1. Your Ideal Vacation Proposal Plan the trip of your dreams

2. Criteria You can “travel” at any time of year for 1 week – 2 weeks You have $5000 – $7500 to spend You will need to create a powerpoint presentation and present the following: Destination Hotels/Lodging Transportation Activities while there You will need to complete project notes outlining three possibilities you considered for each area, Lastly, you will need to turn in a proposal of your trip itinerary and a calendar.

3. Sequence of Steps Research Components Steps to complete Your Ideal Vacation Project 1.Research various places you would like to go and write your notes on notes packet. After researching at least 3 vacation options, research the following:  Transportation: How are you going to get there and travel while there. o Research air, train, car and or boat travel to your location & while there. Evaluate at least 3 of your options.  Lodging: o Where will you stay? Research 3 possibilities  Entertainment: o What will you do when there? Explore at least 3 activities  Food: o What will you eat? Research at least 3 possibilities

4. Sequence of Steps Step 2 - Presentation 2. Narrow your research down and make the best choice for your ideal vacation and present it to class using a presentation program like Powerpoint or Google Presentation. The Presentation needs at least 8 slides with pictures – a.An introductory slide explaining where you want to go b.A calendar outlining where you will be and what you will be doing each day of your 7 to 14 days. c. A slide for each of the above research topics such as transportation, lodging, entertainment and food outlining your choices and why you chose them. d.An estimated budget for each of the categories to keep you within the $5000 to $7500 range. e.A conclusion giving your recommendation and reasoning why this will be your ideal vacation How does it connect to you?

5. Step 3 - Proposal 3. Write a proposal to persuade your parents, your friend or a loved one that this is the ideal trip for them to share with you. Include your ideal destination, transportation, lodging and activities on a daily itinerary. Use pictures, fonts and formatting to make the proposal more appealing.

6. Meander in Medieval Times Proposed Itinerary – subject to change with participant input Thursday – June 19 th - Fly into Frankfurt on Lufthansa Flight #LH 907, rent a Volkswagon Touran from Europecar and travel to Mainz to stay at Top Hotel Hammer– *Douglas and Sherri fly in from London, travel by train and meet Jacob and Lexi at Hotel *2 hour walking tour of Mainz Friday – June 20 th – Day trip to the Rhine with one of the below options: Take a train to visit Castle Markburg, a castle that has never been destroyed and explore medieval life in a castle with a River Cruise of the densest concentration of castles in a 1 hour boat trip in Europe. Take a train to visit St. Goar with exploring the ruins of Reinfels Castle including the underground escape tunnels. Finally ending with a Rhine river cruise like above. Take a train to Burg Eltz. While it is not near the river, it has the charm of being continuously lived in by a Count or Countess Eltz for 800 years so the castle is well maintained and authentic. Or, drive and combine a visit to Castle Markburg, Burg Eltz and a river cruise. http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/germany/rhine.htmhttp://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/germany/rhine.htm ) with a trip down Germany’s Romantic Road

7. Proposal Saturday – June 21 st –Travel to Wurzburg. Check into Mercure Hotel Wurzburg. Stay in town and explore. Main attractions are: Old Fortress- abandoned when Residenz was built Residenz – Ornate seat of the Princes Market place Sunday – June 22 nd – Explore Ansbach. then explore and stay 2 nights in the Castle Colmberg Have dinner in the castle. Monday – June 23 rd – Explore Rothenburg ob de Tauber – the most medieval town in Germany. Explore and walk the intact town walls, Stroll through narrow cobbled streets, Visit dungeons and the medieval crime museum Take a walk with the Nightwatchman. Page 3

8. Proposal Tuesday – June 24 th – Continue South on the Romantic Road..Check into Landhotel Guglhupf in Schwangau Stop and tour Dinkelsbuh, have lunch Then on to possibly Augsburg and see the gold ceiling in the Augsburg City Hall or the house Mozart was born. Then travel to Schwangau where we stop for the night, eat and soak up the views of Castle Neuschwanstein in the distance. Wednesday & Thursday - June 25 th and 26 th – Using Schwangau as a home base we are free to: Take the gondola up past the castle and hike back down Mary’s bridge to explore Neuschwanstein Castle, the fairy-tale castle upon which Disney modeled Sleeping Beauty’s castle. Visit Hohenschwangau Castle where King Ludwig grew up. Visit Fussen and tool around town Visit Linderhof Palace which King Ludwig modeled after Versailles Also there is hiking and biking in the mountains too. Friday – June 27 th and Saturday – June 28 th - Drive and explore Munich. Stay at Laimer Hof am Schloss Nymphenburg. Sunday – June 29 th – Return car and fly Lufthansa flight LH #2470 from Munich to London. Then take Delta #57 to Detroit and then Delta #4189 from Detroit to Moline. Page 3

9. Transportation Research transportation from Bettendorf (Moline Aiport) to you ideal vacation location. Go to TripAdvisor.com, Kayak.com, expedia.com or individual airlines or train companies for help. Things to consider: *Would train, plane, boat or car be your best way to get “there”? *What would be the pros and cons of each *Expense, *Arrival and departure times *How will you get around while at your dream spot? *Do you take local trains & subways, rent a car, walk?

10. Name Expense/Rates Terms (special rules) Positives for item (Pros) Negatives for item (Cons) Ferry from Harwich to Hook Holland on the Stena Britannica then take train to Frankfurt 68 Euros (~$100) 178 Euros for train tickets leaving at 10:00 No special rules Interesting and stress free way of traveling around Europe. No transfers back into London. Cheaper than flying Length of travel – 3-4 hours by ferry and then another 4 hours on the train. Might miss connections because timing is tight Train to London’s International Train Station and then take Chunnel to Frankfort 178 Euros for each leg from London to Paris and then Paris to Frankfurt Or 350 euros. No Special Rules Fun to go through Chunnel. Pain to go transfer trains in Paris. Expensive Transport from Harwich to London then flying from Heathrow to Frankfurt on Lufthansa Airlines 228 Euros Only 1 checked bag per passanger with a 29 Kilo weight limit. Once at airport, a quick flight to Frankfurt. Saves time so we will still have time to sightsee when we get to Mainz Not as expensive as a train. Fairly expensive. Waiting around airports. 2 hours to get to London, 2 hour delay and then a 2 hour flight. Your Ideal Vacation Notes Page - Transportation Name__________________ Research at least 3 to 5 items in your topic and write answers to the chart categories within the appropriate section.

11. Name Expense/Rates Terms (special rules) Positives for item (Pros) Negatives for item (Cons) Once in Germany take a train to travel the Romantic Road $630 dollars Can take 7 days of train travel within one month. Ease of travel. Just show up on time and go. No stress of driving yourself. Dependent on train schedules for transportation. Expensive Limited to hotels that are close to the train station. Rent own car at the Frankfurt airport and then return it in Munich $449 per week + $10 per day for GPS A second driver is extra. Pay for own gas Ultimate flexibility of traveling whenever you like. Not dependent on schedules. Cheaper than train Drive on our side of the road Stress of driving Expense of gas and parking. Which of the options did you choose and explain why you chose this one? I chose flying from London Heathrow to Frankfurt and then renting a car and driving down the Romantic Road. The flight will save time and be less complicated because we are not transferring to different trains or boats and having a car will allow us the freedom to go places that a train doesn’t serve on our own time table.

12. Lodging Research then choose lodging for you and a companion (1 room). Where are you going to stay on your trip? Things to consider: Go TripAdvisor.com, Expedia.com or Booking.com to look up the highest ranking hotels and B&Bs in your vacation area. Are you staying in one place or traveling from spot to spot so that you need multiple hotels? What is the expense per night? When is check-in and other hotel policies?

13. Entertainment What will you do while you are on your dream vacation? Research and choose at least 3 different activites and/or sites to visit and explore. Things to consider: What are unique points of your vacation area? What activities show off your vacation site to its best advantage? What do people want to do while here? What activities or tours are culturely unique and special for this place? Go to TripAdvisor.com and visit the Things to do tab for your destination. Or, Google the city and visit the tourist bureau

14. Food Where should you eat while on vacation? Research at least 3 restaurants that you should try while you are on your dream vacation. Things to consider: What restaurants represent the unique food of your location the best? What restaurants serve foods unique to the area? Where would you find the best food in our area? Go to TripAdvisor.com to look up restaurant rankings in all the area cities.

15. Expenses Round trip Airfare to London then Moline for 2 - $3192.24 Round trip Airfare from London to Frankfurt and then Munich to London - $ 375.68 Rental Car for 1 Week - $449.10 Mainz Hotel for 2 nights- $281.76 Wurzurg Hotel for 1 night- $129.00 Burg Colmberg for 2 nights- $366.00 Schwangau Hotel – 3 nights- $460.00 Munich Hotel – 2 nights- $268.00 Food - $100 per day for 10 days-$1000.00 Entertainment – Admission Fees and shoppping-$1000.00 Gas- $200.00 TOTAL- 7,721.78

16. So where do you want to go? Italy?Paris?Australia? China? Rome?African Safari? Hawaii? The Caribbean? Yellowstone? River Cruise?Mexico? Ireland? Canada?Alaska?Swedan? Egypt?Holy Lands? Dude Ranch? Grand Canyon? Florida? South America? London? Japan?

17. Now what? Go on the internet, explore and evaluate various vacation spots. Start with tripadvisor.com Have fun!