13 FEBRUARY 1932, Page 30

Travel

TWe publish on this page articles and notes which may help our readers in making their plans for travel at home and abroad. They are written by correspondents who have visited the places described. We shall be glad to answer questions arising out of the Travel articles published in our columns. Inquiries should be addressed to the Travel Manager, The SPECTATOR, 99 Gower Street, W .C.1.1

Round the Mediterranean

SPRING holidays abroad and Mediterranean Cruises seem near to becoming synonymous terms this year to the patriotic Englishman, in the words of a travel agency, it is to-day infra dig to recommend anything but a cruise to the intending traveller." Already several early cruising ships have a full complement of passengers, while special Easter cruises seem likely to attract new patrons ; the pro- spective visitor to the Mediterranean should, therefore, make arrangements in good -time- to ensure. a comfortable berth. Below we give a summary of the most important of these tours. For the benefit of those whose geography is not what it should be, Coruna, Villagarcia, Arose Bay and Vigo are at the north-west corner of Spain : one or other of these ports is often used as a first stopping place. Funchal denotes a stop at Madeira ; Teneriffe and Las Palmas at the 'Canary Isles ; while Casablanca, Tangier (where a new British-owned hotel, the El Minzah Palace, has just been opened) and Ceuta (facing Gibraltar) are on the north-west African coast: Going East we find several,ports frequently used,by cruising vessels, namely; Algiers, Philippeville (Algeria); Carthage, Tunis, Sousse or Susa and Tripoli. - --

On the coast of Palestine the two chief ports are Jaffa and Haifa, with Beirtit (or Beyrout) further north ih Syria'. On the-return westwards vessels call at Larnaca (Cyprus) or the Isle of Rhodes before visiting Phaleron Bay (for Athens), Nauplia in Mores and Istanbul (Constantinople). The stopping places used on the Dalmatian coast often lead to confusion owing to. their proximity to one another and the recent change in sonic names. The Isle of Corfu oft the Grecian Coast serves to introduce them. On the Vugo-Slavian seaboard are Cattaro (now known as Kotor), Ragusa (now Dubrovnik), Spalato. (now Split), while Milne and Korinla are ports in the Dalmatian Archipelago. The Brioni Islands lie in the Gulf of Venice off Istria. Spezia, which is mentioned in an Orient Line itinerary, 'is just lwloiv Genoa ; Palermor, the port for Sicily ; Palma and Pollenza Bay are in Majorca, while Iviza, another port of call for the Orient Line, is the easternmost of the Balearic Isles. Cagliari is, of course, the capital of Sardinia. Villefranche (for Monte Carlo), Cartagena and Malaga on the South Coast of Spain, and San Sebastian, close to Biarritz, are likely to be the only remaining places with which readers may not be too well acquainted.

Notes on Cruises

Orient Line. The ' Otranto ' sails from Southampton on March 12th (30 days), visiting Algiers, Susa, Tripoli, Alexandria, Haifa, Larnaca, Port Said, Jaffa, Beirut, Rhodes, Istanbul, Phaleron Bay, Gibraltar, London. Fares from 52 gns. The

Orontes' sails from London on April 16th (20 days), visiting Casablanca, Algiers, Philippeville; Naples, Spezia, Villefranche; Palma, lviza, Gibraltar, Vigo, Southampton. Fares from 35 gns. The ` Orontes' sails from Southampton an May 7th (21 days), visiting Ceuta, Philippeville, Kotor, Dubrovnik, Brioni, Venice, Koreula, Palma, London. Fares from 37 ghs. The ` Orford ' sails from London on May 27th (16 das), visiting Southampton, Gibraltar, Malaga, Villefranche, Bob lenza Bay, Palma, Iviza, Casablanca, Vigo, SouthamptOn. Fares from.2.5 gas. Blue Star Line. The Arandora Star' saffs-from Southamp: ton on March 18th (29 days), visiting Gibraltar, Palermo, Nauplia, Phaleron Bay, Rhodes, Haifa, Port Said, Ma Sousse, Algiers, Southainpton. Fares from 50 gns. ` Arandora Star' sails from Southampton on April 22nd (25 days), visiting Tangier, Palma, Palermo, Koreola, Venice, Split, Dubrovnik, Corfu, Sousse, Philippeville, Malaga; Southampton. Fares from 45 gns. The Arandora Star' sails from Southampton on May 21st (18 days), visiting Lisbon, Tangier,- Casablanca, Las Palmas, Teneriffe, Madeira, San Sebastian, Southampton. Fares from 28 gns.

C.P.IL Line. The ` Duchess of Richmond' sails frcjm Southampton on March 12th (21 days), visiting Ceuta, Palma, Naples, Messina, Tripoli, Algiers, Barcelona, Lisbon; South- ampton. Fares from 38 gns.

Cunard Line. The `Carinthia' (one class only) sails frOm Liverpool on May 12th (6 days), visiting Lisbon, Vigo, Liver- pool. Farea from 8 gns. The ' Aquitania ' sails from South- ampton on May 21st (5 days), visiting Gibraltar, Southampton. Fares from 8 gns.

White Star Line. The '• Laurentie ' sails from Liverpool on March 24th (16 days), visiting Vigo, Casablanca, Tangier., Algiers, Palma, Gibraltar, Lisbon, Liverpool. Fares from £25.

• P. and -a -Line. The Viceroy of India' sails from-London On May 6th (21-days), visiting Malaga, Malta, Istanbul, Athens, Palermo, Ceuta, Comma, Southampton. Fares from 35 gns. The 'Strathnaver ' sails from London on May .I4th (21 days), visiting Arose Bay, Ceuta, Malta, Venice, Brioni, Split, Mina, Dubrovnik, Cagliari, Gibraltar, London. Fares from 35-gns.. The "-Viceroy of India ' -sails from Southampton on May 28th (14 days), visiting Arose Bay, Ceuta, Monte Carlo, Palma, Barcelona, Vigo, London. Fares from 25 gns.

The Booth Line are using the s.s, ` Hilary' as well as the s.s. ` Hildebrand ' this year for their novel thousand nines up the Amazon 'cruise. - Fares have been specially reduced and are now front £70 to £100 for the six and a' half weeks the tour occupies; including shore excursions at Oporto, Lisbon, Madeira, Para and Manaos. The sailing dates of the next tours are April 9th and May 3rd. A week's trip to Oporto and back by the s.s. Hilary ' has also been arranged for June 11th, costing 8 gns. The port of embarkation in each case is Liverpool.

The Nederland•Royal Mail -Line vessels leave Southampton every fortnight- for Algiers and Genoa, and provide an oppor- tunity of visiting the North Coast of Africa and the Italian Riviera, as an alternative to the. regular cruise. Holders of return tickets to Algiers have the • option of returning from Marseilles vid Tangier and Gibraltar to Southampton on payment of the fare -front Algiers to Marseilles, while holders of return tickets' to Genoanxerelsingthe same option receive a free rail ticket from 'Genoa to Marseilles.