and Lausanne in Switzerland. Save your money, take the train.
Cheryl Gallagher, Armstrong Creek, Vic

Plan ahead

Yes, I have visited Copenhagen a few times over the years, but never as successfully as your columnist Lee Tulloch did during her mini-stay in the Danish capital (Traveller, August 26). Her purchase of the Copenhagen Card and its planned use, illustrated fully how some prior knowledge of a city, plus an electronic travel card, will result in a pleasant, and informative visit, that can be achieved at a leisurely pace.
Marjie Williamson, Blaxland, NSW

Appy days

Returning to Melbourne from Europe, I realised after leaving my Emirates flight in Dubai that I’d forgotten my AirPods on board. A week later, back home, I checked Apple’s FindMy app and was surprised to see them still at the Dubai terminal. I reported the loss through Emirates’ website and quickly received a reply. To my delight, the airline not only found the AirPods but shipped them all the way to Melbourne, where I collected them at the airport office. In an age where lost property is often gone for good, this was truly outstanding service. Thank you, Emirates.
Michael Ryan, Eltham North, Vic

Presses my button

Dave Horsfall refers to the silly American euphemism “restroom” instead of “toilet” (Traveller Letters, August 16). He doesn’t go far enough. There’s also “washroom” and the most ridiculous of them all, “bathroom”. Americans are fearful of the word toilet or WC and, as Australians, we shouldn’t be afraid to call them what they are.
Robert Dyson, Garfield North, Vic

Tip of the week: Hello Dolli

Here we are in Athens again, a city that captures our heart and soul. We’re staying at the Sofitel Airport Hotel, where we eat pasta at midnight and sip G&Ts at the rooftop bar while listening to the cool DJ. Today, in 32- degree heat, we catch the crowded train to Syntagma Square and stroll down Ermou Street to the Monastiraki area. Then, on the advice of a favourite Traveller writer, we go to the Dolli at Acropolis Rooftop Bar. As we catch the first glimpse of the Acropolis we are filled with emotion and gratitude for being able to return to the cradle of civilisation and such a vibrant modern city.
Rhoda Silber, Manly, NSW

EDITOR’S NOTE: Traveller always loves learning about readers’ travels at home and abroad, as well as the crucial tips and advice you collect along the way. Please let us know by writing to us.

We are, you are…

Regarding the reader tip “International island” (Traveller Letters, August 30) which refers to flying to Cocos and Christmas Islands being similar, in that you leave and return through Perth’s international terminal. We travelled to the islands a few years ago (they are well worth a visit), but a quirk of Virgin Australia’s Sydney check-in was that the airport machines demanded to see our passports, which we didn’t have, before issuing our boarding passes. No one had programmed them to recognise the islands as Australian territory, with Virgin staff having to intervene. Hopefully, by now, the system has changed, but it’s worth checking before you go.
Tony Ransom, Tennyson Point, NSW

Editor’s note: As mentioned in our article last week, Qantas will soon take over this route from Virgin, starting on November 3.

Double trouble

We have recently returned from a 320-day driving holiday from Frankston South, Victoria, to Cairns, Queensland, and back. Ten months before our departure we had booked our accommodation to and from the destination and in some cases paid the accommodation in advance. During that trip, we found that some rooms booked as standard queen, deluxe queen or executive queen were in-fact rooms with a double bed, second-rate mattresses and few if any plates and/or cutlery – but at the queen room rate – about $160 to $215 a night. When questioned about this discrepancy we were told costs had escalated over the past 12 months. While we did, however, find the remote towns affected by the March floods to be exceptional, this does not seem to us to be a strategy for encouraging return visits to those motels.
Geof Pearce, Frankston South, Vic

EDITOR’S NOTE What are your tips for top motels around Australia which, unlike the above, go above and beyond? What is it that makes them special? Write to us (see below), and we’ll publish the most interesting responses.

Size matters

Why do car-hire companies never seem to have the car you book? My husband and I have used Hertz in Australia and the UK many times. Each time we have ended up with a car different from what we ordered. On a recent trip to the UK we booked an automatic small-to-medium SUV with satnav. (most people in the UK still drive manual cars.). When we arrived the only automatic SUV they had was a medium/large Mercedes, a nice car but difficult to park in the small parking spaces in the UK, also a nightmare to pass cars in narrow country lanes.
Barbara Ryan, Caringbah South, NSW

Helping hand

My wife and I did a 30-day road trip around the north of France, starting and finishing in Lille. On the last day, giving ourselves an hour and a half to cover just five kilometres from our hotel to return the vehicle, we could not find the rental-car return ramp at Lille Europe Station, despite several calls to the SIXT desk. Having gone past the ramp twice, in one-way traffic, we obviously lost our way, then got stuck down in roadworks and a dead end.

I started to reverse out when a lovely French lady approached and, in a mix of English, French and hand signals, asked, “may I help you? Follow my car and I will lead you back to where the ramp leaves the main one-way thoroughfare”. In the thick traffic we could only wave to thank her. What a kind and generous act by a wonderful French citizen.
Duncan Cameron, Lane Cove, NSW

The Letter of the Week writer wins three Hardie Grant travel books. See hardiegrant.com

The Tip of the Week writer wins a set of three Lonely Planet travel books. See shop.lonelyplanet.com