VP you really had a wonderful trip . just for interest sake how much extra should i set aside for side trips like you did

Happy New Year

regards peter

Hi Peter

Happy New Year! Sorry for the late reply as I don't visit this site regularly.

To answer your question, I spent about A$2,900 on the optionals at current FX rate. As a guide, budget at least US$60 per pax per day for the optionals. Your tour director will give out information on the shortlisted optionals in about day 3 and you're expected to select which ones you'd like to take in the next day with payment. If you're unsure about some of the optionals don't feel pressured to sign up immediately. You can always find out more and decide later as long as you notify your tour director 1 or 2 days before the trip subject to availability. My tour director was flexible to accommodate last minute changes.

I've also read your messages on the Premium tour Forum and would like to offer some comments below.

The Premium tours offer more leg room on the coaches so less people on each coach, hotels closer to the city center which may also pose a problem during peak hour traffic in some cities, more 2 nights stay so not always on the go. If you're on a budget, the Essential tours offer great value. The hotels are all reasonably good and if you're lucky you'll get assigned to a massive room or a room with a great view in some hotels.

Daily out of pocket expenses depending what you have for lunch and your snacking habit. Breakfasts are provided but mostly continental only so I skipped most to get more sleep time! As the tours involve long travelling time on the road, at each service stop most folks will go for a coffee or an ice cream. You can easily spend on average US$10 per pax daily just on water and coffee. Foods are rather expensive in most service stops so check out the serving size before you order as you may be able to share. Budget say US$8 to US$10 per pax per day for lunch. Don't forget to budget for the comfort breaks too and always have the coins ready! All meals on the Greek Island cruise are fully provided for. This tour provides about half the dinners.

For the optionals, since you have a travel companion (and if you have a better sense of direction than me!) you may want to venture out on your own whenever there's free time and opt out on some of the optionals especially dinners. For the optional dinners, it's great value if you take alcoholic drinks as they are free flow! As I said, the dinners are great for bonding so I suggest you do at least one in the early part of the tour and the celebration dinner towards end of the tour.

As for the London stay, I stayed at the Holiday Inn Kingscross which is the designated tour pickup hotel for convenience. See hotel info on the link below.
http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/1/en/hotel/lonkc/transportation?start=1

The hotel is about 15 to 20 mins by foot to the Kings Cross station. There are some budget hotels in the area. However, if you book your tour and the Insight appointed hotel, you get free return airport transfers which I thought was good value and hassle free. Please be aware that the first day tour departure time is very early. From memory, luggage pickup was at 5.15am and we were supposed to depart at 5.45am but didn't make it until 6am as some folks arrived late at the hotel. You should check out the Insight airfares and specials as they currently have free hotels and return airport transfers if you book a tour plus flights with Qantas/BA.

Also check out the early booking discount offered by Insight. I booked my tour through Flights Centre but before that I checked out some online booking sites for price comparison and Flights Centre was willing to match the discounted price I found. For your Asia stopover, I suggest Singapore and Hong Kong.

Hope the above helps.

Cheers

Dear VP how can i thank you enough. thanks for your valuable time and the wealth of your experience .
have noted everything - thanks once again

kind regards

peter