CULINARY VACATIONS

BEERTRIPS.COM Missoula, Montana United States www.beertrips.com
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Overview

Beer Trips.com was founded in 1998 to offer serious beer people the opportunity to travel to the world's best beer destinations with other people who love great beer. Beer and travel, travel and beer - these are two of BeerTrips.com’s favorite things. Both, in their estimation, are worth a fair amount of life's energy.

Their goal and very reason for existing is to take travelers the best beer destinations, drink, taste and enjoy the best beers, meet the beer-loving people of the countries visited, and explore the history, culture, art and architecture of the interesting places where beer "grew up". To do this, guests stay in nice, well-located hotels, eat at great restaurants that emphasize beer in their fare, and visit breweries, brew pubs, cafes, and museums that enhance an understanding and appreciation of BEER and its rich history and culture. It's just that simple.

Although BeerTrips.com still considers themselves a young company with a promising future, their experience in beer and travel are extensive. They select the best, most interesting breweries, beer cities, restaurants, pubs, and cafes upon which to build trips. Often, guests are treated to behind the scenes visits and special brewmaster selections.

Mike Saxton, founder and President of BeerTrips.com brings 15 years of travel industry experience. Having designed and led group trips all over the world (Kenya, New Zealand, Costa Rica, France, US) since 1995, Mike builds trips that represent the best that travel has to offer.

BeerTrips.com believes that travel is akin to freedom, so trips feature relaxed itineraries that allow plenty of time for exploration on your own. If you are going to travel across an ocean, the last thing you want is to be shuffled about trying to keep up with a packed itinerary. Trips are balanced to offer the right amounts of recreation, exploration, and even education. Free time is built into each trip and guests are encouraged to pursue personal interests. BeerTrips.com hopes that you will join all the planned events and excursions, but if you would rather do your own thing, that's no problem (as long as you don't miss the bus). BeerTrips.com will never forget that this your vacation - they just want to expose you to great beer and the interesting aspects that go into making it. Their goal is to make sure you have a great BeerTrip! In general, trips are informal and casual. If you require guidance and planned activity for every moment of your trip or like all your excursions to involve structured tours, these trips are probably not for you.

• All trips feature beer experts from various areas of the beer industry. Brewmasters, Beer Writers, and homebrewers provide the insight and extra information that makes great beer all the more interesting. Their knowledge of beer and well-trained palate help you discover the tantalizing variety of flavors and characteristics of the world' great beers. Trip leaders and local guides provide travel assistance, and suggestions for free time and non-beer excursions. Trip leaders and beer experts offer the knowledge and support to make sure you experience everything, beer or otherwise, a destination has to offer.
• Group Size: Trips are limited to 15 participants in order to ensure that nobody gets lost in the crowd. BeerTrips.com thinks this is far superior to the groups of 25 to 40 that are seen abroad. Small groups make the price a little higher, but BeerTrips.com feels it makes the trips work.
• Who travels with BeerTrips.com? When you join a BeerTrips tour, it is a pretty safe bet that the people on the trip will share your love of great beer. Travelers are a lot like the folks you might meet at your favorite brew pub or home brewing club meeting. Most have more than a passing interest in beer; and with 10 to 15 people ordering and tasting different beers, you'll find that you can sample dozens more beers in a beer group than you would traveling on your own.
• Don't worry if you are not a beer expert or brewer though. BeerTrips.com has had non-beer people "dragged along" with a beer loving friend or spouse only to discover that the trip and the beer were much better and much more interesting than they originally thought.
• The places BeerTrips travels to offer much more than just great beer. The cities are rich in history, continental and local, and the architecture, streets, churches, gardens and public spaces reflect the best of centuries of competing cultures.
• BeerTrips travelers pursue countless other interests beyond beer - photography, rail travel, art, music, architecture and food (to name a few) also occupy the time of guests.

How BeerTrips.com Travels

• Private Motor Coach: When BeerTrips travels between cities, they often employ the use of a private, professionally driven, full-size motor coach. Traveling by bus, despite its less than popular connotation, is often one of the best parts of the trip. Each traveler has plenty of room to spread out; there are 30 to 40 seats for a group of 15 to 18 people. Scenic roads are often part of the route; and people almost always have some beer or local food to sample and share while driving. The coach also allows BeerTrips to make special stops and add surprises to the itinerary.
• Rail: Most of Europe supports a great rail system and, often, this is the preferred mode of travel. On some trips rail passes are issued that offer travelers even more freedom to find out-of-the-way breweries and cafes. Beer and trains seem to be a nice combination.
• Public Transportation: Cities like London, Brussels, Munich and Prague have excellent public transportation that is safe, efficient and easy to use. On most trips, BeerTrips relies almost exclusively on public transportation while in major cities. Getting around is as easy as reading a map or schedule. Using public transportation helps guests feel more like locals, too, allowing the ability to see a very real aspect of the city.
• Walking: In BeerTrips’ view, this is the best way to explore, and it is the first choice whenever possible. City tours and pub/cafe exploration are usually done on foot. When rail is used for excursions, there are often short walks to and from the final destination. The pace is always moderate and great distances are not covered, but guests do walk a fair bit.
• Air Travel: With mileage programs, consolidators, internet fares and countless fare sales, it is best to be a "free agent" when buying tickets in today's market. However, if you would prefer to have BeerTrips.com arrange your flights, they are more than happy to do so. BeerTrips will resourcefully seek out the lowest available fares and advise you of your options. They advise that you do not purchase tickets until the trip is confirmed - generally 60 days prior to departure.
• Airport Transfers: Upon arrival, several options are available to get you from the airport to the hotel: private transfers with "meet and greet", public transportation, and taxis. BeerTrips.com will do everything possible to simplify your arrival.

About Life on a Beer Trip

• Most trips begin at the hotel in the city where the trip begins, assistance and advice on getting there is provided.
• Breakfast is included daily.
• Three or four lunches and and dinners are also included... usually in brewery taps or beer cuisine restaurants.
• A couple days, guests get up early to go somewhere worthwhile...
• BeerTrips.com hires private busses and ride fast trains to travel between cities.
• There's a lot of beer available... several brewery visits and special tastings, as well as beer meals and "pub crawls" - at your discretion of course.
• Most trips include guided walking tours of each city visited.
• Most trips have unscheduled free days to explore on your own.
• The people on BeerTrips range in age from 23 to 77 (so far). Generally there are more men than women, but not always. Sometimes they have beer experts and brewers along, sometimes home brewers, sometimes people who simply want to visit Europe and drink beer with good people!

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