Dear Tour Travelers,
Welcome to my website! After 10 years in the tour business, it's time for me to focus on my own personal travel plans, and this is the last year in the tour and travel business. It has been a great ride and there may be new ownership in the coming year.
The travel season is in full swing. A few minor upcoming changes loom on the horizon. Europe has been planning a new entry/exit system for years and it looks like they'll finally get one implemented. The EES (Entry/Exit System) is due to transition to the ETIAS (European Travel Information Authorization System) sometime around midyear. This should have minor impact on 2026 tours, which will be my last year in the tour business. ETIAS will be a simple information collection system with a small fee - - - everybody has to get their fee payments somewhere - the Europeans are just a little bit late to the game.
Slots are still available for Scotland, Ireland and West to Fest tours. The dates will change a bit, so stay tuned for future announcements.
I was approached recently by a longtime friend, who asked me about travel. Never fails to amaze me that after being in the travel business for the past ten years, that Gary Tours Europe must be the best kept secret in the nation, given as many advertisements I've run and number of meetings and seminars I've conducted over the years, explaining how my tours differ from the rest of the industry. People are surprised that I offer such extensive tours to a variety of places that most people have rarely heard of, and they often marvel at the daily rate for tour travel, considering airfare, hotels, local transportation, tours and transfers are included, but in these times of economic uncertainty, many are nervous about spending money on tours. An old saying comes to mind - I've never heard anyone say - - - "I wish I had traveled less." It's always, "I wish I'd traveled more." Hopefully, the global economy will settle down soon and tour travel will normalize again.
Travel to Europe continues to change, ever so slowly. There have been steady relaxing moves on regulations and requirements governing USA travelers desiring travel to Europe. On the other side of the pond, there have been numerous changes, mostly in the areas of construction and local transportation. I've been contacting my existing social media followers directly, encouraging them to join my growing email contact list, which ensures better information flow, since social media can sometimes be hit or miss.
The most important announcement I have is that due to stability of airline prices and reduced fuel costs for US airline carriers after the recent government shutdowns, I have been able to reduce most of my 2026 tour prices for travelers selecting our Total Tour Price option, offering an even better value for your hard-earned dollars.
Although the Corona Virus still exists globally, the previous travel and mask restrictions ended in the Spring of 2023. The war in Ukraine continues but has had a negligible effect on our tour schedules.
I monitor the travel requirements monthly for changes, and this years' tours to the Munich Strong Beer Festival and Belgium's Best Breweries, including the Zythos Beer Festival, were cancelled due to some logistical and scheduling issues.
I know this is a lot of information to absorb, but the tour and travel business is a flexible entity, and personal safety is the most important element I consider when scheduling tours for my customers.
As always, my tour travelers, my signoff remains - - - BREW!!!