Hello fellow travelers! This is
the second part of a two-part blog on multiple night escorted guided
tours. If you haven’t yet, I suggest
reading part one first…
Tour programs with even small groups of 12-24 passengers can provide some
tremendous benefits; collective purchasing power which lowers the cost of many
things from hotels & airfare to attractions & ground transportation,
the ability to participate in programs / services / special access designed for
groups specifically, and secure fantastic local expert speakers whose high cost
may be prohibitive to individuals.
One of the biggest “fears” I have heard from clients new to touring is
that they don’t want to be “herded” around by a tour director with a large
group going to some attractions they really don’t care to see. This is certainly a concern.
TO AVOID BEING SWEPT ALONG ON
A TOUR WITH NUMEROUS ATTRACTIONS THAT YOU PREFER NOT TO SPEND TIME AT; EITHER
ANALYZE A TOUR SCHEDULE IN FULL BEFORE PURCHASE TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT THE ENTIRE ITINERARY
(OR SEE THAT YOU CAN SKIP SOMETHING TO GO
OFF ON YOUR OWN ON OCCASION WITHOUT CAUSING LOGISTICAL PROBLEMS) OR
PURCHASE A BASIC “SHELL’ TOUR WITH LODGING, TRANSPORTATION, SOME MEALS WHICH
OFFERS OPTIONAL TOURS THAT YOU CAN SELECT IF YOU WISH!
A bit more in depth about this; multiple night guided tour programs
range from VERY-inclusive (super busy, every minute pretty much filled with an
included activity, and numerous meals), to a basic shell of a tour with
transportation and hotel being the basic inclusions, with some meals, and
excursion or two (usually general sightseeing shortly after arrival) also
included. You can choose tour programs from
either end of the spectrum or somewhere in the middle, as you desire. Just a bit of advance research and you can
get exactly what you want!
The “shell type” of tours are more common in the low to mid-priced
programs staying at 3 – 3 ½ star properties.
More upscale programs which feature 4 star and higher properties (I am
using the American star rating system, with 5 being the best) tend to have more
inclusions, however ample free time is built in to allow customers to explore additional
places of interest to them at their own pace.
Upscale programs typically limit the group size as well to avoid the
feeling of “being herded”, and as there is a greater potential of service
suffering because of a large group size. Twenty four is about the largest “small
group” size one finds with upscale tour operators.
For more independent “shell” type tours; Saga Holidays “Stay &
Relax” program or Monograms (part of the Globus Family of Brands) “Independent
Travel” program are excellent examples (and great choices) of this type of
guided tour program. Abercrombie &
Kent and Tauck Tours are excellent examples (and perfect choices) of premium /
upscale guided tour programs that offer a very inclusive program yet flexible,
with ample free time to explore other attractions of personal interest.
MOST OUTBOUND TOUR OPERATORS
RELY ON INBOUND TOUR OPERATORS (DMC’S) TO PROVIDE THEIR LOCAL GUIDING SERVICES,
WITH THE OUTBOUND OPERATOR PROVIDING A TOUR DIRECTOR TO OVERSEE AND ASSIST. ABERCROMBIE & KENT & TAUCK TOURS ARE UNIQUE
AMONG GLOBAL UPSCALE TOUR OPERATORS; THEY TRAIN THEIR OWN EXPERTS.
Abercrombie
& Kent has a network of global offices that are staffed with highly trained,
highly specialized guides. An infrastructure
including well-maintained vehicles along with the guides they have trained
allows A&K to have full control over pretty much every aspect of your
tour. They even own some key hotels,
resorts, safari lodges as well as river & expedition cruise boats. This translates into the ultimate product for
you, with great controls over virtually every aspect of travel except for the
air travel portion. Tauck Tours hires and trains Tour Directors who know their tour
product well, specializing in that region and conducting numerous tours within
that area they know and love. Trafalgar Tours does so as well, along with a handful of other reputable tour operators. A knowledgeable travel agent will be able to steer you to a tour operator that is right for your needs.
The typical business model for most other major tour operators is to
draw from a pool of tour directors who work a wide variety of trips, and who
work for more than one tour operator.
Many independent tour directors are great, know the area well, interact
fantastically with people. The Tauck and
A&K business model allows them to exert more influence on their tour
product; maintain consistent standards between all of their products, ensure
that the Tour Director has the in-depth knowledge and service standards that
are promised to clients, and work with Tour Directors to continually improve
their skills and knowledge.
BEST TIME TO TRAVEL TO VARIOUS
PLACES? OF COURSE DIFFERENT PLACES HAVE
DIFFERENT PARAMETERS WITH WEATHER BEING A PRIME FACTOR. IN GENERAL NO MATTER WHERE, SHOULDER
SEASON IS THE BEST TIME TO TRAVEL IN MY OPINION!!
Most places have peak season and low season, with weather being a big
consideration. Other considerations are
viewing of natural phenomena such as the whale migration into Hawaii from
January through April, or celebrations such as the popular German Oktoberfest
celebration spanning more than 2 weeks annually.
Shoulder season is the time period at the transition point between low
and high season. These periods are
getting very close to the end / beginning of whatever negative reason defines “low”
season, and the end / beginning of whatever positive reason defines “high”
season. For many many destinations this
ties in with the seasons. Alaska isn’t a
great vacation paradise in January for most people, however late spring through
mid-Autumn, fantastic! Using Alaska as
an example (which you can project to other areas of interest which have a
similar “cycle” of low, high and shoulder seasons), June, July and August are
of course peak season due to the severe impact weather has on this region. This also means more visitors. More visitors means less favorable conditions
for your visit; more crowds and the resulting lines for attractions or sold-out
situations, higher prices, and the need to plan way in advance to make
reservations. So, the transition from
low to peak season happens twice; end of May as the colder weather ends and in
September as the nice summer weather starts coming to an end. Traveling during shoulder season here brings
a slight risk of slightly cooler weather, however it brings the rewards of less
travelers, less crowds, more availability and lower prices. Well worth it!
Another factor is school. When
school lets out the first week of June, until it starts back up at the very end
of August or early September (in the northern hemisphere) with children off of
school, families and college students do the bulk of their travel. Also, spring break in mid-March, and
Christmas / New Years. You may have
reasons to want to travel during those times as well, however whenever you can
try to avoid these time periods when children and young adults are off of
school. This fact adds tremendously to
the crowds and reasons why a time period is considered to be “peak” for that
area.
So in the case of Alaska, to tie in the important factors of weather and
school vacation times, I feel the best times to go for the most favorable overall
experience is the very end of May, or the first week or two of September. For other areas, use the same philosophy, yet
use the specific weather for that area and pay attention to celebrations and
events of note that (unless you want to go for that event) may mean increased
prices and crowds. For Europe, I suggest
May and September as well, with southern Europe, end of April and early October
is also good.
So many great places to visit in the world, I certainly can’t cover
them all here. I leave you with the
advice presented, and encourage you to do your research or call a knowledgeable
travel agent who knows this well!! Also,
one last bit of general advice regarding travel timing. In
general, I have consistently found that places with extreme low and high
seasons (like Alaska and Europe), at the beginning of peak season the
hospitality industry staff are very fresh and eager to see you and serve you
(and earn your money) whereas at the end of a long peak season, staff is not as
fresh or eager to serve you. Shoppers,
of course at the end of peak or shoulder season heading into low season,
bargains abound!!
These may be factors for you to consider when planning your travels.
Happy travels…