Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
online travel agencies
—Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, Site59, and Lastminute.com—
also do a brisk business in packages.
Travel packages are also listed in the travel section of your local Sunday newspaper.
Or check ads in travel magazines such as
Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel Magazine,
Travel + Leisure, National Geographic Traveler,
and
Condé Nast Traveler.
ESCORTED GENERAL-INTEREST
TOURS
Escorted tours are structured group tours, with a group leader. The price usually
includes everything from airfare to hotels, meals, tours, admission costs, and local
transportation. While you are not likely to need such services in either Edinburgh
or Glasgow, for information on tours to regions of Scotland, please see p. 149 in
chapter 12.
Despite the fact that escorted tours require big deposits and predetermine hotels,
restaurants, and itineraries, many people derive security and peace of mind from the
structure they offer. Escorted tours—whether they're navigated by bus, motor coach,
train, or boat—let travelers sit back and enjoy the trip without having to drive or
worry about details. They take you to the maximum number of sights in the mini-
mum amount of time with the least amount of hassle. They're particularly conve-
nient for people with limited mobility and they can be a great way to make new
friends.
On the downside, you'll have little opportunity for serendipitous interactions with
locals. The tours can be jam-packed with activities, leaving little room for individual
sightseeing, whim, or adventure—plus they often focus on the heavily touristed
sites, so you miss out on many a lesser-known gem. For more information on
escorted general-interest tours, including questions to ask before booking your trip,
see frommers.com.
3
STAYING CONNECTED
Telephones
Telephones in Scotland operate pretty much like telephones in the U.S. or anywhere
in the Western world. Pay phones are less common, given that the telephone com-
panies say they're expensive to maintain and an estimated 90% of the population
now have mobile (cell) phones. For calls within Scotland, England, Wales, and
Northern Ireland, you need to know the local or city codes, such as 0141 for
Glasgow. They always start with zero but sometimes they are five digits long. For
international calls, you need to know the country code of the place you are calling.
For assistance in making calls outside the U.K., dial 155 for an international
operator.
Cellphones
First, cellphones are called mobiles in Scotland. The three letters that define much
of the world's wireless capabilities are GSM (Global System for Mobiles), a big,
seamless network that makes for easy cross-border cellphone use throughout Europe
and dozens of other countries worldwide. In the U.S., T-Mobile and AT&T Wireless/
