April 1, 2020

Dear Friends,

I hope this finds you staying safe and healthy and at home. I wanted to send you an update on our tours for 2020. 

As we have monitored world events and government updates related to COVID-19, we’ve also been in ongoing communication with our travel suppliers and industry experts. We have made the difficult decision to cancel all tours scheduled through the end of May, as well as the majority of our domestic tours by air and all of our international tours by air through the end of this year. 

This decision includes the following: Big Bend, Pioneer Woman/Oklahoma, Grand Canyon, Holy Land Summer, South Africa, Russia, San Francisco, Alaska Land, Albuquerque/Balloon Fest, Italy, Nile River/Egypt, and Australia/New Zealand.  

Refunds will take longer to process than usual. This is because we must wait to receive refunds from our suppliers. Unfortunately, due to the shutdowns around the country as well as the volume of cancellations that everyone in our industry is dealing with, we have to expect a longer delay than what is the norm. Please know your money is safe and our staff is working hard to process your refunds as we are able. 

Some of our clients have asked us to transfer their deposits/payments to another tour or to hold their payments to apply to another tour later and this option is available for those who want it. We can do this on a request basis, but you must contact us and let us know you’d like to do this. Otherwise, we will issue you a refund. We do hope to release our 2021 tour schedule in June. 

Please contact our office by phone (225.654.9210) or by email ([email protected]) with any questions or concerns. Our staffing is extremely limited at this time (currently 9am-12noon Monday-Friday), as we follow the state and federal stay-at-home guidelines, but we are checking voicemail and will respond as soon as possible. You can also check our website at zacharytravel.com for updates. 

Sincerely,

Wayne Barnes

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Due to the current stay-at-home order for the state of Louisiana, our office hours are from 9am-noon, Monday through Friday, with limited staffing as we are rotating staff who will take turns working in the office and working from home. We are not accepting walk-ins or in-person visits at this time. Please call us at 225.654.9210 or email us at [email protected] for assistance. 

Spring is here and what better way to celebrate warmer weather and the beginning of Daylight Savings Time than by planning a trip! 

In addition to all of our individual trips we help our clients plan, we offer more than 40 group tours each year led by experienced guides from our office. Already in 2020, our travelers have seen Yellowstone in Winter and the Northern Lights in Iceland and we're about to say "Aloha" to more than 35 who will be enjoying a cruise around the Hawaiian islands and another 20 who will visit Israel. 

Here's a quick update of where we are with our current tours and a few highlights of new trips you may want to consider if you're looking for somewhere to go soon. Want to see more on our group tours? Visit our Group Tours Page for details and links to all of our trips coming up this year. 

TRIPS IN 2021 WITH IMPORTANT DEADLINES HAPPENING SOON: 

1. The 150th British Open (also known just as The Open) at St. Andrews, Scotland is a world-renowned event that golfers everywhere dream about attending. We are currently holding very limited space for this exceptional golfing experience which includes 4 golfing opportunities on world famous Irish courses and 2 sessions at this historical Open. But your deposit of $1,500 must be received no later than March 25. Contact our office with questions. 
2. Tulips on the Rhine happens in April of 2021 but if you book by March 31, you get free air.  This is a wonderful cruise, sailing down the Romantic Rhine, Europe's longest river during tulip time. 

NEW TRIPS TO KNOW ABOUT AND TRIPS WITH DATE CHANGES: 

1. If you're a fan of Food Network Star Ree Drummond, also known as the Pioneer Woman, you may be excited to learn that we are planning on visiting her stomping grounds in Oklahoma this coming May. This 4-day motor coach tour is perfect for the ultimate Pioneer Woman fan, so grab your friends or your spouse or just yourself and join us for this tour that includes the Mercantile where you'll be able to enjoy a special dinner featuring one of Ree's recipes, a tour of the Drummond Lodge where the show is filmed when in production, and a few other fun stops along the way. 
2. Our Best of Arkansas tour in June is also new this year, and like the Pioneer Woman tour, is a shorter motor coach trip that features 3 historical lodges & hotels in a beautiful area of the country that's often overlooked. We've had a great amount of interest for this trip and while we are currently taking a wait-list, we are hoping to open space for another bus should we have enough people indicate they want to go. A decision will be made by the end of March so contact our office if you'd like to sign up. 
3. Our Nashville Christmas tour has had a date change. Due to supplier and hotel operator changes, we've had to change our dates for the trip to Music City to Dec. 11-14.
4. We just added our World War 2 Day Trip to New Orleans back for Tuesday, April 28. This is always a nice experience with plenty to see throughout the museum. Plenty of space open, so consider joining us for this informative tour. 

TOURS CURRENTLY WAITLISTED: Hawaii Cruise (March), South Africa Safari (June), Canadian Rockies (July), Passion Play (August), New England Fall Foliage 1 (October), Smokies Fall Foliage 1 (October)

TOURS THAT ARE ALMOST FULL: Kentucky/Noah's Ark 2 (April), Yellowstone (July), Canada Fall Foliage (September). Sign up soon if you want to avoid being put on the wait-list. 

Be sure to continue to check our website for the newest updates and news, and as always, you can contact our office by phone or by email. Happy traveling!