Frequently asked questions for travellers outside the UK

Yes, you can do this before or after your Inntravel trip, or, if you’re booking two or more trips, in the middle if you so wish.

There are various options to extend your trip. You can add extra nights into the itinerary, or combine the tour with another tour, or with a city break. See our combining tours page for more information.

We grade our walking and cycling tours, 1 being the easiest and 3 being the most demanding. You can find definitions of our grades on the pages about walking tours and cycling tours.

Our tour operator’s licence only allows us to arrange flights from the UK. However, if you book your own flights to the UK, we can arrange the onward flight for you. See our travel arrangements page for more information.

It depends on what your plans are. If your flights are dependent on an element of your trip that we are arranging for you, it is best to wait until we have confirmed your accommodation arrangements, but otherwise we can usually fit around the flights that you have booked.

If you would like us to, we can book all the elements of your connecting travel that we can, and detail the route and timings on your personalised Itinerary. Further information is contained in the trip documents sent to you before your departure, which provide every detail you need to know.

Our prices for trips that include a rental car are based on an economy-size vehicle with manual transmission, but you can usually upgrade to an automatic car. Please tell us when booking that you wish to do so.

Sometimes we use hotels, sometimes we use other types of accommodation (see our accommodation page and the questions below) – it depends on what exists in a given region. Something that’s true of all areas and all tours, however, is that we have visited and hand-picked every single place. Not all of them have star ratings, but don’t let this put you off – some countries such as Norway don’t have a classification system, while elsewhere smaller establishments and certain types of accommodation are often exempt from the classification process. By this token, the lack of a star rating is often an indication of a place’s charm and intimate atmosphere.

This is a type of accommodation found in France, best described as a guesthouse. There is usually just a handful of bedrooms, making for an intimate atmosphere. Often, meals are taken around a communal table, with your hosts and other guests. See our chambres d’hôtes page for more information.

These are working farms which can also accommodate guests. Some are charmingly rustic and quite simple, while others are very stylish, with lots of creature comforts. Being in the middle of a big estate, the accommodation tends to be very tranquil, and you’ll often find produce from the farm featured in the cooking.

Since many of the hotels we work with are converted from centuries-old buildings of character, you may find that the bedrooms are not as big as you are used to, particularly if you live and/or travel in the USA. At some hotels it is possible to upgrade to a larger room, but not always. If bedroom size is an important factor in choosing a tour, please let us know and we’ll suggest the most suitable ones.

You will almost always have a bedroom with en-suite facilities that include a toilet, sink and bath and/or shower. Of the hundreds of hotels and guesthouses we work with, only a handful have shared facilities, and we indicate these rare exceptions on the relevant holiday page and/or when you book.

It depends what you mean by ‘queen-size’, as the terminology varies! If you request a double room, the bed will generally be 5ft/150cm wide (what in British English is referred to as a king-size bed), but this is only a general guideline – in France double beds are sometimes narrower, but in countries such as Austria, Germany and northern Italy, beds are often wider because they consist of two single mattresses (with individual bedding) on one large base. It’s worth also pointing out that it’s not always possible to book a double room – in some hotels the majority of, if not all, rooms are twin-bedded, particularly in Spain, Switzerland, Norway and Greece.

Most of our customers from outside the UK prefer to contact us by email. Because we like to provide you with full information about the trip(s) you’re interested in and all the options available to you, it can take a day or two to get back to you, particularly in the few weeks after Christmas. Alternatively, you can call us on +44 1653 617779. We are open from Monday to Saturday and, throughout January and February, we stay open until 8pm GMT on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. See our opening hours. To find out what time it is currently in the UK, go to www.timeanddate.com

We show our prices in pounds sterling because this is the only currency we can accept currently. To get a rough idea of how much your chosen trip costs in your local currency, use the converter tool above the price panel, but bear in mind that fluctuations in exchange rates in the time between booking and paying for your trip could result in significant variations. If you pay by credit or debit card, then your holiday price will be converted into your currency on your bill by your credit card company, which determines the exchange rate applicable.

Inntravel doesn’t levy a fee for any type of payment, but your bank may charge a handling fee, so you should check with them. If you’d like to pay by bank transfer, our bank details are available on request and also included with your holiday confirmation.

Everything that you need for your trip that we are unable to send to you electronically – any rail or other tickets you require, car hire vouchers, local maps, plus our detailed notes. The latter contain details of your accommodation; useful guidance regarding your connecting travel; cultural and historical notes about the region you are visiting; easy-to-read route notes for hiking and cycling tours; suggestions for sightseeing and eating out, if appropriate; and all relevant telephone numbers and addresses.

So that there is time to read through everything before departure, we normally aim to send all customers’ documents to their home address about two weeks beforehand, and we allow extra time in the case of customers living outside the UK. If you need us to send your documentation particularly early (because you are travelling elsewhere before your Inntravel vacation) or would like us to send them to an address other than your home address, please inform us well in advance.

Your hotelier or our local ground agent will be able to help out in most situations. Over the years we have built up such good relationships with the hoteliers that, in effect, they act as our overseas representatives, looking after Inntravel customers particularly well. If they are unable to help you or you need further assistance, you can contact our office or, for out-of-hours emergencies only, you can contact our 24-hour helpline.

It is a condition of booking with Inntravel that you are comprehensively covered for medical emergencies and repatriation. You may already have medical insurance, but do check that it covers you while abroad, and that the level of cover is sufficient – the cost of accident or illness that results in hospitalisation, or even repatriation to your country of residence, can be extremely high. We also strongly recommend that you have travel insurance cover for other eventualities, from costs incurred through cancellation or travel delay, to loss of luggage or personal possessions, and more severe events such as serious accident or illness while on holiday.

We regret that our travel insurance policy is only open to residents of the European Union. Many previous American customers have arranged travel insurance through www.insuremytrip.com

Please note that bike insurance is not included in the price of our cycling trips, and unfortunately we cannot supply such insurance to customers living outside the EU. Nevertheless, we strongly recommend arranging suitable cover to protect against damage to or loss of the bicycle while it is hired to you. As an example, our policy offers cover of up to £1,000 (£2,500 in the case of electric bikes) if the bicycle is stolen or extensively damaged while locked and/or stored appropriately. Some general travel insurance policies can or do make provision for bicycles, so it is worth exploring this before taking out a separate policy.

What visas you need depends very much on your nationality and which country (or countries) you are visiting. The best body with which to check is the embassy of the relevant country or countries (including any you are travelling through). It is your responsibility to ensure that you have the correct documentation.

English is widely taught in schools across Europe, so you will often find that hotel staff speak at least a little English, especially in larger towns and cities. In remoter areas where visitors are less common, we recommend taking a phrase book with you; any attempts to speak the local language will be greatly appreciated. If you find yourself completely stuck, you won’t be the first of our customers to resort to sign language and mime. Where there’s a will, there’s a way!

Most European countries use the euro. The exceptions are Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Turkey and the UK.