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-   -   Independent travel verse tours (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/independent-travel-verse-tours-578356/)

jlsayre Dec 28th, 2005 03:26 PM

Independent travel verse tours
 
We have traveled Europe on our own and with tours. Just would like feed back if people think you get more out of your vacation one way or the other. I'm mixed since I'm the one who has to research all the information out before we leave I'm getting tired of doing the bookings(air,train,auto,hotel and attractions. And lugging my bags,even out to the curb. Anyone used luxury end tours? We are early 60's and are in good shape.

FainaAgain Dec 28th, 2005 03:43 PM

It's personal, of course! If you prefer tours, book them! For most posters here the pre-travel research is half the fun.

One advice from my experience of tour travel: book your own air. I've seen too many mistakes made by travel agents.

I usually take a tour (I travel by myself and don't like to be alone, the main reason for taking tours) and stay after to see some places missed. I still do some research.

nancy Dec 28th, 2005 04:05 PM

I, too, have done both and generally prefer independent travel. However, I have traveled with Grand Circle to Malta (lots of free time) and Thailand and the tours were particularly good - great tour guides. If you haven't tried Grand Circle, check out their tours. I'm particularly interested in their Eastern Europe tour as it has so much free time.

I do love the research so it's not a hassle for me. But, I hear what you're saying.

Lexma90 Dec 28th, 2005 04:22 PM

I'm definitely an independent travel (and like all that planning), but my parents, former independent travellers, have taken several small-group tours over the last couple of years that they've enjoyed very much. The tour size, I believe, has ranged from 4-10. The small size of the group has allowed them to visit sites and sights that the bigger groups cannot. Also, they've gone on trips specifically oriented toward walking (or hiking) and fine dining or cooking. You could look into that type of tour, or one directed toward any other special interest (cars, or music, etc.). They aren't necessarily luxury end tours, but I'm sure some specialty tours are. Lots of businesses seem to also offer specialty tours these days. You could check out those offered by universities, cooking schools or restaurants. The internet is great for this type of research.

aeiger Dec 29th, 2005 04:17 AM

Hi
I'm also in my early 60's and we continue to travel independently though at a slightly slower pace. whereas we would stay 1 night in a place we may stay 2 nights. I enjoy independent travel, the research is fun for me and keeps my mind more active. My wife handles the booking of the auto rentals and the hotel if we don't do it online. Look at lugging the bags as exercise. We usually take one rolling bag and a carry on. We don't check bags. As far a renting a car it allows you to visit out of the way places on your own schedule. Enjoy your independence and traveling.

mclaurie Dec 29th, 2005 06:02 AM

I think you may have asked the question to the wrong group. This forum almost by definition is a bunch of independent travelers. That said, if your major problem is doing the bookings, maybe what you need is a GOOD travel agent?

As to lugging bags, that can be fixed by staying in nicer hotels with porters. ;)

mclaurie Dec 29th, 2005 06:08 AM

I didn't mean to come across sounding so flip. I also think the idea of joining a group of like minded people (ie a gardening/cooking/archaelogy etc. tour) might be a nice idea.

jlsayre Dec 29th, 2005 06:51 AM

This group is well ballanced, old, young, money, less money and the information I have recieved over the years has always been very helpful. I do have a travel agent and matter of fact I have several I use regularly. You can't always find porters, skycaps to move your luggage especially at airports and train stations. Trust me I've been there.
I have thought of smaller groups and have done cooking tours. But my husband isn't into that portion and end up having to pay for the cooking portion for him. Just trying to find a ballance. I love the idea of traveling with my luggage. I usually use a eagle creek piece but get this in Paris last year AA agent said I could take it on board and when the flight attendent saw it comment I wish they would stop telling people that it is okay to bring on the 21" case. However she had no problem with the young man bringing on his guitar and takeing up the whole over head space.
Love all the help.

nancy Dec 29th, 2005 02:55 PM

jlsayre: I commented earlier but just looked back at your original question. I took one luxury tour to Kenya with Abercrombie and Kent - it was magnificent. I continue to get their brochures but probably would not be able to afford another one of their's. If you're interested in the high-end tours, check out their offers. They have tours to everywhere. I doubt you could get better service.

CharlesIII Dec 29th, 2005 03:44 PM

Dear Jlsayre: I am a relatively new poster here, and I have made one observation: The question(s) one asks seem rarely to be the one(s) answered.

Please forgive me, then, if I misread your original post. I am responding with the supposition that you are a)asking for feedback about your reader feels about independent versus group tours and b) wanting to know if luxury tours make a difference.

My wife and I are independent travelers by nature. We take four, perhaps five, major trips a year. Of those, however, one is usually a special interest tour with some expert agency.

Again, three to four per year are on our own. One is usually some type of group tour that centers around an activity (hiking/walking, cooking, learning a language, or studying art).

Do we get more out of traveling in a group? For that one trip per year, yes. My wife likes it that she does not have to plan the entire trip and convince me every other second on the trip that she is right. I like it that I meet some simpatico guys who actually prefer the company of their wives but would also prefer to miss any shopping. My dear wife and I enjoy the laughter and comraderie at dinner, and we certainly enjoy the services of some well-eduated guides.

We have taken low, medium and high end tours. As we have aged, we value the luggage help and expectation of overall service that comes with the higher end tour. It is worthwhile to pay more to know that one doesn't have to tussle in an unseemly manner to get served.

I assure you that we pack very, very lightly. I am also supposing that after this many years of travel, you do, too. We rarely check our luggage, even for two-week trips. Nevertheless, the small carry-on becomes harder and harder to hoist with every year. As time goes on, it seems that one of us is experiencing a bad knee, a bad shoulder, or a bad back, so that the other spouse has to shoulder, literally, the luggage burden.

We still enjoy our independent tours more, but there are times when surrounded by guidebooks, downloaded web postings, and scribbled notes, when facing one more injury, we say to each other, "Why don't we just book with so and so and make it easy on ourselves?"

I suspect that in the next five years, our inclination to make it easy will override our inclination to do it all. I think we shall try to use some stopgap measures--valet service to the airport, personal guides at locations, etc--to delay total surrender.

May your trip planning go well, no matter what your decisions may be.

Charles

StCirq Dec 29th, 2005 05:02 PM

I have never, ever taken a group tour in my life and would never do so unless I were going to a country where I felt really completely intimidated by the culture and language. That said, I GIVE tours, so I am very familiar with the mentality that goes along with wanting to have someone take care of matters for you when you go to someplace new and different.

I don't consider the logistics (making bookings, lugging bags, etc.) to be much of a hurdle to my travels, but I have certainly encountered people who do (usually people who are carrying way more luggage than they need). I mean, it's all on the internet these days, and a great consolidator can always track airfares for you, which is how I do it.

It just depends on how much control you want to have over your time. When I give tours, I find that people want to place everything in my hands. They want me to order them coffee and croissants, get them stamps at the Post Office, change money for them, negotiate in the markets over prices for antiques, make them dinner, make sure they have a comfortable bed, wake them up the next morning. That's fine, if you need it.

If you don't need that, go on your own. What's the worst that can happen?

jackandann Dec 30th, 2005 09:13 AM

jlsayre,

We travelled idenpendently for many years, but in the last several we have been taking group tours. It is so convenient to be met at the airport and assisted with the luggage, not having to find the hotel in a strange city, where you may not speak the language and having someone else worry about getting places on time. We still do a lot of research, but the success of the trip does not depend on it, it only enhances the enjoyment of it. Six trips, in the last three years were with Grand Circle, and we were completely satisfied with all of them. They cater to the senior traveller and don't maintain a hectic pace as some tour operators do. Their tour directors (guides) are outstanding and they give a good feeling for the culture and people of the visted countries. If you compare them, apples to apples, with other operators, you will find that their trips are excellent values. The trips that we have taken were:

Egypt, including a Nile cruise

A Danube river cruise from Germany to Budapest

Thailand

A Russian river cruise from St. Petersburg to Moscow

A bus tour out of Seattle and through the Canadian Rockies

A tall ship cruise starting in Rome and ending in Venice.

If you have any questions, you can either ask them in this forum or contact us via Email

Jack and Ann

SAnParis Dec 30th, 2005 09:22 AM

I have little interest in a tour unless that is the only way I could accomplish getting somewhere or doing something that would otherwise be difficult. (An Alaska Cruise/trip perhaps). As much as we plan ahead (not to mention all the fun we have doing it) you never know when you'll find that special place & just want to chuck the rest of your plans in the garbage. Structure is not something I necessarily desire while on vacation. I prefer to learn & discover things myself, rather than being led by the hand to, through, & around things. mclaurie is correct, this is not the board for "tour'ists", but for travelers. But, to each his own...Happy Travels.

loisco Dec 30th, 2005 12:18 PM

Our next two trips will combine independent travel with tours...the best of both worlds we hope.

Christina Dec 30th, 2005 01:08 PM

I haven't taken a luxury tour, so can't comment, although I did take some budget ones I enjoyed at that time. I would take a tour to certain locations (China, for example, and perhaps Russia, and Egypt) probably. There are some locations where agents actually can do a better job or get better deals from what I've read.

I was just going to suggest that if it is mainly the bookings you don't like, I would think some agents wouldn't mind at all making your bookings once you have done all the research and made your selections. that is what can take time. They might get commissions on them. You'd have to check around. If you have only chosen small budget hotels that don't pay commissions, maybe they won't, but if you are considering luxury tours, I expect that isn't the case.

The luggage thing is another story, though, and the luxury tour would take care of that for you. Maybe you should try one and see how you like it.


prizren Dec 30th, 2005 02:32 PM

You might find the Idyll Untours (www.untours.com)concept perfect for you. They have 'untours' in several European countries. For one very reasonable price, you get round-trip air transport, a two-week apartment rental, and ground transportation (rail pass or rental car, depending on the country).
They have a representative (a local) available to orient you to the area, transport system, etc. and to answer any needs you might have. They also provide copious amounts of information about the area, even specific to the time when you will be there. I have been to Switzerland with them two times, and there they arrange for your checked luggage to be transported to the town where you'll be staying;then your landlord transports it to your apartment.
After years of hearing about them, I have never yet heard a complaint!

h2babe Dec 30th, 2005 02:36 PM

I like to do both, depending on my destinations. The pro's: the tour usually takes care of transportation between countries/ cities, which I like, and they can buy tickets in group, which lets me in sometimes without having to stand in line as long. I also prefer a tour that isn't as structured so I can wander on my own, and then join the group if I get lonely. I have only done Contiki, and loved it, so I can't comment on the con's.


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