Nits

Nits

27 December 2012

Regardless of how well these trips transpire, there’s always something to improve, and so far in the case of this trip, two things stand out so far:  Internet access and hotel location.

Even though we are staying in top-notch hotels (such as the Marriott), the internet is not free, costing $7.50 for a single hour.  That’s absurd.  In so many hotels in the US, including budget, access is free at least in public locations if not in your room.  At a minimum I expect the same when overseas, and I am disappointed in the tour operator, Insight, for not negotiating that for us.

Also, yesterday towards the end of our trip, the tour director pointed out that Jordanians pay about $5 per month for voice and data on their cell phones!  That’s bad enough, but then he went on to say we could have purchased SIM cards in Amman for this amount and had unfettered access on our cells.  I have no idea what the roaming charges will be on my phone, but even though I have limited my usage to checking email only once a day, I’m willing to bet it is already many times what the SIM car would have cost.  I feel it is absurd that Insight does not make SIM cards available for purchase from the tour director.  I’d gladly pay them $20 for that $5 card, Insight would make a huge profit, and I would be very happy to have access for several days for less than three hours of connectivity through the hotel.

On point two, the hotels have been very luxurious, but frankly I am disappointed in the locations.  They are far from the town center, too far to walk, and honestly once inside the Amman Marriott, you may as well be in the Akron, Ohio Marriott.  I travel overseas to experience new cultures, and beyond the touring we do throughout the day, it would be awesome to walk around local shops and snack at local food stands in the evening to enhance the experience.  Yes, I could take a taxi, but in addition to the hassle I would not know where to tell the driver to go.

I actually think that the next escorted tour I book will be with a “less luxurious” operator, somebody who uses lower cost hotels, in the hope they may use hotels that are in more central areas.  Saving the money would be a plus, but that would not be my primary reason.

N.B.:  One more thought on Jordan for the moment.  Given all that is going on in Egypt and the intimidation of tourists there, I should point out that Jordan has tourism police everywhere, even at the way out sites such as Shobak Castle.  You could not be safer.