Conclusion: Test your tour operator with difficult questions. Find out if they really know their stuff.

4) References - best judge of a tour company is a past customer

Good PR is available to any company at a price. Advertising in its various forms is not necessarily indicative of quality of a company's tours. The best source of such information is past customers. When interviewing such a referee, you need to bear two things in mind. Since no company is going to forward a dissatisfied customer as a reference, what you need to look for is a customer who reports services over and above their initial expectations. Secondly you should value a referee's response in relation to their background. The response of an experienced luxury traveler should be given greater weight.

Conclusion: Request references, interview them thoroughly and weigh their responses accordingly.

5) Watch out for exclusions, particularly in tours to "difficult" countries First, make sure you understand what is not included in your tour price. If itinerary appears vague, contact operator to find out exactly what situation is. Areas where tour operators often scrimp are:

(i) Accompanying Tour Director - will they send your group with a tour director. If so, is tour director local or Western? How much training have they received? (ii) Meals - count how many are included and find out what their quality is. (iii) Domestic Airfare - often this is presented as an add-on. (iv) Tips to guides and drivers - if excluded, find out how much you are expected to pay per person per day. (v) Optional Add-ons - find out per person price of each optional add-on you are interested in.

When you understand your tour's exclusions, think about distinction between visiting "easy" and "difficult" countries. Even without language skills, savvy tourist can handle himself effectively in Europe or North America. The same person will most probably be at sea in such countries as Russia or China. It is in these countries that exclusions for meals, accompanying tour directors or else "optional" add-on tours can become sources of displeasure.

For example, in "difficult" countries not having an accompanying tour director creates two problems. The first is logistical. Typically, travelers will fly from airport to airport meeting local guides at each one. Should something go wrong during airport transit, for example a cancelled flight, customers will be stranded with no one to turn to for help. Anyone who has passed through a Russian airport knows how how unsavoury this can be. The second problem is that in these cirumstances, tour operator is trusting local guide not to take advantage of their customers. They are hoping that guides, usually supplied by local groundhandler, will not abuse customers time and enjoyment by taking them to commission-paying restaurants and souvenir shops . This is a common problem with even most respected luxury tour operators. Therefore, those traveling to "difficult" countries should note whether or not they are going to be accompanied on tour. A well-trained, accompanying tour director adds to price of tour, but so does wasting your money and time on a disappointing tour.

Conclusion - Avoid tours to "difficult" countries that exclude meals and an accompanying tour director.

To further stir waters, AT&T has reported that it is closing its in-flight phone business, citing growing use of cell phones. Air carriers who use AT&T service, such as Alaska and Northwest, will be forced to switch to another service or remove their in-flight phones as well. All is not lost, however; even though phones aboard aircraft are losing popularity, passengers are asking for Internet access. Verizon Airfone is testing high-speed Internet access with United Airlines aboard Airbus aircraft. So even though you may not be able to make phone calls from sky you can send e-mails.

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