COTERIE TOUR TO BELGIUM – ORIGINAL ITINERARY
1. $2250 (double or more occupancy for hotel); $3200 (single occupancy).
– $750 deposit by May 1, 2019; remaining by December 1, 2019.
2. ADD $300 after May 1, 2019 and full payment by December 1, 2019.
3. ADD $500 after December 1, 2019 and full payment immediately, if hotels and coach bus seats are still available.
COSTS INCLUDE:
1. Hotel with breakfast included = 10 nights
2. Coach bus = 5 trips
3. Planned group meals, including tips and 1 drink (alcohol or non) = 3
4. Group tickets (admission and public bus) to Keukenhof Tulip Gardens
5. Miscellaneous, among them currency fluctuation, increase in hotel/coach fares, unforeseen group expenses, AND to help Coterie pay for 4 people: Angela and Scott; Leen and Piet.
HOTEL:
May 15 to 17 – Amsterdam Schiphol (arrive on May 15 = 3 nights)
May 18 to 22 – Ghent (5 nights; concerts on May 20 and May 22)
May 23 – Luxembourg (1 night)
May 24 – overnight in Amsterdam or Luxembourg (1 night)
COACH BUS:
May 18 – Amsterdam Schiphol to Ghent
May 20 – Ghent to Ertvelde (concert)
May 23 – Ghent to Luxembourg OR
May 23 – Ghent to Amsterdam Schiphol
May 24 – Luxembourg to Amsterdam Schiphol
GROUP MEALS:
May 16 – dinner after Keukenhof Tulip Gardens
May 18 – first dinner in Ghent
May 23 – lunch in Durbuy
REFUND POLICY
1. No refund of deposit anytime.
2. Possible refund of hotel and group transportation and activities (guided tour, group dinner etc) if withdrawal has been notified by writing prior to reservation.
3. Possible refund FOR ALL on miscellaneous costs if there is a surplus after the tour.
Air/Train/Local transportation on your own.
NOTE:
1. Non-stop flights from San Diego to Europe are to London, Frankfurt, or Zurich.
2. Belgium is 9 hours ahead of San Diego.
3. You must take consideration of the group travel time if you wish to take the group bus to the airport for your return flight, or you will be making your own travel arrangement.
PROPOSED TOURS
Full – May 15 to 25: round-trip Amsterdam Schiphol *
1. Arrive Amsterdam Schiphol Airport on May 15 (latest by the 17th) – free airport shuttle to hotel.
2. Group (coach bus) to (1) Ghent on May 18, (2) Luxembourg on May 23 and (3) Amsterdam Schiphol on May 24. Free airport shuttle from hotel to Schiphol on May 25.
* Those who have their return flight from Frankfurt Airport or continue your own journey will arrange your own transportation on May 25. You will not receive any reimbursement on the coach bus that you skip.
Those who need to shorten their trip may consider:
Alt. #1 – May 15 (or later) to 23: round-trip Amsterdam Schiphol
1. Arrive Amsterdam Schiphol Airport on May 15 (latest by the 17th) – free airport shuttle to hotel.
2. Group (coach bus) to Ghent on May 18.
3. Return flight from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport on May 23, skipping Luxembourg.
Alt. #2 – May 15 (or later) to 23: round-trip Brussels Airport
1. Fly into Brussels Airport.
2. Own transportation (easy train) to Ghent on May 18 OR to Amsterdam Schiphol by May 15 to join the trip to Keukenhof Tulip Gardens (May 16) and free day in Amsterdam on May 17.
3. Return flight from Brussels Airport on May 23, skipping Luxembourg.
NOTE:
1. Those who choose the shorter trip at the time of deposit will have their overall cost adjusted according to their total hotel stay and whether they join the trip to the Keukenhof Tulip Gardens or not.
2. Those who choose the tour in full at the time of deposit may not get any overall cost adjusted if they change to a shorter trip later on.
3. If no one chooses the shorter trip, we will skip hiring the coach bus from Ghent to Amsterdam Schiphol on May 23. The savings will be returned to all touring members.
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TRAIN INFO (check online for exact schedule)
1. Brussels-Airport-Zaventem to Gent-Sint-Pieters
= 1 hour and 5 minutes; fast train = 54 minutes.
2. Brussels-Airport-Zaventem to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
= 2 hours and 2 minutes; fast train = 1 hour and 44 minutes.
3. Luxembourg to Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbf (airport)
= 4 hours and 26 minutes; fast train = 3 hours and 26 minutes.
4. Luxembourg to Paris
= 3 hour and 12 minutes; fast train = 2 hour and 9 minutes.
PROPOSED ITINERARY
(final itinerary by early 2020)
Friday, May 15
– own arrival to designated hotel near Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. Free airport shuttle from Schiphol to hotel.
Saturday, May 16 – AMSTERDAM (Schiphol)
– Day trip to Keukenhof Tulip Gardens, https://keukenhof.nl/en via public transportation from Schiphol. (Admission ticket to the Gardens includes the round-trip bus ticket)
– Group dinner somewhere.
Mahler Festival at Concertgebouw: https://www.concertgebouw.nl/en/mahler-festival-2020
May 16: https://www.concertgebouw.nl/en/concerts-tickets/van=2020-05-16
May 17: https://www.concertgebouw.nl/en/concerts-tickets/van=2020-05-17
Sunday, May 17 – AMSTERDAM (Schiphol)
– TRAIN (individual): optional trip to Amsterdam. You must purchase admission tickets online if you wish to visit museums and Anne Frank House.
English guided tour to Concertgebouw: Sundays from 12:30 to 1:45pm (€ 11 per person, online): https://www.concertgebouw.nl/en/guided-tours
Monday, May 18 – AMSTERDAM TO GHENT
– COACH BUS (group): to Ghent with stops in The Hague and Rotterdam.
– Group dinner upon arrival in Ghent.
Tuesday, May 19 – GHENT
– TRAIN (individual): optional trip to Bruges (guided tour once we are there).
– Evening rehearsal in Ghent.
Wednesday, May 20 – GHENT
– Free day in Ghent (or a short, individual train trip to other Belgian cities, e.g. Antwerp, Waterloo, Leuven).
– COACH BUS (group): depart from Ghent to Ertvelde for our Evening Concert (about 30 min. ride).
Thursday, May 21 – GHENT (public holiday in Belgium)
– COACH BUS (group): Tongerlo Abbey (guided tour to the DaVinci Museum: https://youtu.be/2pJD5HtlKwg?t=1795); https://www.tongerlo.org/~/tongerlo/een-rondgang/
Friday, May 22 – GHENT
– Free day in Ghent (or a short, individual train trip to other Belgian cities).
– Evening Concert in Ghent.
Saturday, May 23 – GHENT TO DURBUY TO LUXEMBOURG
– COACH BUS (group): optional trip to Durbuy with a visit to Orval Abby (http://www.orval.be/en/home/Abbey – cheese and beer tasting).
– arrive in Luxembourg for the night. May pass through Brussels Airport as needed. Group lunch in Durbuy.
– OR COACH BUS (group): to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (about 2.5 hours ride).
Sunday, May 24 – LUXEMBOURG/AMSTERDAM (Schiphol)
– Free morning in Luxembourg.
– COACH BUS (group): to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport in the afternoon (about 4 hours ride) for those whose return flight is from Amsterdam on May 25. Overnight at the same hotel as May 16-18.
– Those who continue their journey or return to San Diego from Frankfurt Airport may opt to stay in Luxembourg or leave for your destination anytime on May 24/25.
Monday, May 25 –AMSTERDAM (Schiphol)
– own return flight to San Diego. Free airport shuttle from hotel to Schiphol Airport.
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Wed, Jan 16, 2019 at 11:18 AM E-mail from Angela:
Here are some questions and comments I received so far:
1. Optional train trips – yes, Leen and I will let you know each day how much is the train ticket to where and help get the group tickets. I love to see us go on trips as a group, but I also want to give you the flexibility should you wish to stay put for a day. (You are paying for your own train rides during the trip.)
2. Double occupancy – no, you do not have to find your roommate. We’ll group you if you don’t have a preference.
3. Payment – yes, you can write me checks post-dated beyond Dec 1. MEMBERS WHO NEED $$ help – e-mail me how much you need help and Coterie will try to raise enough money to help you go.
4. More concerts – as of now we have scheduled 2 concerts that week in Belgium. We can certainly try to arrange more, but be aware that we also need time to rehearse with the 3 choirs there. Our current proposal is to arrive on Monday evening, rehearse on Tues, and concerts on Wed and Friday. Sat we’ll be off to Luxembourg. So it really only leaves us Thurs evening for another show. My inclination is to have a free evening, but e-mail me if you too want a third concert. Majority wins.