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VALUE FOR MONEY GUIDELINES Don ’ t get ripped off |
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Across Cyprus, there are many agencies (and even private individuals) offering Nature Excursions or so-called ‘Jeep Safaris’. Some charge relatively low prices, others are rather more expensive. It’s a big market out there, so one must be selective. The main question is: Are you getting ‘value for money’? If you’re prepared to pay between £24 and £35 per person for a full day out, you can afford to spend a moment judging the excursion product by certain criteria. Here are some considerations and guidelines that help define the differences between EXALT and the more commercial ‘Jeep Safari’ operations. They will also help you decide whether the jeep excursion you buy has the ‘right stuff’:
How many vehicles travel together (i.e. Do they travel in convoy?) How many passengers per vehicle? Does the Excursion Operator have a ‘seat-swapping’ policy or can you end up stuck in the back of the jeep for the whole day?
Excursion Leader/Driver details: Is the Excursion Leader reasonably fluent in your language? Does he/she possess any special qualifications or speak from a particular experience platform? Ask yourself: Do these people really know what they are talking about? How do they drive? Do they hold one hand on the wheel, while the other is busy operating a video camera? Are they constantly talking on their cell phones, even when driving? Do they attempt to ‘impress’ you by high-speed, rally-techniques or do they prefer the slower, more bump-sensitive approach? Do they smoke in the car and/or consume alcohol at lunch?
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Are you truly getting off-the-beaten-track? Are you reaching sites and landscapes that are really inaccessible to normal cars and coaches? Or are you being brought to the same places visited by coach tours, but just charged double price because you’re in a jeep? Once you reach your destination, are you surrounded by other jeeps or tourist parties? Or does the Excursion Leader take measures towards adjusting the timing/direction of the itinerary in order to ensure a degree of exclusivity for the group?
How much time is spent outside the jeep? Once on board, are you essentially locked up inside the jeep for the duration, or are there scheduled stops with reasonable regularity? What is the attitude towards walking? Do they drive everywhere, and only stop when the vehicle arrives exactly at the destination, or do they allow/encourage walking en route to nature monuments? (Note:poorly-constructed itineraries often translate into excessive periods of driving and preclude the relaxed tempo required for a successful day in the Nature.)
Since you’re spending good money for a full-day outing, you should be getting the proper gastronomic experience to fit the bill! Consider the following: Will you be eating in a taverna or will you be deposited at a mass-tourism picnic site and given a BBQ-style lunch? (The correlation between using family-run tavernes and profit-sharing with local communities is a fundamental agro-tourism concept.) Is the food authentic, freshly-prepared and local in character? Is the menu reasonably varied including both vegetarian and non-vegetarian elements? Do the drivers sit at the same table and eat the same food as their guests? Are there decent toilet facilities available at the lunch stop? |
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What
is the total group size?
Itinerary
Details: 
What
about Lunch?