My nephew and I just returned from our first - but not last - Diamond Baseball Tour, which took us from Boston's Fenway Park to Chicago's Wrigley Field, with stops in between to New York, the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Progressive Field in Cleveland, Detroit, and South Bend, Indiana (Notre Dame, for a football detour). Our memories of this trip will last a lifetime. It was extremely well organized, with details planned out so that no moment was wasted (in a relaxed way that allowed for sufficient independent time) and very reasonably priced. It included, along with six baseball games, tours of two parks, visits to the Baseball and Rock & Roll halls of fame and time to sightsee in New York, Pittsburgh and Chicago.
Dan Lindsey, who owns and operates Diamond Baseball Tours, encouraged an atmosphere of comeradery among our diverse group of travelers, who ranged in age from almost 14 to well into retirement. There were singles, couples and families among our group, all of whom found friends. People came to Boston from as far as Hawaii and as close as Philadelphia (which isn't that close). In order to make traveling less tedious, Dan shows a video during the bus rides that relates to whatever stop comes next. For those of us interested in the history of baseball, this truly enriches the experience. The bus was very comfortable. Dan sold sodas and water at 50 cents a pop. You could bring water, unopened, into the stadiums, which saved you approximately $4 per bottle.
The hotels were generally good, some excellent. The Clarion in Scranton, we all agreed, could be switched for something cleaner and more comfortable, but the Holiday Inn and Country Inn and Suites offered excellent accomodations and we used these hotels for solely for sleeping and breakfast before hitting the road early. All but one of them served free breakfast. One thing that made a big difference was not having to wait in line to register at every hotel. Dan had keys ready to pass out moments after we arrived at each one.
Dan tries to ge the best tickets available for every game and I think he succeeds well. We were usually shaded in the hot sun and at half of the games we enjoyed first-level seats.
Dan also offers prizes for various activities along the trip. This is in addition to the awesome collection of tickets you accrue, a baseball-themed travel bag worth about $40 (and can be signed by the players during autograph time at each park) and, in our case, a free Roberto Clemente replica jersey handed out at PNC park.
A few tips:
All of the games are paid for as part of the package, but it will cost a bit extra for stadium tours. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will cost extra and it's $22 per adult (a lot for a two-hour stay) , so find a coupon ahead of time if you can. There were some at our hotel in Cleveland.
The bus driver is fantastic - he was a relaxed, low-key amianble man who drove competently in all sorts of weather and added his own color commentary whenever he could. The suggested tip of $20 a person was well-deserved.
If you're a vegan, like me, you'll find that most stadiums offer, at the very least, veggie hot dogs, though they may be hard to find (jhere's help: http://www.veggiehappy.com/venue_mlb.htm). It paid off to carry some Luna bars with me. With trips on the bus ranging from two to three and a half hours, it's a good idea to have some snacks with you.
If you're a baseball fanatic, this is the tour for you. If you just like baseball a lot - like to go to games and enjoy the sunshine - this is also the tour for you. If you want a wholesome, relaxing vacation where someone else does the driving - again, this may be your perfect tour.
All in all, two thumbs up for this excellent experience. read more
