TRAFALGAR TOURS
Escorted Tour Travel in "the Value Season"
Take
a tour or plan your own travel? The eternal travel question. By nature
I’m an independent sort. When I’m traveling I like
to find my own way. It’s also my job to discover unique secret
places by personal divination of guile and wit, but sometimes I long
for the simplicity and comfort of an organized escort guided travel tour.
Hotels arranged, transportation provided, no speed cameras or train schedule
delays to worry about, the hardest decision to make – tennis shoes
or loafers...
Trafalgar
Tours is one of the world’s largest tour companies.
Not the oldest. That distinction belongs to Thomas Cook, who's namesake
invented the travel tour in 1841. Trafalgar Tours was established
in 1947, just
after the big war when Europe was beginning to recover and a desire to
see the rebirth. Trafalgar developed
tours primarily for the tourist traveling for the first time, when languages
and currencies and customs
were different in each country. This provided a convenient means for
tourists to travel worry free and see the great sites often heard of
from afar. It was Trafalgar’s style of tour that also came to represent
the “If it’s Tuesday, this must be Belgium” sort of
reference, which became so familiar it was actually the basis for a Bob
Hope movie in the 1960’s. In 2010 Trafalgar was voted the "Best
Europe Tour Operator" by Travel Age West, so they must still
be doing something right.
Trafalgar and touring in general have come a long way since those days, although the same principal remains, a group traveling for a determined number of days on a motor coach between towns, countries and arranged hotels with an inclusive prepaid price, the offerings, styles of travel, and desires of travelers to have more interaction with local cultures have matured and Trafalgar offers over 300 travel tour itineraries to destinations around the world. Tours feature accommodation in 3 and 4 star hotels, guaranteed departures on select destinations, professional tour directors, local guides, many meals, hotel tips, service charges and baggage handling included. They still focus on touring for first time travelers, but have many returning customers happy to explore another area. Additional excursions are offered along the routes that you may want to take, but cost extra, so calculate that in your budget planning, plus meals and an special entertainment like concerts or plays.
If on a tour where airfare to the tour departure point is not included in the tour price, you can purchase airfare with the tour at generally the best available prices and they include airport transfers. Though if arranging your own travel to and from the tour, you can plan some individual touring before or after, if determined to express your independent spirit. And take into consideration you're going to be with the same group of people for a week or more, which can either be the source of the “experience of a lifetime”, making new friends and many happy memories of shared communal joy, or if a little unlucky - the “God, get me off this bus – the world isn’t big enough” blues. Though if you do get into a bar fight in a foreign country there’s at least a professional experienced tour guide to referee. Traveling with a group does have the advantage of not waiting in line for a lot of sight-seeing attractions and an organized travel tour can be significantly cheaper than arranging a trip on your own, perhaps as much as 40% cheaper with less hassles.
Trafalgar breaks its tours into classes of travel, First Class to Cost Saver, Regional by countries or themes like "imperial Europe" or "Great Italian Cities" as well as Train Tours and River Cruise tours.
Ways To Save Money on Trafalgar Tours
Generally, travel in fall, winter or spring Value Season from November to April, prices are at least 20% off summer travel. .
Book a tour and pay seven months in advance saves 5%. Four months in advance gets 2.5% discount. Travel with Trafalgar a second time in two years gets 5% off, which is doubled if booked and paid by July 31. Travel with 5 to 8 friends or family gets 5% off each passenger. Kids from 5 to 17 are 10% discount. © Bargain Travel Europe
Web Info
Trafalgar Tours
- Europe
These articles are copyrighted and the sole property of Bargain Travel Europe and WLPV, LLC. and may not be copied or reprinted without permission.
SEE ALSO:
GOLF
IN EUROPE
SUN,
SEA AND ANCIENT CULTURE PUGLIA
