Dr Latitude: Magical musical tour across the United States

The Metropolitan Opera House in New York is world renowned.

I am planning a trip to the US in May/June to coincide with an opera at the Met in New York (May 15) and another in Denver, Colorado (June 7). I would like to find a tour between these two dates of most of the East Coast leaving from New York and heading south via the Appalachians and Great Smoky Mountains across to New Orleans. I'm an older traveller, and would be travelling alone, so would prefer a reasonable standard of comfort.
- Laine Colson

Because of the USA's sheer size, most tours focus on a theme or region.

The majority of tours departing New York City head north to New England and Canada or south to Philadelphia and Washington.

Contiki has just the tour you're after, taking 12 days to whisk you from NYC to New Orleans via Washington, Raleigh, Savannah, Orlando and Pensacola, with one major drawback: the tours are designed for 18- to 35-year-olds.

One option could be to take the Crescent train from New York City to New Orleans (30 hours). Stops include Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Charlottesville, Atlanta, Birmingham and Tuscaloosa and fares start at $150 for a coach seat or $365 for a roomette.

Another solution could be to tie in a couple of tours.

Go to Bus has a selection of tours from NYC to Philadelphia and Washington.

Globus runs a 12-day tour from Washington to Charleston, departing on May 25 and arriving in Charleston on June 3 (from $2898). From Charleston you can visit Savannah (1 hours by train) then catch a bus to Atlanta (5 hours) and a train to New Orleans (11 hours).

Have a look at the comprehensive listing of US bus tours on Tourabout . Perhaps you'll find a more convenient option listed that ties in with your dates.

For example, American Sky has a 16-day tour departing NYC and taking in Washington, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Great Smokies, Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans and Orlando before finishing up in Miami, from where you could fly north to Denver.

Cruising on the rivers

We have covered most of Europe by road over the years but now, being in our 80s, we are restricted to river cruising. Last year we did Basel, Amsterdam and Bucharest by river. We would appreciate advice on a trip to Moscow-Rostov-on-Don linking with Budapest-Frankfurt. (We assume a flight from Rostov to Budapest is possible).
- Les Hay

River cruising in Europe is becoming more popular by the minute. It's a great way to get around - calm, scenic, quiet - and you only have to unpack once.

Cruises from Moscow to Rostov-on-Don go via the Volga River, then along the Lenin Ship Canal, which links to the Don River. They take two to three weeks and stop at Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Ulyanovsk, Samara, Saratov and Volgograd.

Airlines flying from Rostov to Budapest include Austrian, Lufthansa and Malev Hungarian, though you cannot fly direct. You can fly direct with Aeroflot-Don to Frankfurt on Saturdays. Expect to pay around $625 one way for flights from Rostov.

Your other option would be to do your river cruise in the opposite direction and fly direct to Frankfurt from Moscow. Fares with Air Berlin are as low as $225. There is a daily overnight train from Moscow to Rostov taking 24 hours ($55). Compare flights at Expedia.

River cruises from Germany to Budapest are most commonly between Passau, Nuremburg or Munich and Budapest. Go to rivers.affordabletours.com for a list of cruises.

For a list of New Zealand-based travel agencies specialising in European river cruising go to the website vikingrivers.com and click on "Other" under "Where do you live?".

Orthodox Cruise Company is a Russian-based company for Russians and foreigners. Though its accommodation is not quite as luxurious, it is certainly adequate.

Read the travel advisories for the countries you're planning to visit at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade's website safetravel.govt.nz.

From Russia with love

We are travelling to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and have a two-night stopover in Tashkent. Can we pick up Kyrgyzstan visas at Bishkek airport? We are told that Uzbekistan visas are more difficult to obtain. Do you have any advice about places to visit in Tashkent? Would it be too ambitious to do a day trip to Samarkand?
-Desmond Chu

You can obtain your Kyrgyzstan visas at Bishkek airport on arrival, as there is no Kyrgyzstan embassy or consulate in New Zealand (or Australia).

A visa for Uzbekistan is not as simple. You will require a letter of invitation (LOI), referred to as "visa support". A LOI would be provided by a local travel agency. The agency arranges for the LOI to be approved by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and/or Interior, then faxes or emails the LOI to you.

As there is no embassy of Uzbekistan in New Zealand/Australia for you to apply for a visa after that, you will have to take that LOI with you and obtain a visa at Tashkent airport upon arrival.

It may be possible to arrange your LOI while in Kyrgyzstan, but if you have the time you should arrange it well in advance.

Recommended travel agencies in Tashkent include Advantour and Dolores Tour. It costs from $24 to $48 for an approved LOI.

For the latest information, and to find out about the current situation with transit visas, check with a CIS-specialist travel agency such as Iris Tours and read the latest at

Be sure to read the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade's travel advisories for both countries at safetravel.govt.nz.