European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 30, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday september 30, 1977 the stars and stripes Page 19 modern living it a. R  consumer watch by Mary Neth for would be travellers on tight budgets those package Tours can be a Good Way to  can offer whole vacations for what perhaps the air fare alone might Cost if you were doing Iton your own. But Don t be completely swept off your feet by those glowing brochures they naturally Are written to lure and sometimes the descriptions spell out something Dif Ferent from what you May be led to believe. For example if you Are sensitive to noise watch out for hotels that Are described As being centrally  that can be a Beautiful Way of saying that the hotel is right in the Middle of a heavily travelled District where the night is likly to be punctuated by slamming car doors and loud voices. On the other hand if it s big City life you Are looking for beware of finding yourself stuck in a hotel Way out in the Sticks Miles from where the action is. Watch out if the brochure in describing a nearby Beach notes that it s possible to go  that might be a Nice Way of putting that fact that it is possible to swim if you Don t might scrambling Over rocks. You can almost bet that the Beach in question is a miserable one. Allen Fliss of the american society of travel agents a 14,000-member group representing about 75 per cent of the travel agents in the . And Canada advises that anyone buying a package tour should read the contract carefully. It s this dry text and not the glowing words of the illustrated brochure that indicate what you can expect As to Price insurance and the obligations of the tour company. Particularly Check cancellation provisions. If you have questions ask before buying. In an interview with up a spokesman for american express also advised would be travellers to make sure they know what they Are getting. If baggage handling is included ask How Many bags will be carried. Some Tours limit baggage handling to one piece of Luggage per person. Anything else you have to carry yourself if Airport transfers Are part of the tour find out whether you will get transportation from the Airport to your hotel or Only from the Airport to a downtown terminal. Ask about tips. Check to see what meals if any Are included. If break last comes with your hotel is it Continental style Toast or Rolls and Coffee or american style with items such As Cereal and eggs. Also ask about such things As Baths. Generally in Europe lower priced hotel rooms although they will have a Wash Basin won t have a toilet. For room with private toilet there usually is a surcharge. A German consumer group has inspected 2,500 european hotels that Are used by charter groups. By writing to the Reise service Der stif Tung Ware test Postrach 4141, d-1000 Berlin 30, you can get this list free. The list have a German Friend help you read it if necessary describes the locations of the hotels any extra costs that might come up distances from beaches entertainment possibilities Etc. And what should you do if you find that the travel comp my just has t lived up to its promises for example you were promised a modern Bungalow and instead Are Given a Damp insect overrun old shanty. First give the tour people a Chance to improve the accommodations. If they wont get the situation Down in writ ing and have fellow travellers or a tour guide sign As witnesses. On return Home Send a registered letter to the travel company explaining your complaint in full and including the signatures of the witnesses to the situation keep a Carbon copy. Be sure you get this notification in the mail m less than three weeks after your return. If the travel firm won t respond to your requests for some sort of reimbursement take your Case to the local jag office. They can advise you As to whether it would be worthwhile to hire a private attorney. In Germany where foreign travel has become a big business Many complaints against charter companies have led to Laws that give the consumer More Protection. In some cases the travel company must pay Back the whole amount of the vacation package if it failed in living up to its promises. Cata logs of big German tour operators make a Point now of adding such details As noisy or out of the Way location in describing hotels. In the United states the Federal Trade commis Sion Etc also is looking into the package tour business. Among the subjects the commission is studying is whether the tour delivers what the brochure promises and who is responsible if something goes wrong. To get a handle on the picture the Etc is asking Consumers to let it know about their experiences. If you be had travel problems with an american Agency Send a report about them to the travel task Force Boston regional office Federal Trade commission 150 causeway st., Boston mass. 02114. The Etc in announcing its probe said it did not know if abuses Are widespread. The purpose of the investigation is to find out. Among the complaints already received Are item such As undesirable substitutions changes in hotel accommodations or tour itineraries last minute increase in the Cost of the package. For example you arrive at the Airport and because the value of the Dollar has declined since you booked the tour operator wants More Money. If you want to see Paris on a budget what appears to be a bargain tour May put a bigger Dent i your Wallet than you think if you Don t consider afew Little  take the experience of Melod Stutts peer Reisen s package Deal was $72 for transportation to and fro with two overnights in a luxury hotel but it Cost some of the travellers on a recent trip a lot More. The tour bus was to depart from Cambrai Fritsch Cavern in Darmstadt at approximately 9 45 on a Friday night give or take a few  minutes length ened into almost 2 hours. The excitement i had sensed earlier about this Paris trip had dwindled to the fear of being left behind. When the bus finally arrived the Driver was a German who spoke Little English so naturally it was with reluctance that i accepted the feeble explanations about getting lost in Darmstadt by Lenny our peer Reisen tour guide. I Felt sorry for the poor souls waiting in Wei Brincken the last pickup on the Agenda. The nine hour nonstop bus trip except for a quickie at the French German Border went fairly smoothly. A Small built in bathroom on the bus was a refresher for the weary traveler. We arrived in Paris at 9 the next morning but did t go to our hotel to Check in until after 1 that afternoon. This 4-Star hotel happened to be nearly an hour from the heart of the City by bus and subway. A taxi of course was faster but it Cost about $10 each time. Now if you want to do Paris on a budget it is More convenient and a lot cheaper to be in the Center of town within walking distance of the main sights. Having Only 2 /2 Days to see the town it can be very disturbing to find yourself inside a bus taxi or subway a great part of the time. To most of the travellers the Only recourse was to take the optional town Tours priced from 20 to 40 francs $5 to $10. A night illumination tour of Paris was being offered for about $8. Fifteen of us declined and arranged for Lenny to drop us off at the Eiffel Tower and pick us up at Midnight at the place de la concorde. Thus began our second round in the waiting game. An hour and a half late our skipper sailed in muttering something about losing his bearings and heavy traffic. After my fuming had cooled Down to a talking level. I found out that the Driver and a few passengers had bodily moved two cars out of the Street to extricate the bus. I understood the matter a bit better when i discovered that this had happened in the red Light District. Continental breakfast was included in the tour but the two Rolls with Tea or Orange juice did Little to quell my hunger pangs. Then there is the matter of your other meals. Most of the tour patrons found Little Consolation in the hotel restaurant. The food May have been delicious but prices ranged from 45 to 100 francs $9 to $20 for dinner. Where were the deals for $5 or less that were mentioned in guidebooks i went downtown and with a Little help from a Frenchman found a local restaurant that served a Good meal for 19 francs. The Plush hotel had a Sauna and indoor swimming Pool but there were no water fountains in sight. However a minibar could be found in each room and the key was furnished on request. A word of caution though before delving into this Pandora s Box. I paid a Little Over $1 each for a Small bottle of Coke and an equally Small bottle of Perrier Mineral water. I have the bottle filled with dried French weeds adorning a shelf at Home. A few tour companion gis Haven t anything to show for their re freshment Bills ranging from 90 to 150 francs. So if it is your idea to do Paris on a budget find out where your hotel is. If a hotel is not listed As it was in mine ask your rec Center to obtain More information. If you have the feeling you re getting the runaround. Then run Don t walk to the nearest  w by j. King Cruger travel writer Hen much of Europe gets socked in by wintry gloom and a permanent chill sets into the Bones there s not much you can do about it. Or is there sure there is. Fly yourself off to a place in the Sun and save big Bucks in the process by taking advantage of reduced off season prices. They dip quite Low from now through March. Prices hit Rock Bottom the first two weeks of december but Rise appreciably during the popular Christmas Holiday season. Scores of tour operators specialize in putting together package deals that Combine Money saving charter flights and hotel. The sooner you Book the better your Chance of getting your Choice from the lavishly illustrated Cata logs available at any downtown travel Agency. The travel business is highly competitive. It s worthwhile to compare prices to the same Destina Tion by various tour operators shopping around off Post can sometimes bring surprising savings. Since tour operators and hotel owners must keep their staffs intact during the off season they re forced to continue operating on a shoestring during those lean and hungry months with a in them. You reap the benefits then by travelling to places like Mallorca the Costa Del sol Greece and Yugoslavia. You la find that travel counter personnel at most German Tavel agencies speak at least some English. Since they tend to be a Well travelled lot often they re Able to advise you about what to expect at your intended destination so you won t end up in some Winter months ghost town. No a Neckermann und Reisen whose Tours Are sold in Neckermann and Karstadt department stores offers a week in Mallorca with hotel three meals daily and return flight from Germany for 259 Marks about $113. The Island s Winter weather is generally quite pleasant with sunny Day temperatures shooting up into the 70s. But Don t expect to Bathe in the Mediterranean there in Winter. Most hotels have heated outdoor pools so it s still possible to return tanned from a Mallorca Winter sojourn. Greece and the greek islands Are a Good buy in the off season with mostly sunny Days. Ditto for Yugoslavia where the Dollar goes a Surpri singly Long Way perhaps the farthest of any Southern european Holiday land. The Dalmatian coast with its off Shore islands and rugged coast with tiny colourful fishing villages and the walled City of Dubrovnik Are most at Tractive in Early fall and late Spring. A big firm called Scharnow will Fly you to Athens and return from Stuttgart Frankfurt Munich or Nurnberg for 599 Marks about $260 with a week in a hotel and two meals a Day. A trip to Crete costs about the same. Another German packager Kauf Hof Reisen whose Tours Are sold in Kauf Hof and Hertie department stores offers flight packages to Dubrovnik with two weeks hotel and half pension starting at 469 Marks about $204. Portugal with its Miles of Beautiful beaches in the Southern Algarme Good Golf courses and delicious food and drink is another value packed destination. However after october you can usually forget about swimming in the Atlantic. One tour to the Algarme by Germany s giant Tou Ropa travel concern gives return flight and a week in a hotel with half Board for 639 Marks about $278. Package trips to other Winter warm spots such As Madeira Morocco Malta Egypt Israel and Tunisia Are offered by Many tour operators in Germany. Want to get away without using a lot of leave time try a three or four Day weekend mini trip to say London for 159 Marks about $69 and up or to Mallorca offered by american express in conjunction with Tou Ropa