Want to Travel in 2011? Reserve Now Please
By James Derheim | July 24, 2010
We just added eight more happy travelers to our growing European Focus Family. About half of the trips we do each year are with repeat clients. Join our family!
If you have dreams of seeing Europe in style, start the process now in order to travel when you want to go.
Topics: Private Tours in Europe | No Comments »
Riding into Venice in Style
By James Derheim | July 13, 2010
We enter with our group of eight this afternoon into the heart of Venice where we’re staying two nights at a lovely hotel in the San Marco district. It’s hot in Venice, so what better way to cool off than with a quick trip via water taxi?
Crusing into Venice in European Focus Private Tours style
Topics: Italy Tours | No Comments »
Gimmelwald Switzerland Picnic Adventure
By James Derheim | July 13, 2010
One of our guests walking past the little cheese hut
View of the Jungfrau from Gimmelwald
Part of our current group enjoying the view at Gimmelwald
Topics: Switzerland Tours | No Comments »
Kerry, Cork and Tipperary Ireland Private Tour Opportunity in August
By James Derheim | July 1, 2010
The Best of Ireland – now available on a private, relaxed tour
Experience Ireland’s charms on this 11-day trip, now available for booking. Extremely limited, we’ll take only four people on this tour and prefer a family or two couples who already know one another for maximum cohesiveness and enjoyment.
Day 1: Arrival at Shannon. We drive about an hour into the heart of Ireland and County Tipperary for a night in a Georgian mansion surrounded by hundreds of sheep – yes, this is Ireland! Relaxation for the afternoon. Unlike big bus tours, we don’t believe in pushing our weary guests too hard on their first day. Tonight, dinner in a pub in the colorful town of Cashel followed by a visit to an ancient abbey.
Day 2: Visit the “Rock of Cashel” and then a drive to the coast where we show you the bright and cheery town of Cobh. It wasn’t always so cheery, this is the place where millions of Irish left their homeland forever during the famine years. We then continue to the little town of Kinsale for two nights. Kinsale is well-known as Ireland’s culinary capital. We enjoy some of that reputation tonight.
Day 3: We explore the Old Head of Kinsale, a hauntingly beautiful old abbey and have lunch at a sparkling bay, taking in the gorgeous countryside of southern Cork before returning to Kinsale for another great meal.
Days 4, 5 and 6: We drive past Cork City on our way to Kenmare. (No, we don’t stop to kiss the Blarney Stone. That’s for the big bus tourists, and besides, yuck! Kissing a stone which has had 4,000 people before you kiss it? No thanks) Three nights at Kenmare’s oldest house, lovingly restored to a very high standard private inn with fabulous breakfasts. During our time here, we explore the Rings of Beara and Kerry.
Kenmare also has a host of excellent restaurants.
Days 7 & 8: Dingle Town and the peninsula where there are hundreds of reminders of Ireland’s ancient past. People have been living here for more than 4,000 years, and we show you some of the remains of that ancient civilization. We stay at a lovely, modern inn located on a bluff high above the town with a spectacular view. By the way, the owners of our inn have been chosen many times as the “Best Breakfast” in Ireland by esteemed travel writers. Experience for yourself!
Day 9: We travel the backroads up to the Cliffs of Moher, one of Ireland’s most famous natural landmarks. Afterwards, we drive to the hamlet of Bunratty where we stay at a B&B just 15 minutes away from Shannon Airport. Dinner tonight in an excellent pub next to our B&B.
Day 10: Departure back to the USA
Minimum guests: 2
Maximum: 4
Price: Provided without obligation, just ask, but don’t wait too long! This “Best of Ireland” Tour will book up fast. We can do two of these in the month of August only.
Topics: Ireland Tours, Undiscovered Places | No Comments »
Undiscovered Germany Tour – Now Available for August
By James Derheim | June 29, 2010
Take your time on this easy-going escorted tour of Germany
Castles, Country Inns and Historic Guesthouses of Germany
Micro-Group Tour
No more than five persons
Day 1: Arrival at Frankfurt Intl. Airport. We drive an hour to the riverside small town of Miltenberg am Main, where guests stay the night in Germany’s oldest inn. Lunch at a beer garden (of course, we’re in Bavaria!) and then free time until dinner at a brewery with excellent and typical German dishes. (Historic Guesthouse)
Day 2: A meandering drive down the Romantic Road to Rothenburg ob der Tauber for a two-night stay in Germany’s best-preserved ancient town. Yes, the tourists will be here, but Rothenburg is well worth the stop. Lunch along the way in the pretty town of Weikersheim and a visit to the town castle and gardens, laid out to imitate the French style of Versailles. (Castle, Historic Guesthouse)
Day 3: Free time to explore Rothenburg, shop and visit one or more of the excellent museums. Dinner tonight in a country inn with fabulous (and very large) schnitzels. Tour the town with the Nightwatchman tonight, a fascinating look at the unique history of this walled town, you’ll learn the secret behind its amazing preservation.
Day 4: A meandering drive down the Romantic Road with an overnight in Ulm. We stop and visit Nordlingen along the way. This town was built in the middle of an ancient crater caused by a meteor slamming into the earth millions of years ago.
Day 5: We drive east to the prettiest corner of Germany, Berchtesgaden, for a two-night stay at a luxurious country inn with both indoor and outdoor swimming pools, fitness room, spa and much more. The views are heavenly. (Country inn)
Day 6: Salzburg, Austria sightseeing and time for shopping.
Day 7: Beautiful alpine drive over to Schwangau, Germany via Innsbruck. We stay the night in the shadow of King Ludwig’s Neuschwanstein.
(Country Inn)
Day 8: To a town not many Americans know – Meersburg, located on the shores of the crystal-clear Bodensee. We stay in an inn built in 1605 and enjoy a self-guided tour of Germany’s oldest castle. (Historic Guesthouse, Castle)
Day 9: Across the Black Forest we drive and up to the hamlet of Gleiszellen for two nights at a small inn featuring fantastic food and local wines. We’re surrounded by vineyards here, and our innkeepers are winemakers as well as excellent cooks and hosts.
Day 10: Heidelberg daytrip and back to Gleiszellen for the night. Heidelberg is a lovely small city, full of picturesque lanes and squares and with an historic university going back to the middle of the 14th century. Oh and lest we forget, there’s also a hulking castle ruin! (No, we’re not going to drag you into every single castle we see)
Day 11: To the majestic Rhein River Valley for a two-night stay in Bacharach. Guests will enjoy watching village life from their private balconies at a grand old hotel we’ve been using for more than a dozen years. On the menu, sauerbraten! Yum! (Castle, Historic Guesthouse)
A recent guest - she's on her balcony at upper right - taking in the view of the marketplace of Bacharach
Day 12: Exploring the nearby Mosel River Valley including Beilstein where we have lunch with a view. A highlight of the day will be our guided tour of medieval Burg Eltz, the best-preserved castle in this region and one of the few from the 14th century to have never been sacked or destroyed.
Day 13: Home from Frankfurt Intl. Airport.
Minimum number of guests: 2
Max: 5
Trip openings for August. Price supplied on request.
Topics: Cozy Hotels, Germany Tours | No Comments »