I am finally getting my long awaited trip to Europe with my husband (in Aug. 2007) and am looking for the best options. He is the type that does better if everything is planned out, at least the first time there. So I'm looking at Rick Steves, Cosmos, Globus, and possibly Trafalgar though their itineraries don't look as interesting to me. I know it's important to have a good guide and I don't want to be overly lectured to. I'm looking at one of the 12-21 day tours--Europe highlights types. Has anyone done any of these? Any thoughts? I know some things shut down in August due to country holidays--such a in Italy. Thanks for your help.
Janie

Hi J,

A major problem with tours, in which everything is scheduled and arranged for you, is that you might want to go somewhere else.

Since you have over a year to plan this adventure, why not tell us what your draft itinerary is and let us help you put it together.

The service is free, and there is no obligation, except for writing the mandatory trip report.

I agree w/ira, in addition, you are unlikely to get much info about tours from the group on here. Planning the trip is half the fun...Give us a shot...

Are you looking for budget (Cosmos) or 1st class (Globus). I love both!

Be aware of Trafalgar - their itinerary is not as posted on the Internet. This is not a US company, and they have different legal responsibilities.

I wouldn't do highlights, I would pick a country or 2 and do a deaper tour, but that's me. I would take a shorter tour, and then stay longer to explore on my own.

There is a "search" space above on the screen, type in the tours' names and you'll pull up prior posts.

My first trip was a Rick Steves tour and we had a fabulous time. I now travel on my own but I learned many skills while on that tour. It is wise to research any tour as if you were going on your own. I was relieved on my first trip to not have to find my way, nor figure out which hotel to stay in.

Trafalgar is a subsidiary of a UK-based company, and Globus is Swiss-owned. Cosmos is the budget end of Globus (Trafalgar has CostSaver).

Rick Steves tours don't include airfare and are therefore more expensive, and that doesn't necessarily mean fancier hotels. I think the cost trade-off is supposed to be because they don't pack the buses fully, which may make for a more comfortable ride and easier to 'gel' as a tour group.

Globus has been in business a long time and is probably a good compromise.

While I don't think there is anything wrong with taking a tour for one's first trip to Europe (after all, that's how we got started and we loved it all), why don't you look at the brochures which can be requested online and start a list of the places that interest you and why. (talk about a run-on sentence!)

I also took a tour on my first trip.

They have their advantages for those traveling alone or for those who might be somewhat intimidated by travel in another country.

Best thing about them is someone does the driving. The tours also include some meals .

Some tours company pack their busses though. Also, you can not spend as much time in a certain area as you might like. Most tour outfits spend 2 nights in a certain loacation.

So there are positive and negative things about tours.

Doing Switzerland is so easy that one does not need a tour. I prefer to be out walking in the fresh air rather than in some stuffy museum. That's just me though. The tours will take you on all of the museum places.


>>>>><<<<Since you have over a year to plan this adventure, why not tell us what your draft itinerary is and let us help you put it together.<<<<<>>>>>

Now that is what I like to hear. I have seen others get help planning an independent trip. People helping other people who have never been to Europe.

When I was on AOL, I once posted some questions about Austria. Some snotty person responded for me to get a book on Austria and quit asking silly newbieish questions. This was about 1995 on AOL.

I Like it when people want to help others get started.

I looked into the Rick Steves tours. The other poster is correct: they don't include airfare so the tour cost is pricey. And Ira is correct. You just may want to stay longer in a certain area, or go somewhere not on the itenerary. The fact that you have a partner with whom to travel should make going on your own a fun adventure, and this way you can study the guidebooks and decide which places really appeal to you (instead of letting the tour companies decide for you).

People on this board will be helpful in guiding your itinerary and even accomodations, if you have an idea of where you want to go.

Here's an idea: If you aren't sure which areas you would like to see, you might want to start watching travel dvds (like those by PBS host Rick Steves--available for sale on amazon.com or at ricksteves.com) or PBS host Rudy Maxa's Europe to the Max. These shows provide footage of many beautiful European destinations.

Janie,

I went on a tour last summer with Go Ahead Tours, which is actually a very good company. I met some very nice people on this trip. Since I was traveling solo, I decided this would be the best way to go. But tours move at a fast, not leasurely, pace. You see quite a bit in one day, and the guides do lecture quite a bit (that's what they're paid to do). I don't regret having done the tour, as our guide was great, and I saw many wonderful places, but next time I may travel alone (or combine a tour with traveling alone....at the end). If I had a husband, though, I would not want to book a grand tour. I would, instead, want to rent a car and visit the villages (and entire regions) that tour groups don't visit. If you are really set on a tour and money is no object, then the Rick Steves tour might be best as they build in lots of free, leisurely time. Apparently, you also learn how to travel solo on these trips.

I didn't mean to sound patronizing when I suggested watching the RS shows. You're obviously familiar with them or you wouldn't have suggested one of his tours as a possibility. I own the box set of Rick's newer shows and one of Rudy Maxa's (on France). I watch them occasionally just to help me decide where I want to go next. It does help. You can also rent Rudy Maxa's newer shows (and Rick's older ones) from Netflix.

We wouldn't recommend Steves....Much depends on the guides and, contrary to what Steves' ads say, his are not all teriffic. As to accomodations, we are not four-star people, but his choices can be pretty disappointing. We have found that we can do our own itinerary and planning and have great trips...

sigd:

Out of curiosity, did you go on a Rick Steves tour and find it disappointing? Or were you referring to his recommendations in guidebooks. I'm not a four star person either, but I do like some measure of comfort in the places where I stay. I'm wondering if I should trust the recommendations in Rick's guidebooks for this reason. The hotels on my Go Ahead tour last summer were all quite nice. The only reason I have not considered the RS tours (aside from just wanting to get away from tours altogether) is they don't even allow you to pay a single supplement if one is traveling solo. That means they pair you with someone on the tour for room sharing. No thanks. I enjoy my privacy too much.

For the UK and Ireland I am a big fan of Back-Roads Touring Co., which is London based.

There are also several tours of the continent as well.

I have taken the short mini tours in a small group.

I do not like any of the big tours because you are riding in a big metal bubble with almost total insulation from the country you are viewing from a bus window.

I tried one of Ireland and swore never again.

It might be the look of the draw...my Trafalgar tours have been excellent but you have to learn to read the brochure and understand "tourese"..more on that in a second.

I have nothing but the highest regard for the Trafalgar tour directors I have had and contrary to popular opinion here, the tours do leave free time to do your own thing if you so desire and time for shopping, not that there are any bargains to be had but that's another point.

Reading trafalgar brochures involve understanding what it means when they say view xyz castle it means as you whiz by on the motorway the tour deirect says look out to the right and there is xyz castle...visit xyz castle means the tour will stop and you will have a visit to xyz castle included...an opportunity to visit xyz castle means the tour will stop and if you want you can visit xyz castle (and pay the admission price, not that the admission price is not included in the tour price if the visit is included)...why not visit means the visit will be an optional tour.

Yes some of the best parts of tours are optionals which means added expense but you will have the opportunity to share experiences with a group of travellers from different and far away lands and learn a lot about people too.

Also you don't have to worry about arriving in Rome at 6 PM and trying to find where your hotel is....some people like this; others feel it's part of the adventure.

Trafalgar and Globus are pretty much equal although Globus has made an effort to make what's included more clear in its brochure but in my experience there are a greater percentage of Americans on globus tours than on Trafalgar (not that that is evil but I like a variety of nationalities you know Americans, Canadians, Aussies, Kiwis, New Yorkers) on my tours...Cosmos and Trafalgar costsavers are on an equal pretty much so and insight, which is a branch of trafalgar are a step up (deluxe) as opposed to Globus and Trafalgar (first class) and Cosmos and Cost Savers (Tourist class)...

The difference the location of the hotels and just what is included but the itineraries are pretty much standard.

Like I say I have enjoyed every one of the Trafalgar tours I have taken and would have no problem recommending them to anybody.

I know only one person who has taken a Rick Steves tour. This was about ten years ago, to Ireland and possibly some other close by countries.

My friend looks like she is an anorexic, thin as a rail, and seems to live on coffee. She stayed with us for a few days as she lives in another state, and barely ate anything..

When she returned from the Rick tour, she telephone me and said that they almost starved to death - herself included. Finally the guide told them the heck with Rick's meal budget and told them to order whatever they wanted from the menus.

DH and I are still shaking our heads over that one. Maybe she only eats when traveling ;-)

Nina

Janie-
My dad is also a big tour person, and even though I prefer to travel on my own, I have really enjoyed the Tauk tours we have all taken together- I think my parents are almost exclusive Tauk tourers now.
I'm not sure about the price comparison (since I was getting to come along on parent's dime!), but our hotels were always fantastic and we even keep in touch with a few of the guides because they were so wonderful.
So, for what it's worth- here's one reccommendation for Tauk.

Rick Steves tours do not include airfare but any bus travel is on a full size bus with fewer than 30 people. The included meals, in my experience, have been filling and tasty. I have found the guides to be superior. I guess your mileage may vary. Rick Steves tours include the stops mentioned, not just a drive by. The hotels are centrally located and are mostly 3*. Earlier tours had more basic lodging but they were always clean and safe.

Hi

I'm a real fan of tours - we've taken a Trafalgar tour and two Cosmos tours. Both were excellent. The Trafalgar tour was a 12 day European "sampler". I would advise against this. Yes it was fun but it was whirlwind. We did a Cosmos tour of Greece and one of Spain. We will be doing an Insight tour of Turkey in September. I have enjoyed picking one country and "immersing" myself in it. So lots of choices for you - Italy would be good, or France and Greece or Spain was great too. I could go on and on!

i'm not a tour person, but i would recommend not choosing a tour unless you know all of the hotels that the tour will use (i have no idea if this is realistic). if the exact properties are not stated, i would never take my chances.

i used to do business in stratford-upon-avon and occasionally would need to stay in a large business hotel rather toward the motorway and quite a distance out of town. this hotel was expensive but of a very poor quality. it is dismal and depressing, and on a busy road with nothing walkable. i only stayed here when everything else in town was booked. i would always see tour buses (often trafalgar) in the car park. i would always feel sorry for the tour people who were put up in a hotel so far outside of town...no evening strolls or pub visits without organising a taxi.

it's easy to see why these hotels are chosen...they are easy in/out for the driver and there is plenty of parking for the bus. also, maybe being trapped there means that it's easier to round people up when it's time to go.

also, few restaurants in europe are able to accomodate large tour groups of 30+. the places that can accomodate this number of people are often in large hotels.

just a few things to think about.

Thank you to all of you. I didn't realize how long ago I put the first post. We ended up scheduling a Cosmos 17 day tour--Focus on Italy and Paris. We liked the itinerary and my husband felt more comfortable with it being planned, especially with not knowing the language etc. Also, we have 3 couples we know that signed up also. Too hard to travel with friends otherwise because everyone has different interests. On the tour we can pick our own excursions and we all answer to the same bus! It may be more bus time than we'd like but we'll see a lot our first time there. We'll let you know! (A bit nervous about the weather in August, but that's when we have time off in common.)
Janie