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It seems that the travel choices for
seeing Europe are either going with a large group or
planning the trip on your own. Tour
groups make things easy, but the hotels are typically
chains, the restaurants are only those that can take big
groups and the itinerary itself is not adaptable for
your individual travel dreams. If you take a trip
on your own, planning such a trip takes a significant amount
of time and effort. Also, logistical problems -
getting lost, bad hotel, awful food - can
spoil your experience and waste your
valuable travel dollars.
European Discovery is for those who want the best of
both worlds - comfortable travel, without a big price tag.
We specialize in small groups (10-15), charming hotels,
wonderful food, historic sites with fabulous local
guides and most of all, time to do your own thing with
whatever personal help you require. It is this
combination that gives you the foundation of a great
trip and flexibility for you to make it fabulous with
your own discoveries.
The pace is such that a minimum of two nights will be
spent in each city or town so you will not feel rushed. In each new city or area,
there will be a guided tour of the highlights given as
an introduction to the area by a local expert guide.
After the introduction, there is always a full or half
day on your own for Discovery. Each of these
guides are carefully chosen for their expertise in the
history and culture of the area, their humor and their love
of what they are doing. Rather than just looking at
a building or historic site, you will have someone telling
you about why it is significant, what was happening to the
people and the country at the time, and often some
tidbits of gossip surrounding it. Because we
are a small group, there will be no problem hearing,
asking questions or engaging the guide in personal
conversations. Our London tour, Bath tour,
Stonehenge and ancient sites tour and Highlands tour are
all guided by the best Blue Badge guides in Great
Britain.
We find that the best way to
experience a city or town is by walking and using the local transportation.
- this is what we will do in the city. It allows you to have a more
unique experience and make the best use of your time. In the
country we will be motoring around in a small mini-bus with more seats
than people so there will be some extra room. European Discovery tours are for active people who value
wandering the secret back alleys of a city and casual strolls through
the countryside rather than spending time on a bus. In our Cotswolds
tour, for example, this lets us have time to take the most amazing walks
in the countryside. There will be
quite a bit of level walking in the city, and if you choose, more
challenging walking in the beautiful countryside on your
Discovery Day.
European
Discovery tours are non-smoking. Unless you are on fire,
you should not be smoking in the hotels, historic sites, busses or our section of the restaurant during
group meals.
Special time is set aside for
Discovery Days. This time is reserved for individuals or smaller
groups to make their own personal discoveries. This could be
planning activities
with newly made
friends in the group or time to explore on your own. The tour handbook will give some
suggestions and details, but most importantly, the European Discovery
guide is there to help you plan your Discovery Days. This help could be
as complicated or as simple as you need - reservations and arrangements
before the tour departs to easy directions and maps while on tour. In the city you will
always have transportation included for
your Discovery Day. In the country we will have a small mini-bus
and you can "hitch" a ride to wherever you want to go. Of course, the logistics have to
be worked out with the rest of
the group, but every effort will be made to accommodate your Day. At the end of each Discovery Day there will be time set aside for "Wine,
Cheese and Chat" for those
that have been exploring all day and want to share their discoveries and
perhaps make some dinner plans.
European Discovery also
encourages solo/single travelers. Before the tour begins, we send out a "group mini-bio" in which everyone
has an opportunity to introduce themselves. Time is also taken on
the first day to get to know the other members of the group. Solo
travelers can choose to be paired with a "roommate" in which they will
share a twin room or they can choose to have a single room by themselves and pay the "single
supplement". This choice needs to be made at the time of the
booking. Solo travelers will always have someone to travel with if
they want to or they can choose for some private time.
European
Discovery is a perfect choice for those that have
never been to Europe or one of the tour destinations
before. Time is spent showing each traveler how to
get around and helping them feel relaxed and confident
to enjoy all that Europe has to offer without worrying.
You can learn about the history in a fun and humorous
way and the small groups makes it feel like you are
traveling with a group of friends. With the
Discovery Days you can get all of the help that you need
to personalize your dreamed of visit to Europe. So
no matter if it is adding a garden and manor house to
our Cotswold tour, sunrise at Stonehenge to Bath tour or
a rugged photo escape on the Highlands tour, you can add
it and we can help.
Last but not least, European
Discovery is targeted for those that want a warm, relaxing place to stay
and wonderful food. All of the hotels are small and family run,
usually award winning, and highly recommended. With all of this,
they are still a good value and represent something special about the
area that we are visiting. The hotels' central locations will allow
you to easily get to the city
center and sites without need for expensive transportation. The
restaurants will be local favorites chosen for their delicious food and
atmosphere.
You will have an unforgettable
time on any of our tours and it will be uniquely your own so come join
us today!
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