Suggested tour company for 19 year old Europe traveller
 

My daughter has travelled in Europe with us as a family in the past. She wants to return to Europe for a month in July/August next year but will be travelling on her own and will be 19 years old. Therefore, she is interested in joining a tour group. We are from Australia and she has looked at Contiki and Topdeck tours. Does anyone have advice / experience about other companies she could consider?

My suggestion is to do it on her own - she'll meet lots of traveling companions staying at hostels.

Con Tiki in particular is a party tour - with max time sitting on a bus and min time actually seeing/doing much of anything. If that's what she wants fine - but when I went for the first time at 19 - with my BF - we just rented a mini car and went - for almost 6 weeks and loved it. Can;t imagine how awful a tour would have been.

Thanks nytraveler. I agree that doing her own thing would be preferable. However, she only gets 3 weeks off uni and will be travelling on her own, so a tour really is going to have to be the way she does it. She isn't keen on Contiki for the reasons you have given so she is trying to find something else. All suggestions would be most welcome.

With respect, I think you and/or your daughter are setting off on the wrong foot. That young woman is not going to see everything no matter how she travels. Nobody can. Better to select three or four central cities, settle in each one for at least four days, and get to know something more than what can be seen out a bus window. It's the sidestreets in tourism, and in life, where real understanding can be found, often by accident.

If she must do one of those tours, then it's probably best to try to find one that stays in 1-3 countries for those 3 weeks rather than jumps around from major city to major city as she will end up spending more time on the bus.

Try Intrepid Travel - only used them once but they were good - small groups, local transport, lots of free time, mixed age group. Agree that one that covers less ground would be a better experience.

Thank you very much everyone. Much appreciated.

G Adventures is another alternative - haven't used them but they look interesting.

I was going to suggest Intrepid, too. They have a three week Rome to Paris tour, but it's not cheap. Traveling by train and staying in hostels I'm sure she could do it for less, and slow down, as well. Moving faster doesn't necessarily mean a better experience.

<<Con Tiki in particular is a party tour - with max time sitting on a bus and min time actually seeing/doing much of anything. >>

That's bulls--- for the narrow-focus tours (Italy, Spain/Portugal, Uk/Ireland). Saw plenty. Much free time. Party as you want from 0 to infinity.

The Italy tour had little partying and a great deal of wandering and hanging out with tour mates. Spain was more party oriented. The Uk/Ireland won't be party-hardy because there are ton(ne)s of stops in the interior. Italy was not much for time on the bus because the longest ride was Assisi to Venice - maybe 4 hours.

3 weeks off uni and will be travelling on her own, so a tour really is going to have to be the way she does

WHY? Three weeks is a gracious plenty of time. She's been before so "understands" about travel. She's plenty old enough. She'll meet people. She'll probably return in her life.

AND she can plan it herself, get advice here/from guide books, see what SHE wants--and be cheaper.

Thanks everyone for your input