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| Brandenberg Gate (c) 2017 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved |
A traveler recently shared his experience of an all-inclusive tour to Dublin, London, and Paris booked through an online website. The story is a valuable, cautionary tale in this age of internet shopping. The price looked good, so they bought the trip.
How did it work out? These travelers were extremely dissatisfied. They were sent to a Dublin hotel 45 minutes outside of town. Their Paris hotel was 30 minutes from the center of the city in a sketchy neighborhood. Discrepancies between the printed itinerary and the actual vouchers caused them to miss their train on the Eurostar.
9 cities in 14 days means you'll doing a lot of packing and unpacking. You'll spend a lot of time between cities in a motor coach. Where is the time to explore, savor, and enjoy each destination on your own? Two nights in a city means just one full day to experience that destination. One night in a city means you get there in the afternoon and leave the next morning, a total waste. My advice: when planning an itinerary, less is more.
Handpicked hotels? Some google-mapping reveals the "handpicked hotel" in Vienna to be adjacent to the train station, five miles outside the Ring (where everything of interest is found). The "handpicked hotel" in Prague is five miles from the Charles Bridge. No chance to walk and explore. My advice: the top three things to consider when selecting a hotel are location, location, and location. If you're in Berlin, you'll want to be able to walk to the Brandenburg Gate (pictured above)
And what about quality control? Plenty of travelers choose inexpensive tours on the internet, but you're not just buying a tour. You're buying the services of a tour company, trusting them to put together your dream vacation and make sure all the pieces fit. My advice: ask who vouches for that company. If considering an individual travel advisor, is he or she a member of a respected hosting agency? If considering a tour company, is it a member of ASTA, USTOA, and a respected consortium such as Virtuoso?
You can book a great trip online, if that's your choice, but planning travel is an art ... and stuff can and does go wrong.
How did it work out? These travelers were extremely dissatisfied. They were sent to a Dublin hotel 45 minutes outside of town. Their Paris hotel was 30 minutes from the center of the city in a sketchy neighborhood. Discrepancies between the printed itinerary and the actual vouchers caused them to miss their train on the Eurostar.
Just because a tour company claims expertise doesn't mean anything. I took a look at their website. Attractive and well-designed, their prices looked good, including round-trip economy air, airport transfers, accommodations, buffet breakfasts, and guided sightseeing. Sample itineraries were available to peruse, and the company specifically mentions its "handpicked hotels." Expertly Designed. Affordably Priced. Discover your dream vacation today, they say, so I put that claim to the test. I pulled up a random "expertly designed" itinerary from their website — Central Europe Vacation.
Accommodations in hotels listed, or similar
1 night in Frankfurt at the Leonardo Royal Frankfurt or Mercure at FriedrichsdorfSome quick observations...
2 nights in Berlin at the Abba Hotel or NH Alexanderplatz Hotel or Holiday Inn Express City Centre
2 nights in Warsaw at the Golden Tulip Warsaw Centre Hotel or Ibis Old Town
2 nights in Kraków at the Hampton by Hilton
2 nights in Budapest at the Novotel Centrum Hotel or Leonardo
1 night in Vienna at the Hotel Kavalier Wien
2 nights in Prague at the Clarion Congress Hotel or NH Praha Hotel
1 night in Munich at the Achat Premium South
1 night in Frankfurt at the Leonardo Royal Frankfurt or Mercure at Friedrichsdorf
9 cities in 14 days means you'll doing a lot of packing and unpacking. You'll spend a lot of time between cities in a motor coach. Where is the time to explore, savor, and enjoy each destination on your own? Two nights in a city means just one full day to experience that destination. One night in a city means you get there in the afternoon and leave the next morning, a total waste. My advice: when planning an itinerary, less is more.
Handpicked hotels? Some google-mapping reveals the "handpicked hotel" in Vienna to be adjacent to the train station, five miles outside the Ring (where everything of interest is found). The "handpicked hotel" in Prague is five miles from the Charles Bridge. No chance to walk and explore. My advice: the top three things to consider when selecting a hotel are location, location, and location. If you're in Berlin, you'll want to be able to walk to the Brandenburg Gate (pictured above)
And what about quality control? Plenty of travelers choose inexpensive tours on the internet, but you're not just buying a tour. You're buying the services of a tour company, trusting them to put together your dream vacation and make sure all the pieces fit. My advice: ask who vouches for that company. If considering an individual travel advisor, is he or she a member of a respected hosting agency? If considering a tour company, is it a member of ASTA, USTOA, and a respected consortium such as Virtuoso?
You can book a great trip online, if that's your choice, but planning travel is an art ... and stuff can and does go wrong.
copyright (c) 2017 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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