Whether you’re a seasoned performer or you’re setting out on your first performance tour, Encore Tours is your trusted travel companion. Explore this page for detailed information about trip registration, packing essentials, and other valuable travel tips. Our staff is dedicated to ensuring your performance tour is a transformative adventure, and we’re here to guide you every step of the way. Get ready to elevate your travel experience and discover why Encore means more. What to Expect Expect fun, expect adventure, expect to return home with stories you’ll be telling family and friends for years. You can also expect the following: An Awesome Trip Experience You’ll be in centrally-located three- and four-star hotels, dine on delicious three-course meals featuring the finest local cuisine, be courted by the best tour managers in the business and see the incredible sites at your destination! Seriously, the BEST Tour Managers We’ve said it a thousand times, but our Tour Managers really are the best in the business. In 2015, our Tour Managers were rated 100% excellent by traveling passengers. They’ll be with your group from start to finish, keeping you on time, telling you incredible stories about your touring destinations and making you laugh along the way! Online Accounts You’ll receive access to your own personal online account so you can see updates to your itinerary, flight arrangements, and hotel accommodations. You’ll even get sightseeing recommendations for your touring destination! Pay Your Way Your personal online account gives you options to pay. Pay by online checking account, credit card, printed check, or even sign up for automatic payments, giving you an easy way to pay your way. Traveler Support Dedicated to You While your Group Leader works with our Tour Consultants and Program Managers, we have a whole Traveler Support department dedicated to serving you. Call or email them with any questions! Email: questions@encoretours.com Scholarships & More We know that our passengers work hard to fundraise for their tour. With Encore, you have the opportunity to raise even more funds through our scholarship options and unique fundraising benefits. Insurance for All When you travel with Encore, your insurance is already included, granting you automatic health and trip cancellation/interruption insurance in case of illness. There is also an option to upgrade insurance and even add instrument insurance! Guaranteed Currency Encore buys currency ahead of time, so your price never changes based on the exchange rate. Your rate is guaranteed. Financial Security As a smaller division of American Council for International Studies (ACIS) and American Institute For Foreign Study (AIFS), Encore Tours reaps the benefits of additional financial backing and security, specialized insurance policies and more. Your money is always safe with Encore. Safety & Security Encore has a global infrastructure and 24/7 on duty staff around the world and are equipped at handling all travel-related emergencies. Check out our Safety and Security Handbook to learn more. Singing in the beautiful old churches is something I’ve always wanted to do. A few times, I was moved to tears which made singing hard. The experience was so moving! Dianna P. One of the highlights for me was watching our kids hang out with the kids from the Irish music group in Cork. The kids actually came back the next day to hang out with the kids in our group and it was really cool! Jill A. The high point of the trip was singing in Salzburg Cathedral. Such an awesome experience! The tours and experiences you arranged were wonderful. It’s hard to choose highlights because it was all so exciting. Jeannette C. The trip was amazing! Ireland is the most beautiful place on the planet!! But there was an extra special magic touring the countryside with our group and our outstanding guides Phil and Espin!!! We even learned some Gaelic!! Kaitlin C. The audience in Bratislava were so appreciative and seemed to be grateful for the performance. The venue was tremendous; an old Franciscan church with great acoustics. I cried when we completed our concert and saw looks of joy on our audience’s faces. Dana C. The pacing was excellent. It was great that each travel day had no performances and that our performance days always had time for sightseeing. Anker L. A highlight of my trip: performing on stage of Carnegie Hall, the gracious reception by the NJYS conductor backstage after our performance and seeing a fellow parent violinist moved to tears as he watched his 8 year old standing there playing in such a legendary hall. Gayle S. Singing with 172 other musicians and the wonderful chamber orchestra under the direction of Gerald Wirth in St. Stephens Cathedral; it was an awesome experience I will always remember. Vienna is truly beautiful. Raya T. Our Encore Tour Manager, Ian Graham, and Gerrie, the bus driver from Holland were the best! I will never forget this experience. My heart is overjoyed! Thanks for the experience of a lifetime. I look forward to my next trip with Encore Tours and ACIS. Janice H. Everything was well organized and timed in a way to keep the kids moving and doing something new every day. Tour managers were absolutely wonderful; they anticipated what the kids/adults needed and answered every question! Robert D. Encore Tours/ACIS Travel Scholarships Every year, Encore and ACIS offer Travel Scholarships for Encore Tours passengers in grades 6 – 12. This competition offers students the chance to be rewarded for their creative expression and interest in the world. We offer travel scholarships toward any Encore program, broken into three categories: artwork, photography and writing. View Scholarships Frequently Asked Questions At Encore Tours, we understand that the journey is just as important as the destination. To ensure you have a seamless and memorable experience, we’ve compiled a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) to guide you through every step of your musical adventure. What types of hotels will I stay in? Encore uses 3- and 4-star hotels located minutes (sometimes steps) from the sights you came to see. Learn more about the importance of centrally located hotels. How does rooming work? On international tours, participants stay in multiple-bedded rooms, usually with two beds depending on destination and tour type. Group leaders will put together a rooming list for all participants prior to departure. Participants have the option to upgrade to a single room, for a supplemental fee. Additionally, in destinations where tour accommodations are based on either triples or quads, a double room supplement will apply to anyone looking to room with only one other person. Group Leaders are guaranteed the comfort and privacy of a single room on tour. On cruises and overnight ferries, rooming may differ. Any rooming upgrades can be made at registration or by contacting questions@encoretours.com. What is My Account? Once you are registered for an Encore tour, My Account is your portal for everything you need to know. You will find your group’s personalized itinerary and hotel and flight information when it becomes available, you can pay for your trip, enroll for automatic payments and select your protection plan. You can also find information that will help you prepare for your adventure ahead such as packing tips, money matters and more. How do I log in to My Account? Log in to My Account here. If you registered online and therefore already created a username and password, you will need to enter it. If you have not already selected a username and password, or you forget it, don’t worry, we can help. Reset your username and password. Please note that both username and password are case-sensitive. Help! I can’t log in. Don’t worry, we’ll figure this out. • Please make sure you enter your login and password exactly as you created them as they are case-sensitive. If logging in on a mobile device, double check your device isn’t automatically adding an extra space at the end. • Make sure you’re logging into the correct trip. Participants need new account information for each trip they are taking with Encore. • Double check you’ve clicked ‘Login’ and not ‘Register’ in order to avoid creating a duplicate account. If you’re still having trouble, you can reset your username and password. Unless you are a group leader or assistant group leader, select ‘participant,’ even if your are a parent logging in to your child’s account. To retrieve or reset your account information, please enter the email you used when registering, or if you’re a minor participant, you may choose to enter your parent email. We will send a link to that address for you to reset your username or password. If you do not receive the email within a few minutes, please check your Spam folder. What are your payment plans? Encore offers two types of payment plans: Automatic Payment Plan and Manual Payment Plan. More time to pay, no deadlines to remember, flexible payment options to match your family’s needs, and the chance to win a free trip are just some of the reasons so many participants choose Encore’s Automatic Payment Plan. If you elect the Manual Payment Plan, after making your initial payment, you’ll then complete your payments by the following steps: • If you registered before September 1, with an initial payment of $200, you’ll then complete your payments in two steps: an additional $295 in program fees will be due 30 days from the date of your first invoice. Reservations of participants who have not paid $495 by this deadline will be assessed a $50 Deposit Late Fee and will be subject to cancellation. Full payment for your trip is due by the date in the chart below. • If registering on September 1 and onwards with an initial payment of $495, full payment for your trip is due by the date in the chart below. How do I upgrade my protection plan? To upgrade your protection plan, log in to My Account and click your plan in the Account Overview section. You may then elect to change your plan up to 130 days prior to departure. How do I cancel? We hope you’ll reconsider, as we’d love to travel with you. Please fill out this Cancellation Form. The requested email address must be that of the traveler, or for a minor that of the parent or guardian listed on the account. A confirmation email will be sent to that email address immediately, if you do not receive this, please email questions@encoretours.com. We cannot take cancellations over the phone or chat. Your refund will based on your protection plan and the date you fill out the form.