Special Interest Tours
- Email address verified
47 reviews
Apr 4 - 10, 2024
Group size: 15 - 40
Group 1 -2024 Total Solar Eclipse in Texas, with Astronomer Bob Berman
Texas
Special Interest Tours
- Email address verified
47 reviews
Apr 4 - 10, 2024
Group size: 15 - 40
About this trip
Travel through Texas to chase the 2024 Solar Eclipse with Astronomer Bob Berman. We chose Texas because it is one of the driest and most statistically likely locations within the US for clear skies on eclipse day. And while we're there, we'll bring you to see some of the best of what the Lone Star state has to offer, including a VIP tour of the Johnson Space Center.
What’s included
- 6 Nights Hotel1 night in Houston (4/4), 2 nights in San Antonio (4/5 & 4/6), 2 nights in Florence (4/7 & 4/8), 1 Night at Austin Airport
- 12 MealsDaily Breakfast and either lunch or dinner on full tour days, dinner on 4/4 and breakfast on 4/10
- Ground TransportationGround transportation April 4-10 (there are no group activities on April 10))
- Private Eclipse LocationWe have booked out the Vineyard at Florence for our group
- Bob Berman Lecture
- Sky Party with Bob Berma
- Lunch with an Astronautat the Johnson Space Center
- VIP Tourat the Johnson Space Center
- River Boat Tourin San Antonio
- Group tour at the Alamo
- Lake Austin Boat CharterFarewell Dinner
- GratuitiesSpecial Interest Tours will provide gratuities for the driver(s) and any group meals. However, gratuities for breakfasts or housekeeping will be at the guest's sole discretion.
- Airport TransfersTransfers between the Houston Airports and the hotel on 4/4. We are staying at an airport hotel on 4/9 guests can depart at their leisure on 4/10
What’s not included
- AirfareGuests are responsible for arranging travel to and from the tour.
- Additional MealsAny meals not mentioned in the "Included" section will be the guest's responsibility.
- Additional AlcoholGuests will be responsible to pay for any alcoholic beverages ordered at meals.
- Travel InsuranceGuests will have the option of purchasing a travel protection plan and will be provided with a quote.
Available Packages
April 10th - Hilton Austin Airport
1 Night at the Hilton Austin Airport Hotel on April 10, 2024
$176
Available options
Itinerary
Day 1 - April 4th
Arrive in Houston
Travel to Houston Tx and arrive at the George Bush International Airport. Your guide will greet you at the airport and transfer you to our hotel in downtown Houston. This evening we will gather for a welcome dinner at the hotel, followed by an solar eclipse lecture by Bob Berman.
Your Organizer
Reviews
LD
We had a great trip! We saw a lot, learned a lot and made new and interesting friends. As we've come to expect with Special Interest Tours, everything exceeded our expectations. Our hosts graciously and attentively cared for all of us, and once again created many wonderful memories for us. What more could one ask!! Thank you!
By Lynn D for Group 1 -2024 Total Solar Eclipse in Texas, with Astronomer Bob Berman on Apr 20, 2024
We had a great time.
By James M for Group 1 -2024 Total Solar Eclipse in Texas, with Astronomer Bob Berman on Apr 20, 2024
Well done! We had a great trip. Thank you!
By James P for Group 2 - 2024 Total Solar Eclipse in Texas, w/ Astronomer Bob Berman on Apr 19, 2024
Thank you Anjali, Sam, Julia and Andres for all your hard work. The private tours of the space center, River walk boat, and the Alamo were great venues, and even though we all would have enjoyed a longer totality, the entire package with a nice group of people made for a very enjoyable trip. See you on the next one!
By Paul Z for Group 1 -2024 Total Solar Eclipse in Texas, with Astronomer Bob Berman on Apr 19, 2024
The overall structure of the trip was excellent. We enjoyed the venues, special tours and various stops. Having said that, the actual organization of the trip was poor and chaotic and times. We recognize weather and other unforeseen events always happen, but that is not an excuse for keeping the folks in Group 2 informed which was not the case. The guide on our bus is a nice person but he had little useful information - he was more of a "babysitter" than anything else. He had to wait for somebody from the first bus to come on board and inform us of the up to date schedule and then that was not always clear. Cell phone communication usually works even in Texas.
Having to deal with our own luggage to and from buses was a pain. I don't usually go on tours, but the ones I do always have folks from the hotel load and unload luggage from the buses. I know there was complexity related to having two buses that is easy to deal with. Give everybody tags attached to their bags where they write Group 1 or Group 2 to make sure that the right bags get into the right bus. And, then folks can take a look and confirm their bags are loaded if they want to double check. This is just one example on how to improve the. operational/detail aspects of the tour.
The venue at the eclipse site (we did not stay there) was poorly run, disorganized and did not seem to know how to handle a medium size group such as ours. Again, the various guides on the trip were slow to step in and make sure things worked as promised. You know there is a problem when you can't even get a cup of coffee. You need additional professional help to better run your tours. Sometimes the small details can make the difference between a good trip and a bad trip.
Having said all that, I will again note we enjoyed the trip and thought that having Bob Berman and the Hubbell's as part of the tour was a real positive., and we are considering the 2025 Chile trip. My last word is that if you want sophisticated clients you need to be operationally more sophisticated and professional which seemed not to be the case for this trip.
By Michael D for Group 2 - 2024 Total Solar Eclipse in Texas, w/ Astronomer Bob Berman on Apr 19, 2024