I've not traveled much. Can you give me any advice on my trip, the destination, and traveling abroad?
Of course! As seasoned travelers ourselves, we're happy to share whatever knowledge we can to make your trip wonderful. As a start, you should review our Fast Facts and Destination Guides, where you'll find a compendium of facts, advice and links for travelers. If you don't find the answers you need there, feel free to contact us with your questions.
What does it mean when you say these tours represent excellent value for money?
When we say that we offer you excellent value for money, a bargain tour price is just the beginning. What difference does it make that the price is low if your vacation is spoiled by disappointing accommodations, hidden charges, and problems that you have to solve by yourself, because there is no one to help you? For us, the price is only the beginning of the story. Here is a checklist of important components of good tours. They are all key ingredients in every Friendly Planet tour and taken together, they make up our definition of "excellent value for money."
- Flights: Our groups travel via scheduled carriers such as Swissair, Northwest, Continental, Cathay Pacific, Qantas and others. No charters or "off brand" flights are ever part of our touring itineraries.
- Hotels: Our hotels are all modern, convenient, well-appointed first class, superior and deluxe properties, carefully selected by us for their friendly service and convenient locations. You can find pictures and descriptions of many hotels featured on our tours on our comprehensive hotel directory pages. If a hotel we've booked is ever not available, for any reason, we will substitute a hotel of the same or higher standard.
- Meals: All of our tours include bountiful breakfast daily, featuring buffets wherever available. Most tours include additional meals, which are listed in the features section of each tour on our site.
- Guides & Tour Managers: Our experienced, knowledgeable guides and tour managers will accompany you throughout your tour and handle logistics for you as you travel. These helpful, English-speaking professionals will be there to smooth out any unexpected rough spots as well as to provide you with lots of good suggestions and advice.
- Touring and Transportation: Entrance fees to all the places listed in our itineraries are included in our tour prices, unless indicated as optionals. No matter where in the world you travel with us, you'll ride in the comfort of modern, luxurious touring coaches with big picture windows, with caring drivers who know the road and make your safety and comfort their number one priority.
What does good service mean to me, the traveler?
Simply stated, we are there for you. Before you go, while on tour, and when you return. That type of service cannot be measured in dollars, because it is actually priceless. That makes our tours even better value for money, because you can count on us to plan and deliver a very good travel experience. And if things go wrong, together with our worldwide network of representatives, we will be there to help make them right again. Our friendly, courteous, helpful staff will be glad to answer your questions, provide information you need, and assist you in any way possible to assure a wonderful experience. Ask any of our passengers (many of whom have been with us almost from the day our company opened its doors) about the service they receive from Friendly Planet. They will tell you that service and excellent value are the reasons why they travel with us year after year.
Why are deposits non-refundable?
If you do a little comparison shopping, you'll quickly discover what tremendous bargains our travel programs offer. In order to offer you such excellent prices and conditions, we make financial commitments to suppliers far in advance of each departure date. These committments are covered by your deposits and will not be refunded should you cancel your tour. If you decide to join us, we strongly recommend that you purchase our very affordable travel insurance (only $129 per person for full coverage) so that should you need to cancel, you can recover your deposit in full.
How many people will I be traveling with on my tour?
Depending upon the date and destination, each departure varies between as few as 15 passengers to as many as 45. This is just the right size range to ensure you have the opportunity to meet new friends and to enjoy the camaraderie of others, but not so large as to feel lost in the crowd.
How can I reserve a Friendly Planet Tour?
Choose a tour from the list at the right. If the tour is available for booking, you'll see a Reserve Now button—click that to start the online reservation process. Or call our office, toll-free, at 1-800-555-5765. After reserving your tour on line or on the telephone, you'll have 7 days to send us your tour deposit of $300 per person. You can pay by personal check, money order or major credit card. Final payments for all tours are due by no later than 75 days prior to departure.
Can I make payments by credit card?
You may make your deposit payment by credit card by calling us toll-free (800-555-5765) or downloading the credit card authorization form from our site. You may authorize your final payment by credit card by downloading and completing our credit card authorization form and mailing it to us to arrive by the due date on your electronic (or paper) invoice. Final payments cannot be accepted by phone authorization.
Should I get travel insurance, and how much does it cost?
Many passengers ask us about travel insurance, and whether or not it really is important to buy it. We strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance to all our customers and to anybody traveling abroad. We offer an inexpensive, comprehensive travel insurance policy through our insurance partners that you can purchase with your reservation.
Whether you are retired and relying on Medicare, a student still covered by your family or anyone in between, you'll definitely need travel insurance if you get sick or injured during your trip or if you have an accident or get sick before you travel and need to cancel your tour. Below are some of the major benefits:
- You become sick or injured prior to your trip's departure: The best travel deals are based on commitments to suppliers that are guaranteed with passenger tour deposits. This is one important way to achieve high-value travel packages at great, low prices. These deposits are non-refundable, so no matter what the reason for the cancellation, the deposits typically cannot be recovered. Your policy will protect your deposits and subsequent payments if you need to cancel for a covered reason. If you travel with Friendly Planet, even pre-existing conditions are covered if you purchase our insurance policy within 7 days of reserving your tour. We recommend that you purchase the coverage with your reservation deposit, so as to take full advantage of this excellent benefit. If you need to cancel for a medical issue, you can recoup all funds paid to Friendly Planet, with the exception of the insurance premium, by filing a claim with the insurance company.
- You become sick or injured during your trip: In many countries, public health services are available for free or at little cost, but most western travelers would not find the care up to standards at home and would want to opt for private care. And then, the costs can skyrocket before you have even spent the first night in the hospital. Travel insurance will typically cover most or all of the cost for medical attention and/or emergency evacuation and even reimburse you for the lost portion of your vacation, ultimately making it possible for you to take the trip again, at a later time. The small investment in your insurance premium could save you thousands of dollars that otherwise would be out-of-pocket.
Travel insurance provides additional benefits such as reimbursement for travel delays and lost or delayed baggage. All insurance policies offer a different amount of coverage, and like any other purchase, you should read carefully the terms and conditions of the insurance policy you select. Make sure you understand all the details, especially what is covered, what isn't covered, and what are your responsibilities in the event you file a claim.
Purchasing travel insurance through Friendly Planet costs only $129 per person per trip, and it covers trip cancellation, interruption or delay, lost, damaged or delayed baggage, medical expenses, emergency medical evacuation, worldwide travelers assistance and accidental death coverage. You will be billed for this coverage when you make your tour reservations. Naturally, you may decline the coverage if you feel you don't need or want it, just by deducting the $129 premium from your invoice. A detailed description of coverage will be sent to you upon receipt of your reservation. This travel insurance plan must be purchased no later than the final payment due date for your trip.
Will I earn frequent flyer miles for these tours?
Look for the frequent flyer program logos for our tours. Many of our carriers have their own or cooperative agreements with frequent flyer programs. Friendly Planet cannot process or credit miles to your frequent flyer account. You must do this as you check in for each flight on your itinerary. Just give the ticket agent your frequent flyer number and your miles will get credited to your account. If you don't have a chance to do this at the time of your flight, be sure to keep both the boarding passes and passenger ticket receipts, as you will need these documents to claim miles after you complete your trip.
How do I go about consolidating frequent flyer miles?
Because of the number and complexity of frequent flyer programs, tracking points and getting free tickets has become something akin to rocket science. One website that helps consumers track, trade and use their points is points.com, where you can search for information on combining, trading and using points. Also, many airlines belong to alliances that allow travelers to use points interchangeably within the alliance. For example, Air China and Turkish Airlines both belong to the Star Alliance. Another alliance, Skyteam, includes both Continental and Delta. While you can't really exchange points between alliances, by combining points within an alliance, you can definitely make progress toward awards. For a list of airlines in the top three alliances, visit http://www.oag.com/NorthAmerica/airlineandairport/alliances.asp.
Can I use frequent flyer miles to upgrade tickets from coach to business class?
Our tours include very special contracted airfares which do not permit upgrading with frequent flyer points. However, most tours provide special negotiated business class upgrade rates for transatlantic and transpacific flights. Prices for business class upgrades are listed for each tour where available.
How much baggage can I take on Friendly Planet Tours?
Our tours include porterage of one checked bag per person, not to exceed a total of 62 inches, plus one carry-on bag not to exceed 39 inches. Don't try to carry a large, rolling bag into the plane, because most airlines will make you check it before boarding. A general rule about luggage is to pack as lightly as possible. If you need more space, especially for bringing home souvenirs, why not pack a folding, athletic-type of bag into your checked luggage. You can use this as your second bag for your return trip, taking advantage of the extra space for the treasures you buy on tour.
