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12 COROMANDEL LIFE SPRING/HOLIDAY 2016
Create your own group tour or cruise – whether
two or forty two.
H ave you put off booking that trip you
always wanted to take because the
advert said ‘group tour’? Think again.
Travelling with an organised tour group today
is a vastly different experience than in the past
– one that can provide great benefits and lots
of extras, while bringing you a world of new
experiences and pleasure.
Tour guides have an amazing knowledge of the
regions you are to visit – where to eat, what
to see, history and more – and often share
information with other tour guides in the area.
Like a particular viewing opportunity coming
up that would allow you the chance to sit back
and enjoy the ride. Don’t forget that tours
often get early entry into museums and other
attractions which means less crowds.
Group payment options are also helpful when
you are planning 12-18 months in advance,
especially for anyone who prefers not to pay in
full immediately yet wants to take advantage of
special airfares, or those ineligible for Q card
for early payment. Whilst group fares may be
slightly more than the latest offer, it gives you
the opportunity to secure a set fare and seats
on a flight with just a deposit and, at a much
later date, provide the balance and names of
those travelling in the group.
A FAMILY IS CONSIDERED A GROUP TOO
Create your own group! Taking the whole family
on a cruise is a way to ensure that everyone
is going to have a wonderful time. You can
book adjoining staterooms, and perhaps one
could include a suite with a lounge and extra
bed, to create a family meeting area. You can
easily include everyone from the oldest to the
youngest generation, as a ship has activities for
all ages, multiple dining options and plenty of
places on board to have fun together, or apart,
as well as the diverse shore excursions.
On a Tahitian cruise it was wonderful to see an
extended family, taking their elderly grandfather
kayaking whilst the children snorkelled around
with the stingrays – what fantastic memories
they were creating.
Book in advance and it may be possible to
create a group that includes you on certain
cruises, giving you the group fare benefits
such as your own stateroom, and allows other
travellers the same, even though they book
independently of you. And you won’t even have
to interact with other members of the group
as you travel – you won’t even know who they
are. It’s just one of the benefits of booking with
accredited cruise specialists like us that have
the contacts and the knowledge.
VISIT EXOTIC DESTINATIONS
A small tour is a fantastic opportunity to
take your children on a holiday that not only
includes family time but also gives them a
wonderful experience of the world at large.
There are companies that run specialised
family holidays too. Instead of lying on a beach
somewhere for 10 days, pack up your family
and maybe a friends’ family and head off for a
wonderful adventure somewhere exotic.
What about China, Vietnam or India? These
small tours offer an amazing opportunity to
explore a new country full of colourful heritage,
animals, food and history – and they can be
very economical, as you are travelling on a
group airfare and enjoying special hotel and
tour rates.
Packages can be created for specialised
groups – whether small or large – to sporting
fixtures, musical or theatre productions, school
groups for cultural or language learning. The
opportunities are endless.
For some companies the term ‘small group’
means sharing a bus with 45 other people.
For others it may mean 10-16, while in some
cases tour companies will often provide the
same tour as brochured for just two travellers.
It will cost more for only two people to have a
guide, but if it’s your dream journey, travelling
with a guide will ensure that you don’t miss out
on local knowledge, the real facts, history and
other hidden treasures. So bring that dream to
us and we’ll create the trip especially for you.
Watch out though – if enough of your friends
like your idea, you might all end up becoming a
tour group of your own!
YOU Travel Whitianga can arrange packages for almost every show and
sporting event around the world. Whether there is 1 of you or a group of 101 –
the team can help! To get you inspired some popular events are: Castrol Gold
Coast 600, Melbourne Cup, NRL Grand Final, Australian Tennis Open, Arsenal Tour
2017, Opera & Theatre shows across Australia, Sydney Sevens, Brisbane Global 10’s
and the F1 Australian Grand Prix.
Havesomethingonyourbucketlist?Don’thesitate,givetheteamacalltoday.
Previously
United Travel
07 866 4397
see us instore YOU Travel Whitianga
75 Albert Street, Whitianga
Find out more about Group
Travel! Ring Monett Johnston
and the other travel experts
at YOU Travel in Whitianga
(previously United Travel),
07 866 4397. And be sure to
say you read about them in
Coromandel Life.
GROUP TRAVEL
Benefits & Misconceptions
by Monett Johnston (YOU Travel Whitianga)