Group Travel
Be flexible
Be positive (it’s contagious!)
Be courteous
Be on time
Be on the bus when it leaves
Be attentive…listen to the Tour Director!
Airlines and Flights
Most likely we will be issued electronic tickets. All the necessary information will be listed
on the EF Tour Center and you will be notified to check through email.
Due to the special group rates EF secures for flights,
airlines will not allow you toaccrue frequent flyer miles or upgrade seats.
Check baggage allowances prior to leaving for the
airport. Any checked bag exceeding the
limit will be charged a fee. If checking
a bag, be sure to check your bag all the way to your final destination and make
sure that the tag attached by the airline has that city name on it.
Arrive at the airport at least three hours prior to
departure and check in. Meet the group
at the departure gate. Sometimes there
is a last minute gate change, so you will need plenty of time to be at the new
assigned gate.
EF is unable to designate specific seats. The airline will confirm your seat
assignments at check-in. When you board
the plane, sit in your assigned seat.
You may change seats after the announcement that they are shutting the
airplane door.
Wear something with preferably deep pockets on the
plane—it’ll prevent you from having to dig through your bag for your phone,
wallet, and boarding pass every five minutes.
If the back of your plane seat doesn’t have TVs, put your
phone in a plastic bag and hook it to the back of the tray table.
Before leaving home, google your airline name and flight
number to check the status of your flight.
Take a photograph of the contents of your luggage before
the trip and email it to yourself. If
the airline loses your luggage, you'll want this to prove its value.
Time Zones
The United Kingdom (Scotland and Northern Ireland) and
Ireland are six hours ahead of Central Daily Savings Time. Check it out with this Time Zone Converter.
Traveling with Electronics
WiFi
Try to avoid using phones and tablets for Internet access
unless you are in a wi-fi zone. Many
cafes, bars, and hotels offer free access but you may need to ask for a code.
Cell Phones
Please check with your cell phone company prior to international travel regarding voice and data charges and then make a wise decision
whether you need to purchase an international voice and data plan. Always have your phone on “airplane mode” to
avoid roaming charges which can be very expensive.
Our EF tour consultant recommends a great FREE app for smart
phones called Viber that
allows you to text internationally for free! You AND your family at home
would both need to download the app to their phones. While you are
abroad, and as long as you’re connected to wifi, you can text home via the Viber app. For more information,
please check out their website: http://viber.com/
Laptop or iPad?
While a laptop is more powerful with a larger storage
capacity, no one can argue the simplicity of the iPad or tablet. With fewer and fewer Internet cafes and more
wi-fi hotspots, staying connected is getting easier, especially with smart phones. For our purposes, I recommend leaving the
laptop at home for convenience sake. It
is a more expensive piece to have to keep up with, and the weight and bulk make
it less convenient. Remember…you are
your own porter.
Tablets (and smart phones) can double for Internet
connections and email communication, downloaded movies for in-flight
entertainment, and be used as a camera.
Also you can take screen shots of maps, diagrams, information etc. from
the Internet while at home and access that information via your photograph
collection while on tour.
Digital Cameras
Make sure you know the functions of your camera before
departing on the trip. On tour is no
time to try and figure it out. You don’t
want the Scottish Highlands to pass you by while you are trying to get the
settings right. Practice, practice,
practice at home.
Also pack plenty of batteries—rechargeable, and regular
in case your charger does not work properly.
Do not assume you can buy your type of battery at any stop…and it will
probably cost a lot more as these are tourist stops. In addition, bring additional memory cards,
and keep them in a safe place on tour.
If you are in the market for a new digital camera, this
previous blog post provides you with some tips to consider while making the
purchase.
In consideration of other travelers on our bus, learn to
turn off your camera’s beeping and clicking sounds before the tour.
Be cognizant of sites that request no photography. Sometimes their signs or instructions simply
say no flash photography, while other sites request no photography at all. When in doubt, ask to avoid embarrassment.
Chargers
Don’t forget to pack them! And remember the adaptor/electric voltage converter.
Print off individual pages from the LUV2GO travel blog and carry the
appropriate pages with you each day on tour.
Use bus time reading to brush up on what to expect at each site. Make notes on the pages and add to your
journal or scrapbook later for photo ID.
Keep an eye out for notices of events happening locally as
these are often spontaneous and free.
The itinerary is packed with exciting things to do and
see. When we leave the hotel each morning, we will be on the go all day…either at a site or riding the bus to it. There will be lots of walking, so broken-in,
comfortable shoes are an absolute must.
Do not bring new shoes on the tour.
Hotels
Hotels are safe, clean, and comfortable with private
bathrooms. They may be located outside
of city centre and usually have smaller rooms than typical North American
hotels. They also may not have air conditioning
or elevators.
Everyone will be assigned a room with two single
beds. Two nights each are scheduled at
hotels in four different cities.
Foods
Breakfasts typically are European style—cereal, bread or
rolls, jam, coffee, tea, and juice.
However, we have been blessed with very full breakfasts with a wide
variety of choices. Be prepared for
both.
Dinners are included in the tour either at the hotel
or a local restaurant. All members of the group are served the same menu (no
choices) unless a special diet has been requested. These meals will be a mix of local specialties
and familiar dishes. You will be
expected to pay for any beverage other than table water.
Lunches are on your own and offer you an opportunity to
taste the local cuisine…be it a hearty Irish stew or the traditional haggis in
the Scottish Highlands. Take advantage of
local markets where you can purchase picnic lunch items and enjoy a slow-paced
meal along a flowing river or overlooking a beautiful valley…so much more
memorable than waiting in line at a cafeteria.
Language
English is the primary spoken language in Scotland,
Northern Ireland, and Ireland. However,
according to the Irish constitution, Gaelic or Gaeilge (commonly referred to as
Irish) is the official first language, while English is the official second
language.
Even though Gaeilge is a required subject in school, very
few speak the language on a daily basis.
Try Google Translate to
practice a few basic phrases such as “thank you,” “hello,” and “please.” Choose “Irish” as the translation language.
Money
The Euro is used in Ireland, while the British pound is
used in Northern Ireland and Scotland. Travelers
checks are no longer accepted in Ireland.
Banks in Ireland do not accept $100 U.S. bills. The largest they seem to accept are $50 bills. ATMs are the most convenient way to get cash in a
country’s currency.
Use a credit card for main purchases and a debit card for
ATM cash withdrawals. Be sure to contact
your bank and credit card company prior to departure to tell them the dates of
your purchases abroad.
Carry a small amount of cash with you daily for snacks,
drinks, and admission tickets to events not provided on
tour activities.
You will need extra money for any optional excursions not
included on the itinerary, lunches, beverages at meals other than water, daily bottled
water (or bring a refillable or collapsible water bottle), transportation to
free-time activities, and souvenirs. Plan
on $60 per day.
Prepaid Visa/Credit Cards do work in Ireland but they do
NOT dispense cash. They can only be used for purchases in stores.
To keep tabs on the current exchange rates, check with XE Currency Converter.
It is a wise idea to get at least $60 for each of the
countries visited (euros and pounds) prior to departure so that when you arrive
you are able to buy lunch or water before an ATM is located.
Customary gratuities (tips) for the Tour Director, bus
driver and local guides should be brought along on the tour and collected at
the appropriate time. The recommended
tips are $6 per day for the Tour Director, $3 per day for the bus driver, and 1
euro/pound for any local professional guide.
Tips are not expected at group tour included dinners. However if you think you received exceptional
service at lunch, then 5% to 12% is acceptable. Be sure to ask the Tour Director. Taxi
drivers are normally tipped 5% to 10%.
Weather
Expect cooler temperatures in Scotland and Ireland than a
typical U.S. summer. Projected average
June 2015 temperatures for Fort
William, Belfast,
and Dublin
are 55 to 68 degrees. You will need this
Celsius to Fahrenheit
converter.
Check the Weather
Channel for any updates. You can
save locations to speed your searches.
Use these city names:
Belfast, Antrim, United Kingdom
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Fort William, Highland, United Kingdom
Is it going to rain…count on it at least sometime during
the trip so come prepared with a waterproof rain jacket and/or umbrella. Scotchgard your shoes (inside and outside),
backpack/daybag, etc. for added protection.
Weather wise come prepared, you could get all four
seasons thrown at you in a day… and no, it doesn't rain all the time.
More Travel Hacks
If you plan to be bring back a lot of souvenirs (remember…you
are toting your own luggage!) then you might want to “nest” your suitcases (a
smaller one inside a larger one) therefore going with one suitcase of clothes
and returning with two suitcases…one of clothes and the other of
souvenirs.
However you still need to remember the weight limit for
checking a bag with no additional fee.
And, of course, you will probably be charged fees for checking two bags
on your return flight.
Another option is pack an empty shoebox. This gives you the extra space to pack
souvenirs on the return flight home…but you also have to pack very light
clothes-wise in the space you have left.
This option is probably most practical: Pack one
lightweight rolling bag of clothes to check and pack essentials in a smaller carry-on
bag that sits atop the other bag so you are actually rolling one unit of
luggage and have a free hand.
Pack a lightweight backpack/roll-away bag in your luggage
that then can be used during the day for necessities and double as the second
carry-on bag on the return flight. Fill
it with your souvenirs.
For more travel ideas, see these web sites:
EF
What to Bring Packing List
