Selected Region
United States
Selected Region
United States
Before you depart on your Insight Vacations tour, learn what you can expect. Below we’ve covered topics from jetlag to tipping to help give you peace of mind and assurance before you set off on your vacation. Questions about COVID-19 travel? Read our COVID-19 FAQs for answers to help you feel informed and confident when booking your tour.
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clear searchMinimize jetlag
To ensure your journey is comfortable and enjoyable with Insight Vacations our on-tour tips to help minimise jetlag and how to keep your things safe and secure during your travels.
Plan for your tour in advance, making sure the last couple of days prior to leaving you are completely relaxed and well rested. Otherwise if you are rundown and fly there is a higher chance you will get sick and will spend the first part of your tour trying to recover.
Reset your clock. When you board the plane change your watch to the local time of the destination you are travelling to. Try to stay up that bit longer or go to sleep earlier to get your body clock onto this new time schedule.
Eat, drink and rest. Opt for lighter meal options and drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration. Either take a couple of bottles of water onto the flight or continuously ask for drinks throughout the flight. Stick to water or fruit juices, avoid caffeine, alcohol and high sugar drinks. While those in-flight movies are tempting, opt for sleep instead. You may wish to take your own fold up travel pillow for extra comfort.
Regularly stretch and walk around the plane.
When you arrive at your destination, try to stay awake until early evening. Don’t sleep otherwise you won’t be able to sleep at night. If you are absolutely exhausted then have an hour-long nap as soon as you arrive however set your alarm or order a wake up call. The best method to stay awake is to stay active. The adrenalin of being on an exciting Insight tour should keep you awake!
First aid
Everyday over the counter medications are not carried on the coach. Your Travel Director will be able to advise you on where to purchase these items if needed.
Hotel check-in & check-out
Arrangements are made to ensure that check-in and checkout procedures at hotels run smoothly. All room allocations are done by the hotel prior to arrival. On departing the hotel, always remember to return your room key to the front desk.
Personal hotel expenses
Any additional costs incurred during your stay at the hotels are your responsibility. Please make certain that your account is settled on the evening before departure to ensure a smooth and speedy check-out.
Drinks
Unless specified, these are at your own expense. Always remember to drink enough water to avoid dehydration, especially in hot climates. Bottled water is available for sale on coaches. In some European cafés/bars you pay one price to drink at the bar, and a higher price to sit at a table. Alcoholic drinks can be much more expensive if purchased in hotel bars.
Minibars: Some hotel rooms have small refrigerators stocked with drinks and ice, but check the price list before consuming as they can be expensive.
Meals
North America
Europe
Dinner: The Insight meal plan includes an evening meal on most travelling days with hotels offering a range of international food. There is also lots of opportunity to enjoy local specialties, fine dining and regional wines when dining independently or on our Dine Around and Celebration Dinners.
Special Dietary Requirements
It is important to discuss any special dietary requirements with your Travel Director at the beginning of the tour, as hotels and restaurants need to be advised in advance. Most places will do their best to provide an alternative to the menu. However, such requests cannot be guaranteed on every occasion.
Water
Tap water is perfectly safe to drink throughout the United States and Canada, with few exceptions. Alternatively bottled water is available on your coach.
Optional experiences
Since every passenger has different interests and priorities, it is neither possible nor desirable to include every activity in the itinerary. To enhance your experience, we offer a range of optional visits, activities and local meals. These can be booked and purchased through your Travel Director.
Please note: Optional Experiences and their prices may vary due to seasonal conditions and minimum passenger participation, and are subject to change without notice.
Holidays & changes
During local or national holidays, certain facilities such as scheduled meals, sightseeing, other included activities and shopping may be limited, so we sometimes have to make slight itinerary adjustments.
Shopping
There will be many opportunities for shopping. Your Travel Director can direct you to local markets and shopping areas, but cannot guarantee to find you the lowest price.
Purchases made by credit card may be charged at the exchange rate the time the credit card company invoices you, many banks also charge an exchange fee.
Various tax concessions and duty free shopping may be available to overseas visitors; however, it varies depending on the amount spent and you must present documentation (passport and/or visa) that you are a foreign national or non-resident. Your Travel Director will be pleased to assist with information, but Insight Vacations cannot be responsible for any subsequent queries.
Tipping
North America
Europe
Telephone
Please note that making telephone calls from your hotel room can be very expensive. A pre-paid calling card is an easy way to save money when making telephone calls. Calling cards are readily available for purchase in most stores - please ask your Travel Director for further information.
Complimentary Wi-Fi service on the coach
* On-coach Wi-Fi is available in the following countries: Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Canary Islands (Tenerife, Lanzarote and Las Palmas), Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, French Territories (including Reunion Island), Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Jersey, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal (including Madeira), Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain (including Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza), Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, USA, Vatican City.
This excludes the coaching section of tours operated by train or on local transfer relief coaches when the main coach is not being used.
Security on your tour
While your Travel Director is always there to guide you, it also helps if you take your own precautions.
Travel Director tips
Our Travel Directors are experienced travellers, learned historians and culture buffs. Their expertise and years of travel make them the world's best travel professionals so we asked them to add some of their tips for travel:
Ensure you have budgeted for the entire tour, including money for shopping, extra meals and optional excursions.
Research your destination(s) - learning a bit about your destination before you get there is a great way to prepare for your tour - there are plenty of books and online resources.
Learn some useful phrases - your Travel Director will be able to converse in the languages of the places you visit but learning a few phrases can’t hurt and any attempts are usually appreciated by locals.
Hone your photography skills - try out your camera in different conditions and find out what settings work best. Try your camera in different lighting, under various weather conditions. Also try taking the same object from different angles and capture moving objects. A little bit of practice will help you capture better pictures on tour.
Prepare your travel journal: a travel journal is a great way of keeping the memories of your tour alive for years to come. Find a journal that is easy to carry and take a plastic sleeve to keep mementoes such as ticket stubs and photos. There are also a lot of online journals that you can use.
Your Travel Director
Your Travel Director is a true expert about each destination. They’ll provide you with a warm and personal service and will use their local insights to help tailor your tour to your own interests. You are encouraged to talk to your Travel Director straight away if something is not right, so any problems can be rectified there and then, and you can continue to enjoy your journey. Your Travel Director will give you a business card with their contact details, please keep this safe.
Your coach driver
Your Coach Driver works in close cooperation with your Travel Director and is fully trained, tested and experienced on American roads. Their responsibilities include loading and unloading luggage, the vehicle’s safety inspection, its cleanliness and most importantly, your safety.
Your motorcoach
Modern, air-conditioned coaches have been carefully selected with your comfort, safety and scenic viewing ability in mind. Your Insight Vacations Team will explain all the safety features of your motorcoach at the beginning of your vacation. A mandatory seat rotation schedule will be explained by your Travel Director. For the comfort of all members, Insight Vacations enforces a noalcohol and no-smoking policy. For emergencies the coach is equipped with a washroom.
Air within the coach is completely filtered and changed on average every 2 to 3 minutes, faster than most hospital operating theatres, which is mandated at 3 to 4 minutes. Our air filtration system is designed to create an efficient vertical and safe airflow that helps ensure impurities, like Covid aerosols, are not spread.
Coach etiquette
For the comfort and enjoyment of all our guests we ask that a few coach etiquette guidelines be observed. Complimentary WiFi is generally available on coaches, however to ensure Internet speed and reliability a fair-use policy applies. Be mindful of others when using audio technology on board and talking on cellphones. Please also be aware of obstructing the view of those behind you when using tablets to take photos or video footage.
ALL THE SIGHTS AND THE INSIGHTS, UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL, IN COMFORT AND IN STYLE