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28 - The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday January 12, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Find the best and cheapest routes to travelling solo S BEAVER TRAILS TO DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Macy, Elle and Jett Armstrong took The Oakville Beaver with them to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.Take along a copy of The Oakville Beaver on your next vacation and send it in for publication to Beaver Trails, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4 or e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. ENSEMBLE INSPIRED JOURNEYS Family Cruise in Italy & the Western Mediterranean with Educator Laurie Allen Ten Nights aboard ms Noordam sailing round-trip Rome Gina Cheng July 26-August 5, 2008 Custom designed for the entire family, this active getaway is a ten night holiday at sea for parents and kids (of all ages!). Enjoy fun and frolic on an adventure to four countries (plus a couple of islands!) on two continents, which includes "cooking" time for everyone. INSPIRED HIGHLIGHTS · Ten nights' shipboard accommodations with all meals · Private painting class in Miro's Barcelona · Special mosaic workshop in Tunis · Exclusive "excavation" of Pompeii · Pizza tossing and tasting in Naples · Scavenger hunt survival kit with camera · Dessert farewell party Oakville Town Centre I 300 North Service Road, W. Oakville 905.849.0333 www.totaltravel-oakville.com Call our office at 905 849-0333 for full details and pricing of this exciting cruise opportunity and allow us to plan your next cruise vacation! Ont Reg No 2766538 ingle supplement was a new word to me when I wanted a week on a sunny beach. I was outraged that I had to pay 40 per cent more just because I didn't have a companion. My travel agent hunted down a property that didn't charge a huge punishment fee, but there was definitely a fee. She did explain just why it happens. Coach tours and packages are built around "each of two", so without two in a room, you pay extra, and sometimes the full amount, that two would pay. "Yes", she explained to me, "you can fly scheduled air and rent a hotel room. Work that out price wise and usually you realize why charters are so popular." Some coach tours will do their best to match you up with a member of your own sex. I once did that with a friend on a 10-day trip, and by the end we weren't friends anymore. And you readers tell me horror stories of the roommate from hell...and the odd one that worked out fine. It is a risk. DeNure Tours doesn't like the word singles, it calls them solos and has come up with an interesting new program to get around the single supplement this year. It has special promotions inspired by one of its customers, Blanch Warren, who finished her 50th tour with DeNure last year. During the months of June and September, its solo guests will not pay a supplement on the "stay put" destination in Daytona Beach at the Nautilus Inn. You leave by coach at 9:30 a.m. on a Saturday and arrive in Daytona on Sunday at 1 p.m. It is express, so bring a pillow. You can also fly. Then your home away from home offers kitchen facilities, choice of two queens or a king bed and a sitting area. Price for 10 days including the coach, accommodation, continental breakfast daily, complimentary cocktail hour daily, an activity program and taxes is $669 for 10 days and $969 for 17 days.. This destination has been a big hit for mature travelers who don't want to drive, because you simply don't need a car once you're there. DeNure owns and operates the hotel, and between September and May the majority of guests are Canadians. Included in this reasonable price are social gettogethers, entertainment, and a daily shuttle to shopping, restaurants and area attractions. I'm told that many guests have struck up long friendships when they meet around the heated pool, or out for a stroll on the hard-packed beach. DeNure has what it calls a Denuro rewards program. You earn five per cent of the value of your tour in Denuros (double on the twin fare) you spend on travel with DeNure Tours. You can redeem your Denuros at a twin rate for the following 2008 tours: Cincinnati Flower Show, Boston Pops, Tanglewood, Vermont in spring, Québec Resort Getaway, and Mackinac Island. There is another group of travellers that feels hard done by as well. At the other end of the age spectrum, families, or solo parents with three kids, sometimes think about leaving one home when they start looking at prices. Most packages, and hotel rooms only take two kids, and single parents pay a premium. Denure has a spring break program started a few years ago, that has been a tremendous success, so much so that one coach is sold out already, and a second coach has been added along with two additional dates. I really didn't think this was an idea that would work. Was I wrong. The kids, and parents or grandparents travel by express motor coach to Kissimmee and spend six nights at the Orlando Sun Resort. That resort has just been renovated and is a smoke-free property. Included in the price is shuttle transportation to the nearby theme parks and attractions, and transportation to Kennedy Space Centre, Busch Gardens and Daytona Beach, all taxes, accommodation and the express motor coach. Price is $995 a person, triple or quad $895. DeNure Tours has been around operating out of Lindsay since 1960, with many departure points throughout Ontario. I think it does an excellent job. Contact 1-800-668-6859 or denuretours.com. -- Sam Ion can be reached at sion10@cogeco.ca. Voted Best Travel Agency Best Cruise Company Best Travel Agent Thanks Oakville! Hopedale Shopping Centre 1515 Rebecca Street, Oakville Ont Reg No 2766538 Relax... you're with us (905) 827-1100 fax: (905) 827-4982 e-mail: travel@mctavish.com Oakville Town Centre I 300 North Service Road, W. Oakville 905.849.0333 www.totaltravel-oakville.com 221 Lakeshore Road E. 905-337-2228 www.hookedoncruising.com