OATS or Odysseys Unlimitd?
 

Has anyone done a recent tour to China or elsewhere with either? We like both itineraries, but we worry about our stamina with OATS. We are fit for our years - 67 and 70, but the brochure makes it sound like we'll be run ragged, esoecially in Lhasa which we're considering.
Any feedback appreciated.

We are going to China on Wednesday with Odysseys. This will be our fourth trip with them, so you can see we have been very satisfied. When we first started traveling with groups, we chose Odysseys over OAT for some of the reasons you mentioned. We were looking for a more leisurely trip with free time.

I will post a trip report when we return at the end of September.

My husband & I toured China with OAT in 2001 at ages 56 & 60. My only problem was with altitude sickness in Lhasa. We really enjoyed the tour.

Thank you lilla and marsh for your feedback.

ttt

We recently returned from an Odysseys trip to China. This was our fifth tour with Odysseys, and it was up to their usual standards. The hotels and cruise ship were excellent, the food was great, and our Tour Director, Peter Wong, was superior. When my camera broke on the first day of the trip, Peter loaned my one of his for the remainder of the time.

There were 21 people on the tour, and things were flexible so folks could go on the scheduled excursions or go off on their own. We were centrally located, so taking the subway or cabs was an option. Most of the meals were included, but there were enough unscheduled so we could experiment on our own.

We saw everything we had hoped and much more due to Peter's insights and willingness to give us a lot of extras. As you can see, I give Odysseys my highest compliments. In fact, we've already booked a trip with them to Croatia in 2006.

we're going with OAT Oct 27-Nov 17. I'm 67 and my husband is 72. Will let you know how we made out!!

Lilla, Glad to hear you had a great time. What was your itinerary with Odysseys?
What other trips have you done with them? We're also thinking of Turkey and like their itinerary.
Travelwithasthma- looking forward to getting feedback from you too.

travelwithasthma-
How was your trip with OATS?
We'll be travelling with them to Turkey this Spring. Was the pace comfortable for you?

Hi,
Have you looked into Laurus or ElderTrek?
Judy

JudySue-
Yes to both. OATS had the best itinerary for us-- it included Istanbul, Cappadocia, a gulet along the Med., Ephaesus, etc. Very small group, pretty rustic but supposedly not as demanding as their China tour.
Are you thinking of Turkey or China?

Hi NGail,
I'm researching China for May, 2006 and looking into M A N Y tour companies. With each new one I find I get more confused.
Judy

JudySue-
Ditto!
Once we started researching we wanted EVERYTHING up to & including Lhasa.
I think the only company that had a tour that increased altitude in increments- over a week or so, with several stops- was Elderhostel. (There may have been one other, but I can't recall which.)
Some tours even flew directly from sea level to Lhasa- that can't be good for your health!
Turkey became a more desirable option when we decided to visit family in Israel from there. It also seemed much less complicated esp. as this is our first inclusive tour.