If you are traveling on a weekend or evening, when your travel agent may not be available, you can always reach an Image Tours representative who can answer your questions and offer you guidance. Your Final Trip Documents will include a toll-free emergency number, serviced by an Image Tours representative 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, available to you any time on the day of departure from the USA. While you are on the tour, your tour manager is your contact and is supported 24/7 by Image's Operations Department. The Travel Insurance plan offered through Image Tours also offers 24-hour/7-day assistance for medical emergencies.

The weather in Europe, like that in most places, is unpredictable. While planning your wardrobe, imagine that you are planning a trip through the USA. Season for season, the climate of the mid-west is comparable to western and central Europe, and the climate in our southern states is comparable to southern Europe. Even in the summer, bring that warm sweater and a raincoat. Conversely, during fall and winter, you may experience some lovely weather with pleasant daytime temperatures. Enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of Europe is in no way bound by seasons, or the weather. You can enjoy our tours as much in November as in August. So, whether guided by your calendar, or by your pocketbook, pick the season that suits you best and capture the fun and enjoyment of an Image tour. . . any season!

Image Tours strives to coordinate a pleasurable and memorable trip for all of its customers, but it must be remembered that all aspects of the tour, including but not limited to travel, accommodations and actual tour operations, are furnished by independent companies which are not under the direct control of Image Tours.

Since we have departures from many U.S. cities, it is not possible to send an Image Tours representative to each airport. However, we will give you clear and precise instructions to guide you through the check-in process.

Children under 8 years of age are not accepted on our tours, as it is difficult to keep them entertained on the motor coach, and they may distract from the enjoyment of other tour members. Children between the ages of 8 and 17 must be accompanied by an adult. If children are not accompanied by their legal guardian, the legal guardian must sign their Reservation Application and provide a notarized consent form.

Image Tours respects the privacy of their tour participants. If you wish to contact fellow tour participants after the tour, be sure to ask them for their names and addresses during the tour because Image Tours will not be able to provide you with this information.

If your arrival is more than three hours prior to the time you are scheduled to meet your tour representative, we recommend that you check with the airport information desk about a hotel day room where you can rest a little prior to the transfer. Even if there is not enough time to take a nap, a day room affords you the private environment to freshen up and relax after your flight.

If notified in writing at least 50 days prior to departure, Image Tours accepts the following diet requests only: 1) diabetic; 2) vegan; 3) vegetarian with dairy and eggs; and 4) semivegetarian (no pork or red meat). Although we will inform the tour manager and the hotels of these diet requests, any dietary requirements remain entirely your own responsibility. Please do not give the tour manager a list of items you may or may not eat. Instead, leave items you may not eat on your plate and order additional items 'à la carte', at your own expense. Please ask your travel agent to forward your diet request to the airline. Image Tours expressly disclaims any responsibility or liability in connection with dietary requirements.

Unless you are informed otherwise at the time you make reservations, the following discount will apply: Children who will be ages 8 through 17 at time of departure and will be accompanied by at least one legal guardian are entitled to a $150 discount off the land and air inclusive tour. The children's discount does not apply to those booking 'land only' through Image Tours, nor is there any discount on extensions, optional excursions, or any other additional costs.

As a general rule, Image Tours secures both a driver and a tour manager for tours. However, at our sole discretion, we may have the driver double as the tour manager.

Pre- or post- tour extensions must be requested at the time you make a reservation for your escorted tour and are subject to availability of the air and hotel space. For additional information about extensions, refer to the 'Dates & Prices Guide' insert or ask your travel agent.

If you are a member of a frequent flyer club and if the airline offers miles on tickets issued by Image Tours, it is your responsibility to make sure that you are credited your mileage. The best way to do this is to present your frequent flyer card/number upon check-in for both your departure and return. Image Tours recommends you record your air ticket number and keep your boarding passes even after you have returned and until your frequent flyer statement includes your miles, so you can provide proof of travel to the airline in the event of any problem. Image Tours cannot provide copies of tickets or ticket numbers after travel is completed.

Due to a milder climate, air conditioning is not as widely used in Europe as it is in the U.S.A. Therefore, a number of our hotels do not feature air conditioning, but all are equipped with central heating.

All our motor coaches are equipped with heating and air conditioning. Due to stringent pollution prevention laws, however, the motor coaches must turn off their engines when at a standstill, and the air conditioning will only function when the engine is running. While the air conditioning is in operation, you will find that on warmer days the temperature in the motor coach is about 10º lower than outside. For instance, if the outside temperature is 80º, then the motor coach will be about 70º.

All rooms have a private bathroom with sink, toilet, and shower or bathtub. Room assignments for each tour are made by the individual hotels. This is a practice accepted worldwide. The location, view, and size of the rooms may vary. Often the European 'twin' accommodations consist of two beds made up separately, placed side by side sharing the same headboard. In some hotels it may not be possible to separate these twin beds. A 'double' room consists of one double bed. Image Tours can request 'twin' or 'double' accommodations, but at some hotels there will not be any choice or, due to limited allotments, passengers may not always receive their preferred choice.

The chance that you become lost is very small indeed. If this does happen, you will usually manage to find the motor coach before it leaves at the agreed time. However, in the event the bus has left, you should proceed to your hotel using a taxi, train, or bus. This will be at your own expense. If you need to do this, you can ask for assistance from police, bus drivers, train station or tourist office personnel. Always carry your passport and a copy of your 'Overnight Schedule' with you!

We discourage you from taking our tours if you require a walker or wheelchair. If you use a walker or wheelchair and still decide to take our tours, please note the following requirements:

1. If you normally use a walker, you will need to bring a wheelchair and leave your walker home. A walker is simply not practical on the tour due to motor coach entrances, uneven sidewalks, and cobblestone streets.
2. You must bring your own folding wheelchair. Non-folding or motorized wheelchairs are not allowed on the motor coach.
3. At time of reservation, you must notify Image Tours, in writing, that you will bring a wheelchair. Without notification, the driver will not accept your wheelchair on the motor coach.
4. The wheelchair will be stored in the luggage space underneath the motor coach; therefore, it should fold quickly and easily. The charge for handling and storage of a wheelchair on the motor coach is Euro 75 (approx. $120). This is a one-time charge, payable to the driver at the beginning of the tour.
5. You must bring a capable travel companion who can push the wheelchair, assist you on and off the motor coach, and assist you in any other way necessary to comfortably help you keep up with the pace of the tour. Please also refer to points 1 through 4 of the 'Physical Condition' information.
6. In Europe, the laws do not yet require motor coaches to be equipped with ramps/lifts, or hotels to offer provisions for the physically challenged. Please do not expect these facilities on our tours.
7. You must always try to be the first person to get on the motor coach and the last person to get off. This will ensure smooth and swift embarkation and disembarkation for all passengers. To help facilitate this, we recommend you make it a habit to arrive at the motor coach slightly ahead of the other passengers.

Instructions on where and when to meet the tour manager in the arrival airport will be included with the Final Trip Documents Packet, which you will receive one or two weeks prior to departure. If you are unable to make the scheduled transfer time due to flight delays or for any other reason, you will need to make the transfer on your own, and the entire cost of this transfer will be your responsibility. Your Final Trip Documents Packet will also include instructions and approximate costs for the most economical way to transfer to the first tour hotel. However, we cannot guarantee this information and, under no circumstances, will Image Tours be held responsible for any portion of the cost of these transfers. Many travel insurance programs include coverage for travel delays of more than 12 hours. As you consider travel insurance, check if the policy includes travel delay coverage.

If you are considering an earlier departure from the U.S. or a later return after the tour, you must submit a request at the time you make reservations for your escorted tour. Ask your travel agent about availability and how such a revision may affect your price.

Neither Image Tours nor any company contracted through Image Tours shall be responsible for articles lost, stolen, left behind, confiscated, or damaged. Such articles are rarely retrieved; therefore, we recommend you check that you have all your possessions each time you leave a motor coach, hotel, restaurant, and on all other occasions throughout your tour. Out of consideration for your fellow travelers, do not ask the driver/tour manager to turn the motor coach around to retrieve a lost article. Any items found by tour managers, drivers, or hotel personnel will be brought to the attention of Image Tours. Locating the owner of a 'lost and found' item will be most successful if the owner reports the loss to Image Tours immediately. Upon receipt of payment for the shipping and handling (on average $50 per item) Image Tours will ship 'lost and found' articles to their owner, provided the item is approved for shipping and customs.

Some hotels may still serve a continental breakfast, but usually breakfasts are buffet style with a selection of rolls, butter, jam, cheese, cold cuts, coffee, tea, milk and juice. On occasion, the buffets may also include cereal, sweet rolls, fruit, yogurt, eggs, or other items. The included dinners are usually prepared following a prearranged, fixed menu. We work with the hotels to try to provide you a variety of meals throughout the tour. Unless notified otherwise by your tour manager, beverages are not included with dinners.

If you wish to leave the tour for a night or two and notify Image Tours in writing at least 100 days before departure, we will give you a credit of $35 per person for every night you are away. You may leave the tour at any place on the itinerary, but you can only rejoin the tour at one of the overnight hotels.

Clients dependent on oxygen assistance devices should not take our tours. Oxygen tanks will not be permitted on the motor coaches. Under no circumstance does Image Tours, the airlines, the motor coach company, the tour managers, the hotels, or any other service provider accept any responsibility or liability in connection with medical conditions, medical supportive devices, or any electronic devices. Please also refer to the 'Physical Condition' information.

Due to limited access for motor coaches to old town centers, a fair amount of walking is required to take in all of the old world charm and sights on our escorted tours. In order to keep up with the pace of the tour, we recommend participants be able to comfortably walk a half mile in 15 minutes. If you are concerned about your physical condition, please consult your family physician as to whether the tour is suitable for you and consider the following points:

1. If you are not keeping up with the rest of the group, the tour manager will ask you to stay near the motor coach and forfeit any sightseeing that requires walking as a group. In case you are separated from the group during sightseeing time, it will be your own responsibility to position yourself at the pre-designated re-embarkation point, at the agreed time. If you have to take a taxi to do so, it will be at your own expense.
2. Staying on the motor coach during stops is not an option, because when parked, all passengers must disembark so the driver can lock the motor coach and take a break.
3. Tour and hotel personnel will not be available to lift or otherwise physically assist tour participants at any time. Thus, if you require any type of assistance, you must bring a capable travel companion who can comfortably help you keep up with the pace of the tour as described above.
4. With an average of 40 participants per tour, the tour manager's principal responsibility is to ensure the enjoyment of the tour by the overall group. The tour manager may ask you to leave the tour if you are unable to keep up with the pace of the other tour participants to the extent that it impedes the other tour members' enjoyment of the tour, and all resulting costs will be your responsibility.

Although motor coaches are usually equipped with an enclosed 'porta-potty', you are asked to limit its use to 'emergencies only', due to limited disposal sites. Frequent sightseeing and rest stops will be made in order to allow for a comfortable traveling experience.

Unless advised otherwise at time of booking, non-smokers may request a 'Guaranteed Share' for 50% of the single supplement. If Image Tours assigns you a roommate, you will receieve a refund of 50% of the single supplement after travel. Please note that your phone number will be provided to your share roommate within 50 days prior to departure. If Image Tours is unable to assign you a roommate of the same gender, you will be assigned a single room but will still only pay 50% of the single supplement. Guaranteed shares will be required to provide a signed statement from a physician (M.D.) providing the passenger's current medical status and stating the passenger is fit to travel alone. 'Guaranteed Share' requests may be denied without explanation, at the sole discretion of Image Tours. Requests to share a room made within 100 days prior to departure will not be guaranteed and, in these cases, if we are unable to find a roommate, or in the event of cancellation by a roommate, you will be charged the single supplement. Please note, if you request to change to a single room for any reason, this change will be subject to availability of a single room at the time you request the change. If you request this change more than 100 days prior to departure, you will be charged the single supplement. If you request this change within 100 days prior to departure or during the tour, you will be charged double the single supplement.

If the airline allows pre-assigned seats, you may request seat assignments from the airlines 85 days or less prior to departure. Please note these seat assignments may be canceled by the airline due to schedule or equipment changes, and you should, therefore, reconfirm your seat assignments 25 days before departure and again a few days prior to departure. Any fees charged by the airlines for seating are not included in the tour price and must be paid directly to the airlines.

Seating on the motor coach will be assigned by a rotation system. Out of fairness to all passengers, we do not accept special seating requests for the motor coach for any reason and expect full participation in the rotation system.

The applicable single supplement for each tour can be found in the 'Dates & Prices Guide'. Single rooms are usually much smaller and not as well located as double rooms, and only a limited number are available. Once our standard allotment of single rooms (4 per tour) is sold out, we may be able to confirm additional singles at double the single supplement. Although highly unlikely, if you have paid the single supplement and are forced to share a room, the appropriate refund will be made. Singles traveling alone will be required to provide a signed statement from a physician (M.D.) with the passenger's current medical status and stating the passenger is fit to travel alone. Please also read the 'Physical Condition' information on this page.

In Europe the non-smoking issue is not addressed as aggressively as in the United States. Nevertheless, the tour managers will adopt a non-smoking policy on the motor coaches. Although most restaurants still do not feature non-smoking sections, tour participants are also expected to refrain from smoking when your tour party is seated together for breakfasts and dinners. Image Tours requests non-smoking rooms for all tour participants where possible, but some hotels do not offer non-smoking rooms. Conversely, some hotels have converted to only non-smoking rooms and charge a substanstial penalty to guests who smoke in a non-smoking room. Image Tours expressly disclaims any responsibility or liability in connection with non-smoking requirements.

Tour managers and drivers are paid a base salary. Yet, when they add to the overall tour experience, you may express your special appreciation in the form of a tip at the end of the tour. In fact, the tour managers and drivers use the tip to help monitor how well they serviced their clients. Depending on the level of service you feel they provided, an average tip is between $2.00 and $4.00 per person, per day, to each the tour manager and driver, paid in the local currency. Based on several requests, we are now providing tipping envelopes with the documents which you may hand to the tour manager and driver toward the end of the tour.

Tipping is included for all services that are pre-arranged by Image Tours, such as hotel staff, restaurant staff and other services that are included in the tour or in the optional excursions. During independent meals, check the menus as most restaurants include the tip in their prices. A general rule is to round up your bill so no cents change is required. When you purchase beverages or receive water service with dinner it is polite to include a 25 cent tip or round up as well. Generally, if anyone who provides you a service is just doing their job, you need not tip them. Feel free, however, to tip any service personnel who are extra helpful or friendly, or who provide a special or unexpected service.

Complimentary airport/hotel transfers are planned based on the scheduled arrival and departure times of the participants who purchased the 'land and air' inclusive tour from Image Tours. For this reason, passengers who purchase 'land only' from Image Tours should expect to make their own way between the airports and the hotels at their own expense, but are welcome to join the complimentary transfer if the passenger's actual flight times coincide with the actual transfer times.

If you must return early for any physical/medical reason, make sure you obtain a statement from the attending physician/hospital, as this may allow the airlines to waive change fees and this will assist you in making a claim if you have purchased insurance. Air tickets issued by Image Tours are subject to change fees, and you may need to purchase a non-restrictive, one-way air ticket for returns within 7 days or from a different city than scheduled. Therefore, Image Tours recommends purchasing travel insurance with trip interruption coverage.

Most European hotel rooms are not designed to accommodate three persons, and 'triples' usually consist of a standard double bed or two twin beds, with a folding bed, cot, or rollaway for the third person. Be aware that this may not be comfortable for three adults. There are no discounts for triple rooms.

"No visas are required for passengers carrying a U.S. passport.

If you do not carry a U.S. passport, a visa may be required for some of the countries you will visit. You should check with the consulate of each country you will visit to find out whether a visa is needed. It is your responsibility to determine which visas are required and to obtain them before your departure.

If you have a particular departure date in mind, or are not flexible in the days that you are able to travel, the best way to get the date you want is to book as early as possible. The sooner you sign up, the better your chance will be to get the lowest tour price and the most favorable air schedule. For these reasons, we recommend making your reservation five months or more prior to your desired departure date.