Page 35 - English 10 | Games and Activities-2

THEME 2 APPENDIX

12 Recall and Present 10 GRADE
th

Tips for Planning a Tour
‘‘The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page’’ is a famous quote from St. Augustine which
emphasizes the importance of traveling in human life. However, organizing just a little trip requires travelers to
take into consideration several points. Deciding on the itinerary, a planned route of a trip, is the first and foremost
one. On your destination, it is logical to start with deciding on the place you want to visit. You could choose the
place from one of your favorite holiday destinations and get some related brochures that could help you to
decide. The place where you would like to be active or relaxed and traveling alone or with children are assumed
as the other points to be considered on your travel destination.
The price of a tour is the second important issue. It is closely related to the decision whether you choose a package
or an independent tour. If you book a tour by a travel agency, it generally offers a package (inclusive) one. The
package one generally covers the tickets for museums and facilities, transportations and the snacks you get during
the tour. However, you should still check if all destinations have been arranged beforehand by the travel agency,
if any guided sightseeing or optional excursions are included in the price of the tour or if you could get a discount
for your children. An independent tour may cost cheaper because you do not have to pay for any services and
you have to arrange everything yourself. The biggest advantage of it is that you are free on your timetable and
it’s not necessary to adjust to other tourists, which is also called a flexible tour. Besides these advantages, when
you go abroad independently, you have to speak the language of that country in order to communicate with local
people. It might be a bit challenging and tiring when you do not know that language very well or when you can’t
speak the language fluently.
The third important item to be considered is transportation. There are different modes of transportation such
as roadways, railways, air, water and pipelines, etc. However, air transportation is one of the most preferred
transportations for especially tours abroad. Booking a plane ticket is the initial step in air transportation. When
you deal with plane tickets to your dream destination, you could search for it from various websites. So it is
possible to track each flight to the destination and follow whether fares are rising or dropping on popular flights.
In order to book a ticket online, prefer any website which offers a more complete selection of tickets than others.
By this way, it is easy to get the lowest possible price by just choosing and clicking on a suitable flight. Another way
to get the lowest price is to choose the flights on weekdays such as Wednesday or Thursday since most people
do not prefer traveling on those days. It is also reasonable to book a plane ticket between three months and one
month before your flight. At times closer to the flight, it will be more expensive to book because most airlines aim
to fill seats. As a last point, it is sensible to choose the first flight of the day since it will be most likely to be on time
and so, you avoid any flight delays.
Accommodation is important as much as the other issues mentioned. Hotel is one of the most popular
accommodations when you’re on holiday. If you book a hotel room via a website, enter deeper information such
as the desired location, travel dates, star ratings. A search engine will list several hotels to choose, so you could
pinpoint the best ones matching your budget and preferences. If you are one of the truly demanding travelers,
call the reception directly and tell what kind of room you want to get. You could ask for details about the view,
floor number, etc.
Another point is that if you travel during a shoulder season (the time between the high and low travel seasons
of a specific destination), you will pay less for the hotel and the vacationland will be less crowded with tourists;
however, many attractions will be still open as they are in the peak season. It is also a good idea to follow the
weather conditions for each month and decide on the best season of the year for that place. In sum, when you will
stay is as important as where you will stay. Renting a house could be an alternative to hotels for accommodation.
It would be more comfortable since you have the whole place to yourself and a good way to save money by
cooking your meals at home. However, in order to assure a quality place to stay in, you should read the user
reviews for the house beforehand.
As a last issue, some documents such as a travel insurance, a valid passport and visa are required in order not
to have any problems with tours abroad. A city map, notes about the overview of the city, restaurants with the
addresses and information about the contact person of the tour are the other important documents you should
have with you.
To sum up, keep in mind all these tips and enjoy your vacation.

DESTINATION TRANSPORTATION PRICE

DOCUMENTS DATE & TIME ACCOMMODATION

NUMBER OF TRAVELERS

59