Anyone have any experience with the large tour companies,such as: Globus, Traflagger, Brendan, ect.? Would appreciate your opinion . Want to go to Switzerland, Austria, and Germany and wondering if I should plan my own or go with one of the above. Planning for June 2006. Thanks.

Honestly, because this Fodors BB is (for the most part) a group of dedicated self-planners, I don't think you are likely to get a particularly objective answer to your question here.

Hi barney, I agree with Suze but noticed that you did ask "and wondering if I should plan my own or go with one of the above".

Do you have any desire or interest to plan your own trip (with help from those here on Fodors)?

I much prefer self-touring, but my sister-in-law and her husband went on a Globus tour of Italy in 2003 and had a great time. They liked not having to do all the research, not making all the decisions, but letting someone else lead them around and provide commentary. I guess that's what it boils down to: Do you want to do all the work or pay someone else to do it?

Their hotels were not the hotels I would have chosen, mostly because they were larger and very tour-group oriented. All were located outside the older central areas of the towns (where we generally prefer to stay) so that the tour buses could pull up to the main entry doors.

Howdy Barney - I have never used a tour company but I did examine very closely the tours of Germany, Austria and Switzerland offered by these companies before I decided to do my own thing. We are leaving May 2 for nine days in: Amsterdam ( 2 nights), Germany (Mosel 2 nights; Rothenburg odT 1 night; Munich area 3 nights) and day trip to Austria. With the help of two books (Frommers and Fodor - Fodor by far superior) and the generous folks of this forum I feel very confident about the trip. We've got better hotels and are able to go where and when we want to go. It actually has worked out to be slightly cheaper (although that wasn't my goal) by about $400-500 per person. It was great fun to plan - there is so much information out there. Think about it. It can be done - or, at least I hope I'm not counting my chickens before they're hatched! We come back in mid-May and I'll (hopefully) report my success.

I have used Trafalgar twice and was very pleased with the overall tour. I am doing a Globus tour Rome and Tuscany in June. This trip will be strictly on a tour and 3 added days in Roma at the end of Globus tour. These days are on your own but the transfers to Airport are included since we are using Globus Flights and Hotels.
We added days on our own and booked our own flights when we traveled with Trafalgar and really enjoyed being on your own after learning the ropes while on the tour. We enjoy th leisurely trips where you spend 5-6 days at one location and take day trips.
You need to decide how you like to travel and for how long. Good Luck.

Barney2002, Trafalgar has a message board similar to this board and this may provide a lot more info on tours in general. There are advantages to both methods of travel and you will find a lot of great info here if you opt for independent travel.
Globus does not have a message board but if you search both Fodors, Slowtrav, and Trafalgar boards you will find enough info to make up your mind.

Hi

I've taken a Trafalgar Tour before. It was good but going to various sights were optional extras. I found hotels at times were not centrally located. However we didn't have any problems with public transportation. I believe Trafalgar also do a First Class tour where hotels are of a higher rating and better located. Needless to say you pay a lot more. I thought the Tour Director was fine but most of the passengers complained that he didn't seem to know his stuff.
I have also used Cosmos (budget arm of Globus). Fantastic! Luxury coach, good hotels, great tour guide, very few excursions were treated as optional. Website - http://www.cosmosvacations.com
We were so impressed with Cosmos we have booked a tour of Spain in June.

I like the tour thing because I can plan some of the trip and then "kick back" and let someone else do the work. Even on tour you'll find you'll have plenty of free time to do your own thing. For eg. we toured mainland Greece then did the islands ourselves. I think we get the best of both worlds this way.

Ultimately it's horses for courses!

Hope this helps. Have a great trip either way!

I took a tour To England, Scotland, Wales, & Ireland with Cosmos in 2002. It was a great tour--fun international group, great tour guide, and a good combination of structured and free time.
The not so good--food seems to be pretty blah on tours (this one as well as others I've taken). I figure this is just how it is when these hotels are trying to feed lots of people.
Faith

I have been on a Globus tour to Greece and am going on one to Italy. A board for Globus is http://www.travelmb.com/viewforum.php?f=11C
It is NOT at all as good as this board! Globus was the answer for us because my husband does not want to worry about making decisions, etc. Globus takes care of everything. I live to plan, but I'd rather take a tour than stay home because my husband is a reluctant traveler.