FAQs

Book online at www.orwest.com, or call our office at 503-585-3979, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific Time. You are also welcome to email info@orwest.com, and a member of our team will help you complete your reservation.

As soon as you know you would like to go. Our most popular tours often fill within weeks of being posted, and because our groups are small, we cannot add seats once a tour is full.

A $200 deposit per person reserves your place. Final payment is due on the date shown on your confirmation, generally 120 days before departure.

We accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover and personal checks. If paying over time suits you better, we are glad to set up a payment plan that works for you, as long as the full amount arrives by the final payment date.

No. The price you see is the price you pay, with no credit card fees and no surcharges added along the way.

If you cancel before final payment, we refund everything you have paid, less a $25 handling fee. After final payment, payments are non-refundable, which is why we strongly recommend travel insurance (see Travel Insurance below). If you cannot travel, you may also arrange for someone to take your place, subject to our approval and any airline or supplier name-change fees.

No. The tour price covers the tour as a whole, so we do not give refunds or credits for any part you choose not to use. This includes skipped activities, missed meals, changes you make to the itinerary on your own, and leaving a tour early.

Occasionally, a tour does not reach the number of guests it needs to run. When that happens, we make the decision before your final payment is due, and we refund everything you have paid to OregonWest. Because we cannot refund costs you arranged on your own, such as separate airfare or hotel nights, we suggest waiting until a tour is confirmed before booking anything non-refundable outside of OregonWest.

Yes, and we would be glad to. Call us to talk through your group's dates, size and interests, and we will put together a private departure.

About 30 days before departure, we send a detailed day-by-day itinerary along with a packing list.

For domestic flights, a REAL ID-compliant driver's license or ID card, or a valid passport. For international tours, a passport, and in some countries a visa or electronic travel authorization. Please give us your name exactly as it appears on the ID you will travel with, so your airline tickets match.

Yes. Every guest, or couple traveling together, needs a working mobile phone so the Tour Director can reach you on tour. For international tours, check with your carrier about an international plan before you leave.

Nearly everything, so that once you have paid, you can leave your wallet in your pocket:

• Round-trip airfare from Portland (PDX) on fly-away tours, including one checked bag

• Motorcoach transportation throughout the tour

• All hotel accommodations

• A welcome dinner, a farewell dinner, every breakfast, and more than half of the remaining meals

• Admission to every attraction on the itinerary

• All gratuities, for drivers, local guides, restaurant servers and your Tour Director

• Baggage handling at hotels where it is available

• Local guides at many destinations

• An OregonWest Tour Director with your group from start to finish

There are no credit card fees and no hidden charges.

Yes, all of them. We tip every driver, guide, server and Tour Director on your behalf at a generous industry-standard rate. If someone goes above and beyond and you would like to add something extra, you are welcome to, but it is never expected.

• Travel insurance (see Travel Insurance above)

• Meals not listed on the itinerary

• Activities not listed on the itinerary

• Personal expenses such as souvenirs, laundry, and phone charges

• The cost of transportation to and from Portland International Airport (see Getting There below)

Yes. Tell us when you book, and we will arrange the extra nights and add the cost to your reservation.

No. Most OregonWest guests choose to travel on their own. The remainder of guests are friends or family traveling together and couples. You will never be the only person on a tour without a roommate.

You will not be a stranger for long. Many of our guests have traveled with us for years, and they welcome newcomers readily. Coach seats rotate during the tour, so you will sit with different people along the way. Many guests find friendships that continue between tours and at home.

The single supplement is simply the difference in hotel cost when one guest has the room rather than two. That is all it covers, with no other surcharge for traveling alone. We also do not limit the number of solo travelers on a tour, unless a particular hotel has very few single rooms.

We do not run a formal roommate-matching program, but if you would like to share a room, let us know when you book and we will ask whether another guest is looking as well. Matches are not common, so we suggest planning on the single rate.

Our Pacific Northwest motorcoach tours stop at four pickup points. Parking rates are set by each location and may change. Locations may be added or removed for specific tours.

Albany: Comfort Suites, 100 Opal Court, Albany, OR 97322, Parking Available, currently $5 per day

Salem: Holiday Inn Market Street, 3301 Market Street NE, Salem, OR 97301, Parking Available, currently $13 per day

Woodburn: Park & Ride, 2900 Tom Tennant Drive, Woodburn, OR 97071, Parking Available, free

Tualatin: Fred Meyer, 19200 SW Marinazzi Avenue, Tualatin, OR 97062, Drop-off only, no parking

Yes. Just tell us when you book that you would like transportation to Portland International Airport. Once we know where everyone is starting from, we arrange the most comfortable and cost-effective way to get the group there, and add your share of the cost to your reservation. Guests who drive themselves or get a ride from family never pay for a coach seat they do not use.

Yes. We book group airfare from the Portland International Airport (PDX). The Tour Director meets you at the airport, we check in for the flight together, and we fly as a group.

Absolutely. On a fly-away tour, you can meet the group at Portland International Airport or at the destination airport, and we can help with your flight arrangements either way. Airfare from Portland is included in the tour price, so if you are not flying with the group, ask us and we will remove that amount from your booking.

If you wish to join a local motorcoach tour, we would love to welcome you to the Pacific Northwest and can help with the arrangements. 

On group bookings, the airline assigns seats, and we are not able to choose them. Once tickets are issued, we can request specific seats, extra-legroom seats or Premium Economy for an additional cost. If you would like to fly First Class, tell us when you book, and in most cases we can arrange it right away.

It means your OregonWest Tour Director is with your group from beginning to end. On a Pacific Northwest motorcoach tour, they board at the first pickup point and stay with the group until the last guest is dropped off. On a fly-away tour, they meet you at PDX and travel with you until you land back in Portland. Your Tour Director is with you for every scheduled activity and meal. During free time, they may not be beside you the whole time, but they are always available if you need help.

Our Tour Directors are experienced professionals, based here in the Pacific Northwest, for whom leading tours is a career. Many have guided groups for years, both with OregonWest and with other tour companies. They handle the timing, the logistics and the small problems that come up along the way, so you can simply enjoy the trip. For destinations that call for local expertise, we choose a Tour Director who knows that region well.

Small by design. Our motorcoach and fly-away tours average about 25 guests, with a maximum of 30, and travel on a 56-passenger motorcoach with an onboard restroom, so there is room to spread out. International tours generally carry no more than 22 guests. Our Small Group Tours are limited to 10 guests and travel in a 15-passenger vehicle.

Guests must be at least 21. There is no upper age limit. What matters is that you are comfortable with the tour's Activity Level. Most of our guests are retired or nearing retirement, and they enjoy traveling with people who share their interests and their pace.

We choose each hotel for the best balance of comfort, location and value. On many tours that means a reliable, comfortable major-brand hotel in a central location. On others the hotel is part of the experience itself. Nearly all of our hotels have elevators. The rare exceptions are historic hotels or small destinations where the best hotel has none, and we note these on the tour description.

Yes. Tell us when you book, and we will request it early. The hotel makes the final confirmation.

Yes. Let us know when you book, and we will tell both the restaurants and your Tour Director in advance and ask them to accommodate you.

We schedule free time in places with plenty to see and do, and your Tour Director will have suggestions. For some tours where certain activities need to be reserved ahead, we send a list of options before departure.

No. You are always welcome to sit out an activity. Keep in mind that the group moves on schedule, so if you skip a stop, you are responsible for meeting the group at the next meeting place and time, including any taxi or other costs.

Every tour is rated on a four-level scale, shown on its tour page. Unless a tour says otherwise, expect Level 2 to Level 3. 

Click HERE for Activity Level Descriptions

On every tour, you should be able to walk up to three-quarters of a mile at a time at a steady pace, stand for 30 to 45 minutes, manage stairs and curbs, walk on uneven surfaces such as cobblestones and docks, and step on and off the motorcoach on your own.

On Level 1 and Level 2 tours, yes, as long as you can manage the motorcoach steps and keep pace with the group, or you travel with a companion who can help you. Our coaches do not have ramps or lifts unless we have arranged and confirmed one with you in writing ahead of time.

Our Tour Directors, drivers and local guides are there to look after the whole group, so they are not able to lift, carry, steady or transfer individual guests. If you need that kind of help, we ask that you travel with a companion who can provide it throughout the tour.

Yes. You are responsible for bringing and managing your own equipment, and for confirming any airline, hotel or transportation requirements, including any doctor's documentation a carrier may ask for.

Call us as early as you can. We would much rather talk it through with you before you book than have you discover on tour that the pace is not right. Some tours involve altitude, heat or cold, so we also suggest checking with your physician before you book.

Call our team at 503-585-3979. We know every itinerary well, and we are happy to help you find a tour that suits the way you like to travel.