presents: Scotland 9 day tour featuring UNC asheville alumni & friends aug. 31- sep. 8, 2019 $3,839.00 Per Person Land Only Based on Double Occupancy www.wilcoxtravel.com
Invitation Dear UNC Asheville Alumni and Friends, I invite you to be part of a magical journey. In September 2019, the UNC Asheville Alumni Association will launch a travel program designed to provide an enriching experience for our university family. The UNC Asheville Alumni Association is committed to creating opportunities of engagement for the alumni and friends of our university. This shared journey provides an opportunity for continued education experienced in an international culture. The tenants of a liberal arts education come to life when we explore the history, architecture, music, food and drinks in a foreign setting. This unique travel experience will weave together education, travel, fellowship, and humanity. We are intentional about this inaugural trip as we chose Scotland, an area with many similarities to Asheville; the Highlands and Appalachia share resemblance in geography, outdoor recreation, music and the arts. In fact, the city of Birnam-Dunkeld is a sister city to Asheville! Scotland offers magnificent scenery, historical sites, neolithic burial sites, fabulous seafood, lively pubs, hiking, castles, distillery tours, and searches for the legendary Loch Ness monster. The value in this travel lies in the professional care you will receive from expert guides and lecturers, who will take care of all the logistical details and allow you to immerse yourself in the culture. We selected a local travel partner, Wilcox World Travel and Tours. Since 1953, Wilcox has been serving travelers all across the globe. They are experienced travel professionals dedicated to making your next excursion the carefree journey of a lifetime! Wilcox will handle the details, the paperwork, and the reservations, so you can enjoy a truly worry-free trip. I hope that you will embark on this inaugural adventure with UNC Asheville, and encourage you to make your reservation today! Kindest regards, Elizabeth Saxman Underwood, Ph.D. Class of 2001 Senior Director, Alumni Engagement & Annual Giving eunderw1@unca.edu // 828.232.5125 // www.unca.edu Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind. Seneca
Inclusions INCLUDED IN THE PRICE Superior First Class (4 star) hotel accommodations throughout (7 nights); Edinburgh 2 nights Principal Edinburgh George Street Dunkeld 4 nights Dunkeld House Hotel Glasgow 1 night The Glynhill Hotel Scottish breakfast each day and 4 Dinners with special farewell dinner in Glasgow. Daily sightseeing per itinerary by private luxury motor coach with qualified driver and licensed professional Tour Manager from arrival at Edinburgh Airport for 8 days until departure from Glasgow on Day 9. Local guide in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Entrance fees to all sightseeing, including Edinburgh Castle, The Palace of Holyroodhouse, John Knox House Museum, Loch Ness lake cruise and Urquhart Castle. Tipping to hotel and restaurant personnel, porters, drivers, and guides. Transfers and porterage at hotels (one suitcase per person). Wilcox World Travel and Tours flight bag. NOT INCLUDED Flights from/to the USA. Airport / hotel transfers if not arriving within 2 hour window of main arrival/departure. Single Supplement for room accommodations: $600.00 Beverages with meals, or meals not specifically mentioned on itinerary. Insurance: travel, baggage, trip cancellation, etc. cost is $245 for land only or $345.00 to include air (per person). Passports Personal items purchased while traveling *** Wilcox Travel can help with your flight arrangements once they are within date range, approx. Oct. 25, 2018. If interested, please indicate your desired departure city when registering and we ll provide further details when available. ***
Itinerary DAY 1 SAT. AUG. 31 - DEPART U.S.A. Departure from the USA for overnight flight (cost not included). DAY 2 SUN. SEP. 1 ARRIVE EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND Upon arrival in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, we are met at the airport by our guide and are shown to our coach. Then we tour this city of John Knox, Sir Walter Scott, William Wallace, and Robert Louis Stevenson, among many others. The area is dominated by lofty Edinburgh Castle sitting high on Castle Rock. Upon arrival we tour the Castle and then check into the centrally-located hotel for dinner and overnight. DAY 3 MON. SEP. 2 - EDINBURGH Today we tour Edinburgh with a local guide. This lovely city is built on hills and is home to legendary Holyrood Palace where Mary, Queen of Scots lived. We visit the castle and explore the Royal Mile, the succession of streets which form the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. We drive to the Scott Monument, which has a marble statue of the author at its base. Towering above is a 200-foot Gothic spire adorned by statuettes of characters from Sir Walter Scott s novels and poems. On our panoramic tour we also see Princes Street, St. Giles Cathedral, the prestigious Edinburgh University, Greyfriars and the Mound. We tour the 15th-century home of John Knox, leader of the Scottish Reformation and founder of the Presbyterian Church, where he lived for a short time before dying here in 1572. Tonight we ll enjoy dinner at a local restaurant. DAY 4 TUE. SEP. 3 - EDINBURGH / ST. ANDREWS / DUNKELD Today we ll travel to St. Andrews! Ride by coach to and from St. Andrews to spend the day at this beautiful seaside town. For anyone who has the connections or tenacity to make their own arrangements to play one of the famed courses, today is your day! Golf arrangements handled by individual, not by any Wilcox representatives. Wilcox can however make arrangements for special transfer if early/late transfers needed. St Andrews is a charming and historic town that attracts visitors from all over the world. It is known worldwide as The Home of Golf, and also boasts Scotland s oldest university. St Andrews University, founded in 1410, dominates the centre of town. The elegant, ivy-clad buildings and delightful quadrangles and gardens have seen a procession of famous graduates such as Prince William. One of the top universities in Britain, St Andrews is often compared to Oxford and Cambridge for its defining presence and the collegiate feel it gives to the town. The Medieval centre of St Andrews consists of a series of narrow alleys and cobbled streets with shops, restaurants and cafés. Explore the castle, the now ruined cathedral and the adjacent church of St Regulus, where you can climb the spiral staircase to the top of the 108 ft. tower for magnificent views of the town and its surroundings. Sitting at the eastern end of St Andrews two main streets is the imposing, if slightly confusing, collection of ruins that together make up St Andrews Cathedral. This was the largest church in medieval Scotland, and probably also the most magnificent. An essential part of any tour of St Andrews is a visit to the ruin of its once mighty castle. This site was fortified by the 1100 s, and from around 1200 it was adopted as the main residence of the bishops and archbishops of St Andrews.
After your day in St. Andrews we ll continue onto Dunkeld and Birnam, one of the best-preserved historic towns in Scotland, and also Asheville s newest Sister City. Dunkeld House Hotel, our home for the next four nights! Dinner tonight at the hotel. DAY 5 WED. SEP. 4 - DUNKELD-BIRNAM Just like Asheville, Dunkeld and Birnam are surrounded by lush forests and rolling hills, and the area has a rich history tied to the railroad. A full day to get acquainted with these two quaint, adjacent towns. On your own tonight for dinner. DAY 6 THU. SEP. 5 - DUNKELD-BIRNAM Full day at leisure in Dunkeld-Birnam. On your own tonight for dinner. DAY 7 FRI. SEP. 6 - DUNKELD-BIRNAM / OPTIONAL INVERNESS After breakfast this morning we ll travel north toward Inverness, Clansman Harbour where you embark on your short cruise along Loch Ness. At the end of your cruise, you will disembark at the private jetty at Urquhart Castle. Here you will have time to enjoy the castle ruins, with its magnificent views up and down this most enigmatic and mysterious stretch of water and visit the Visitor Centre. Return back to Dunkeld for dinner at hotel and overnight. DAY 8 SAT. SEP. 7 - DUNKELD / GLASGOW This morning we head south as we travel from Dunkeld to Glasgow. Glasgow is one of the liveliest and most cosmopolitan destinations in Europe. Tour central Glasgow, see red sandstone Victorian buildings, delightful parks, and Glasgow Cathedral. After a city tour you ll have the afternoon on your own in Glasgow. The city has been reborn as a center of style and vitality set against a backdrop of outstanding Victorian architecture. Glasgow boasts world famous art collections, the best shopping in the United Kingdom outside London, and the most vibrant and exciting nightlife in Scotland. A must see is the splendor of Scotland s best-known architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh, whose style adorns many unique attractions throughout Scotland s largest and greatest city. A special farewell dinner this evening. DAY 9 SUN. SEP. 8 - GLASGOW / U.S.A. Following breakfast we transfer to the airport for your return flights to the U.S. Land Transportation and Transfers: By private deluxe motor coach.
Terms & Conditions Accommodations: Tour prices are per person, based on two persons sharing double or twinbed rooms with private bathroom with tub or shower. Single rooms subject to availability and an additional cost of $600.00 (tour participants without a roommate will have to pay the single room surcharge). Hotels used are superior first-class category. Meals: Breakfast daily and dinners as noted. Coffee or tea included with breakfast only; all other beverages are extra. Baggage: Subject to change, free baggage allowance is governed by the airline on which you are flying. Baggage allowance guidelines will be included in your final documents. Excess baggage will be charged at the established rates. Due to limited motor coach capacity we urge our tour members to carry only one bag per person. Porterage for one checked bag is included in the tour price. Excess baggage charges from the airlines and motor coaches are the passenger s responsibility and will be collected at time of handling. Service Charges and Taxes: Those normally levied by hotels and restaurants are included and all departure taxes and tipping. Not Included: Airlines tickets, passport costs, and health documentation costs (when required); food and beverages (including coffee and tea) not usually included with regular table d hote meals; optional sightseeing tours and excursions; accident, baggage and trip cancellation insurance; transporting and handling excess luggage; tips to persons rendering special services not specifically mentioned as included; items of a purely personal nature such as laundry, telephone and cable expenses, internet access, room service orders, etc. Insurance: Acting only as agents for suppliers, Wilcox World Travel and Tours, Div. of Wilcox Travel Agency, Inc., is not responsible for damage, loss, or theft of luggage and/or personal belongings, or for personal injury, accident and/or illness. For protection, it is important that you have adequate insurance to cover these possibilities. We recommend Allianz Travel Insurance. Travel protection is available to all residents of the U.S. and Canada, and includes coverage for lost luggage, medical emergencies and more. Guests booking this tour have the option of purchasing cancellation protection in the event they need to cancel their trip after making their reservations. This optional Guest Protection may be requested at time of booking and fee included with initial payment. Details will be provided with written confirmation of your tour reservation. For tour participants 79 + years old, there will be an additional cost for insurance based on your age. Important Passport Information: A valid passport is required and must be obtained in person by each tour member at a local passport office. Passports must be valid for the duration of your stay in the United Kingdom. VISA: A visa is not required for US citizens traveling to the United Kingdom.
Deposits and Payments: A deposit of $300.00 per person is required immediately. The balance is due no later than 60 days prior to departure. Please check your statement for specific due dates. Tour conditions and airfares are subject to Governmental, ARC/IATAN, and airline regulation requirements in effect on the date of and during the tour. All airfares and land rates are quoted in US Dollars and are based on tariffs and cost in effect September 2018 and are subject to change without notice. Land costs are based on group rates and final tour cost may be dependent on number of tour participants. Guests with Disabilities: Please be aware that certain land tours may not be fully accessible to persons with disabilities. Wilcox World Travel and Tours must be notified of any special medical, physical or other requirements of passengers at the time of booking. Should a passenger require the assistance of another to make this tour, it is the responsibility of that passenger to arrange for a companion to provide the assistance at all times and for the entire duration of the tour. Responsibility: Your tour operator, Wilcox World Travel and Tours, Div. of Wilcox Travel Agency, Inc., an ARC/IATAN appointed agent, acts as agent for you in the making and securing of all arrangements for transportation, sightseeing, or for hotel accommodations for the tour. Wilcox World Travel and Tours does not own, manage, control or operate any transportation vehicle, any hotel or restaurant, or any other supplier of services. All coupons, receipts and tickets are issued subject to the terms and conditions specified by the suppliers. Thus, by accepting the coupons and tickets and utilizing the services, you agree that neither Wilcox World Travel and Tours nor any of its Tour Hosts or Representatives shall be liable for any loss, injury or damage to you or your belongings or otherwise in connection with any accommodations, transportation or other services, or resulting directly or indirectly from any occurrences beyond its control including breakdown in equipment, strikes, theft, delay, cancellation of or changes in itinerary, or schedules, etc. Also, remember that travel documents are your responsibility as well as compliance with custom regulations. No employee of Wilcox World Travel and Tours can change the terms under which you agree to take this tour. Airlines concerned are not to be held responsible for any act, omission or event during the time you are not onboard the aircraft. The passage contract in use by the airline, when issued, constitutes the sole agreement between it and you. Cancellations and Refunds: If a passenger cancels his/her tour membership up to 61 days prior to departure, there will be a cancellation fee of $250.00 to cover administration and communication costs. For cancellations within 60-46 days of departure date you will be subject to a 50% penalty or $250.00 whichever is greater. Cancellations within 45 days are subject to a penalty of 100% of tour price. All cancellation requests must be addressed to Wilcox Travel in writing. Trip cancellation insurance is strongly recommended. NOTE: Wilcox World Travel and Tours reserves the right to cancel, withdraw, or change the tour, in part or whole, at any time. In the event of a change deemed necessary by Wilcox World Travel and Tours, the sole and exclusive obligation of Wilcox World Travel and Tours, Div. of Wilcox Travel Agency, Inc. is to refund monies recovered.
For more details and to register please go to wwwwilcoxtravel.com or for questions call 828-210-8138.