Toms Port Guides

GOAL = A Powerful Vacation Planning Tool 

Descriptive, highly visual travel guides with photos and maps showing the relationship of the ship's dock to the town, tourist sites, and public transportation.  Includes information on what to see and do and how to get there with emphasis on self-guided touring.

The guides are designed to "jump start" your vacation planning process by creating a sense of perspective for the area, touring options, and issues unique to the area.  Maps and descriptions of popular tourist sites are included with links to the best websites to make your internet search time more efficient when planing your vacation for your priorities.

Until you are familiar with an area, you won't know if low cost, self-guided travel options are feasible such as walking, public transportation, renting a car, etc.  My guides include walking tour maps, details on where to get public transportation, etc. when applicable.  If renting a car is a preferred travel option, I provide driving tour routes and map coordinates that can be converted to GPS.  As an example, see the March, 2012 Corfu Greece Port Guide information on car rental and a driving tour map.

The guides are designed for use on WiFi enabled electronic devices.  Take the guides with you to study the maps and download information from the included web links.  The pdf guide files are small enough to send as email attachments.  You can print the guides, but printing is expensive and paper is heavy.  Electronic files are lighter than paper and give you more flexibility.

Most travel guides focus on history and travel websites prioritize advertising over travel information.  My guides are singularly focused on providing the best and most useful travel information available.  I mention history briefly and do not advertise, although I occasionally mention a private tour guide, a restaurant, or a hotel that is one of my favorites.

Continuous improvement depends on user feedback.  User input helps me understand how you use the guides, what you like, and how to improve them.  Feedback has helped me understand that maps and self-guided touring information are priorities.  You also want more information on shopping i. e., where the stores are and what to buy.  Many users want information on where to store luggage near the ship's port.  To the extent possible, I include this information in new and updated guides.

My email address is on the last page of every port guide.  Send me a note and get on my email list to receive notification of new and revised guides plus updates on what I am working on.  Begin a dialog with me to help me improve the guides.   I also invite you to collaborate with me on new guides.  I list the "next" guide I will be working on as the last item on the port guide page.

I am truly amazed.  These are the best, most practical and usable travel helps I have ever seen.

I've been associated with the the travel industry for almost 30 years (now retired).  For each tour I planned or guided, I produced a tour guide booklet. But mine never remotely approached the practical help of your guides.

The pictures and maps make your guides come alive giving the reader all the tools needed to confidently explore important sites.  You answer many questions for which I have been unable to find answers, like public transportation and local tour options. We prefer independent sightseeing; your Port Guides are perfect for this. 

Norman
         

I am writing to say thank you for your very informative port guide to Venice.   It was so helpful, it was almost like having a personal guide actually with us and certainly helped us to maximize the amount of time we had in the city before joining our cruise ship.  We took your advice and stayed at the Hotel Tritone in Mestre so that we didn't have to wrestle with luggage and what a wonderful find that hotel was!   Public transportation links from the airport and across to Venice were exactly as you described and made things go like clockwork for us.

Susan

Before I discovered your wonderful, valuable port guides, we had booked tours that were going to cost us $1700.  After reading and studying your literature, we cut out several excursions or booked what you suggested like the Florence Walking Tour instead of having a guide all day.  Your advice has saved us a lot of money and we certainly appreciate it.  In your honor I am going to donate $100 to the Salvation Army.

Linda
     

Received your newest port guide.  Having just returned from Portugal, the Lisbon one is spot on!!!  All your guides are phenomenal--I can't even imagine the amount of time and effort you must put into each one you create.  Well done.

Paula  
     

Thank you so much for this elaborately, intelligently, thoroughly well researched project/website, which will aid every single person!

Jim 

Word  of Mouth Helps Travelers Learn About My Guide Tell your friends, travel agents, post a reference to my guides on websites, travel blogs, etc.

You are free to copy my port guides and distribute them, but you must leave the copyright notice and the guides intact.  You cannot disassemble the guides and distribute only a section of them, you must distribute the complete guide intact.You can post a link to my website on any website.  If you place my pdf guide file on a website, indicate the source is my website.  When you reference my guides and website on your website, please keep the information on my guides separate from advertising and describe it as "reference or resource" material.  I don't want my guides commingled with advertising to appear as "part of" some company, service, or product.   I want them recognized as independent, objective, non-commercial  travel guides.You cannot sell my guides.  You cannot use them for a commercial purpose. They are FREE, non-commercial cruise port/travel guides!