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
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!
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 from the cities 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?)
• History from pre-Roman, Roman, Middle Ages to present
• This tour is relatively slow-paced
12 days starting from (depending upon number of people, price below is for a full group of five. Price is higher per person if we do not reach the full number)
EURO 4,599
Please consult www.x-rates.com for current rate in dollars.
Package Offer Includes:
• Breakfast, lunch and guidance on where to go for dinner. Dinner included on three nights during your trip.
• All lodging
• Transportation costs, fuel and tolls
• Tips
• Admission fees
Does not include airfare to and from France.
European Focus Private Tours
Private European Travel Specialists since 1996
Guide Jenean Derheim in Provence, 2011
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)
(September, 2012)
A fun way to get out and see Rovinj from the water and to enjoy the numerous islands and bays around Rovinj is to take the boat excursion leaving from the city pier.
Calamari for lunch. With a local beer or a glass of the local white wine, perfect.
Our favorite restaurant, “Balbi,” in a quiet square tucked away in the medieval quarter.
Rovinj is full of corners, squares and narrow lanes that one wants to explore.
In what the locals call “The Labrinth”
From 1283 to 1797 Rovinj was one of the most important towns of Istria under the Republic of Venice. The city was fortified by two rows of walls with three town gates. The remaining town walls date from this period. Close to the pier one can find the old town gate Balbi’s Arch, dating from 1680, and a late-Renaissance clock tower. The city got its statutes in 1531.
The Balbi Arch
After the fall of Venice and the Napoleonic interlude, Rovinj was part of the Austrian Empire until World War I. According to the last Austrian census in 1911, 97.8% of the population was Italian-speaking. Then it belonged to Italy from 1918 to 1947, when it was ceded to SR Croatia within SFR Yugoslavia. During that period many of the Italian inhabitants left the city.
According to the data of the Tourist Association of the Istrian County, Rovinj is the second leading destination in terms of the number of realized overnights. The most numerous visitors to the city of Rovinj are Italians, Germans, Austrians, Dutch and British. (And Americans who choose the right tour guide!)
A tall ship in the harbor, and the crystal-clear waters around Rovinj.
The best times to visit Rovinj are during the shoulder periods of early May and late September. Summer crowds from the cruise ships can be very intense, and the heat can make al fresco dining uncomfortable or even impossible.
(September, 2012)
Tourists on buses or river cruise tours are rushed along at such speed that stopping to take the perfect photograph much less enjoy the view at your own speed is impossible. On European Focus Private Tours, we go at your pace, not the other way around, leaving plenty of time to capture the scene to enjoy for years to come.
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....
