I hadn't considered that, thanks for the enlightenment.

Travelling alone versus a tour is a personal preference thing, I believe. I usually prefer to travel alone, but that's my personality - I'm not a huge people person and am pretty independent. I do like to mix it up with a day tour here and there, though. For example, when I visited Ireland last year I took a day tour of the Ring of Kerry, which I truly enjoyed. Since I don't rent a car when I visit Europe, a day tour gives the option of visiting some places I might not get to otherwise.

For places I'm interested in visiting that are in Europe, I think I can travel solo without much problem, but there are other parts of the world where I would want to be part of a tour group. My best friend and I visited China with a tour group in 2004, and I don't think I would be brave enough to go it alone, then or now. It is because of language/communication issues mostly. Getting into a good tour group is a roll of the dice. We were fortunate to have the perfect combination of excellent tour guides and very well-seasoned travelers in the group who were always on time, didn't whine, and got along with everyone. It was actually my best trip ever.

So who knows? Either one can be great or awful, and allowing for different styles/habits/tastes etc., I don't think there is one right way versus another.

My European travel so far has only been to countries where I speak the language - the UK and Spain - and with the availability of the internet to do research, buy tickets & make reservations, I would only do it independently. Especially to the UK, so I can be flexible enough to work around the weather - visit gardens when it's sunny, museums when it rains.

However, havng said that, if I were to travel to someplace where I didn't know the language at all, I might consider an organized tour for a first trip and then see if I could do an independent trip if I were to return. Of course that would in turn hinge on having the time and money to do all that traveling!

I've always traveled solo or with my DS. I love the flexibility of solo travel, however I'm not opposed to taking day tours if it's someplace I would not have easy access to since I never rent a car and rely on trains, etc.

As Poohgirl stated, I would consider a total tour if it is someplace that I would not feel comfortable traveling as a solo single gal. I would still do ample research however. No two tour companies are the same.

I'll try and get in as much solo travel as I can while I'm still able to handle it by myself. I'll save the total tour for when I'm tired of lugging the suitcase around by myself or making my own arrangements for getting to and fro!

Daisy54, don't sell yourself short by limiting where you go because of language. I had 3 years of Latin in high school...which was a LONG time ago....and that hasn't stopped me from visiting Spain, France, Germany, Italy where I do not speak the language. If you know a few basic phrases, carry a dictionary, and are polite (in my observation) you should have a wonderful time. Most places you go the people do speak at least a smidgen of English. What always tickles me is to go to a restaurant and try to order (butcher!) in what-ever language and have the waiter/s speak English right off the bat!

Tours along the way for indepedent planners:

An estate you can only see as part of a guided tour or maybe a vineyard and winery visit. City bus overview tours as a viable way to get your bearings in a major city in only a few hours. Certain places (catacombs in paris?) where you can only go with a guide, or possibly a bicycle tour with bikes/guides provided?

If you are going to be in a different hotel each night, do a tour.

If you are going to be in the same hotel for two or more nights, do your own thing.

If you are in a 3rd world country and you don't speak the language, you may want to consider a tour.

I must take back what I said about only going on tours in museums to see what I otherwise can't see. I'm not a tour hater. I just prefer to go on my own to places because as a child I used to go on tours with the family, see only 5 minutes of something I really wanted to see, and then need to move along to something else. I have even offered the olive branch to go on tours with friends and family who prefer the comfort of a tour guide in countries where there could be language, transportation, etc. difficulties.

For instance, this summer, we'll be taking a tour to St. Petersburg and Moscow so it'll be easier re: visa issues. I have researched everything on St. Petersburg and Moscow and felt the tour we are choosing for those 2 particular cities will fit our agenda (not mine, but I'll live).

In Japan, we often go on tours because tour packages are often cheaper than going it alone and arranging your own transportation. However, I still have the frustration of seeing a place for a scant few minutes before I'm herded off to the next pasture. It's one thing if I'm not interested, another thing entirely if that's what I came to see.

So, I must agree with my fellow Fodorites who say that there has to be give and take, and a tour is <i>sometimes</i> the wisest decision one can make.

To add clairifation and amplification to my comment about uncertainty being a bother, let me say that if someone was &quot;taking&quot; me on the trip and did the &quot;bother&quot; for me, it would not be the same thing.

I have done my own thing in Austria several times and it was not &quot;a bother&quot; because I could get about quite well and even make purchases in stores using my meager German.

On the other hand, I am not sure I want to battle travel in a country like Bulgaria until I find out more now well I can do with minimal language skills.

As for the commercial and shopping stops, that was one of my huge, huge objections to the tour I took with Insight. First there was always a commercial stop or two and secondly there were always those &quot;optional&quot; excursions that were of course extra charges. Then, when we got to the Cliffs of Moher, which was one place that I really wanted to see, we had 45 minutes.

The tours I took of Wales with Back Roads had zero commercial stops. We had time to look around a village after we stopped for one attraction or the other, but we were not whisked into some type of commercial outlet and plied with Irish coffee in an effort to get us to buy something.

That kind of tour I can do with out.

I prefer tours because I don't drive and travel solo.
But that said, I only choose to use small group, small bus, tours with no more than 10-15 people. I have been really happy with a company called Adventures Abroad.
No optionals, no shopping stops , just seeing the sights I go there to see. I do not mind starting out early because if I slept in I would feel like I was missing something. And I have a limited time off work a year so when I travel I want to see all I can in a short time.