Colonial Tours, Silver Blades, Skate Tours

[Lavender Girl]

I was thinking of using a tour either for next year's Worlds or 2004 Nationals. Can anyone who has used these tours give me any positive or negatives about them? Are they worth it? Also, if you go by yourself did they find you a roommate? Or was it a problem if you went alone? Also what is the age range on most of these tours? Are there a lot of younger people that go? I don't want to be the only twenty-something with every else over 65.

Thanks in advance for your opinions :)

[Skatefan]

I've had a lot of great recommendations for Silver Blade Tours. Unfortunately, they and the rest of the tour groups tend to be very expensive... way out of my price range!

[Aaron W]

Here's a link to Downhill Riders, whom I went with last year to Worlds in Vancouver. They were decent and their package is rather basic - just skating and a hotel which is the way I like it. Because of this, they were fairly cheap for Vancouver Worlds and I'm guessing will be decently priced for DC Worlds as well. They're only doing Worlds though, no Atlanta Nationals.

http://www.downhillriders.com

[bbtano]

I went on a tour with Silver Blades one time and it was great. Claudyne paired me with another gal who needed a roommate (it turned out we were from the same state and had similar interests, so it was perfect). The trip I went on had quite a lot of different ages, from 20's up to 60's.......probably mostly 30's and 40's, though.

Claudyne and her dad were very organized and made me feel at home, friendly and personable, but not pushy. When I need to use a tour group again, I will definitely go with them. It is more expensive than going on your own, but it's a lot of fun if you don't already have friends to meet up with when you get there......and it's very time-consuming to do all the legwork when you go on your own, so going with a tour is convenient since they do the legwork for you! :)

[rudi]

I used Downhill Riders for Vancouver because they were the most inexpensive. I had a positive experience with them and would use them again.

I have heard many good things about Silver Blades (they seemed to have really good seats for Vancouver), however, I found them to be very expensive. If $ is not a big issue for you, though, I would go with them.

[Lavender Girl]

Thanks for the info. I will check out Silver Blades and Downhill riders. Has anyone used Colonial Tours? I see a lot of advertisements for them in skating magazines.

[RobinA]

I've used Colonial four times, and I've had nothing but good experiences. The prices are getting out of hand, but that seems to be the case with most of the groups. The tickets have been excellent and the arrangments have gone smoothly.

My suggestion would be that if you can afford it and this is your first big event, use the pros. That way you can get the lay of the land with someone else doing the arrangements. There's an art to attending Nationals, and I know I would have had a much less enjoyable trip the first time around if I had been figuring things out for myself. Once you've done it a few times with the tour operator making the decisions and you've discovered what is essential for you and what you don't care about, you can save a bundle by doing the trip yourself. I doubt the tickets will be as good, though.

[RobinA]

I've used Colonial four times, and I've had nothing but good experiences. The prices are getting out of hand, but that seems to be the case with most of the groups. The tickets have been excellent and the arrangments have gone smoothly.

My suggestion would be that if you can afford it and this is your first big event, use the pros. That way you can get the lay of the land with someone else doing the arrangements. There's an art to attending Nationals, and I know I would have had a much less enjoyable trip the first time around if I had been figuring things out for myself. Once you've done it a few times with the tour operator making the decisions and you've discovered what is essential for you and what you don't care about, you can save a bundle by doing the trip yourself. I doubt the tickets will be as good, though.

[Bluejay]

I have had information from Bryant Sports Travel i think it is and wow they are even more expensive than the rest!!!

[Sassafras]

Yes, Bryan Travel is getting VERY expensive. Many of the people who use them on a regular basis are getting upset with the high prices, although it sounds like some of the other companies have had similar increases. I've used them for Worlds for years. They tend to go with the pricier hotels (even more so than they used to) and have [u:1565ffbb8c]a lot [/u:1565ffbb8c]of touring and entertainment included in the Worlds packages. As a result, the clientel might be a little older overall than some of the other companies. If you're planning on going to all the practices and qualifiers at Worlds, rather than touring, I'd definitely recommend another company as you'd be spending big bucks for many extras you don't want or need. Claudyne with Silver Blades is very nice and I wouldn't hesitate to go with her group.

I've used Bryan for Nationals when I haven't gotten my act in gear to order tickets and hotel rooms early enough on my own to get good seats. The only agency I've consistently heard bad things about is DASH. Unless you're early ordering or lucky, the tour groups tend to get better seats and sometimes, Particularly on the overseas trips, it's [u:1565ffbb8c]very[/u:1565ffbb8c] nice to have details taken care of for you.

[Snowflake3939]

I went to Skate Canada in Saskatoon last year with Dash and we had great seats right next to the skaters section, and the Kiss and Cry. The hotel was just fine. The transportation to and from the rink was a little bit confusing but other than that I don't have any complaints. I also went to Worlds in Vancouver with Downhill Riders because they were the cheapest. This was their very first skating tour (they usually do ski tours) and I'm sure they've learned a lot since Vancouver. Price wise they were the cheapest. I had a seat in Row 20 down in the far corner from the Kiss and Cry - not the best but still in the lower deck and opposite the judges which is where I like to be.

[steeleaway]

i have gone with colinal travel over five times. Maria is great. She gets great seats and nice hotel. usually a tour of the city is included and breakfast. kinda high but that is okay esp if you are traveling in another country. the other people that go are great. i have made many good friends on those trips. i highly recommend colonial travel.

[steeleaway]

i have gone with colinal travel over five times. Maria is great. She gets great seats and nice hotel. usually a tour of the city is included and breakfast. kinda high but that is okay esp if you are traveling in another country. the other people that go are great. i have made many good friends on those trips. i highly recommend colonial travel.

[Katja73]

I've used Colonial Travel twice and I agree, the seats are usually good and Maria is great.

Her prices OTOH....it's why I go to events on my own now.