QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR LOCAL TOUR
At Our Local Tour, our team of experts are very happy to help you arrange every aspect of your escorted small group tour or tailor-made holiday. However it is important that you are aware of how these tours and holidays operate and what you need to do to prepare for your trip. Here we answer some of the most common questions that we are asked. If you cannot find the answer to your question from the information below, please contact us and one of our team will be happy to help.
Common Questions
For our tailormade or bespoke holidays, choose the country of the world you would like to experience and get in touch with us. Give us an idea of when, how long for and what you like, then leave the rest up to our local travel experts. We will provide an itinerary and cost for your and will be happy to tailor this to your requirements. If there is a country or place that you don't think we could help with, just ask us first. We have first hand knowledge of a vast array of destinations and not everything is listed on our website.
For our escorted small group tours, it’s even simpler. Browse our range of countries to experience, choose a tour that appeals, read through the itinerary, and pick a date to travel. You can either call our office or send us a message and we will get back to you. Online booking is in the pipeline for our escorted group tours. Most tours have a minimum group size that is needed to be able to operate, so don’t book any flights until we have confirmed that the tour can go ahead. If you would like any additional arrangements pre or post tour, just let us know and we can book this for you.
We have taken great care in choosing each and every one of our local travel experts. We conduct a thorough vetting process on any local company that we feel looks promising before they are put on our site. All of them adhere to our ethos, being locally owned and committed to providing the best, most immersive holidays and tours.
In most cases yes, you could. However, most of the local tour operators that we have teamed up with only work directly with inbound tour operators such as ourselves. Therefore we do not give out their details before booking. They do not want to be handling enquiries directly from travellers. We act as their sales and marketing departments, leaving them free to do what they do best – providing world-class authentic travel experiences.
In addition, it is not always cost effective to book directly with a local tour operator. Once you consider exchange rates, transfer fees, and time and language barriers, you will find Our Local Tour is extremely competitive. If you have had a quote from a local tour operator, let us know and see how we compare. Add in our 100% financial protection and you can rest assured that you are getting great value for money with an Our Local Tour holiday.
On our escorted small group tours, we operate based on a minimum of four confirmed clients. However, as we are a small operator, dedicated to working with and supporting our locally based teams, we believe in running the tour whenever possible.
We work extremely hard to accommodate smaller group sizes. Therefore, for a reasonable supplement we can normally operate the tour on a private basis, with just two clients. We believe that for tours of this type, given our high standards and the experience the we offer in the destination, they represent excellent value for money.
There are no hard and fast rules about what type of people travel on a holiday or tour with us. We attract people of all ages, nationalities and walks of life. What you are likely to find though is that travellers share a similar outlook about travel. We tend to attract people with a curiosity about the places and people that they visit. Many are seeking new and unique travel experiences. Others enjoy the companionship of travelling together on an escorted small group tour.
In a word, yes. We get a good mix of solo travellers, couples and groups of friends on our group tours. There is usually a small supplement to pay for solo travellers due to the hotels and guesthouses only giving us prices per room rather than per person. We keep any supplement at an absolute minimum. If we have two solo same sex travellers and both want to share, we are very happy to pair you up to avoid and extra payments.
No. We use local staff to lead and guide our trips. This way Our Local Tour groups and private tours can offer excellent insights into local culture and traditions that many western leaders simply don’t have access to. At certain places we may also use a local specialist tour guide who is an expert in the site you are visiting. Check the tour itinerary for each tour. The only time you may find a member of our staff on the tour is if they are enjoying their own holiday!
Yes we can. Get in touch and let one of our travel experts know what you had in mind. Please note that we do not book tours or accommodation in a country for less than five nights in each place.
At Our Local Tour, the safety of our passengers, staff and local operators is our major priority. We monitor world events very closely and make operational decisions based on informed advice from a number of different sources.
We have a duty to monitor the advice issued for each country by the British Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). Rather than depend solely on this advice we prefer to also work closely with our local partners and plan our tours based on their sound experience and up-to-date first-hand knowledge. For further information, visit the FCDO website for their local travel advice - https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice
We also strongly recommend taking out travel insurance at the time of booking, which may offer some protection against changes to Government travel warnings. Check this with your insurance provider. Our Local Tour believe that adventure travel does not mean taking unnecessary risks. The safety of our clients and of our local colleagues is paramount and non-negotiable. Below we have listed other Government travel advisories that you may wish to consider depending on your nationality.
When you’re happy with the suggested itinerary or group departure date, you can pay for your trip over the phone by calling us or we can send you an email to pay via a secure link. All payments go straight to a trust account. We require a deposit of £350 or 10% of the total amount, whichever is greater. For flights, we often have to take full payment for these at the time of reservation. Your consultant will advise you on this. The balance is then due six weeks before your departure date. For bookings made within six weeks, full payment will be due at the time of confirmation.
You can pay in installments as long as the final balance is paid at least six weeks before your departure. You can pay for your trip using VISA, MasterCard or bank transfer.
To give you more flexibility around flight times and airlines, international flights are not included in our prices. Ask your travel consultant for an idea of times and prices. For our group tours there may be a set arrival flight . With tailor-made holidays and tours we can offer you a wide range of options.
Yes Our Local Tour is a member of the Travel Trust Association and we offer 100% financial protection to ALL of our clients. You can read more about this on our financial protection page.
Yes we do. This is the link to our Responsible Travel Policy.
You must have all visas (and vaccination) certificates that are necessary to enter or pass through any countries involved in the journey or tour. Visa requirements are listed in individual trip notes, but this information is subject to change. You can visit https://travcour-vls.com to find out instantly what, if any visas, you need to obtain prior to travel. Alternatively, visas can be obtained through the relevant embassy or consulate.
Where letters of invitation or other documentation is required from our local partners, we will aim to get this to you in adequate time. This documentation will not be provided before full payment is received. If you require any documents for your visa application before six weeks, full payment will need to be made.
General Note: Some countries refuse admission to travellers not meeting their accepted standards of dress or appearance (even if they hold a visa). Entry may also be refused to certain countries if your passport bears stamps or visas (valid or expired) for Israel. Please note it is your responsibility to ensure you have the correct, current information in good time before departure and that you act on it.
Visa requirements are listed in the trip notes, but please note that this information is subject to change. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are in possession of a full passport, with the correct validity for your chosen destination.