Travel Tours & Offers
Vacationing Americans Can Study at Oxford University
Anyone who has seen the British television miniseries “Brideshead Revisited,” “Inspector Morse” or the film series on Harry Potter and wished they’d gone to Oxford, will have the chance this summer when The Oxford Experience takes place at Christ Church, one of the most beautiful and prestigious of Oxford colleges.
This one-week residential program runs from July 1 to August 4, with each week starting on a Sunday and finishing the following Saturday, though anyone attending for two or more weeks gets free room and board over the intervening weekends. It attracts not only vacationing Americans, but a cosmopolitan mix of Europeans, Australians, New Zealanders and South Africans who range in age from thirty-something to ninety.
There is a choice of some 50 courses as varied as English Castles; Spies, Treasons and Plots; Great Britons and Their Houses; Creative Writing—The Art of Lying; Shakespeare’s Romances; Jewish Life in Medieval England; Enjoying the Cotswolds; and The Public and Private Lives of British Prime Ministers.
Participants in The Oxford Experience stay in student accommodations—though rooms with private bath are available—and dine in the magnificent Hall, which gained fame as the Hogwarts dining room. Three daily meals are included in the price: a full English breakfast, a buffet lunch and a served three-course dinner. On the final night everyone gathers for champagne in the flowering Cathedral Garden and a celebratory dinner in the Hall. Throughout the week there are excursions to stately homes and such, tours of Oxford, pub walks, whisky tastings, lectures, drinks in the Masters’ Garden and Evensong in the college chapel, which is also the Oxford Cathedral.
The price of a one-week course—including tuition, accommodations and all meals (except those on excursions)—is £980, or approximately $1,934. There are additional charges for excursions and rooms with private bath.
The registration deadline is April 1, 2007, but early application is recommended as courses fill quickly. A brochure is available online at www.conted.ox.ac.uk/courses/international/oxfordexperience.asp, or from The Oxford Experience, OUDCE, 1 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2JA, U.K.
Explore Rome, Venice, Florence On A Continental Journeys Air-Inclusive Tour
Italy's most famous cities—Rome, Venice and Florence—highlight Continental Journeys' new, air-inclusive 10-day/eight-night winter/spring getaway with daily departures through May 31. The independent tour, featuring nearly three days in each of the cities, is priced at $1,499 per person, double, in tourist-class hotels; supplements apply to departures from December 15 to January 2 and March 15 to May 31.
Upgrades to first-class ($1,739), superior first-class ($1,999) and deluxe ($3,059) hotels are offered. Three other Italy tours are also being offered: a week in the Eternal City at $999; duo-city packages of Rome and Venice for five nights at $1,269 and Rome- Florence in six nights at $1,259.
All four vacation getaways include round-trip transatlantic flights from New York, accommodations and breakfast daily in hotel category selected, sightseeing tour of each city, first-class rail ticket between cities, airport transfers, hotel taxes and service charges. Airfare from other U.S. cities, single rooms and extra hotel nights are available. Air taxes are not included.
Plenty of time is available for exploring this land of the Renaissance, whether it is fashion, crafts, cuisine, painting, sculpture, music or just soaking in the Italian exuberance that brings everything to life. A choice of 15 optional excursions, priced at $30 to $145, includes in Rome the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, a general papal audience, the illuminated city and day trips to Tivoli, ancient Ostia, Assisi, Orvieto, Capri, Naples and Pompei; in Venice a gondola serenade and islands in the lagoon; and from Florence visits to the charming and historic cities of Pisa, San Gimignano and Siena, and Italian fashion designer outlet shops.
March 15-31 pricing for tourist-class hotels is $1,839, first-class is $2,079, first-class superior is $2,838 and deluxe is $3,898. From April 1 - May 31 the price is $2,074 for tourist, $2,314 for first-class, $3,058 for superior and $4,118 for deluxe.
Continental Journeys is at tel. (800) 601-4343 or (818) 995-8643; fax (818) 995-8673; e-mail info@continentaljourneys.com or visit www.continentaljourneys.com.
Gutsy Women Travel Adds Tour To Central Europe
Two of Eastern Europe's most beautiful cities are on the agenda as Gutsy Women Travel introduces its Beauty of Central Europe: Budapest and Prague tour for 2007. This eight-day escorted tour offers six departures and is priced from $2,279 air and land from New York based on double occupancy.
This program actually offers one of the best values that Gutsy Women Travel has for 2007—averaging less than $300 per day with all of the fabulous inclusions.
This tour offers everything a woman traveling to Central Europe wants to experience — shopping, art, history, culture, spa, and fine cuisine.
The 8-day escorted Beauty of Central Europe: Budapest & Prague Tour includes:
• Flights from NYC-Budapest, Prague-NYC. Other departure cities available
• 3 nights at the Astoria in Budapest
• 3 nights at the Mercure Praha Old Town in Prague
• 6 breakfasts, 1 lunch, 4 dinners
• All activities as noted in program
• Tour Director throughout
• Hungarian cooking class and lunch at Gundel Restaurant
• Visit a thermal spa in Budapest and enjoy complimentary foot massage
• City tour of Budapest
• Illuminated Cruise on the Danube
• Guided tour of Bratislava, Slovakia
• City tour of Prague
• Visit to Mucha Museum in Prague
• Visit Nelahozeves Castle and its galleries
• Carriage Ride around Prague
• Tea and cake at the Municipal House, Prague
This tour is priced from $2,279 per person, double occupancy including land and economy class airfare from New York. Not included are airport taxes, fees, September 11th Security Fee, and tips to Tour Manager.
Departure dates for 2007 include: March 11, April 29, May 27, September 23, October 28, and November 18.
New Brochure For 2007 Lists Tours
Gutsy Women travel, which offers tours designed exclusively for women, now has its 2007 brochure available. The 2007 brochure can be ordered simply by going online to www.gutsywomentravel.com and selecting the "Free Brochure" link at the bottom of the page. The new brochure features more than 20 tours and includes air and land and land only pricing in addition to departure dates. Complete day-by-day itineraries for each tour are available online.
New tours and special promotional pricing will be offered online on a revolving basis, so consumers and travel agents are invited to visit the company's website at www.gutsywomentravel.comfrequently. For reservations, call (866) IMGUTSY.
Rome and Florence Without the Crowds—Six Nights from $519
Here’s a chance to see Italy’s greatest attractions—Rome and Florence—without the summertime tourist influx. From January 8 to February 8, TourCrafters’ midweek seven-day/six-night Rome & Florence Super Bargain package starts at $519 per person land-only, or $899 air-and-land from New York or Boston. Prices are higher in late February and March. However, even in January Rome’s daily high is a comfortable 52?; in February it’s 54?, and in March it’s 59?—warm enough for the azaleas to burst into bloom on the Spanish Steps.
TourCrafters’ package includes three nights accommodation at the 4-star Hotel Oxford in Rome and three nights at the recently-renovated Hotel Deco in Florence, daily breakfast, transfer from airport to hotel in Rome, sightseeing tour in each city, first class train from Rome to Florence, hotel service charges and taxes.
Hotel upgrades are available. Add-on air fares from other gateway cities are $70 from Washington, $70 from Miami and $40 from Chicago.
All prices are per person, double occupancy, are subject to availability and do not include airport taxes or fuel surcharges. Reservations must be paid for within 72 hours.
This experienced company, with offices in Libertyville and Rome, offers a variety of off-season bargains throughout Italy and Europe. For more information about TourCrafters’ packages, visit www.tourcrafters.com. For reservations, call 800-482-5995.
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Travel Alerts & Information
Warnings and advice covering travel and health issues in countries can be found at the Department of State (DOS) homesite at http://travel.state.gov/travel/travel_1744.html.
-- Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid a certain country. The countries currently listed can be found at http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_1764.html.
-- The State Department issues Public Announcements to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions that pose significant risks or disruptions to Americans. The current Public Announcements are listed at http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_1766.html.
-- Information on countries can be found in the Consular section of the DOS website at
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1765.html.
-- Information on Avian Flu can be found at http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/health/health_1181.html.
-- Information on the 2006 hurricane season in the Atlantic, Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico can be found at http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/hurricane_season/hurricane_season_2915.html.
NOTE: With trouble flashpoints erupting around the world, Americans are urged to record their out-of-country trip itineraries/residences along with passport details and email addresses with the State Department to receive assistance in case of emergency. Visit the Travel Registration Service/DOS at https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/home.asp.
For more information on security measures implemented at airports and other travel venues, visit www.tsa.gov.org or specifically http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/index.shtm.
Travel Health Warnings can be obtained from from the US Government Printing Office Health Information for International Travel by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which gives a global rundown of disease and immunization advice and other health guidance, including risks in particular countries. The CDC maintains the international travelers hotline at 1-877-FYI-TRIP (1-877-394-8747), an automated faxback service at 1-888-CDC-FAXX (1-888-232-3299) and a website at http://www.cdc.gov. CDC’s Traveler’s Letter is at http://www.cdc.gov/travel.
For information about outbreaks of infectious diseases abroad as well as medical inoculations, consult the World Health Organization’s (WHO) website at http://www.who.int/en. The WHO also provides travel health information at http://www.who.int/ith.
NOTE ON PASSPORTS: Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) requires all air travelers to the US to have a passport or other secure document by January 23, including Americans returning from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. In addition, all travelers by land and sea must meet this requirement by an unspecified deadline not later than 1 June, 2009. A new website, www.GetAPassportNow.com was established by the travel industry to inform travelers about new passport requirements and to help them get passports.
