My Husband and I are travelling in May 2010 with his grandparents, and we were wondering if anyone has travelled with this company or can help with how much money to bring and what is 1 euro compared to $1 canadian?
Posted by
Freedonia
16250 posts
I agree with most of the items he has with bullet points--although some are really outdated.
As far as the rest--parts are insulting:
"Keep Your Guide Happy"--this paragraph is absurd. We love independent type tourists. Why? Because they know what they want. All we have to do is point them in the right direction and they're happy. The "hanger-ons" who expect the tour director to entertain them every minute are the problem because they are harder to deal with. As long as the passengers respect the schedule, which all tours have, even RS tours, I don't care what they do.
"Be informed"--same as the independent type tourist. When I see a guidebook, I know a pax has ideas in mind. They can always ask me about what they want to do and I'll do my best to get them there. Again, these people are easier to please.
"If you shop, shop around"--this has more to do with local guides than over the road tour directors. If we stop at a place that offers shopping, there are a few things to keep in mind: The place has been approved by the tour company, they are legit and stand by any purchase, we are required to stop there, they do sometimes give good deals. A professional tour director never pressures a passenger to buy anything. If anything, we stand in the background.
"Spend time with the locals"--again his advice has more to do with local guides. I always prefer to send my pax to places the locals go to rather than tourist traps.
Rick has not led a non-RS tour in over 30 years. The industry has changed. Plus, he makes a tremendous amount of money selling tours, so, big bus tours, as he calls them are partially his competition. He's not going to rave about them.
Posted by
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
8293 posts
Kristy: To track the Canadian dollar versus the euro as May 2010 approaches, go to oanda.com.
Posted by
OP
Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada
2 posts
Thanks
Posted by
Freedonia
16250 posts
Kristy...many years ago...back in the 90's, I spent a couple of seasons as a tour director for Insight's U.S. division.
I can't really tell you how much money to bring because that depends on what you like to spend it on...do you like expensive meals? To shop? Plan to take the optionals?
As far as tour company's go, they are pretty good. Mid level tours. Treated their tour directors better than most of their competitors. Paid better too. Most likely your tour will be a mixture of Americans and Aussies--with a few Canadians, Kiwis and other English speakers thrown in.