General Tour Information
TRAVEL TO LONDON: This tour is organized by our British company, Sunbird, and starts and ends in London. The cost of the group flights between London and Vienna are included in the tour cost. We strongly recommend that you join the tour in London as it removes a range of possible problems that might occur if you attempt to meet the group in the tour country. You can choose, however, to make your own travel arrangements to Vienna. You would receive a corresponding discount in the tour cost should you decide to do this. Please read the Important Travel Information for Participants on Sunbird Tours.
ENTERING AUSTRIA AND THE CZECH REPUBLIC: United States citizens will need a passport which is valid for at least six months after date of entry. A visa is not required. Citizens of other nations should contact their nearest consulate for entry requirements.
MAP AND COUNTRY INFORMATION: You can view maps of the Czech Republic in the University of Texas series here. Click on the map’s lower right corner to asdjust the size. You can review the U.S. Department of State background notes on the Czech Republic here.
HEALTH: There are no specific health concerns in the Czech Republic.
CLIMATE: In the lowland areas where we’ll spend most of our time, expect mainly hot, dry, sunny days with highs between 80°F and 85°F. In the early mornings temperatures will be cooler. Occasionally, temperatures reach 92°F. In the past, however, we have experienced a few days of cold and windy weather including one occasion when it snowed .
PACE OF TOUR AND DAILY ROUTINE: The tour is not usually a strenuous one: leisurely walking, occasionally over moderately rough terrain, is the only physical requirement. One (optional) walk in the Sumava mountains involves a more strenuous uphill gradient. The days generally start at 06.00 with optional pre-breakfast walks. Evening meal times vary depending on the times of the operas and concerts. At times, if we have had a substantial lunch, we eat after the concert. We try to allow enough time after returning to the hotel for everyone to shower and change.
ACCOMMODATION: All our hotels are of a very good standard and have private facilities in every room, with showers (and sometimes baths) and toilets. The hotel we will use in Trebon has been rebuilt from a 17th Century building and is one of the most comfortable in the Czech Republic. Our modern hotel near Volary was built for communist party officials and the rooms are very spacious and well equipped. The hotel is surrounded by trees and mountains, and the curve of the building follows that of the hillside, so birdwatching from our balconies makes the most of any spare moment. For our nights in Prague we stay in a recently refurbished hotel that is very clean and comfortable and serves splendid food. The area, dominated by a neo-renaissance castle, has the atmosphere of a village yet is only twenty minutes from the bustle of the most beautiful city in the world. At Lednice our hotel is a significant architectural monument registered with UNESCO — a 200-year-old little border chateau built by the Liechtenstein family. The rooms are as comfortable as you would expect in a modern city hotel but with Golden Orioles, Nightingales, and various amphibians joining in the dawn chorus right outside the windows.
TRANSPORT: We will have our own van and local driver and will be accompanied by a Czech national who will act as our escort and interpreter wherever necessary.
FOOD: Czech cuisine is very similar to Austrian - lots of meat (usually pork or beef) served with dumplings, potatoes or rice, in a sauce. Vegetable portions can be small, although there has been a slight increase in the consumption of fresh vegetables in recent years. For logistical reasons (instant and fast service when our timetable is critical or when we are ready for bed) we pre-order set meals at specific times and confirm by mobile phone our impending arrival. We try to vary this so that by the end of the tour you will have sampled the best and most typical of Czech cuisine.
DRESS: Dress is informal during the day. For the operas and evening concerts jacket-and-trousers or a suit for the gentlemen and best dresses for the ladies is customary.
SMOKING: Smoking is not allowed in the vehicles or when the group is gathered for meals, checklists etc. If you are sharing a room with a non-smoker, please do not smoke in the room. If you smoke in the field, we ask that you do so well away and downwind from the group if possible. If any lodge, accommodation or location where the group is staying or is gathered has a more restrictive smoking policy than WINGS’ policy, the more restrictive policy will prevail.
GENERAL INFORMATION & CONDITIONS OF WINGS & SUNBIRD TOURS: Please take a moment to read the WINGS General Information & Conditions. This section contains important information about how we conduct tours, e.g., what is included in the tour price, refund and cancellation policies, pace of the tours and other information that will help you prepare for the tour.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: A more complete General Information for Tours to the Czech Republic will be sent to each registrant on receipt of their booking. Final information with instructions for meeting the group, hotel addresses, etc., will be mailed about three weeks before trip departure. Other news will be communicated as necessary.
Updated: July 2006