Helpful Hints – Things to Know!

The Lifetime Highs Tour is a meticulously crafted journey to numerous captivating North American destinations. This tour package seamlessly weaves together accommodation, transportation, thrilling activities, and top-notch service. We are committed to the principle of recognizing your unique needs while ensuring that all members are treated with fairness and impartiality. As you join this spirited community of travelers, we look forward to the collective and individual contributions that will define the success of this adventure. You are at the heart of it all, and we are genuinely excited to welcome you on board..

PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO REVIEW THIS INFORMATION.  IT WILL ANSWER A NUMBER OF YOUR QUESTIONS IN ADVANCE.

Stop for a minute – and think.  The people around you are probably much like you.  They like to be treated as individuals, they are interested in making new acquaintances.  Although your tour director will introduce you, there is no substitute for introducing yourself to the other tour members early in the trip.  We guarantee the sooner you know each other the more fun you’ll have.  Try having lunch with different people each day and feel free to chat with everyone on board.

Only one exception…we would appreciate your attention when the tour director or driver is describing something of interest or giving information about an upcoming stop!

Your seats on the coach are assigned by the order in which your booking was made; the earlier you book, the closer you are to the front of the coach on Day 1. Your tour director will explain the posted seat assignment on every traveling day. Variations in heat and air conditioning and the different visual positions are just a few reasons why we use this system including eliminating the need to rush back to the coach for a “better seat”.  You will eventually sit in almost every area of the coach. We feel  this is the most fair, efficient and impartial way to operate.  We are not able to make exceptions for a physical disability or ailment, although it is perfectly permissible for two persons, by their own arrangements, to voluntarily exchange seats.  Any unoccupied seats are available to everyone with the exception of the seat behind the driver when reserved for your tour director.

Motorcoach air conditioning and heating is good but not perfect.  It is not possible to produce an even degree of cool or hot air at each seat because individual controls have not yet been perfected.  The unequal distribution of cool or hot air is caused by the tremendous amount of glass on the coach, especially in front, and the distance the cool or hot air must travel to some seats.  The longer the distance, the warmer or cooler the air.  Your tour director and driver will do their best to operate the air conditioning and the heat at its most comfortable level.

Our tours do not run on rigid schedules: however it is necessary to announce a departure time at each stop.  Observe these departure times.  You will have a much smoother tour and in the long run gain earlier arrivals at your overnight destinations

Our motor coaches are restroom equipped, however, this facility has its advantages and disadvantages. It’s nice to know it’s there when absolutely needed, but if  used on tours as a primary restroom facility, it will develop an odor that becomes offensive and uncomfortable for those sitting nearby.  Motorcoach washrooms were designed for city-to-city bus transportation where terminals include equipment for proper servicing and regular cleaning of bus restrooms.  For such regular-route transportation, the restroom eliminated the need for time consuming rest stops, thus, shortening the schedule. Tour transportation is different.  Itineraries cover remote areas & tour buses can travel for days without being in a location where restroom servicing facilities are available.  Because of this we encourage you to use the washrooms at our designated stops.

Gratuities are earned as a reward for having done a job well and are considered commonplace in the hospitality & service industry.  The following is meant as a guideline only and is at the client’s discretion:

Tour Director: Per Person: $5 – $7 per day and should be offered on a voluntary and individual basis depending on the quality of service.

Motorcoach Driver: Per Person: $3 – $5 per day and should be offered on a voluntary and individual basis depending on the quality of service.

Meals: 12% – 15% of the pre-tax bill.

Chambermaid: $1 per person per night

Baggage Handlers: $2 per bag.  Please note where luggage handling has been included on our tours, a gratuity has been pre-paid.

Local guides: $2- $3 per person for every 3 hours of service.

It is  the company’s policy, that any individual who is detained at customs for smuggling goods into Canada, will not be allowed back onto the Coach and will have to find their own transportation home.

If you’ve stayed overnight in various hotels on different occasions you’ll probably know what we mean when we say that hotel rooms vary.  And with this in mind, we make every effort to fill your requests and to have rooms assigned in the fairest possible manner.  Our efforts started ten days before you left on this tour when a rooming list was sent to each hotel with instructions to reserve the best rooms  that will become available on the day that this tour arrives.  The assigning of them is obviously impartial as the hotel management has never met you and works only from our list of tour members.  The hotels usually put room keys in individual personalized envelopes before your arrival to assure you that the selection has been both fair and impartial.  Because we realize that hotel accommodations vary regarding location, size, and furnishings, we feel that this random assignment of rooms is the fairest possible solution.  Of course, your tour director or driver is available to review a room that you might consider totally undesirable.  Please advise your tour director or driver as soon as possible so that any problems can be corrected.  The next day is too late and a problem becomes a complaint.  (A problem is a difficulty that can be corrected if given a chance.  A complaint is a problem that we learn about too late to correct.)

Canada Customs requires that you complete the E 311 form. This form is to be filled out by every individual crossing the border into Canada, even if you do not make any purchases.  Only 1 form per family is required.

In almost every situation you may, or will be, required to sit beside a fellow passenger.  Your fare entitles you to one single seat on the motor coach. Single travelers also must pay a supplement due to hotel charges.  However this does not imply that single travelers will necessarily be assigned a guest room as large as those assigned to two people sharing.