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Travel Planning Guide |
The Basics
The key to a successful group travel experience is to understand
the needs of your group. Determine your group's interest (art & history, archeology, cultural, religious etc) and focus the itinerary
to fulfill that interest.
You can't do everything in a day. Spend time preparing a well thought out day to day
itinerary, or make a list of places that take into consideration the groups interests
and abilities. Have a look at the
Holidays area of this site for ideas.
What are the group's limitations?
Do you need to minimise the amount of walking in the itinerary?
If wheel chair access will be required make sure the appropriate
facilities are available and ordered at the time of the booking.
Ensure that the hotel or attraction confirms that they will be provided.
Use a guide or tour escort to get the most of your tour/ excursion. Does the group leader speak the language of the destination or destinations? If not, a tour escort must be included. For extensive, custom itineraries we recommend the services of a professional tour escort.
Remember that you will need to provide single room accommodation for your tour escort/ guide on overnight tours
Are hotel locations and/or category important?
Does the hotel need to be near the rail station?
Is a hotel just outside the city and close to public transportation an option?
Remember that if you have hired your own coach then you can take advantage of lower rates offered by out-of-town hotels
What are the distances the group is willing to travel each day?
Keep in mind motor coach limitations and therefore in some cases, internal flights or train journeys, instead of motor coach might be an option.
What is your group's budget?
This will decide the quality or location of the hotel you use. The number of attractions that you include could also affect the tour price. If the tour includes a coach and guide/ tour escort, the larger the group size, the lower the per person cost
Are you flexible in the dates you can travel?
Traveling during low or shoulder season can save you money on your airfare. Flying Monday to Thursday is often less expensive than flying at weekends,
Understanding booking and placing your group is important. Advance bookings for airfare, hotels, and other services, such as theatre tickets, is necessary.
Once a deposit is received, the confirmation process begins and space is then allocated based on the number of rooms and room types requested. As a courtesy to the hotels, anticipated unused space should be released between 180 - 90 days prior to departure. Keep in mind that reducing the number of rooms can change the shared-cost and increase the price of the package.
Booking as early as possible increases your chances of meeting your group's budget and securing the space you want. Booking well over a year in advance will give you the opportunity to promote your tour and maximize the ability to get as many participants as possible. Even if you already have a group organized, the earlier you book, the greater are your chances of obtaining the property you want. This is especially true when booking special events programs such as World Youth Day and Oktoberfest.
If you have a large group, space might be tight due to market demands. Splitting the group in more than one hotel may be required. * Hotels may require additional deposits in order to secure space during periods of high demand.
A preliminary rooming list is required 60 day's prior, once again as a courtesy to the hotel, release space that the group will not be using. Final rooming list is due 45 days prior
Finalisation
At 45 days prior a final rooming list is required and remaining hotel space is released to avoid cancellation penalties.
At this time we confirm and gather all of the final details of the itinerary; i.e. start and end time of included sightseeing, tour escort name and contact information, motor coach company, dinner menu, etc.
Documentation: Within 30 days prior a final itinerary, including hotel & service contact details will be provided, along with any necessary vouchers, tickets, and/or maps
Travel Planning Tips
Meals:
A standard continental breakfast is always included when booking hotels in continental Europe and London, and typically consists of coffee, tea, juices, bread, butter, and jam. Buffet breakfasts are always popular with travelers and can be offered at a supplement, and may include eggs, sausage, milk, cereals, ham, cheese and fruits. In Britain and Ireland a full and substantial cooked breakfast is provided.
Lunch is usually not included in a tour itinerary, giving the group opportunity to grab a quick bite to eat, while shopping & exploring on their own. However you must schedule sufficient time for a lunch break (min1 hour)
A welcome dinner is a nice highlight, and is a good opportunity for tour participants to get acquainted with one another. Including dinners every night, in your itinerary, can become costly and isn't always necessary. Allowing some free time for individuals to explore dinner options on their own often works well especially after traveling together for many days and gives everyone a welcome break from being with the group every minute of the trip. However hotel dinners usually offer good value and group travelers are often not comfortable exploring unfamiliar cities in the evening.
A farewell dinner is a nice feature, as this is a good time for everyone to get together and share their travel experiences and exchange personal contact information, before the end of the tour.
Comfort breaks
Don’t forget to schedule regular comfort breaks which can be combined with visits to sightseeing attractions or coffee breaks.
Coach Hire
Maximum motor coach speed ranges between 50 and 60 mph depending on the type of roadway and various legal restrictions.
Plan for rest stops, construction, any Eastern European border crossings, bad roads, ferry crossings, etc. It almost always takes longer than anticipated to reach the destination. Cars can travel much faster than motor coaches in Europe.
European Union regulations for motor coach drivers are complex but here are a few key points
- Per 5 hours of driving, minimum of 1 hour break
- Max. 4 hours of driving without a break
- Max. 9 hours of driving per day
- Max. 12 hours of working per day
- Min. 11 hours of uninterrupted rest per night (9 hours of uninterrupted rest allowed for max. 3 nights per week)
- Outside Britain and Ireland, coach drivers generally only speak limited English
- Drivers generall don't/can't provide guiding services (except in Ireland where driver-guides are common)
- The legal distance limit is 700km (435mi) per day
Storage space underneath the coach is limited. For groups larger than 45 passengers, we recommend splitting the group and using two coaches.
Sightseeing
Is your group interested in full day, pre-arranged sightseeing every day, or half day sightseeing with some leisure time, giving them the opportunity to explore on their own? A combination of both during the tour is a popular choice.
It is often a good idea to incorporate a half-day, panoramic, sightseeing tour along with your arrival transfer, as many of the rooms will not be available until the early afternoon. This option works best for early arrivals as otherwise the group might have to wait in the lobby while their rooms are being prepared.
Tour Escorts and Guides
We highly recommend a tour escort service, as they are responsible for handling the daily logistics including communicating with the driver, who normally does not speak English. Tour escorts also are responsible for confirming dinner reservations, doing hotel check-ins/check-outs, helping to navigate, and making alternate arrangements should delays occur. Our experience shows that without the assistance of a tour escort, groups usually do not have as smooth a trip as they would have hoped for. This is usually the case when the group is running late and arrangements, at the destination, need to be altered. The tour escort will be able to make those alternate arrangements with minimal effort, since their knowledge of the area & resources available to them are invaluable, whereas a group leader would be unable to re-accommodate, leading to possible disappointing experiences.
Tour escorts can do panoramic city tours, but as a general rule, they are never permitted to do inside guiding if the group is in most European countries. Therefore you need to use certified, local guides for in-depth sightseeing.
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