Who goes on these trips anyway?People of all ages -- even the occasional family, though generally our trip is best suited to adults. People come from around the world though primarily from the USA, Britain and Australia. The main thing that most of our tour members have in common is a love of music and an adventurous spirit. That is probably why there are so many lifelong friendships that come out of our tours (and even 7 marriages!)
But I've never been on a "tour" before!
Good! That's what most people say before they've come with us. We like to call our trips "Untours". They are best suited for those of us that normally would not be caught dead taking a traditional tour. We like to give you plenty of unstructured free time so you can do what you want when you want. As you will notice we don't book group flights so you can plan your trip the way you want to.
The advantage of taking our tour is that we plan things that just wouldn't happen if you went on your own.What if I'm traveling alone?
Although we have couples and friends traveling together on our trips there are also plenty of people who come on their own. You are welcome to pay the single supplement and get your own private room. However if you would like to save a bundle and avoid the hotel supplement charges then you can have us set you up with a roommate. There are many advantages to doing this besides just saving money. It is sometimes just nice to have the company, though you will not have to stick together like glue as there is plenty of free time.
Remember your potential roommate is in the same situation as you are. We have been at this for a long time and are surprisingly good at making great combinations. We can generally find a suitable roommate and the earlier you sign up the better chance we will have of making this happen. If we cannot find someone for you then you will be required to pay the single supplement.How do we travel?
We travel in our own air conditioned bus. I know it sounds "tour" like but it's fun. Really. Besides, there is no other way to get around to the obscure places we go.
What about flights?
We don't book group flights as people fly in from all over the country and even overseas. The days of good deals on group flights is long gone anyway. Besides we have very independent people on our tours and they all like to arrive and depart at different times and we encourage that. If possible, you should book your flight as soon as possible to get the best choice of flights (and price).
If you want help with flights we suggest our personal travel agent Susie Curtois at In House Travel. Her number is (818) 222-0105. We don't take a cut of her commission, we just happen to think she is great!. I"ve booked on the internet only to find that Susie can oftentimes get a similar deal and sometimes better. Even if it does costs a bit more I think of her as my insurance policy since Susie can help in case your flight (or airline) gets canceled or your own plans change. Id rather have a person to help than a machine that doesn't care.So how do I sign up?
Send us a deposit of $500 or full payment to hold yourself a space. Mail us a check made out to Festival Tours International, 530 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 308, Santa Monica, CA 90401. I'm sorry, but we don't take credit cards. We're too small!
Our trips tend to sell out so sign up as soon as possible.Who are you anyway?
Read all about us! But don't take our word for it...
Check out what others have said about Festival Tours. Read the quotes, ask anyone on our "Links". We're happy and proud about the responses we get on the trips.What other trips do you offer?
We have had trips to England, Scotland and Ireland; Zimbabwe; the USSR (when there was one), Central Europe (Prague, Budapest, Slovenia and Vienna) as well as Southern Europe (Italy, Sardinia and Corsica), Spain, plus our annual tour to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Cajun Country.
We have also designed and led People to People music and cultural tours to Cuba coordinated by Cuba Educational Tours, whose license (No. CT-2012-294261-1) allows them to legally bring U.S. citizens and residents to Cuba in order to learn about the county and its people. Our next tour to Cuba will be in late Spring, 2015. Email us at festtours@aol.com for more information. (The last tour to Cuba sold out in 48 hours!)Can we talk?
Sure! Just phone us up. We miss the pre-email days when we would talk to everyone on the phone before the trip! (Yes, that's how long we've been doing this -- way before emails!) So feel free to give us a call at (310) 454-4080 to speak with Nancy, or (818) 346-5146 to catch Joey in the evening (she moonlights). We're on West Coast time. If we're not here we'll call you back!
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