quokka

You will most probably travel cheaper on your own than with a tour, and be more independent in your plans.

Palenque

ditto to quokka on Germany being really easy IME to travel in on your own - either with a car if wanting to tour rural areas or if going mainly to larger town then definitely IMO by train - the train system is so fantastic and easy to use - i speak no German and never have had a problem traveling in Germany and have done so annually for decades.

Now there are valid reasons folks opt for tours - having others around - not having the make arrangements which can be time consuming and tours can even be as cheap IMO as on-your-own travel - depending on your travel style and budget due to their bulk buying power, etc. but if a worry is a language problem or such have no worry - travel on your own here is easy IME regardless of speaking a word of German.

Palenque

krystle - the Rhine Cruises are typical, in age groups, with many group tours IME

But at your age you may look to the Contiki Tours, which are quite the contrary and are designed for the 20s age groups. Contact STA Travel in any college town or large city for details. They offer thousands of tours everywhere, including Germany

iris1745

Krystie; Just to add what 'Pal' said, the two web sites I suggested to you, give a 10% discount on Contiki, plus a 5% discount on air. Richard

Palenque

Contiki Tours have been around for decades - originally for Australians i believe and could still be an Aussie outfit but for decades has recruited zillions of American college students for their trips and then started tailoring trips to older but still youngish folks in 20s 30s

One neat thing about Contiki tours i have watched is that they seem to have young folks from all over the world on them - you could be with Aussies, New Zealanders, Japanese - a regular U.N. of folks, which to me sounds neat.

Yet these are mega groups usually in buses and often use Contiki Villages - set up in campings but offering indoor style dorms - heeavy duty permanent tents, etc. - this is their cheaper tours and the ones that made them famous. so typically it is not a hotel and regular hostel though they probably have tours now with those as well.

But as tours go you could do worse IMO

Palenque

www.cometogermany.com/specialoffers advertises 'great deals, easy booking' - an appendage of the German National Tourist Office i believe.

kfusto

Germany is IMO one of the easiest countries for independent travel. Public transport is excellent, English is widely spoken and it can be a great value as well.

Having just returned from my first river cruise, I would not recommend it to 20 somethings. It will be boring IMO. We met two couples our age and had a blast but we are active 50 somethings.

Palenque

As for Contiki type tours - if you are a male you will have about a 10-1 ratio of females to males, from my many observations of these bus tour groups getting off buses - great for guys but for gals?