European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 1, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Daily a Magazine avoid Pitfalls when buying a tour by Linda White travel editor cheap trip is not always a bargain. If you Don t get to see what you want to see and do what you want Lodo or if you re Loo tired to enjoy it because you could t sleep on the bus it s Money Down the Drain so before you put up your Money do some shopping. Many companies Are competing with the same destinations pick up All the brochures nol just the Bright ones with the Eye catching prices take hem Home and study them. Read the Fine print and know whal you Are gelling. Try first thing to do is to compare Price. Do the 159 tour and the 189 tour offer the same thing make a checklist How Many nights in a hotel ire included How far from the City Center of teach or whatever you a going f or it the hotel it Pobric transport Aton available Lor you to get there on your own if the hotel far away what facilities Doe on hotel have does Tea room have private Bath and toot i having a to in the room important to you to that a night or More on the Bua Are meal included or extra Are the rights eing exc Radom and entry Tea included or extra h the Bua ride i Long would it be better 10 Lala plane or train How much extra would it another thing to consider if you select a bus tour is How Long it will take once you Board the bus. To really get on your Way to a destination. In the . Military Community Tours May be sold Over a wide area and pick up Points Are designated to be As convenient As possible to the clients that Means lots of pickups. Here s an example. You a a taking a trip to Amsterdam but when you Board the bus in Darmstadt Germany you find people going to a variety of places Switzerland or Italy perhaps. Yes. You Are on the right bus. This one makes several More detours and stops and finally arrives in Mannheim the opposite direction of Amsterdam to meet another bus with another group going to various destinations. At Mannheim a Central Point everyone is shuffled and the buses head out again this time in the right direction. You have already been on the Road for a couple of hours before the trip really gels started. Many people Are willing to give up a few extra hours for the savings they May get taking such group Tours they Settle in to enjoy the conversation and scenery or read a Book and sometimes bring along a Small Pillow to make the going More comfortable the important Point is to know what you Are getting when you buy he trip and not to be unpleasantly surprised by the mechanics of travelling. Once you have added up All the costs the $89 tour May be cheaper. After you have compared Price there Are other things to consider. If you want to shop then a cultural tour is not the place for you. You la be longing for the Lores while you re stuck in a museum to you want logo to the theater Don t Lake a Beach vacation. And if your Elk ferry parents Are visiting Don t put them on an Alt night bus rip to Amsterdam s red Light District. Tra Way a. Tour is advertised should give you a clue u to whal sort of people will be on it. Choose the Type group you will find compatible. Tulip trips to Holland Are big for families. Evenings at the crazy horse in Paris Are popular Tor singles and couples without the children along. Many companies now have designated non smoking Tours taking off ii is also a Good idea 1o read up on your designation. Learn something Aboul the landscape the customs the Lood vow experience will be the Richer far it supposing you have Dona everything you can do to make your if in a Success but something goes wrong what can you do Aboul if the Fine Penni on tour brochures always makes disclaimers Lor the company. Tour firms Reserve the right to change hotels but most of Hern try to either stay in the same category or upgrade the hold As a Ges Luro of Goodwi. After All. It is to their advantage to have satisfied customers who continue to use their services. When unsatisfactory changes Are made or something else goes wrong have a talk at once with the tour guide. It the guide cannot solve the problem on the spol. To of she should Contact the Home office if he does to you should do so even by Tang distance the management can do a lot toward correcting problems but Only if Rhey Are aware of them after you have made a verbal complaint ii the problem the not resolved to your satisfaction while a letter to the tour operator staling exactly what went wrong and noting that you complained at the Lima. Tell the company what kind of compensation you expect to get. One of the most common settlements is to give the customer a reduced Rale on another tour. Sometime. The Tow you sign up Lor is cancelled in thai Case most companies or fat Ollices will try to help you find another Lour to the same location or of the same sort we have had no More cancel Lions than usual this year said a spokeswoman Lor the Rhein main itt office. Maybe 25 people will be affected in a month by cancellations. We give them at Toast three Days notice she said that most people willingly choose an alternate , it s the bus Tours that get cancelled our air Tours always  she said however the Munich itt reports quite a lot of bus tour cancellations. Bus Tours never really picked up after last year s terrorist scare said Edna Anderson fat director. Ii we re Lucky we get Izreo Days notice of cancellation. Sometimes it s just one  she said. Sha noted hat this is difficult Lor the customers because they wanted that particular Lour and it lit into their schedule. There is just no Way to travel As cheaply As a bus tour  people whose relatives came Over for a couple of weeks end up doing Only 10 percent of whal they had planned because of cancellations. She said the Munich itt has one bus lout company thai always goes to Paris. But we used to be Able to say to have trips to Rome Venice Amsterdam every weekend. Now. We Don t know German firm offer such Tours bul she said that americans do not feel As comfortable with a German group because of the language. While bus Tours offer the cheapest travel Here Are alternatives she said. People can Lake individual Tours said Anderson. To can arrange hotels and flights or  Charier flights for weekends Are relatively inexpensive to places like Paris Rhodes or Crete she said. The office had available one charter flight Munich leak icon Lor 200, Marks Aboul $115for example. We get Tel exes from German charter companies offering special prices she said. They Are not necessarily last minute some have a couple of weeks notice. Tha customer should ask what specials Are  she said that More customers Are taking individual Tours even though the Price is higher. Tour listings will usually give the minimum number of participants requited or the tour to go. If you Are planning a trip that is very special to you Check periodically to see How sign  Are progressing so you won t be disappointed Al the last minute. Have alternatives in mind. Cancellations May occur when a number of tour companies offer approximately the same tour. There is Strong Competition in the us. Military Market in Germany and companies plan their tips according of destinations the people want and. To a great extent of Holiday times when the people Are free to travel that could mean a dozen buses scheduled logo to the same place during the july 4 weekend and perhaps not every one would be filled. Wednesday july 1. 1987 the stars and stripes Page 13