Good for you Michelle, if you do decide to take a hosted tour, regarding the comment above about city tours. I have yet to visit a city in Europe that doesn't offer a ton of city tours. They have bus tours, walking tours, pub tours, museum tours, audio tours.. the list is endless, if you do end up on a hosted tour that doesn't handle city tours, simply by walking, spur of the moment into a tourist information booth, you should be able to pick up 20 or more brochures that offer city tours.

Really look into going on your own. There are enough people in this forum to help you put the trip together.

PS Regarding people who book hotels in advance as opposed to waiting until the last moment or winging it. Frankly there is NO right or wrong way to go to Europe, you just choose a way that works best for you. I have done it both ways, and now prefer to book my hotels in advance since I find that location, price, amenities are important to me and you do have a wider range of options if you book earlier rather then later. Having said that sometimes, just by driving into a town, going to tourist info and asking for a room, we have found fantastic places. Another reason I like to book well in advance is that it's so fun, especially with the Internet, to find some terrific hotel, print out a picture of a room and stick it above my computer at the office... so I know exactly WHY I am working all these flippin' hours. Again, it stands repeating, there is NO right way or wrong way to travel to Europe.. the most important thing is to get there, have a good time and keep an open mind.

I'm not familiar with the company but there is Busabout Vacations which is a hop on hop off bus. You chose where and when you want to go. Anyone out there more familiar with them?

Message: Check out CIT Tours in N.Y.C.<BR>I have used them twice to Italy and loved it. We did the independent tour of Rome, Florence, and Venice. You have<BR>your meals on your own, but they do transfers, hotels, 1st class great locations, and city tours, the rest is easy enough to do alone. Great prices too. Check them out. They have a toll free phone, just call info. Good Luck.<BR>

People who like to travel, no matter what their age, tend to be intelligent, inquisitive, &amp; usually have a good sense of humor. Perhaps being on a tour with a group of senior citizens wouldn't be so bad. Just a thought.

Michelle, having done a couple of tours, I like the ones where they get you to the city, to your hotel, provide a half day city tour, and offer optional side trips. You are really on your own, but you'll recognize other people from that half day and maybe find some of them to be companionable. On the other hand, I like traveling with a variety of ages, even when I was in my 20s, traveling alone, I found the older couples were friendlier and more helpful than young people, who usually had their friends or spouses and weren't interested in expanding their cozy little group. And frankly, old people are as funny as all get-out if you don't take everything too seriously. Also, remember, a lot of people your age will have their CHILDREN with them. If you're annoyed by old folks, children can drive you nuts. We had really nice - and central - hotels with Perillo and a mixed group, although mostly 40-50 range. It was a Rome/Florence/Venice tour that gave us a lot of free time, although we'd been in a Rome for few days prior to joining the tour and went back for a few more days afterwards. You'll be on vacation, so go into a zone and just relax; and try being the person others will be so happy they met on their vacation.

As an example of tours here are links to two recent stories in the Chicago Tribune.<BR><BR>http://sns.chicagotribune.com/travel/sns-britbustour-midrange.story<BR> http://sns.chicagotribune.com/travel/sns-britbustour-cheap.story<BR><BR> There is even a comparison of several other similar tours:<BR> http://sns.chicagotribune.com/travel...-chart.ssipage <BR><BR>Hope this helps you get a feel for what's out there.<BR><BR>I understand your feeling -- as much as I travel, sometimes I wish someone else would take care of the details