2-All my bags are packed and I’m ready to go…

by | Jul 7, 2008 | Adventures in Tour Guiding

In the last post I talked about planning a tour.  This was spurred by a comment at my church last Sunday when someone asked (after I was in Europe for three weeks), “How was your vacation?”  I laughed and it got me thinking that most people don’t have a clue what I do when I’m in Europe.  Let me tell you it ain’t a vacation all the time, but it ain’t a bad gig either!

So my tour is planned, I’ve got people signed-up and paid to go, and they are all flying off from different destinations in the US to meet me in, let’s say Paris.  My job here is to get to Paris before them, beat the jet-lag, and collect them all in one location at the airport so we can get to our hotel.  Sounds easy, but have you ever had a flight delay or cancellation?  Imagine a group of 25 people all trying to get to the same place in Europe from multiple destinations in the USA.  Something is bound to go wrong. 

Let’s say it’s now about 1:00 p.m. and everyone has arrived, and I’ve even secured a shuttle bus to take the group from the airport to our hotel in central Paris.  So we all try to get to the bus, and then there is this guy who just now remembers he needs to get money from the ATM.  I smile, point out the ATM, and then wait with the whole group while he goes to the machine.  Here we are, 25 people with luggage in tow, blocking the elevator, and waiting on this guy to get cash from the ATM.  Finally, I go over to him and try to help him out without looking at his secret PIN#.  The screen is all in French because he did not choose the “English” option at the beginning and now we both are caught up in some unending jargon about fees, service charges, and exchange rates…all in French!  I tell him it’s ok, just push the “Yes” button and his euro currency will be delivered from the little slot below, just like at home.  But no, that won’t work!  He cancels the transaction, swears a bit, and then we rejoin the group…without cash.

Terminal 1 at Charles de Gaulles airport is an icon.  It was featured in a James Bond film when the villain chased Bond through a maze of “space-aged” lexan tunnels.  Now, after about 40 years of decay, they finally started to spruce up the joint.  Unfortunately it’s still under construction and many of the exits are closed.  So, we look for an elevator to take us down three levels to the bus. 

Imagine 25 people with luggage trying to crowd into an elevator just a little larger than a coffin.  Soooo…forty-five minutes later we arrive at the bus just three short floors below.  Sixty percent of the people heeded my lessons about packing light.  The other forty percent arrive red-faced and sweating with their one VERY large bag and one very large carry-on.  The bus driver and I groan as we load ’em in the cargo hold.

Everyone is on the bus, the luggage is loaded, and we all can take a deep sigh….

(to be continued)
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1-Touring Europe is not as easy as you’d think…

by | Jul 5, 2008 | Adventures in Tour Guiding

I returned home yesterday from a three week stay in Europe where I visited Italy, France, and Switzerland.  While at church this morning several people asked me, “How was your vacation?”  I laughed and replied, “We had a great time!” While at the same time I was really thinking, “They don’t have a clue what I do when I’m gone.”  

Yes, I understand traveling to Europe is something that only a few of us take advantage of in our lifetime.  For many it never crosses their mind, or maybe only pops up when they see the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, or the Colesseum in a movie.  But for those of you who have traveled with me or have gone to Europe on your own know the magnetic draw to return again, and again.  I love traveling to Europe, but there is a lot of difference in going on a tour and leading a tour.  So in this post I thought I’d tell you a little about the work that goes into organizing a tour before anyone ever gets on the plane. 

Well, let’s see it all begins at least a year in advance when I begin dreaming up tour itineraries and destinations.  In some cases this is easy, especially with “proven” itineraries such as Paris to Rome or Venice, Florence, and Rome.   However, every year I do try to come up with some new city pairing or itinerary.  Once an itinerary is established the chore of nailing down hotels begins.  Now-a-days it is not so bad because I’ve got an established reputation with many hoteliers and if they’ve got room they’ll give it to me.  As you can imagine this takes some weeks to get responses from eight or nine hotels to all mesh with my planned itinerary.  With a little tweaking the tour itinerary is set.

Now that I’ve got a tour planned I’ve got to get people to sign up and go on it!  So then begins the tasks of tour promotions at trade shows, on the Internet, and by word of mouth.  If all goes well I’ll have enough folks signed up for the tour by the time mid-February rolls around.  By this time the vendors and hoteliers in Europe are asking for a deposit so I’ve got to decide how to pay.  You know the euro-to-dollar rate stinks right now.  For one or two travelers it’s not a real big deal if the exchange rate goes up by two percent, but when working with a group of twenty-five people that’s a big difference.  So I’ve got to be a bit of a gambler when pricing the tour twelve months in advance.  Luckily I projected correctly five out of the seven years I’ve been in business!

It’s now mid-March and let’s say I’ve got the tour planned and even have it filled with people who want to travel to Europe with me.  So now all I’ve got to do is collect the final payments, get on an airplane and meet them in Europe.  Well that’s a story for the next post!

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