Are all of the vacations listed available for any travel dates?
If you reserve your trip far enough in advance, any trip listed will be available. That is, for a trip during a holiday period, like Thanksgiving or Christmas, or Presidents' Week in February, your plans should be made 10-12 MONTHS in advance. At other times, reserving 1-2-3 months in advance will get the room category and flight schedule you want. Often, we can arrange a last minute getaway at the lowest price possible, and we will overnight mail tickets.

How do we reserve a vacation with TourScan?
After you have decided where and when you want to travel, you may e-mail or call TourScan with your request. Our travel agents will check availability and exact pricing and discuss options with you by phone. When you are ready, we will reserve your trip and send a detailed itinerary to you. Payment due dates are shown, and after the final payment, we send documents to your home or work address.

How can we contact TourScan?
E-Mail:
arthur@tourscan.com
Phone:
personally answered between 9:30AM-6PM EST weekdays
800-962-2080 or 203-453-9992
FAX:
203-453-9994
Mail to:
107 Three Corners Road
Guilford CT 06437 USA

What forms of payment does TourScan accept?
We will always accept Visa, Mastercard and American Express for any vacation. However, if the hotel you reserve does not accept credit cards, you may pay by check or we will process a charge with a 3-5% upcharge. Other credit cards may be accepted if the airline involved accepts them. For all credit card purchases, we require a signed Credit Card authorization from the cardholder, that may be faxed or mailed to us before tickets are sent.

Do you recommend travel insurance?
Almost every trip involves a penalty if you cancel for any reason. Penalties increase as the travel date nears and range up to the full amount paid for certain charter packages. We include a travel insurance brochure with every itinerary that lets you decide how much to insure for. You also can include travel insurance as part of most of the packages we book for you. Ask your agent about this option.

How do I know that TourScan is reliable?
TourScan Caribbean Vacations has been in business continuously since 1987. Over these years, professional travel writers have appreciated what we do (some have actually traveled with us) and recommend us to their readers. You may have heard of us from Fodor's or Frommer's or Birnbaum's or Fieldings' Caribbean guidebooks. Our agency is a member of the Caribbean Tourism Organization.

What does the TourScan website contain?
www.tourscan gives you the best priced vacation to almost every hotel and condo in the islands. The site allows you to see at a glance the entire range of hotels on a particular island, or what type of hotels are available for a certain budget across all the islands. Every all-inclusive hotel (including all meals, drinks, watersports, taxes and tips) is listed in price order! Information is given about each hotel (picture, rating, location, number of rooms) as well as whether the hotel offers golf, scuba, casino or kitchens and two bedroom units.

You also have a link to the hotels’ website and to a site where you can reserve your vacation online. If you do that, and let us know, we will send you $50 to spend on your vacation.

What if I need more information about a hotel or island?
Island tourist offices are happy to send you general island information and individual hotel brochures. Telephone numbers are given on the website, along with short island descriptions, by clicking on an island name.

Are there seasons in the Caribbean?
The weather in the Caribbean is fairly constant year-round, with daytime high temperatures in the 80's. Bermuda, being farther north, is in the 80's from June to September and dips to the high 60's in winter, good weather for golf and tennis. The Bahamas are comfortably warm all year, with occasional cool days in January.

Hurricane season runs from April to December, peaking in September. The chance of a hurricane hitting any particular island is slight - they don't come every year and when they do come they hit one or two islands or Florida or Texas. Distances are great in the Caribbean, and bad weather in one place has no influence on islands many miles away. The southernmost islands, of Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Margarita, and Trinidad and Tobago, are generally considered to be out of the "hurricane belt".

Is the Caribbean a good vacation spot for children?
The islands of the Caribbean offer families long sandy beaches to walk on, crystal clear water to snorkel in, different cultures and historical places to experience, and different foods to eat and music to listen to, all just a few hours from home. Accommodations for families range from scenic campgrounds to simple hotels to multi-bedroom condominiums to all-inclusive resorts with elaborate children's programs. Kids love the Caribbean.

Do I need a passport to travel to the Caribbean?
As of January 1, 2007, passports are required for any travel outside the United States. Until then, adults always need picture proof of identity to travel, and that is sufficient for travel to the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. All other islands require proof of citizenship and picture proof of identity. Proof of citizenship can be a passport, or green card, or a birth certificate issued by a government agency with a raised seal. Margarita, Costa Rica, Barbados, and Belize require passports.

Do the islands of the Caribbean offer everything we have at home?
In general, no. The islands offer cultures and cuisine different from ours and different from each other. There are French islands that are alot like France, there are Spanish islands, and Dutch islands, and British islands, and American islands. Some islands are quiet, with beautiful beaches and friendly people, but no shopping, few restaurants and little nightlife. Other islands are as sophisticated as we are with world class nightlife and restaurants. And there are some islands that offer everything! By specializing in the Caribbean, we are uniquely able to match your expectations with the perfect island vacation. Contact us soon...

What is the difference between "scheduled" air and "charter" air?
Most of the vacations we reserve use scheduled, major airlines that fly on regular, published schedules. Many markets in the United States are not well-served by the major airlines, and direct charter flights are the best option. Charter flights are sometimes operated by major airlines, and other times by smaller, less well-known companies. We always advise clients that while charter flights may offer better flight times and/or lower costs, they are also less reliable than scheduled airlines. Long delays at airport checkins and late departures and arrivals typically characterize charter operations.