Flights & Hotels

The tour company should take care of the hotel bookings for all of your tour and it is very likely included in your price but there are exceptions. This is what you should consider in terms of hotel and flight bookings for your storm chasing tour.

Flying to your storm chasing tour

Flights to the location of your storm chasing tour are NOT included in the tour price. You need to book it yourself and make sure you arrive in time for the tour. 

Before you book your flight

• First of all check out the information on the tour company’s website. The information on StormChasingUSA is secondary information and you should always double check it with the tour company for confirmation.
• Usually, the tour company will send you a confirmation email which includes lots of information about your tour, such as when you should plan to arrive.
• If you are the least bit unsure, contact the tour company! It is expensive to change flights, especially if you find out late about an error.
• Given the tour schedules it can be a bit confusing figuring out which date to arrive. Some tour operators state the arrival date as a suggestion on when you should plan to be in the city. Others only state the start date of the tour, which is the date when the tour actually starts (usually sometime in the morning). The arrival date is defined as the day before the actual tour starts, if this date is stated this is the date you should plan to arrive. If only the start date is provided you should expect to arrive the day before the start date.
• It is quite common for the tour company to have a Meet and Greet-dinner on the night of the Arrival Date. Make sure you land in time to be able to attend as the tour company usually provides some important information about the tour such as the expected weather setup and safety instructions.
• Do not book your flight to arrive early in the morning of the start date. Chances are the tour may have to leave earlier than anticipated because of storms further away. You will also put the entire tour at risk of missing out if your flight is delayed. There is also a chance that the tour will leave you behind if you are too late, leaving it to you to catch up!
• If you arrive from overseas it may be wise to plan to arrive a day before the Arrival Date in order to make sure flight delays will not cause you to miss your tour. It will also give you some time to adjust and sleep of the Jet Lag.
• Similarly, some tour companies only state an “end date” of the tour and also have a “departure date” set. The end date is the date when the tour ends but this could also be a bit confusing. This is, by definition, a chase day but it is a chase day with the limitation that you have to be back at the hotel that very day – meaning you could get back really late in the evening. You should book a flight at least the day after the End Date (on the Departure Date). Do not book your flight on the End Date! No matter what: always double check this with the tour operator!.

When you need to book hotel nights

All tour companies have different policies but most commonly is that you have for example 7 days and 7 nights meaning that hotel costs are included for all nights while chasing. The difference is sometimes in which night that is not included: the night between the Arrival Date and the Start Date or the night between the End Date and the Departure Date. Usually, the night between the Arrival Date and the Start Date is not included in your tour price but the night between the End Date and Departure Date is (but vice versa could be true).

The tour company will have arranged with a hotel close to an airport in the base city, usually with a discount, and will provide the information on how to book it in order to get the discount as well as which nights you are expected to pay for.