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CUSTOM TOUR!... SOUNDS GREAT!... BUT, HOW DOES IT WORK? A custom tour is like ordering "a la carte" in a restaurant. Our tailor-made, handcrafted programs allow you, the traveler, to choose the various ingredients of your trip (schedule, itinerary, visits, excursions, pace of tour, etc.). The components of a custom tour are assembled to fit your very own tastes, interests and personal needs and requirements. The process is flexible and personalized. All custom tours are unique. No two of them are alike. A custom tour is somewhere between a package bus tour (pre-scheduled and escorted) and a self-guided program where you travel on your own without the help of guides and/or escorts. Below are details on who we are and how the process works. WHO WE ARE 1)
Who
is Circa Tours and how long have you been in business? THE CUSTOM TOUR PROCESS 5)
What's the difference between a custom tour
and a scheduled group tour? OTHER QUESTIONS 16)
Who are your typical customers? WHO WE ARE 1) Who is Circa Tours and how long have you been in business? Circa Tours is operated by a husband and wife team, Pierre and Carolyn Mainguené. Both are seasoned world travelers (Pierre was born and raised in Brittany, France). They believe in the art of traveling well and focusing on the discovery of the local culture and heritage. The company has been in business since 2002. For more information on who we are (our background, experience and dedication to travel in France, Spain and Portugal), click here. [top] 2) What is your area of expertise? We specialize in tours and river/canal cruises in France, Spain and Portugal (we do not offer travel services in any other country). We have traveled to those three countries dozens of times and continue to do so every year, several times a year. Pierre is a Travel-Institute certified France and Spain Specialist. And both Pierre and Carolyn are recognized by the Tourist Office of Portugal as certified Portugal Specialists. [top] 3) How do you choose your partners overseas? We find most of our service providers (tour operators, guides, transportation companies, hotels, etc.) by attending various functions organized by the tourist offices of the three countries we work in (familiarization trips, workshops, conferences, trade shows, etc.) as well as our own personal travels and encounters. We continually assess these suppliers based on feedback from our clients and recommendations by other travel professionals. [top] 4) Why should I have Circa Tours work on my trip? There are many reasons why you should have us work on your project. Please take a look at our About Us page. It will give you details on who we are, our background, experience in the business and dedication to travel in France, Spain and Portugal. Also, please consider the following...The Internet offers many options, including working directly with a travel agent overseas. Although this may, at first glance, look like a good idea, working with a U.S.-based travel company like ours offers definite advantages: 1) We are available during normal hours, in the U.S., to discuss your project at your convenience - no need for phone calls half-way around the world! 2) Like you, we are American travelers. As we land in Paris, Madrid or Barcelona, we experience first-hand what you will run into when you get there. As American travelers ourselves, we have a complete understanding of your apprehensions and expectations. 3) And, we speak your language and know all its nuances - which is not always the case with an overseas agent. Please remember... By using our services, you will benefit from our country expertise (many years of it), local contacts (lots of them) and help with the intricacies of booking and scheduling your trip (a complicated job in most cases). [top] THE CUSTOM TOUR PROCESS 5) What's the difference between a custom tour and a scheduled group tour? Custom tours and scheduled tours appeal to different people for different reasons. Both offer attractive ways to travel. If you prefer to be on your own schedule, a custom tour may be the best option. If, for any reason, you need a more structured environment, a scheduled escorted group tour is a great arrangement. The following comparison will help you decide what's best for you.
6) What do your custom packages include? They normally include various combinations of the following four components:
If needed, we can also provide a rental car, but we do not sell airline tickets (either domestic in the U.S., France, Spain and Portugal OR international, between the U.S. and Europe). [top] 7) Can you describe the planning process for a custom tour? Yes, it's easy. Here's a typical scenario: Phase 1- Preliminary Consultation: You give us an outline of your project by filling out the "Tour Wish List" on our website: http://www.circatours.com/Forms/Custom-Tour-Questionnaire.htm. We discuss your goals and expectations by phone and review the various options. Phase 2- Tentative Itinerary: We prepare a tentative itinerary based on the ideas exchanged during the preliminary consultation and we give you an estimated price. Click here for an example. Please note! specific hotel names are not provided at this stage. Phase
3 - Formal Proposal: We prepare a formal quotation based on the budget, the
schedule of activities and the category of hotels specified. This proposal includes
a detailed itinerary and the names of the hotels for each destination. If you
do not like the properties we propose, we change them. Click
here for an example.
[top] 8) Do we need to discuss the project by phone? Yes, of course. To do a professional job, we need to know much more than where and when you want to go, and how many people will be traveling with you. We need to have a thorough understanding of your goals, expectations, travel style, likes, dislikes, etc. Emails are great but they are not a good enough tool for communicating this kind of in-depth information. Putting it another way, if your only goal is to get a "free" quotation (without ever talking to us), the likelyhood of such a scenario is virtually none. [top] 9) Do you charge a planning fee? Yes, payable after Phase 1, the initial free consultation - usually $50 per person, refundable if you book your tour with us. Please note! The scenario described in Queston 7 above assumes a typical project of about 8 to 12 days, involving two people. For more complex assignments (longer duration, greater number of destinations, more participants, special needs, etc.) a higher planning fee may be required. [top] 10) Can you give me an idea of how much my trip will cost? Every trip is different so, obviously, we cannot give an exact price without knowing the specifics of your particular program: a) the destinations (Paris is more expensive than Portugal for example), b) the number of days spent in those places, c) the category of hotels, d) the quantity and type of tours (a private-chauffeured excursion from Paris to Normandy is, of course, quite expensive), e) the exchange rate, etc. However, based on our 10 years of experience in the business, we can predict (please bear in mind that this is a very, very rough rule-of-thumb estimate) that your program will probably not cost less than $350 per person per day/night in the foreign country (the word "program" meaning a combination of private airport transfers, train tickets, guided tours and centrally-located minimum 4-star hotel rooms with breakfast). [top] 11) Can I get an itemized pricing for my package? No. Booking a custom tour is like buying a car (you do not pay separately for brakes, doors, bumpers, etc.). Our programs are offered with an all-inclusive price for the complete package. We do not provide a breakdown of that amount. [top] 12) Do I have to take a guided tour every day? No, not at all. Although we require that a few group or private guided tours be included in each program (a minimum of 5 usually), virtually every project we create allows for time "at leisure". This "free time" will give you plenty of leeway to explore on your own. Please remember, planning flexibility is the goal of a custom tour. [top] 13) Do you offer self-drive packages? Yes and no. We provide self-drive packages/rental cars when they are part of a larger custom program that includes hotel rooms, train tickets, airport transfers and guided day trips or walks. However, we do not offer "stand-alone" self-drive packages. Your trip must include a minimum of five guided day trips for us to include a rental car in your program. Please note! Since, during a self-drive tour, your exact activities are, by definition, unknown (and serendipity the primary reason for driving around the countryside on your own), we do not produce a detailed itinerary for that portion of your trip. The "Highlights" published on our website are an excellent reference for this as are the many travel books available. [top] 14) How does the booking and payment process work? It's very simple. You pay us for the complete package. We do all the bookings, make all the on-the-ground reservations and pay each individual provider on your behalf. Since we pre-pay all the suppliers (hotels, guides, day tours, etc.), your payment in full will be due before your departure. Before departure, we will send you the travel documents (hotel reservations, train tickets, etc.) which you will give to each service provider as you go through your itinerary. These vouchers (receipts) give the name of the provider who will be taking care of you, their phone number, etc. They also give your name and a description of the service to be provided. Click here for an example. [top] 15) Sounds expensive. Is there a cheaper way to go? Expensive... not necessarily. Cheaper... maybe, maybe not. You can do the research online if you have the time. And, doing the work yourself may give you the feeling of saving a few dollars. But, that may only be an illusion. Please remember: If you go that route you will not benefit from our country expertise, local contacts and help with the intricacies of bookings and scheduling (all of which can also save you money, by the way). It all depends on your personal priorities and how much you value the contribution from travel professionals. [top] OTHER QUESTIONS 16) Who are your typical customers? We cater to travelers who value expert professional advice and are primarily interested in activities related to the cultural heritage of France, Spain and Portugal (including food and wine). In other words... -
If all you want to do is lie on the beach or climb mountains, you don't really
need our help. 17) How do you go about selecting hotels? This is an important and difficult subject. To choose hotels, we take four primary factors into account. Availability is #1, of course. Then, we look at rankings, price, and location. We consider online ratings important because they seem to provide the closest approximation to a balanced and consistent system of performance measurement. A word of caution about traveler reviews: In addition to numerical ratings and rankings, online reporting systems provide comments written by travelers. Unfortunately, these postings raise very significant issues: Validity. How do we know that the people who wrote the reviews (good and bad) ever stayed at the hotel they are reporting on? We simply don't. Some (and perhaps many) of these writings are pure fabrications. That's right... completely made up and bogus. This is a well-known fact and a challenge for the online rating industry. But there is no way to know how many of these reviews are fake and which ones they are. Bias. For those reviews that happen to be genuine we must keep in mind that they are all, by definition, personal and therefore biased and subjective opinions written by anonimous travelers. It is also important to remember that since these reviewers are individuals - not professionals - they are not subjected to any kind of industry oversight or code of standards. Trust. Online reviews come from complete strangers - people we don't know from Adam. They are the furthest thing from the advice of a friend or someone you know well and whose opinion you trust. But let's assume, for a moment, that all complaints posted online are true and genuine. The reliability problem remains the same. We never get the answers to the following questions: 1) Were the travelers' expectations reasonable and realistic? (one person's music can be the next person's noise, after all). 2) Did they behave properly? (many tourists are rude and they are not aware of it. Being overly jovial and outgoing - as one is inclined to be when on a vacation - is often considered unacceptable in places where people are naturally more formal and reserved). 3) Was the problem described in the review an isolated incident? 4) How frivolous are the accusations? etc. etc. In addition, studies have shown that hotel guests with a bad experience are three times more likely to write a review than those who had a pleasant or average stay - thereby severely skewing the whole process (assuming, once again, that all reviews are genuine). Bottom line... traveler reviews raise many very serious doubts and suspicions. They are by definition personal and therefore biased opinions and may be inaccurate or fabricated. They are subjective at best and can be very misleading or even malicious. To make matters worse, each and every genuine one is written by complete strangers and self-designated "critics" who are unregulated non-professionals - plus the process is by default skewed. As we see it, this is far from an good situation. Therefore, giving much credence (if any) to such unreliable information does not seem reasonable to us. We believe that the best way to use online reporting systems is to look beyond the individual reviews and focus on the overall ratings. This is our standard practice and this is the best we can do for you when selecting your hotel accommodations. Since it is all but impossible to find properties with unanimous positive recognition, all we can do is to offer those with the best ratings. All
of the above being said, if before accepting our proposal, you don't - for any
reason - like the properties we offer, we will change them.
We do not impose our hotel selection. Please note! We recommend 4-star hotels (5-star if your budget allows it) because the quality at that level is generally higher and more consistent than in lower categories. There are well-rated 3-star hotels, of course, but they are harder to find. And, most importantly, the rooms in these lower-category hotels are usually much smaller (often "tiny" by American standards). And, you may encounter other unpleasant surprises such as narrow antiquated two-person elevators, small beds, constricted bathrooms, etc. [top] 18) How do you make money? This is a very personal question! But let's try to answer it. As professionals in the travel business, we normally receive preferential pricing from our suppliers overseas (we don't always, though). When we do not get discounted prices we add our own markup, of course. The arrangements we have with our suppliers are confidential. We assemble the package of hotels, ground transportation and guided tours, and price them as a complete entity. Our pricing method is also confidential. [top] 19) Can I buy my airline ticket from you? We do not sell airfare to individuals (either domestic in the U.S., France, Spain and Portugal OR international, between the U.S. and Europe). Many people use frequent flier miles and it is very easy (and often cheaper) to buy airline tickets online nowadays. [top] 20) Do I need to buy travel insurance? We highly recommend that you purchase travel insurance to protect your investment in the case of unforeseen problems such as illness, death in the family, strikes (frequent in Europe), volcano eruptions (as it happened in Iceland in 2010 and created havoc with air traffic) and many more. Circa Tours offers travel insurance but we do not require that you buy it from us. Important information concerning the travel insurance we offer! To be eligible for maximum benefits, you must purchase insurance within 21 days from the date of your initial trip deposit. The word "maximum" means: Coverage for 1) pre-existing medical conditions, 2) bankruptcy or default of a travel supplier and, 3) cancel-for-any-reason benefits. The "date of initial deposit" is the earliest date that a payment of any kind was made or applied to your trip - this includes airline tickets, the tax you pay when you redeem frequent flyer miles, deposits, etc. This payment is not necessarily just to Circa Tours. It could be to a cruise company (if a cruise is part of your trip) or any other travel services provider. For additional information please click on the following links: Insurance Form and TravelSafe Insurance Details (certificates). [top] 21) Do you recommend guided walks? Absolutely! guided walks (either private or with a small group) are wonderful! Here are 10 reasons: 1)
Most important! For most American travelers, they are the only way to meet someone
local 22) My stamina and walking capabilities are not the best. Will that be a problem? Probably (although, not knowing the exact severity of your physical limitations, it's a little hard to tell). Please bear in mind that the ancient cities of Europe do not always offer the most comfortable surfaces to walk on (cobble stones, steep slopes, irregular steps, etc.). So, to be on the safe side, the answer to your question is: Yes, it will most likely be a problem. Let's look at it this way: If you cannot hike up a mountain, but are otherwise fit and perfectly able to get around, you need not worry, you'll probably be fine. But, if you find walking around the grocery store and parking lot too strenuous, or you cannot keep up with normal walkers for any length of time (2 or 3 hours), you probably should not consider our services. The following is the exact wording on our Terms and Conditions (which we require every client to sign): "I represent that I am in good physical condition and that there are no health-related reasons or problems that preclude or restrict my participation in the Program. I understand that I may not get enough sleep during the trip to the Program starting point and I will have jet lag for a few days. In addition, the Program may include substantial walking on flat, sloped, or uneven surfaces, climbing of stairs with or without handrails, carrying and lifting of luggage and/or other physical activities that require a person to be physically fit and to have sufficient stamina." [top] 23) Can you get bullfight tickets for us? Well, getting tickets to a bullfight, as an American tourist, is not as easy as one might think, for several reasons. The first and biggest challenge is the fact that performances are not scheduled on a regular basis (except in Madrid) and are usually not announced much ahead of time (even in Madrid). This makes it difficult for most American travelers who usually plan their trips months in advance. The other difficulty is the fact that, in cases of "big-ticket" performances, the names of the matadors are not made public until closer to the date of the performance. With famous matadors, needless to say, prices go up significantly and tickets can be very hard to get. To complicate matters, some of the bullfights are not fought the way we're used to (by matadors on foot and on the ground, using the traditional cape). Instead, in what is called "corrida de rejoneadores," the matadors are on horseback and fight the bull from the horse - not a typical bullfight as one would normally expect! So, getting tickets to a bullfight under such circumstances can be a challenge. However, there is a kind of bullfight where tickets are more readily available: the "novilladas." These performances are with amateur matadors fighting young and smaller bulls. The fees for these fights are lower and the bullring doesn't always fill up. Buying tickets at the bullring on the day of the performance is a viable option in these cases. Therefore,
as a visitor to Spain, on a set and limited schedule, your best bet for a bullfight
is Madrid. At the Las Ventas bullring, they offer performances every Sunday, from
March to October. Seville is another good place for bullfights, but they hold
them in the spring and the fall only (summers are too hot), at the famous Maestranza.
Many other cities around the country also have bullfights but far more sporadically
- usually only during local festivals. Please note! Beginning in 2012, bullfights
will be banned in Catalonia and therefore in Barcelona. Madrid: Seville: General
information: Please
note! Ticket prices vary depending on: 1) how high your seat is located in the
bullring (just like theaters) and 2) whether your seat is in the sun/sol or in
the shade/sombra (being in the shade is obviously a better location and therefore
more expensive). [top] 24)
Why isn't my question answered here? Good question! What question?
If any of the above is unclear or you need to know more, please call us at +1-951-676-6117
or email us. [top] |
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