I recently completed a bicycle trip to Tuscany (Secrets of Siena) sold by Breakaway Adventures in Washington D.C. The trip was actually run by Headwaters Holidays, an adventure travel outfit in U.K. <BR> <BR>On my return I just happened to compare prices for Secrets of Siena tour at the the Breakaway adventrues site and the price for the same trip at Headwaters--The cost was $700 more at the Breakaway site--for the same exact trip. <BR> <BR>When queried, Headwater said they will not deal directly with people from the U.S.--though on our trip we met travelers from New Zealand, Norway and elsewhere who had presumably dealt direct. Breakaway said they are the "exclusive" agents in the U.S. for Headwaters and felt that their very limiited travel agency type work was worth the $700 difference. For the record their services consisted of making the reservation with Headwaters, mailing the Headwaters provided materials and trying to make airline and hotel reservations. <BR> <BR>I would not deal with either of these two companies again. they are obviously trying to maintain a two tier pricing system that discriminates against U.S. customers. Travelor beware!

Let's hear it for free enterprise in the greatest nation on the face of the earth!

Pagoff, thank you very much for informing us of this blatant ripoff. My family and I, our friends & coworkers, will never deal with either of these two companies!

When you don't like dual pricing, you should also boycott ALL airlines (US based and European), bacause USA - Europe - USA flights are about 30 - 100% more expensive than Europe - USA - Europe flights. It is called capitalism: companies are free to charge whatever they can get away with in a certain market. If you don't like it, there are still a few communist countries left!~

In a free market, prices are determined by supply and demand,I don't think this case having anything against US citizens. If there is less demand, the price will drop eventually. <BR> <BR>However,I encountered a similar case few years ago also. I bought a week long barge trip in Paris for $700, all other passengers on board from US and Australia paid more than $2000 through their local agents.

Interesting responses. Capitalism works best when information is freely available as on the web and consumers make informed choices. I agree as demand decreases these companies will need to change there policies. The point of my message was to point out the need to research completely and make informed decisions. <BR> <BR>In regard to airlines, there is little choice and their prices vary in lockstep. Their price variations are more related to being able to freely control supply thus also demand. The ideal capitalistic situation for the capitalist.