Watch it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi8hql3L3ss
Enjoy slow-paced travel in Europe with a customized itinerary and private driver and guide
Watch it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi8hql3L3ss
Enjoy slow-paced travel in Europe with a customized itinerary and private driver and guide
We just released a new, 8-page color brochure packed with photographs and information about our unique, custom-designed tours in Europe. If you would like to have one, they’re free. Just write to us at info@europeanfocus.com or call 800.401.7802
European Focus Private Tours owners James and Jenean Derheim will be exhibiting at the Chicago Travel and Adventure Show held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center on January 26 and 27. This will be the first time the Derheims have attended such an event. It’s part of a new marketing plan to reach new clients in what have traditionally been our strongest markets, the upper Midwest, far West and Northeast. The Derheims will have a booth at the event, and will be meeting new adventure-seekers and signing up clients for travel in 2013 and beyond. We are in booth 1828. See you in Chicago!
A unique company specializing in custom-designed, private tours created for singles, couples or families. We have also led tours for small groups of friends who have common interests and travel goals. We conducted 11 tours in 2012 between early March and the end of October and are looking forward to another exciting season in 2013.
I cannot tell how many times in the past 23 years that I’ve driven past the exit for Aachen, Germany. This past October I finally took that exit and discovered along with my three guests from Manila one of the most charming of small German cities, and one which is packed with history and ancient architectural remains from the Holy Roman Empire of the German Reich. Charlemagne had his favorite palace here, and the octagonal 8th century church and remnants of that palace stand today to awe the visitor. We had the luck to arrive on a day when a large open-air market was taking place. There’s nothing like a European flea market to bring out the collector in you.
Copenhagen was another city which had somehow escaped our radar in the past. Too far north, or just deemed too expensive for many of our travelers, the city has delights that (yes, while expensive) are also well worth the trek north. Combined with the neaby Swedish city of Malmo, the pair make for a wonderful long weekend. A stay in a converted warehouse near the old harbor was a highlight and provided one of the most comfortable sleeping experiences of the year. I told the manager on checking out after three blissful nights that I wanted to take the mattress with me!
The Wachau Valley of Austria is the setting for picturesque villages and majestic abbeys. The river flows strong but peacefully here, through craggy gorges laid out with lush vineyards. A bike path follows the course of the Danube. It’s a dream of ours to take bikes along the entire course from Melk to Vienna. Maybe in 2013!
We get this question often at our retail store “European Focus Village” in the heart of Sarasota, Florida. The answer is, “Yes, all of the time!” In fact, more than half of the 10-15 trips we design and lead each season (March through October) are with repeat clients, couples, who have been completely spoiled by our easy-going style of travel. They may have been cruisers or bus tour fans in the past, but no more. Now they’re completely addicted to the European Focus method of authentic travel and adventure, the comfortable road, and not the “Europe Through the Back Door” experience of some of the hapless people we see being led around by a non-stop talking guide at a racetrack pace through Europe. Ever wonder where the “If it’s Tuesday this must be Belgium” saying comes from? Bus tours! We have turned the entire concept of escorted travel on its head, and we’ve been doing this successfully since 1995. Is this a cheap way to travel around Europe? Absolutely not. As with any custom-designed service or product, our trips are priced at a level which takes into account the personal service, the planning, the easy pace and the excellent accommodations and food that our clients love.
PARIS, SOUTHWESTERN FRANCE & BARCELONA
Micro Group Tour for 2013
This trip starts off with three nights in one of the world’s most enchanting cities, with a guide who knows how to make the most of your time here. We then move away from the city to explore the environs o southwestern France. Carcassonne and the surrounding area is famous for many reasons. Carcassonne and the area also has a lot of mystery and history associated with the Knights Templar. We then make the drive to the one-and-only Barcelona, a city that has been at the crossroads of so much history – from Christopher Columbus connections , to the avant-garde Modernisme movement, with incredible architectural masterpieces by Gaudi (Sagrada Famiglia) and others. This city is really charming with much to see and do. We stay at a centrally-located, small boutique hotel. Trip price does not include airfare.
If there’s interest within the group there is much more to experience, including:
• Plenty of exposure to remnants from Gallo-Roman times
• Exploration of the area around Carcassonne, featuring more quaint and interesting villages, such as Mirepoix (unusual and pretty Middle Ages architecture with nice shops), as well as excursions to the countryside to see some of the castle and abbey ruins and other picturesque villages
• Possibility to enjoy an excursion of the Canal du Midi
• While in Barcelona, sightseeing, including Sagrada Famiglia and some other Gaudi buildings, monument of Christopher Columbus, and Las Ramblas
13 days starting from (depending upon number of people)
EURO 5,299
Package Offer includes:
• All meals and drinks (up to two glasses of wine per person or two beers with dinner)
• All lodging, transportation costs, fuel and tolls
• Tips and admission fees
Minimum number of guests required: Five
Maximum we are able to take: Ten
Tours offered in spring and in fall
PARIS, PROVENCE & CÔTE D’AZUR
Micro Group Tour for July or August or October, 2013 (Max 5 adults)
This trip starts off with two nights in one of the world’s most enchanting cities, with a guide who knows how to make the most of your time here. We then move away from the cities and to explore several distinct regions of Provence – from fragrant and visually stimulating markets in some of the most scenic villages in France to taking in the wonderful cuisine of the regions. Finally, we move on to the Côte d’Azur, staying right on the sparkling Mediterranean in a quaint but bustling old fishing village.
If there’s interest within the group there is much more to experience, including:
• Plenty of exposure to remnants of the Roman world in their Gaulish territories
• Experiencing unmatched and diverse natural beauty and landscapes (picque-nique anyone?)
• Relatively slow-paced
• History from pre-Roman, Roman, Middle Ages to present
12 days starting from (depending upon number of people)
EURO 4,959
Package Offer includes:
• All meals and drinks (up to two glasses of wine or two beers per person at dinner)
• All lodging
• Transportation costs, fuel and tolls
• Tips
• Admission fees (except for special requests such as parasailing on a beach or bullfights for instance)
PARIS, PROVENCE & CÔTE D’AZUR Micro Group Tour for June or July (Max 5 adults) This trip starts off with two nights in one of the world’s most enchanting cities, with a guide who knows how to make the most of your time. We then move away f...
PARIS, SOUTHWESTERN FRANCE & BARCELONA Micro Group Tour for 2013 This trip starts off with three nights in one of the world’s most enchanting cities, with a guide who knows how to make the most of your time here. We then move away from the ci...
PARIS, PROVENCE & CÔTE D’AZUR Micro Group Tour for July or August or October, 2013 (Max 5 adults) This trip starts off with two nights in one of the world’s most enchanting cities, with a guide who knows how to make the most of your time here....
