So here’s my first of many detailed posts. It’s a long one (2,000+ words) and I’m sorry about that, but if you’re going to be traveling in Europe or would like to travel there, this blog will prepare you as well as any words can.
One more thing before I get into the meat of this I want to remind you that I own and operate a company that organizes and runs escorted tours of Europe called Great Explorations Tours. The following is a few things that are a result of my business orientation:
1. I will be abiding by the rule that if I don’t have something nice to say, I’m not going to mention the hotels name. It’s simply because I have to deal with hotels...a lot of hotels, and I don’t want them to think that I’m taking shots. That’s just the way it is.
2. You will see plugs for my website (www.GreatExplorationsTours.com) as well as mentions of some of the hotels we stay at (the good ones anyway).
3. For now, I will be limiting my advice to the places that Great Explorations Tours runs tours of. The tours for this summer are Ireland, Italy, and France (Paris and environs) so those will be mentioned the most. Upcoming tours include Scotland, Germany (the Bavarian region), Italy’s Amalfi Coast, the French Riviera, and England (London and environs). If you have specific questions about somewhere else I will be happy to answer them.
4. This blog is an extension of my company site. My goal is to help all travelers, but I am specifically catering to those who are traveling, or are considering traveling, on my tours. I try to make it not seem like a 5,000 word sales pitch and I apologize for the small parts that do.
Now that we’re past that, let’s get to the hotels. The way I look at it, there are five levels of hotels in Europe:
- Hostels – this is where you stay when you are really trying to do Europe on the cheap. They are usually pretty nice for the money but they’re very basic and usually skew very young. There’s nothing wrong with staying in a hostel, but when you’re only paying 6 Euro for a room you know what to expect so I’m not going to add anything else.
- Cheap Hotels – The worst option. They’re more expensive than hostels, but equal or worse in quality. Now, I am not talking about the great deals that you can find on nice hotels, but the places that charge so little because they’re unclean or just plain awful. The places I mean by Cheap Hotels are the ones you find that are ¼ the price of all the other hotels in the neighborhood and seem too good to be true (they are). You’re better off spending a little more on a better place or going cheap and using a clean hostel.
- Bed and Breakfasts – This is a great option for independent travelers. These are very small places (usually only a few rooms) run by a family. B&Bs are very prevalent in the UK and Ireland and are quaint, cheap options.
- Luxury Hotels – This is where we would all stay if money was no object. These include the Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton’s as well as castle hotels and manor houses. The rooms are spacious and fabulously appointed, the service is spectacular, and the food is first-class. Unfortunately most people cannot afford such places, but they don’t want to risk the cheap route either, so that leaves us with...
- Everything Else – What a nice specific category, huh? How do we separate the thousands and thousands of hotels that all look and sound the same? That’s why I’m here, read on.
The first rule of European hotels is that you don’t talk about...oops, wrong rule. The first rule is that you’re not looking at American hotels. I know that sounds kind of dumb, but it’s something that a lot of people have trouble with. As Americans we’re used to a few automatics when we’re staying at a hotel. Those include big rooms, queen or king size beds, carpeted floors, and bathrooms. Believe it or not, Europeans don’t consider any of those automatic inclusions. In fact in many, if not most, European hotels you will be hard-pressed to find anything but small, tile-floored, small-bedded rooms.
I know I’m not exactly selling the European hotel right now, but it’s really not that bad. The hotels in Europe tend to be charming, well run, and clean. Sure they’re a little tight, but that brings us to rule number two:
How much time are you spending in your hotel room anyway? That’s not really phrased as a rule, but it’s a valid question. My first question when people complain about the size of their room is; why do you need it to be bigger? Most people have trouble answering that question with any response other than; I just do. If you’re the type that just wants to get away and sit in a nice hotel room watching TV, then maybe you’re wasting money flying all the way to Europe. If you’re going to Europe, you should be out seeing and experiencing things, not sitting in a hotel room. Personally, when I walk into my room that means that I’m ready for sleep (that’s why I love WiFi, because I can even do my work from the hotel bar).
What you’ll find in a European Hotel
- Bathrooms – if you’ve booked an en-suite room, you will find a bathroom, also called a washroom or water closet (W/C), in there. Now what exactly will be in the bathroom is a different story. Don’t worry; there will be at least a toilet, sink, and shower. That may be it though.
Europeans are very used to making the most of small spaces and their bathrooms are no different. On the smallest end of the scale you’ll have a shower that consists of a drain in the corner, a removable showerhead on the wall, and a shower curtain. Personally I don’t mind these because it’s not confining. Of course the downside is that the floor can get pretty wet.
A little better will be a small walk-in shower which keeps water in, but can be awkward depending on the size of the person (and I’m not a particularly small person). At the large end of the scale is a full bathtub that also has a removable showerhead. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what to do with those because the showerhead is only about 1 foot above the tub. You can stand in them, but they are easy to fall in (ask my wife about concussing herself in Germany sometime), so I usually kneel.
As you can see, none of these options are perfect, but it has never been an issue with me and there are usually funny moments (non-concussion related). Of course, I have also stayed in hotels with full American-style bathrooms, but I wouldn’t need to prepare you for those, so go in expecting tiny and be pleasantly surprised.
- Beds – Beds in a European hotel are as advertised, no more, no less. In the US, hotels typically have either one king size bed or two queen/full size beds. In Europe, there are several different types and they’re categorized by how many they sleep.
Single Room – contains one single/twin bed...that’s it.
Twin Room – contains two single/twin beds, sleeps two.
Double Room – contains one double/full size bed, sleeps two. Preferable two that are comfortable with each other.
Triple Room – contains one double and one single bed. Not all hotels have these.
Quad/Family Room – contains two double beds or more. These are very rare.
You can’t go into a European hotel expecting to squeeze extra people in there unless they like sleeping on the floor (and there’s not always a lot of floor space either).
- Amenities – by this I mean a few other things that we’ve come to assume are in every hotel, things such as air conditioning, television, and coffee makers. While most European hotels have these, it is not a given. Air conditioning is common now, but if you’re traveling in the summer you should check. Television is almost a given, but I’ve stayed in hotels without and while I don’t spend a lot of time in the room, it’s still nice to have something to do while you’re getting ready in the morning. Coffee makers are almost never found...sorry, they just don’t do coffee like we do. They see drinking coffee (or tea) as drinking a beer, it’s a social thing, not something to do in a room by yourself.
- Elevator – There’s good news and bad news with this one. Good news: Most European hotels are very old and therefore only about 5-6 stories maximum. Bad news: They are very old and may not have an elevator. Good news: Many have retro-fitted elevators into their plans. Bad news: Those elevators are usually big enough for either you or you luggage, not both.
One more note while I’m here: The way floors are read in Europe is a little different. What we consider the 1st floor, they consider the ground floor, with the 1st floor being the one above it. Therefore if you have a room on the 3rd floor, it is actually what you would normally think of as the 4th.
- Location – For me this is what makes or breaks a hotel. If you’re only spending a few nights in a particular place, do you really want to waste time in taxis, on the subway, or on a bus traveling to and from the city center? With very few exceptions, cities in Europe are very centralized. This is owed to their history of being founded prior to the widespread availability of reliable transportation. Because of that centralization, European cities are best traveled on foot, which is why we love walking tours at Great Explorations Tours.
Obviously, if walking is the best way to see an area, it is logical that you would want to be within walking range of the sights. [SALES PITCH ALERT] With a lot of escorted tours, they house you in hotels that are outside of the city as a money-saving move. At Great Explorations Tours, we do our best to put you right in the center of the action, which allows you to explore at your convenience [END OF PITCH].
When you are able to comfortably walk to sights, that allows you to avoid crowds (by going earlier or later), eat in better restaurants (because of the wider variety of options), and experience more of the city life of another country. After all, you’re there to experience that country, not that country’s hotel.
Okay, one more sales pitch. Here are the three upcoming tours we are running along with the hotels we are staying in. These are some good locations.
Ireland – www.GreatExplorationsTours.com/ireland.htm
Dublin – Temple Bar Hotel and Arlington Hotel Temple Bar – We stay 2 nights in Dublin (the first and last) and due to a scheduling conflict, we stay in 2 different hotels. The two hotels are about 2 blocks away from each other, both in the Temple Bar area, which is the heart of the remodeled Dublin with a lot of restaurant and pub options. Temple Bar is only about 1 block from Trinity College, 3 blocks to St. Stephen’s Green, and 3 blocks to St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Killarney – Scott’s Hotel – “Downtown” Killarney is about 6 square blocks, but that means there are not a lot of hotels there either. Luckily Scott’s is one of them.
Galway – Galway Bay Hotel – This is the only hotel on this tour (and most of our tours) that isn’t downtown. It is in a beautiful location along Galway Bay and its boardwalk (where there’s still plenty to do). We figured everyone would enjoy the scenery.
Bunratty – Bunratty Castle Hotel – Basically the only reason the tour stops in Bunratty is because of its wonderful castle and medieval dinner. This hotel is literally across the street from the castle (and Durty Nelly’s pub) and next to the shopping area called the Blarney Woolen Mills.
Italy - www.GreatExplorationsTours.com/italy.htm
Rome – Cesari Hotel – We spend 3 nights in Rome (the first and last two), which is a little more spread out due to its major status in ancient times. This hotel couldn’t be any better located. It’s 1 ½ blocks from the Pantheon, 2 blocks from the Trevi Fountain, 2 ½ blocks from Piazza Navona, an easy walk to the Spanish Steps, and a longer (but do-able) walk to the Roman Forum and Coliseum.
Venice – Hotel Abazzia – At first glance this hotel looks like a bit of a distance from the main tourist spot in Venice (Piazza San Marco...the one with all the pigeons). On closer inspection, it is only about a 10 minute leisurely walk because Venice itself is so small. This hotel is in Venice proper meaning that you won’t have to worry about traffic...except of the boat variety.
Florence – Hotel de Lanzi – Florence is one of the easiest cities in Europe to see on foot. All of the major tourist attractions are within about 10 minutes walk of each other with the massive Church di Santa Maria del Fiore (the Duomo) being the main focal point. This hotel is located within a stones throw of the Duomo (literally...you could hit it with a rock...but don’t). Specifically it’s about ½ block from the basilica.
Paris - www.GreatExplorationsTours.com/paris.htm
Paris – Hotel Mansart – Paris, like Rome, is a little bit spread out due to its long history. For our four nights in Paris (first and last three) we’ll be staying right in its heart. This hotel is along the Place Vendome, 1 block from the Jardin (gardens) des Tuileries, 2 blocks from the Louvre, and an easy walk to the Musee d’Orsay, Champs-Elysees, or Notre Dame.
Honfleur – Hotel Cheval Blanc – Honfleur is a small Normandy fishing village with a very picturesque harbor that has inspired many artists (Claude Monet being the most famous). Our hotel here is right on the harbor.
Reims – Hotel de la Paix – Reims is the largest city in the Champagne region and is known for its fantastic gothic cathedral and its miles of underground caves used to mature the region’s namesake bubbly. This hotel is in the city center, an easy walk to the cathedral.
Price – If you look at that list above and think, ‘he’s right, I want a clean, well located hotel that’s en-suite,’ what should you expect to pay? If you’re flexible with some of the other things (number of rooms, size of rooms, size of bathroom), you can usually find a room for under $200 per night. You’re right, that is a lot and it depends on where you’re looking. Obviously big cities like London, Paris and Rome are closer to that $200 mark where smaller cities and towns are much lower. I’ve gotten a room in London for $200, a room in Dublin for $160, a room in Munich for $130, and a room in a smaller village in France for $90, all in walking distance to the sights.
The trick to finding well priced rooms is that there is no trick. You just have to set aside some time to look for them. With the internet bringing hotel info right to your computer, you only have to look around to find hotel deals and reviews. Of course if you don’t have the time or the will to plan your whole vacation you can travel with me and Great Explorations Tours (www.GreatExplorationsTours.com). Thanks again for reading and feel free to fire away with the questions and comments.
Showing posts with label escorted tours. Show all posts
Showing posts with label escorted tours. Show all posts
Friday, January 22, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
My Seemingly Never-ending Rant on Traveling – Part 1
[Note: This post is an overview of my feeling on traveling and a glimpse of what traveling with my tour company is like. If you would like to read my much more detailed posts you can click on European Quest above to see them all or sort through the menu on the left hand side. Thanks in advance for reading.]
This entire blog is going to be much more opinion based that the Travel Tips section of my company website. There you’ll find more fact mixed with a little bit of conjecture and you can see those at www.GreatExplorationsTours.com/tips (ha, snuck a plug in there on you).
I could go on and on and on about traveling (as you’ll find out if you keep reading), so we’ll start with an outline. This is just the tip of my proverbial iceberg of opinions on the subject that I’ll flesh out in the coming weeks. As always if you have comments, suggestions, or questions please leave a comment or you can Email me through Great Explorations Tours by going to our Contact Us page.
[As a warning, the Escorted Tours bullet is a long one, but if you’re only going to read a little bit of this, please read that. That’s the section that tells you the most about me and Great Explorations Tours.]
- Hotels – Here are my necessities in a hotel: must be clean, must have bed and bath...and that’s pretty much it. Sure I would prefer a television and a free breakfast and, all things being equal, I would pick the extravagant, fancy hotel but I travel to see things and the inside of the hotel is not one of those things.
- Location, location, location – This is one thing I always look for in a hotel. There is no way to measure the joy of walking out of your hotel and walking smack into the Pantheon or the Louvre. I know it’s cheaper to stay out by the airport, but I don’t care. I don’t want to take a bus and two subways to get to the things I want to see.
- You'll need comfortable shoes - This goes along with the location note as well as the sights note below. The best way to see a European city is on foot. That is an indisputable fact. The cities are very compact (usually) and walking them is not much of an issue. Sure you'll have to find another way sometimes because cities like London and Paris are just too big, but for the most part, on foot is the only way to go.
- Restaurants – Naturally you’re going to be eating out while you’re on a vacation, the trick is finding the right places. I’ve heard people claim that they didn’t find a good meal in places like Florence or Paris and that’s just wrong (actually in those two cities it’s probably harder to find a bad meal, but I digress). Many tourists look for the big, flashy restaurants that have English menus and a lot of other tourists. Trust me, when the locals don’t eat there, that’s a sign. Think about your favorite places in your hometown, are they more likely to be a chain like Applebee’s or a small, family owned place. I thought so. There’ll be a lot more on this subject in the future, so I’ll stop here.
- Bars and Pubs – I’ll admit it, I enjoy a drink now and then...well, mostly now. No, I’m not an alcoholic, but I tend to subscribe to the European attitude towards alcohol. Basically that is that it’s good, it doesn’t hurt you in moderation, and it goes very well with food. Anyway, that leads me to the pubs, which are fantastic places to get to know some of the locals (this applies to cafés too). The same rules apply as with restaurants though, the less other tourists, the more authentic the experience.
- Tourist Sights – This is a tricky one because while you’re in Rome, you want to see the Coliseum, right? Of course that’s also where it’s crowded with other tourists, which isn’t necessarily the most fun thing you could be doing. Here’s what I do, I see all the main sights, usually as quickly as I can (unless I can be there very early or late, then I take my time). Then, if my hotel is well located (see above) I go back either early in the morning or in the evening, when the attraction is closed. I know you can’t get into it then, but with some things (Roman structures, major monuments, church exteriors) it doesn’t matter. When there are only a few people milling around Notre Dame and you can take a nice, peaceful walk around looking at the wonderful architecture and detailed stonework...that is when you can truly appreciate a monument’s monumentalness (yep, not a word, I know).
- Other Sights – What in the heck do I mean by “other” sights? What I mean is the little things that you didn’t expect and that you may not have many pictures of, but are what you remember most. These moments come while you’re sitting at a café, or on a park bench, or when you come across a wandering sheep in a village. These are the times when you realize that you’re not at home and that the place you are visiting is special and unique. These are the moments I encourage and the only way to see them is to slow down a little and look around. Traveling isn’t just about completing your checklists of sights.
- Transportation – Personally I like to do everything myself, so I’m definitely a car rental enthusiast, but that’s not for everyone (especially in the left hand driving countries). Buses can be fine ways to get around a strange place, but you have to make sure that you’re not just seeing everything through the bus windows. I know of some tours that have you on the bus for long stretches, which doesn’t seem very fun to me.
- Escorted Tours – Okay, this is going to sound like a conflict of interest being that I own an escorted tour company, but I’m not a big fan of the escorted tours. Wait, hear me out. The reason my wife and I started Great Explorations Tours is because we thought that people were getting a bad deal from other companies.
I don’t mean that any other company is ripping people off, but I think they like to put people on the bus, go from point A to B to C and say good day. They don’t let you appreciate or help you discover things for yourself, which is the heart and soul of traveling. If you just want to say that you’ve been to the Eiffel Tower or Blarney Castle, then other companies’ escorted tours are perfect. If you want to say that you’ve traveled in France or Ireland, then you want to go with me.
I know this sounds like a pitch, and it is, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true. Look at the list above. Do you find yourself agreeing with my points? Now look at some other escorted tour companies’ itineraries. Where are the hotels located? Usually they’re outside the city, leaving you to find your way in on your own. How much free time do you get? This varies, but think of it this way, if your hotel is outside the city, what will you do with your time off? Do they offer walking tours so you can immerse yourself in the cities or is it all seen from a bus? Yep, bus. Do these other companies give you information on local restaurants, bars, cafés, and ways to get around? You know the answer by now.
Yes, of course I think that Great Explorations Tours is better, that’s why I’m doing this. I’m not trying to show people Europe, I’m trying to get them to experience it.
One more plug, if you haven’t already visit www.GreatExplorationsTours.com. Thank you for reading.
This entire blog is going to be much more opinion based that the Travel Tips section of my company website. There you’ll find more fact mixed with a little bit of conjecture and you can see those at www.GreatExplorationsTours.com/tips (ha, snuck a plug in there on you).
I could go on and on and on about traveling (as you’ll find out if you keep reading), so we’ll start with an outline. This is just the tip of my proverbial iceberg of opinions on the subject that I’ll flesh out in the coming weeks. As always if you have comments, suggestions, or questions please leave a comment or you can Email me through Great Explorations Tours by going to our Contact Us page.
[As a warning, the Escorted Tours bullet is a long one, but if you’re only going to read a little bit of this, please read that. That’s the section that tells you the most about me and Great Explorations Tours.]
- Hotels – Here are my necessities in a hotel: must be clean, must have bed and bath...and that’s pretty much it. Sure I would prefer a television and a free breakfast and, all things being equal, I would pick the extravagant, fancy hotel but I travel to see things and the inside of the hotel is not one of those things.
- Location, location, location – This is one thing I always look for in a hotel. There is no way to measure the joy of walking out of your hotel and walking smack into the Pantheon or the Louvre. I know it’s cheaper to stay out by the airport, but I don’t care. I don’t want to take a bus and two subways to get to the things I want to see.
- You'll need comfortable shoes - This goes along with the location note as well as the sights note below. The best way to see a European city is on foot. That is an indisputable fact. The cities are very compact (usually) and walking them is not much of an issue. Sure you'll have to find another way sometimes because cities like London and Paris are just too big, but for the most part, on foot is the only way to go.
- Restaurants – Naturally you’re going to be eating out while you’re on a vacation, the trick is finding the right places. I’ve heard people claim that they didn’t find a good meal in places like Florence or Paris and that’s just wrong (actually in those two cities it’s probably harder to find a bad meal, but I digress). Many tourists look for the big, flashy restaurants that have English menus and a lot of other tourists. Trust me, when the locals don’t eat there, that’s a sign. Think about your favorite places in your hometown, are they more likely to be a chain like Applebee’s or a small, family owned place. I thought so. There’ll be a lot more on this subject in the future, so I’ll stop here.
- Bars and Pubs – I’ll admit it, I enjoy a drink now and then...well, mostly now. No, I’m not an alcoholic, but I tend to subscribe to the European attitude towards alcohol. Basically that is that it’s good, it doesn’t hurt you in moderation, and it goes very well with food. Anyway, that leads me to the pubs, which are fantastic places to get to know some of the locals (this applies to cafés too). The same rules apply as with restaurants though, the less other tourists, the more authentic the experience.
- Tourist Sights – This is a tricky one because while you’re in Rome, you want to see the Coliseum, right? Of course that’s also where it’s crowded with other tourists, which isn’t necessarily the most fun thing you could be doing. Here’s what I do, I see all the main sights, usually as quickly as I can (unless I can be there very early or late, then I take my time). Then, if my hotel is well located (see above) I go back either early in the morning or in the evening, when the attraction is closed. I know you can’t get into it then, but with some things (Roman structures, major monuments, church exteriors) it doesn’t matter. When there are only a few people milling around Notre Dame and you can take a nice, peaceful walk around looking at the wonderful architecture and detailed stonework...that is when you can truly appreciate a monument’s monumentalness (yep, not a word, I know).
- Other Sights – What in the heck do I mean by “other” sights? What I mean is the little things that you didn’t expect and that you may not have many pictures of, but are what you remember most. These moments come while you’re sitting at a café, or on a park bench, or when you come across a wandering sheep in a village. These are the times when you realize that you’re not at home and that the place you are visiting is special and unique. These are the moments I encourage and the only way to see them is to slow down a little and look around. Traveling isn’t just about completing your checklists of sights.
- Transportation – Personally I like to do everything myself, so I’m definitely a car rental enthusiast, but that’s not for everyone (especially in the left hand driving countries). Buses can be fine ways to get around a strange place, but you have to make sure that you’re not just seeing everything through the bus windows. I know of some tours that have you on the bus for long stretches, which doesn’t seem very fun to me.
- Escorted Tours – Okay, this is going to sound like a conflict of interest being that I own an escorted tour company, but I’m not a big fan of the escorted tours. Wait, hear me out. The reason my wife and I started Great Explorations Tours is because we thought that people were getting a bad deal from other companies.
I don’t mean that any other company is ripping people off, but I think they like to put people on the bus, go from point A to B to C and say good day. They don’t let you appreciate or help you discover things for yourself, which is the heart and soul of traveling. If you just want to say that you’ve been to the Eiffel Tower or Blarney Castle, then other companies’ escorted tours are perfect. If you want to say that you’ve traveled in France or Ireland, then you want to go with me.
I know this sounds like a pitch, and it is, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true. Look at the list above. Do you find yourself agreeing with my points? Now look at some other escorted tour companies’ itineraries. Where are the hotels located? Usually they’re outside the city, leaving you to find your way in on your own. How much free time do you get? This varies, but think of it this way, if your hotel is outside the city, what will you do with your time off? Do they offer walking tours so you can immerse yourself in the cities or is it all seen from a bus? Yep, bus. Do these other companies give you information on local restaurants, bars, cafés, and ways to get around? You know the answer by now.
Yes, of course I think that Great Explorations Tours is better, that’s why I’m doing this. I’m not trying to show people Europe, I’m trying to get them to experience it.
One more plug, if you haven’t already visit www.GreatExplorationsTours.com. Thank you for reading.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Why am I doing this?
Hello everyone. Okay, maybe saying "everyone" is inaccurate because as of now no one reads this but me. That'll change though, so for those of you reading this from the future, here's an update on me.
Two years ago (almost to the day) I decided to start a blog about European travel. The post below explains why. In the following two years I, along with my wonderful wife, have started a business that organizes and operates tours of Europe. When I wrote the oddly prophetic entry below I had no idea that I would actually be able to fulfill my dream of helping people travel for a living. I had led small groups of mostly friends and relatives before, but that was just a hobby that I was very good at. I don't know what clicked between then and now, but something made me believe that I could run these tours as a full time job and, well, here I am.
Now this blog isn't just going to be a repeating ad for my tour company (although I will through some shameless plugs in now and then...like now. Check out Great Explorations Tours at www.GreatExplorationsTours.com). On our company website I try to remain as professional as possible while still getting across all the things I love about travel. I hint at some of my travel beliefs including how I feel it should be done and what many tour companies do wrong, but I don't go into much detail because the average person just plain doesn't care what I think. This blog is where I bare my soul (well my travel-related soul) to let you know a little more about my thoughts and what is behind Great Explorations Tours.
Hopefully you’ll enjoy reading my theories on travel (with the occasional smattering of English soccer and ABC’s LOST...I can’t help myself), and whether you agree or not, I’d love to hear from you. And if you enjoy my writings so much that you want to travel with me, check out my tours at www.GreatExplorationsTours.com (shameless plug alert).
Two years ago (almost to the day) I decided to start a blog about European travel. The post below explains why. In the following two years I, along with my wonderful wife, have started a business that organizes and operates tours of Europe. When I wrote the oddly prophetic entry below I had no idea that I would actually be able to fulfill my dream of helping people travel for a living. I had led small groups of mostly friends and relatives before, but that was just a hobby that I was very good at. I don't know what clicked between then and now, but something made me believe that I could run these tours as a full time job and, well, here I am.
Now this blog isn't just going to be a repeating ad for my tour company (although I will through some shameless plugs in now and then...like now. Check out Great Explorations Tours at www.GreatExplorationsTours.com). On our company website I try to remain as professional as possible while still getting across all the things I love about travel. I hint at some of my travel beliefs including how I feel it should be done and what many tour companies do wrong, but I don't go into much detail because the average person just plain doesn't care what I think. This blog is where I bare my soul (well my travel-related soul) to let you know a little more about my thoughts and what is behind Great Explorations Tours.
Hopefully you’ll enjoy reading my theories on travel (with the occasional smattering of English soccer and ABC’s LOST...I can’t help myself), and whether you agree or not, I’d love to hear from you. And if you enjoy my writings so much that you want to travel with me, check out my tours at www.GreatExplorationsTours.com (shameless plug alert).
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