FAQ


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Please refer to our Policies Page or submit an inquiry for further information, or give our office a call!

We're thrilled you've decided to book a tour with us! There are 3 ways to book your tour:

  1. Visit our website and complete the online reservation form located at the top of each tour information page.
  2. Call (314) 926-9049 for St. Louis departures or (913) 354-8856 for Kansas City departures.
  3. Fill out the form located in the back of our brochure and mail it to the appropriate office.

PAYMENT SCHEDULE: Because of the extensive planning that goes into each of our trips, costs are incurred long before your departure date. Each reservation requires a $250 per person deposit planning fee (exceptions may apply) to be credited toward your final payment. Some or all of your deposit may be non-refundable per our cancellation schedule noted in these Terms & Conditions.

Final Payment is due 75 days prior to your departure (exceptions may apply). You will receive an invoice stating the exact due date. If final payment is not received by the due date, a $50 per person late fee may be assessed or your reservation may be cancelled, at our sole discretion.

We are happy to accept cash, check (preferred) or credit card (Visa, Mastercard, Discover) for your deposit.

Absolutely! We’ve had travelers from 43 different states join us on tour. You can fly from wherever you are to meet a Sunrise Tour. We will deduct the price of the airfare built into the tour, and then you are free to book your own air.

Most people find one large bag and one carry-on to be plenty for a multi-day tour (the large bag we deliver and pick up from your hotel room, the carry-on you are responsible for transporting). The overhead bins are quite small, however your carry-on can be stored underneath the coach as well. On tours that include a flight, most airlines charge between $25-$40 per checked bag, for which you are responsible for paying.

If you have an urgent issue on the morning of your tour departure, start by calling your Tour Director, whose cell phone number is listed on the “pickup letter” of your tour documentation. If during regular business hours, call the main office at (314) 926-9049 in St. Louis, (913) 681-2202 in Kansas City, (317) 254-8945 in Indianapolis. If you are unable to reach your Tour Director or the office, please call Brent Dalrymple at (314) 494-6314.

For each departure, we determine the pick-up points to be used based on the departure route and the number of requests for each point. If less than 4 travelers request a point, we will not utilize that point and you must choose an alternate location to join the departure. All pick-up points allow parking for your vehicle. Sunrise Tours pick-up point partners offer the use of parking spaces by Sunrise Tours travelers as a courtesy. Neither Sunrise Tours nor parking lot owners assume responsibility for incidents occurring to parked cars. You will be notified of the timing and location of pick-up points for your vacation approximately 2 weeks before departure. If you would like to spend a pre-night before departure, we can provide a hotel room at some of our pick-up points for a reduced rate. If the routing allows, we may pick up along the way in outlying areas.

St. Louis/Surrounding Area Pick-Up Points:

  • Holiday Inn Route 66: 10709 Watson Rd., St. Louis, MO 63127
  • Aviator Hotel: 6921 S Lindbergh Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63125
  • Drury Inn: 12 Ludwig Drive, Fairview Heights, IL 62208
  • Lewis & Clark Boat House and Museum: 1050 S Riverside Drive, St. Charles, MO 63301
  • Drury Hotel Plaza Columbia East: 3100 Interstate 70 Drive SE, Columbia, MO 65201
  • Drury Inn Cape Girardeau: 3303 Campster Drive, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701
  • Wal-Mart: 1701 A Roy Drive, Washington, MO 63090

Kansas City Area Pick-Up Points:

  • Overland Park/Lenexa Radisson: 12601 W 95th Street, Lenexa, KS 66215
  • La Quinta Inn Olathe: 20570 W 151st Street, Olathe, KS 66061
  • Lee's Summit Holiday Inn: 1201 NW Innovation Parkway, Lee's Summit, MO 64086
  • Drury Inn & Suites Independence: 20300 E 42nd Street S, Blue Springs, MO 64015

Springfield Area Pick-Up Points: Coming Soon!

Gratuities for your Sunrise Tour Director and motorcoach driver are not included in your tour fare and are welcomed at your discretion. Typical gratuities for excellent service are $5-$7 per person, per day for your Tour Director and driver, each.

We often hire step-on guides to enhance your tour. Their fee and a gratuity is included in your tour fare. That being said, if you feel a step on guide enhanced your tour experience, you are welcome to personally offer a gratuity, as well. We are sure it is appreciated! [Notable exceptions: Park rangers are usually prohibited from accepting gratuities. Museum docents will most likely not accept a personal gratuity, but may be persuaded to accept a donation for the institution in lieu of a tip.]

Sunrise Tours offers premium independent travel insurance plans administered by Travel Guard. Please inquire about travel insurance coverage when you reserve for a tour and our helpful staff will send you more information on how to sign up. You can also begin the process by requesting a quote HERE.

For Travel Guard’s current information/rate sheet, please click here. For Travel Guard's Certificate of Benefits, please click here.

For specific questions regarding insurance, contact AIG Travel. Representatives are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. CALL TOLL-FREE: 1-866-385-4839

Yes! We are finding that most of our tours have at least a handful of single travelers. Traveling with Sunrise Tours is a great way to meet new people. We've heard of multiple individuals who start as singles to make lifelong friends that they continue to travel with!

Absolutely! If you would like to go on tour with us, but do not have a roommate for a specific trip, let us know and we will match you with someone else (same sex of course). Just let us know at least 75 days before departure and we will room you with another traveler at the double rate. If there is no roommate available, you will still only have to pay the price of a double (this does not apply to cruises and some select tours). If you decline the roommate assigned, you will be responsible for the single supplement. Of course, if you prefer to travel individually, you can still sign up for the single fare.

Your Tour Director is a professional with many years of experience leading group tours. The average tenure of a Sunrise Tour Director is 8 years. While they have some knowledge of all aspects of your tour, we (Sunrise management) don’t expect them to be “content experts” on every locale visited. In addition, on many tours we hire local step-on guides to further enhance your tour.

Sunrise Tours is required to pay all suppliers well in advance of your tour date. Our suppliers have their own cancellation policies, which apply to your booking. Should a cancellation become necessary we must receive your cancellation notice in writing, and it will become effective only when received by Sunrise Tours. Upon, receipt, we will follow industry procedures for any applicable refunds as outlined in the supplier’s terms and subject to their review. If you are entitled to a refund, please note that the supplier is responsible for this refund, not Sunrise Tours. Generally, flight tickets, hotel reservation and other items provided for the travel cannot be refunded if they are partially used. We are not responsible for a supplier’s failure to remit a refund. In addition to terms of our suppliers, any refund will be at our sole discretion, and will be subject to the following fee schedule. The cancellation fee per person will be determined by the number of days remaining until your tour departure date (day of departure is counted as Day 0).

U.S. & Canada Destinations:
(Except Best of Alaska, Opryland Christmas, & Canadian Rockies by Rail, Canada & New England Cruise)
91 or more days...............................$100
90-76 days.......................................$250
75-61 days..............25% of the tour price
60-31 days..............50% of the tour price
30 days or less.........................No refund

Panama & the Grand Canal:
91 or more days...............................$100
90-61 days.......................................$250
60 days or less.........................No refund

Europe, New Zealand, Opryland Christmas, NYC Tours & Canadian Rockies by Rail:
121 or more days.............................$250
120-91 days............25% of the tour price
90-61 days..............50% of the tour price
60 days or less.........................No refund

Best of Alaska, American Queen, New England Journey Cruise & New England Cruise:
181 or more days.............................$100
180-76 days.....................................$250
75-61 days..............50% of the tour price
60-31 days..............75% of the tour price
30 days or less.........................No refund

Name tags are distributed prior to departure, but you are more than welcome to wear it however much or little as you'd like. This will allow you to learn your fellow travelers' names. We also place name cards above the seats on the motorcoach.

Yes, your tour director will rotate seats on the coach each morning. We will do our best to honor specific seating requests (for example we will honor a request to sit near the front of the motorcoach for people who get motion sickness or friends who want to sit near other), but in general, seats will be rotated each day.

We publish a new catalog in January and September of each year. Each catalog covers about 12 months of tours, so you always have the opportunity to plan well in advance! We also publish a smaller catalog, Journeys in May that covers a handful of tours and the behind-the-scenes of tour planning.

Our staff of tour planners are constantly researching all aspects of a tour, especially new hotels, restaurants, etc. We often travel to scout out such new features of a tour. We are also members of NTA (National Tour Association) and ABA (American Bus Association), which are national associations of tour operators and vendors who collaborate to provide excellent travel experiences. Our tour managers are also a valuable resource for ideas and impressions of existing and potential tour features as well. Also, we often get suggestions from our beloved travelers!

Yes, we do provide water and select refreshments onboard the motorcoach, including water, soft drinks, beer, and wine. We are happy to provide these refreshments, however each guest is responsible for their own hydration. We advise guests not to rely solely on the onboard refreshments, as there are times when this is unavailable.