Coach tour suggestions for the middle aged?

You might want to look at tours on www.adventurecenter.com. These are more active tours with small groups. Active tours will draw a slightly younger crowd, but usually not spring-breaker types.

Wow...I can't decide if I am delighted or depressed to find out that you think 37 is middle aged...what does that make 57???

I have heard good things about Rick Steve's Tours, no actual knowledge though. If you read the trip reports on his web site the tours sound fun and lively and the pictures sure look like a mix of ages. Don't know how they compare in price to others.

You could do it yourself, it's actually fun doing all the planning, that's why we are all here!

37 is middle-aged? I must be most of the way into the grave!

I've never done a coach tour, so can't speak to that, but I'm not sure why organizing it yourself means "rushing around during my vacation trying to coordinate the logistics of the trip such as organizing accomodation and transport." You do all that ahead of time so you arrive with a detailed plan.

I also think you could plan a great independent trip at whatever pace you like. But look at Globus. My SIL and her husband have taken two Globus trips to Europe and had a great time.

English is widely spoken in the large cities of Europe. Even in smaller towns, in recent years we've noticed an increase in English-speakers. In fact, I can only think of a couple of instances when there was absolutely no one around who could speak at least a little English. Believe it or not, those times were some of our best memories because the locals were trying so hard to help and we were trying so hard to be understood. I know a little Italian, and my husband knows a little Spanish. For other countries, we learn some basic phrases and carry a small phrase book and dictionary.

re: "spending a lot of time rushing around during my vacation trying to coordinate the logistics of the trip such as organizing accomodation and transport"
- - if you were taking a bus tour, this would be organized in advance of your travels... so couldn't you lay out an itinerary and book your accomodations in advance,then you wouldn't be 'rushing around during your vacation'... or at least have 2-3 choices in each town you want to visit that you could contact for a room as you approach the town...

We4ll if 37 is middle aged most of us may as well shoot ourselved now.

37 is an adult - period. Not a young adult (20's) - but definitely no middle aged - you've got about 20 years for that.

I would organize the trip yourself - but do have a look at costs and think about either upping your budget or shortening your trip. A room for 100 euros is likely to be very basic in large cities (stais versus elevator, no AC and possibly a shared bath). And that would give you only 66 euros per day for transit between cities, transit in cities, the cost of sights, meals and evening entertainment (if any). You could do it for that - but it would involve eataing a lot of sandwiches on park benches, walking in cities, skipping some of the major (more expensive) sights and limiting nightlife to a single glass of wine or beer in a local boit.

If you don't want to be "spending a lot of time rushing around", I suggest you not try to visit five countries in four weeks.

You CAN do it alone and not feel lonely!!! I travel (single female traveler, older than you but by less than 20 yrs) to Europe every year for 2-3 weeks each trip.

Last year was 23 days in Italy (21 nights on the ground)and I can't believe how many people I met... the couple from Masschusetts (in their 50's) who I met each night for drinks at the hotel in Venice, the couple from the UK (in their 30's) who said 'You got off the boat at the first stop today, where did you go? Come, sit with us, and tell us about your day." I'd never even seen them before but we sat and talked for hours! The couple from California (40-50's) who I offered advice to while purchasing Capri tickets, then ran into the next day in Pompeii... well, we met in Rome for drinks, dinner, and a trip to the Trevi Fountain! The gent from northern UK I met at the hotel in Sorrento who said "You have changed my opinion of Americans!" This is only a short list... I met so many people in Itay (even on trains and buses!), I was never lonely! And, it has been true of every country that I have visited!

So... now that you know you won't be lonely, lets move on....

Pick two countries... my suggestion would be Germany and Austria since you can see a lot of these countries in 4 weeks and they are probably less intimidating than places such as, say, Rome and Florence in Italy would be. And, they are both beautiful, quaint, and charming.

Next, although most people on this site recommend trains and buses, I highly recommend a car for these countries for the flexibility of stopping along the way or a complete change in your itineray. You can rent a car in Germany, lets say at the train station when leaving Munich (cheaper than an airport pickup) after a few days, and travel south to some great places in both Germany and Austria.

After seeing places like Mittewald, Neuschwanstein, Vienna, Hallstatt, St. Gilgen, St. Wolfgang, Mondsee, Melk, Salzburg, then start heading up towards the Black Forest, Heidelburg, Rothenburg obT, Rhine River towns, etc. and end up in Frankfurt. Drop the car at the Frankfurt airport before catching your flight home! Obviously, you need to research where you want to go... I'm only giving some of the places that I enjoyed as an example.

Sorry, not looking at a map at the moment so my sample areas may not be in correct geographical order! Just an idea so you get my drift. But, you will be picking up and dropping the rental car in the same country so there will be no high drop off fee, car rentals in Germany are among the cheapest,and you may well get upgraded to a Mercedes (I did)!

GO, GO, GO!!!! And, have a wonderful time!

Forgot to add...

Hotels, B&Bs, Gashaus' are easily researched on this forum and Tripadvisor.com. Booking accomodations before leaving home will give you peace of mind but if you decide to change your itinerary, don't forget to cancel any applicable bookings that you made.

It is probably worth thinking what is that you are uncomfortable with that makes you want to look for coach tours. Coach tours have their places, but they also impose restrictions and cost premiums. You would probably want to make decisions based on well thought out reasons.

You mentioned a few categories, language, loneliness, etc. You can probably list all such categories and see if they are real or superficial issues.

You also mentioned transportation issues. Is transportation the objective of the trip or a just a means of moving from one place to another? It is not that one reason is better than the other, but the way you see the transportation impacts your choices. The difficulty in using the public transit is not that you cannot get to places, but in order to be efficient in terms of time and money, you need to do research beforehand. So, if the research is not what you are comfortable with but if you also don't want to take whatever is the next train at non-discounted ticket price,etc, then you would probably need to pay someone else to figure it out for you.

And finally, if it is the planning process that you are not comfortable with, it is more of an issue. If you ask several people how they plan their trip, you get many different answers. Again, many processes work provided that they are compatible with your objectives and personality. However, to get to this point, you will have to do much thinking as well as trials and errors.

My sister did a tour with Intrepid Travel when she was in her early 40's and said there were others of similar ages. She really enjoyed the tour and said there was some structured things and also time to do what you wanted. It was a small group.

http://www.intrepidtravel.com/

If you decide to organise the trip yourself, you will get lots of helpful advice on this forum. I have done tours in the past but travel independently now. The things I hate about tours are they take you to places you aren't interested in, they whizz past places you would have liked to stop at, you have to be up at the crack of dawn every day and you have no choice about where you eat. Do lots more research before you make a decision and good luck.

Kay

Thanks for all the helpful advice everyone. Regarding the age thing I guess lately I have been feeling a little bit worn out and disillusioned about various things. Hopefully a trip to Europe will refocus and rejuvenate me.

I've taken on board everyone's comments. Since this was my first trip to Europe I think I fell into the beginner's mistake of wanting to fit in too many countries and felt overwhelmed by the logistics. I think I need to decide what places I want to see the most and come up with ideas for a simpler less hectic itinerary. This will reduce the number of hotels and transport connections I need to organize.

Once I've got a better idea of my travel plans I will come back here if I need some more detailed advice.

Thanks again

Have you looked at Intrepid or Exodus? Very mixed age groups and not a coach tour....