katiemoy

My friend and I are 22 years old females looking to travel Europe for the first time. We are looking to travel as a part of an organized group targeted towards young adults (preferably people in their 20s), as we do not feel confident organizing such a trip on our own and would love to make new friends along the way. Looking for a balance of sightseeing, history, shopping, dining, adventure, and of course, partying. I have seen many reviews on companies such as EF College Break and Contiki, however, I have not been able to find much on AESU. AESU has one trip that we are particularly interested in (Explorer - 17 days - England - France - Italy - Vatican City - Greece - Greek Islands), but we would like to hear some reviews and experiences from others who have traveled through this company before we make such a large financial commitment. Any input is greatly appreciated!

**Already posted this topic, but realized I did not phrase the title as a question to entice responses.

WoinParis

Hi Katie.
Welcome on Fodors.
Bunch of oldies here - we are young when we have kids your age ;-)
I have heard lonely planet is more focused on youngsters.
My daughter is 18 and would travel alone actually but I get your point about making friends.
Pay attention on such packages would be my advice : you have 17 days which probably take into account the traveling days from US. So 15 on the grounds for 4 countries and an island.
Which means you will lose the best part of 4-5 days traveling between countries. So it will not leave you a lot of time to sightsee.
Frankly organizing a trip to london + Paris + Rome is quite easy - you would be on your own but would have time to visit.
For 15 days in the ground I would drop Athens.
Look at kayak.com select a multi destinations starting in London and exiting from Rome or vice versa and you will have an idea of the price.
Look at booking.com for hotels/hostels and you will have an idea of the price for sleeping. Add 50 €\£/$ per day to eat and visit and you'll have a budget you can compare with your organiEd trip.
Then decide. Some here can help you find hotels etc so come back if you want that kind of help.
Mvg

WoinParis

Ps if ever you book your plane yourself do it direct with airline never with a third party.
Hotels I book via sites.

FuryFluffy

Second with Woin. The first thing I thought when I saw OP's post was that 17 days is not enough at all for that itinerary - whether AESU is good or not. It's quite easy to travel within Europe, and I don't necessarily find friends when I go by tour. But if you decide to take that tour, I wish the best luck for you.

spaarne

<i> AESU World Travel Reviews???
Posted by: katiemoy on Nov 15, 16 at 1:12am</i>

That 6 stop tour is too much for 17 days. Meeting people on a bus tour means you will be meeting other Americans.

Two girls in their 20s can do this on their own, and meet travelers from all over. Europe is civilized and has an excellent transportation infrastructure. I suggest that you get a map, a copy of Lonely Planet's "Europe on a Shoestring," join HI Hosteling International, and get a rail pass.

LMGSONIC

Most Fodorites are do-it-yourselfers. So, you won't find too many here who have done an AESU tour or would recommend it.

Planning and taking the trip on your own is likely going to be cheaper and will allow you to customize your itinerary exactly the way you want, plus allow you to "improvise" when you find you'd like to spend more time at one attraction or store, or less time at another. The people here can offer some amazing advice for every step of your trip. I suggest you listen to them. They have helped me plan some fantastic vacations.

HappyTrvlr

Avoid EF, lots of bad experiences and reciews. My granddaughter hated it and she loves traveling in Europe.

janisj

>>That 6 stop tour is too much for 17 days<<

Here is the link http://res.aesu.com/stw/STWProduct.a...AESU#trip-tour

It isn't 17 days. Day 1 is overnight flight, Day 2 is half a day, Day 17 is flight home.

As these sorts of tours go it isn't horrible and a lot is included. Not my preference for how to spend over US$5000 (when you add in airfare and extras). But you could do worse (and many tours are much worse)

greg

My first comment is, this is pricy for a 15 night trip. You see that lunches and dinners are on your own. The description is opaque about which hotels are used. "Superior" can be anything. They may be superior but located in the middle of nowhere. They can also be superior, whatever that means, in the center of the town. The latter type are only used by the high end tour operators. I don't know where AESU stands. The only reliable way is to look up the actual premise names.

Even though we use boutique hotels in convenient center of cities while eating out at highly recommended restaurants, we don't spend this much.

In my opinion, this price tag can be justified on the uncertain merit of other travel companions you might encounter. On the other hand, if you have the fund, you are foregoing an opportunity to learn how to put together trips on your own exactly suited to your goals and constraints. A skill you can leverage for the rest of your life to your benefit.

The stay at each location is super short. One day for Rome/Pompeii then ship to Greece where there are so many other things to do in the area around Pompeii (e.g. one reason why this trip is expensive; a lot of moving around without taking advantage of the destinations once having reached there).

katiemoy

Thank you all for your advice. Another aspect of concern is traveling through countries in which we are unfamiliar with the language. This makes having a general tour guide accompanying us throughout the whole trip appealing. I suppose planning the trip ourselves is doable, athlough would definitely require a lot of effort and research. Plus that would give us the freedom to travel wherever and whenever we want. Any thoughts/advice on how to not get lost and maintain our bearings throughout Europe as English-speaking only travelers?

nukesafe

The language, or rather your lack of it, should not really be a problem. You will find that many/most people in tourist related businesses in the countries you will be visiting have enough English to answer your questions. You might have more trouble understanding the answers in the UK than in France, but you will certainly get by.

FrenchMystiqueTours

If you want to meet people your age and party then you should travel on your own and stay in hostels. I travelled all over Europe by myself years ago and went to many countries where I didn't know the language. I learned the five courtesy words for each country (please, hello, thank you, goodbye, you're welcome) as well as the phrase "do you speak English" and that is all that is needed. You'll meet loads of other travellers your age in hostels and most of them will likely speak English. I made friends with many of them and was often invited to stay at their house if I visited their city and this resulted in about 2 weeks of free food and accommodation during my 2 month solo backpacking adventure. It was the best experience of my life. So I strongly urge you to consider doing this on your own.

greg

>>> concern is traveling through countries in which we are unfamiliar with the language
I presume you are from the U.S.? While foreign visitor the the U.S.A. must use English to travel in the U.S. because hardly no one speaks other language in the U.S., that is not the case in Europe. Customer facing people in Europe need to speak language used by people from all over the world plus Europe. English is a fall back language. I might see a Danish or Spanish family talking to hotel reception in Switzerland in English.

>>> would definitely require a lot of effort and research.
I presume you see effort and research as an expense. One can frame this part of the trip as a short term expenditure and make a value judgement. One can also frame this as a learning vehicle, a long term capital investment where you can reap benefits many time over during your life time not just for traveling but also in many other part of your life. It might appears in your youth that you can easily learn this skill later. Looking at others who reached their 60s, many fail to acquire this skill; gathering relevant facts, making informed assumptions, taking worthwhile risks, and improve their planning and decision making skills in process.

>>> Any thoughts/advice on how to not get lost and maintain our bearings throughout Europe as English-speaking only travelers.
My view on this is that people who got lost never articulated clear goals in the first place irrespective of the language consideration. Many come to this forum spinning their head asking whether so and so is worth doing, whether they are spending enough time, what is the best way to do this and that, etc. In all cases, they remain confused because they have no guiding posts to help them decide.

FrenchMystiqueTours

When I traveled years ago the Eurail pass was a good deal but that is no longer the case so you'd need to research train travel and you can do so at seat61.com. I bought my Eurail pass, a one way ticket to Amsterdam and a Let's Go Europe book that I didn't read until on my flight to Amsterdam. So my whole plan was to land in Amsterdam and see what happens. I had no plan and no prebooked accommodation. I just used to go to the train station and get on the next train to wherever seemed interesting. Those days are over now so you'll have to planning but it can be done. Language or lack thereof was never an issue for me.

LMGSONIC

Travel planning is a lot easier these days with forums like these and the multitude of great books and web sites available. It can still feel a bit overwhelming at the beginning, but everything will eventually "click" and you'll appreciate the freedom and flexibility of planning your own schedule.

As mentioned above, definitely learn a few key words and phrases in each country's main language. Many people do know a good amount of English, so you should have no trouble getting around. But, it shows a level of respect and politeness to greet someone or say thank you in their native language.

My husband and I were in Paris a few years back and we were waiting at the Metro ticket window to get a carnet and some advice on how to get somewhere as some of the lines weren't running. The gentleman in front of us (American, like us) just leaned in and started loudly asking the employee questions in English, no greeting, and the employee just spoke back in French until the man got frustrated and left. I was nervous as I knew very little French, but I greeted the employee and apologetically tried to ask him what I needed in French and he spoke perfectly good English back to me. I did not assume. I attempted to say something in his language. Now, it was rude of him not to help the other man as that's his job; however, I found that learning some French really helped the locals return the respect that we gave to them.

Anyways, I can assure you that as we traveled through France, Germany and Austria, everyone either spoke some English or could find someone who could to help us. We rarely got lost, and when we did, someone was there to help.