One of the questions most
frequently asked, especially
by inexperienced travellers,

bod

by Barbara
McCreadie
es
is. “What
tour?”

For myself, | rarely buy
travel packages because I've
been around enough to know

exactly what I want to see
and pretty well how to get

about taking a

there without too much
trouble. In addition, after
being stranded im some

way-out parts of the world
where not a word of English
is spoken, coping with
foreign languages holds no
terrors. Frustrations, maybe!

Tours certainly have their
good points. It is very dif-
ficult for an independent
tounst to get comparable
accommodaton at the same
cost that a tour company

pays. Big tour outfits block-

book hotels and guarantee
armval. By cutting out the
risk of “no-shows”, the hotel
gives them a bargain. This
also goes for meals. ,

] consider every day that is
spent flying anywhere as a
dead loss. With baggage.
getting to the airport, check-
ins, delays, the flight itself,
and hotel hassles at the other
end, there never seems to be
anv free ume. With a tour
group, all these things are
done for you and all you

pho |
“(NORTH SHURE
DARKROOM

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5 Days 4 Nigntes 4. 6 rote

RENO $229

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TORONTO $269

ati onty

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alr ont

MAPLE LEAF
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TWO: SIDES OF THE COIN

have to do is present your
warm body at the pick-up

“point at the right time and

voila!
Tipping really bothers
most North Americans.

When? Where? Why? and
How Much? We agonize
over maintaining our image
as cosmopolitan
sophisucates while trying to
hold) onto our watlets.
Worse. we often find our-
selves in the embarassing
position of having no cash -
only plastic and travellers’
cheques. Although tour
-groups differ on the basic
ground rules of upping. a lot
of the aggravating little
handouts are eliminated.

Some people get lonely
unless they are surrounded
by a mob of fellow North
Americans. Older couples
often look like a pair of
flounders out of water if they
have to spend much time on
their own. Forgive the
generalizanon if you and
your spouse have just
returned from six months of
bicycling alone through
Nepal. .

A tour group gathers a
bunch of strangers, forces
them to hve together for
extended periods and
subjects them to a rigid
schedule. If you're lucky,
you'll get grouped with some
of the nicest people you
would ever want to meet.
Let's try and forget the
alternative.

The first tame I ever went
to Europe | took a three-
week tour that was a disaster
from start to finish.
Everything that could go
wrong did and even a few of
the “foolproof” systems went
awry. Instead of finding it
funny, the majority of the
group had taken graduate
courses in bitching and were
well prepared. After that
experience, it’s a wonder |
eyer left home again.

I. have, However, avoided

1401 Hornby St., Van, 669-2148

CS - Wednesday, August 5, 1981 - North Shore News

TOURS ARE AVAILABLE for just about any type of trip or holiday including ones which will take you to historic

Harlech Castle in Wales.

tours of more than a few
days duration. If a tour will
save me time and money, I
book it “on location”, from
the hotel where I'm staying
in some foreign country.
This has two advantages:
First, I haven't paid for it in
advance so I can cancel out
if something more appealing
presents itself. Second, these
small tours are always a
pleasant blend of

Limited quantities

nationahties.

One of the best I ever
bought was a four-day effort
from Rome through Naples,
Pompei. Sorrento and
Amalfi by bus. I spent a lot
of ume with a delightful
Panamanian couple who
spoke even tess English than

sitting alone at the bottom of
a sky-ride while you guard
the entire possessions of two
strangers including

_ thousands of dollars im cash.

My friends were
delighted that

quite
I despise

I speak Spanish which didn't §

stop us from sharing jokes
until our sides ached, It's a
mighty strange feeling to be

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 shgrides! .

If you want my guide to
tours: * :

“ tO
° Rage

Make ‘them ° short, sho Pp
around and book them

“Orders 1000.60, rarvete ae
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‘Orders 5000 aq. ft.or better -...-.- 79°

“*yAll above tiles ere

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