Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
50
Tips
Ask Before You Go
Before you invest in a pack age deal or an esc orted tour:
• Always ask about the
cancellation policy.
Can you get
your money back? Is ther e a deposit r equired?
• Ask about the
accommodations choices and prices
for
each. Then look up the hot els' r eviews in a F rommer's
guide and check their rates online for your specific dates
of tra vel. Also find out what t
ypes of r ooms ar e
offered.
• Request a c omplete
schedule
(escorted tours only).
• Ask about the
size
and demog raphics of the g roup
(escorted tours only).
• Discuss what is included in the
price
(transpor tation,
meals, tips, airport transfers, and so forth; escorted tours
only).
• Finally, look f or
hidden expenses.
Ask whether airpor t
departure f ees and tax es, f or example , ar e included in
the total cost—they rarely are.
2
unsure about the pedigree of a smaller packager, check with the Better
Business Bureau in the city where the company is based, or go online
at www.bbb.org. If a packager won't tell you where it's based, don't fly
with them.
Just-A-Vacation Inc.
(
&
301/559-0510;
www.justavacation.com)
and Travelocity also specialize in good deals for resorts in the Cayman
Islands.
Travel packages ar e also listed in the trav el section of y our local
Sunday newspaper. Or check ads in national travel magazines such as
Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel Magazine,
Travel + Leisur e, National
Geographic Traveler,
and
Condé Nast Traveller.
The biggest hotel chains and resorts also have package deals. If you
already know where you want to stay, call the resort itself and ask if it
offers land/air packages.
To sav e time comparing the prices and v alue of all the package
tours out ther e, contact
TourScan Inc.
(
&
800/962-2080
or 203/
655-8091; www.tourscan.com). Every season, the company comput-
erizes the contents of trav el br ochures that contain about 10,000
different vacations at 1,600 hotels in the Caribbean. TourScan selects
the best value vacation at each hotel and condo.
