HELP! Single 40-YR. OLD NEEDS S. Italy Tour Suggestions
 

Hey there!! I've taken a couple Contiki tours in my early-20's but am a bit older now!! I've traveled a lot, but I've always preferred tours while traveling alone, and I'm looking for some tour company recommendations, as for tour companies that tour Southern Italy, including either/or Tuscany or The Amalfi Coast. I'd prefer tours not "geared for retirees" as I'm still young and vibrant, but i love healthy/active older people. On the other hand, I'm NOT looking for a tour "geared for desperate singles over 40" - that's not my situation....

Any suggestions?? Again, I do NOT want to travel alone, and would sincerely appreciate any recommendations as for reputable, quality tour companies geared toward people "over 35". My budget is relatively flexible, and I'd like to travel for around 2 weeks, and I do not wish to do "adventure travel." Thank you for reading!!

Try Tauck Tours. They are on the higher end side, but stay in really nice hotels
as well as locations. You can go on their web site & read reviews from past travelers.
That will give you a sense of the type of people that take their tours. I have taken many.
Good luck .....

I took the Globus tour a few years ago. It was a great experience. The hotels were good and the food was fine. I am in my forties too and I was also looking for some company while touring. We had a very nice group. I had company when I wanted and the freedom to roam around alone if I wanted to. It was a good balance for me. If you have any more questions, don't hestitate to ask.

You might try either Gap Adventures or OAT. Not all of their tours are "adventure".
http://www.gadventures.com/
http://www.oattravel.com/

Insight and Trafalgar used to have some 21-35 age group tours that weren't all party like Contiki. I'm not sure if they still do, but Insight does offer six different tour styles.
http://www.insightvacations.com/tours/search-results
http://www.trafalgar.com/usa

Go Ahead also offers several tour styles.
http://www.goaheadtours.com/search/#r-Italy

Not many tour companies have tours for southern Italy (Puglia, Basilicata,Calabria) . Most are the big cities or central Italy. Maybe Perillo or Rick Steves.

Take a look at Rick Steves' Italy tours to see if any of the itineraries interest you:
http://tours.ricksteves.com/tours/italy
Rick's small group tours attract like-minded people, therefore, from what I read, tour members develop good chemistry quickly.

I'll add Intrepid to this list. I'm a little older than you and have traveled with them to India and Central Europe. Both times the group (small, which like) ranged in age from 20s to 60s. Hotels aren't upscale, but the tours are well-run and give you a fair amount of free time. And both times, there were more singles than couples, which was nice. Definitely not "desperate singles over 40," though. The travelers tend to be mostly Australian.

I've also traveled with G Adventures (Egypt) and can recommend them, too. They're similar to Intrepid. In fact, I'm going to China with them in October.

Good luck and have a great time.

I'm wondering if you've found anything interesting through your research?!? I'm 40 YO (married but traveling alone) looking for the same type of travel this summer. Although i'm looking for Northern Italy/Tuscay and Rome for a couple of weeks. I'm somewhat interested in the Rick Steves 2 weeks "Your Way" tour - This sounds like the best so far since I'm not interested in traveling with tour guides, but it would be nice to come back to the hotel at night and have dinner with company :).

If you've found any interesting tours - please share them.

Heidi