Coming and Going
Head for the Lights

Sunday, September 7, 2008

IT'S A CHALLENGE
Head for the Lights

On Sept. 20 and 21, the U.S. Lighthouse Society's Chesapeake Chapter holds its sixth annual Maryland Lighthouse Challenge , in which visitors try to visit nine lighthouses and one lightship in 20 hours. Many of the lighthouses are open for climbing, and visitors get a souvenir at each one they visit plus a prize for visiting all 10. Participation is free, though some of the lighthouses charge admission.

This year, two bonus lighthouses have been added as options: the Sandy Point Shoal Lighthouse (offshore; can be seen from land) and the newly constructed Blackistone Lighthouse replica (accessible by boat from the St. Clement's Island Museum). For more information, call 410-437-0741 or visit http://www.cheslights.org.

BACK CHAT
A Further Tip on Tipping

K.C. Summers recently answered a reader's question (Chat Plus, Aug. 31) about tipping full-day tour guides, suggesting 10 to 15 percent of the tour price. Reader Suzanne Gerber-Stroh of Middleburg had this to add:

K.C.'s answer "sounds good, assuming the query referred solely to tipping protocol for tour guides. I've been a client of private outdoor guides for a decade, and they are routinely undertipped. The [10 to 15] percent you advised is just not adequate for a river pilot, a mountaineer, a ski guide or instructor, or any other guide who has to invest thousands of dollars each year in skillbuilding and professional certifications simply to get his or her job. Wranglers, hunters and anglers work short seasons and can rarely afford to live within a full tank of where they guide.

"A good rule of thumb might be this. If it's in the wilderness, if they protect you from predators, if they outfit you with stuff you do not know how to operate (including driving stick if you can't operate a manual transmission), if they are your medical first responder or if you are putting your life in their hands, treat your guide with deep respect and tip the maximum you can afford-- never less than 20 percent of the trip cost paid to the outfitter. If they made you laugh, add 20 bucks for dinner."

On the other hand, Nadia Le Bon, who does public relations for adventure travel firm Mountain Travel Sobek, suggests tipping guides "$10 or $15 a day, depending on the length of the trip. Usually, if it's a 10-day trip, then $100 or $150 would be fine," she says, even for such strenuous treks as climbing Patagonian ice caps or scaling Mount Kilimanjaro (both of which start at more than $4,000). Of course, Le Bon adds, some guests tip more than that.

Bottom line: The jury's still out.

BARGAIN OF THE WEEK

Aer Lingus has sale fares to Dublin. Round-trip fare on nonstop flights from Washington Dulles for travel through Oct. 31 is $687, including taxes. Cheapest fares apply to Monday and Wednesday flights; some dates are sold out. Other airlines offering connecting service are matching. Buy at http://www.aerlingus.com, or pay $32 more by calling 800-474-7424.

Reporting: Christina Talcott

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