Participation: 

We want everyone to have a good time!  While we carefully plan each trip so as to balance the time spent between organized activities and free time to explore, shop, eat, experience things not on the itinerary, or just sit and be, nevertheless not everything we do is mandatory.  If you are late to meet the group, we will wait a few minutes then commence the schedule and the late party (even you) will need to catch up with us on their own.

Sadly, it sometimes happens that someone participating in a tour can misbehave or do things that are incompatible with the safety, comfort, learning experiences, or enjoyment of other members of the tour.  In those circumstances we have the exclusive right and discretion to expel someone (even you) from a tour at any time, at their own expense.

Tour member expectations: 

The trips we run are physically active!  Please note that we walk typically a minimum of five miles almost every day, often times longer, we take stairs a lot, and usually find a hike somewhere in most trips.  Our accommodations are centrally located but may provide fewer American-style amenities: we choose places to stay based on location and authenticity rather than an abundance of creature comforts.  

We try for a diversity of travelers on each trip, and while we do not expect everyone will come home as life-long best friends, we must emphasize tolerance and a friendly disposition are utterly indispensable traits.  International travel, while an amazing, life-changing experience, can at times be stressful.  Please keep in mind that every traveler’s experience is made better by traveling with cool people.  So be a cool person and recognize the essentiality of being decent to everyone on the trip.  If you have an issue with another traveler, or with one or both of us, or the way in which the trip is running, please come talk with one or both of us!

This is the essential nature of any trip the Educated Wanderer runs. 

On all of our travel experiences, we do expect you to assume certain obligations and responsibilities to yourself, to us and to your fellow tour members, including, but not limited to, the following:

• Carry or roll your own luggage in the airport, through trains and/or buses or other public transportation, and over uneven pavement to and from the hotel, then haul it up as many as five flights of stairs to reach your room.
• Be comfortable on your feet much of each day with brisk walking tours, climbing lots of stairs, hopping on and off public transportation, plus standing and walking inside museums and outdoors in all weather conditions.
• Sleep in hotels with no (or inadequate) air conditioning, possible street noise, and slow Wi-Fi connections or Wi-Fi only in common areas.
• After orientation and transportation lessons, be able to navigate towns and cities on your own.
• We really cannot provide assistance for any of these activities, as we will be right there with you managing our own luggage and leading you to our destinations. Travelers requiring help must be accompanied by an able companion who can be entirely responsible for providing the assistance.  Please talk with us if you have any concerns about the nature of the trips we run – it’s not possible to stress enough that we walk a lot.  
• Pack light: Each tour member is allowed to bring just one airline carry-on-size piece of luggage (approximately 21″ x 14″ x 9″) plus a small day pack or shoulder bag. We will offer plenty of suggestions for packing light.
• Smoking policy: No smoking or vaping is allowed on transportation or in the accommodations, or where other tour members are present and in enclosed spaces.  Please note that Europeans smoke at a much higher rate than do Americans and we are unable to isolate you from this.
• Bring a sense of adventure, enthusiasm, patience and your curiosity and your experience will be superb!  

Private rooms for solo travelers: 

If you are traveling solo, we won’t charge you a single supplement unless you wish to guarantee yourself a private room.  Excepting that instance, you will room with another traveler or two of the same sex.  If do you wish to take up a private room, we will do our best to make that arrangement, though there will be an additional fee.  If we cannot obtain a private room for you we will let you know that and you will have the option to cancel your reservation. Please keep in mind that a private room is not usually a larger or nicer room, as European single-bed rooms are generally the simply smaller versions of doubles or triples.