who_rst


	Who is Rainbowed Sea Tours?

Before most people plunk down their hard-earned money and jet off to some distant and strange land, they might like to know something about those with whom they have cast their fate. Let us introduce ourselves and our company:

Rainbowed Sea Tours, Inc. was founded by world renowned author and underwater photographer, Chris Newbert. His classic work, Within a Rainbowed Sea, set a new standard in underwater photography. It is both the most award winning photographic book and the best selling such book in its price range in American publishing history.


	This landmark volume was selected by the White House as a Presidential Gift of State.


	His photos have appeared in well over 250 publications world wide, and he has been featured on numerous national television shows. Chris has been diving for 35 years and began conducting international dive tours in 1979.


	Chris has been joined in Rainbowed Sea Tours, Inc. by his wife, Birgitte Wilms. Birgitte hails from Denmark and has dived


	extensively around the world. Her underwater photos and stories have been published in a number of European newspapers and magazines. In the United States her work has been featured in such prestigious magazines as Ocean Realm, International Wildlife and Islands Magazine. Since Americans can't seem to pronounce Birgitte, she goes by her Danish nickname, Deda.


	In late 1994 Chris and Birgitte released their first collaborative underwater photographic


	coffee table book, entitled *In a Sea of Dreams. Receiving instant and enthusiastic critical praise, In a Sea of Dreams* was awarded the World Grand Prize for the Best Book of Underwater Photography in Antibes, France.


	Experts for all of your dive travel needs.


	Chris and Birgitte have selected Alii World Travel of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii as their exclusive booking agent for all of Rainbowed Sea Tours' travel arrangements. The folks at Alii World Travel are specialists in vacation travel and are happy to handle all of your travel arrangements from your home city to our final destination.


	Personal service is paramount!


	We believe there is an important place for a small, personally oriented dive tour organization. Chris has brought the same

standard of personal pride and uncompromising excellence found in his book to the exclusive international dive expeditions designed by Rainbowed Sea Tours. We plan only 6 or 7 specialized trips a year, and each tour is personally escorted by Chris and Birgitte. We select only destinations which offer a combination of good live-aboard dive boat facilities with outstanding diving and underwater photographic opportunities.


	Our tours are designed with the underwater photographer especially in mind and we are there to help you improve your own


		photography. All Rainbowed Sea Tours in 2000 and beyond will feature the Chris Newbert and Birgitte Wilms Underwater Photography Consultation and Slide Show Series. This program is offered to guests at no additional charge! Chris and Birgitte will make all itinerary decisions based on their extensive experience at each destination and the photographic opportunities they determine most unique and productive. We are calling this concept our Photo Pro Tours, understanding that great pictures only come with patience and dedication. We offer our expertise to help you get those great shots.

	This is a unique opportunity to learn directly from Chris and Birgitte the secrets which have made Within a Rainbowed Sea and In a Sea of Dreams such an overwhelming international successes. Chris is available throughout each tour for assistance and advice whenever needed. Most boats that we charter offer onboard film processing, and Chris and Birgitte are only too happy to discuss your results and offer suggestions for possible improvement.


	We stand for honesty and integrity. Not every tour is perfect and not every destination is ideally


		suited for all divers. We often conduct expeditions to third world countries and there are inherent difficulties in traveling to such remote areas. But we do promise to tell you the facts -- the positive and the negative -- and let you decide for yourself whether or not a given tour is for you.

	``So how come you don't have any glossy full color brochures and splashy magazine ads like the big guys?" Well, we could, we suppose. But guess who pays for all that hype? That's right. The customer pays. Our philosophy is different. Chris worked for one of the large agencies for many years; it's how he got his start. And there is a place for that style of operation, to be sure.


	We provide exceptional experiences for discriminating divers!


	But there are certain traveling divers who do not want the type of trip offered by mass production tour companies. (After all, what kind of personal attention can one expect from an outfit promoting 100 or more unescorted tours a year? In many cases they send clients to destinations they have never inspected).

We personally inspect each and every destination and operation we contract with. Yes, large volume operators are often cheaper. We don't try to be the least expensive, but we try to be the best by offering our guests the highest quality and the finest value. We believe the best advertising is a satisfied customer. Over half of all our bookings are from repeat clients and many of our trips are sold-out over a year in advance.


	We do not fill our dive boats to capacity. In most cases we sell only 55% to 65% of the available berths

on the boats we charter. We feel that onboard comfort and the quality of the marine life experience are enhanced with smaller groups, less people. And without question, quality underwater photographic opportunities are optimized with fewer divers in the water.


	Limited participation - Our Hallmark.

Yes, we pay for the entire boat to assure that participation in our tours is strictly limited to our select group, and to the number of participants we advertise. Our tours may sometimes reflect this exclusivity in our price. Your job as a consumer is to critically judge what you are getting for your time and money. But now at least, you have a clearly defined choice. Only Rainbowed Sea Tours offers this limited participation guarantee whenever possible!


	We welcome your scrutiny. Give us a try, if your standard is excellence.



Home \|Hot News \|Tours \|Newsletter \|Contact \| Seminar \|Books \|Gear \|Gallery \|Photo Tips

			master calendar

		Rainbowed Sea Tours, Inc. 74-5590 Luhia Street Kailua-Kona, HI 96740 Toll Free: (800) 762-6827 FAX: (808) 329-2608 In Hawaii: 326-7752 www.rstours.com Copyright © 2002 by Chris Newbert and Birgitte Wilms