sandyatlanta

We are going on our first "tour vacation" in June. We have traveled quite a bit and have always planned everything for ourselves...part of the fun!
Friends asked us to go to on this one and they have used the tour company before. So, my question is, have you traveled both ways,and how do you enjoy the obvious benefits of the tour (transportation prearranged, etc.) and stay sane with the constraints of being in a group?
Not sure this question is written very well but maybe some will get what I'm trying to ask!

SeaUrchin

After traveling independently I could never travel on a group tour to Europe. I took a tour on a part of a larger trip when I visited Russia and when I visted China because at the time those places were beyond my ability to navigate. Now days I would not even take those tours and would travel on my own.

It is impossible of me to think of following a leader and have everything prearranged. Good luck to you if you do it.

suze

I have never gone on an organized tour and don't plan to try it anytime soon.

Traveling as part of a tour group on a big bus, and having a schedule dictated to me... well I couldn't make it past that part to even think about possible benefits.

SeaUrchin

I have to add that those tours I took were impossible to do on my own because they were both river cruises. Only the day trips were organized if you wanted to take them.

southeastern

There is good and bad to both. Sometimes we are just too busy to plan a trip on our own but want to GO so we take a small group tour. Never do those big bus things. OAT tours provides small groups 16-25 and you have free time on your own. We usually travel with another couple, on our own or with a group, so we can always make our own fun. It depends if you are a social person, picky, etc. We are lay back easy (from The Big Easy) so our feathers are never ruffled. We have loads of fun doing both ways. If you have never traveled with these folks, a tour might be best until you find out what kind of travelers they are. Just the 4 of you can get testy, if you have never traveled with them. You learn a whole lot about other people when you travel together. I suggest you evaluate what you want with them and then decide or go with what you think is best for you.

sandyatlanta

We have traveled with this couple and that part will be fine. We're going to Scandinavia and Russia and no one had time to plan such a long trip. I really enjoy the planning but we usually don't go to so many places on one trip....this tour seems to have a lot of free time (good) and the prearranged meals are almost always breakfast so we'll be on our own for dinner.

I'm rambling but I just need to know how much wine I'm going to need!

djkbooks

We usually travel independently, but sometimes a tour is just so much more efficient.

We went to Russia on a river tour because we wanted to cover a lot of territory, have English speaking guides, etc.

The "schedule" and traveling with a large group day after day wasn't optimal - but we saw and did a lot more than we ever could have done on our own.

For sure, we were thrilled to get away from the group when the free time rolled around.

Lexma90

DH and I have always planned all our trips on our own, except for the year where I wanted (birthday ending in 0) to go on a horseback riding trip/tour.

It was a bit different than I imagine your trip will be - we stayed in one location for five days, and each day we (except for my hubby) went horseback riding for about 5 hours. We had all of our meals at the villa where we were staying.

However, we had a rental car, and each afternoon (after riding), DH and I would drive somewhere different, arriving back to the villa just before dinner.

On the one day off from horseback riding, the tour organizers took the participants on a van ride to Siena for the day. We didn't do that; we took our rental car and went elsewhere (we'd already been to Siena several times).

Also, we did get tired of dinners at the villa. So we went off and had dinners at restaurants in nearby towns for two nights.

Except for days when you're transferring from one destination to another, there's no reason you couldn't do your own thing, right? In some situations, you may be paying for a meal at another restaurant that you've already paid for as part of the tour, but if you want to get away, that added price may be worth it.

WillTravel

I've found that on day tours, it does sometimes help to have that extra push to go more and see more, when I might otherwise tend to dawdle. Of course, doing this too much can lead to overload, which is one reason I've only done day tours so far. But the main reason is that I've never found a tour as cheap as I can do on my own.

prue

I think Tours are a great way to travel as long as you go with the right attitude and don't let the regimentation get to you. The same applies with your fellow travellers - just go with the flow and you will have a great time. Once you start to let things niggle they will just escalate and spoil the trip for you.

sandyatlanta

LEXMA90,
Yes, I think we will have a lot of "on our own" time...maybe can rent a car some, too...that's a good idea.
I'm grateful that dinners are for us to figure out. That's part of the fun and I don't like forced socialization.

nytraveler

I've only been on a couple of tours - when there was no choice - one to Russia and parts of Scandinavia - and one paid for to London, Paris and Amsterdam (but that was more a package of group hotels and transport - and you did what you wanted in each city).


The latter wan;t so bad - except for the hostess in each city that was pushing their own extra tours - when we already had our own plans. (One even went so far as to say we couldn't get from London to Windsor by ourselves since it was so complicated. She was really aggravated when I laughed at her.)

The other trip was a real tour and to someone used to independent travel it was a real pain. Starts too early, a lot of time spent "shopping" which is not an activity I like, one hotel switched, not enough time to do what I wanted, and several tour mates who were very clingy - they couldn't organize the free time activities or meals since they were afraid of their own shadows - and kept complaining how expensive everything was. (And this was in the years when europe was cheap!)

Oh - and then there are the people that are late. There are a couple on every tour. If the guide doesn;t deal with them sternly the first day they get later and later as the trip goes on. I reco talking to the guide as soon as it is apparent who they are - and that they be told in no uncertain terms that the group will NOT wait for them. (If you do it in the first stop - so they don't get left behind in a strange city - having to pay their own taxi fare back to the hotel may be enough to hurry them up.)

southeastern

I've never been on a tour where you were "forced to socialize" and we have never been on a tour where people were late. Guess we have been lucky. Cost is not always a factor, sometimes the tour provides more than you could do on your own. We are going into Saudi Arabia in Jan. and we could not do that on our own. Again, the key is to do what makes you happy, it's your time and money.

suze

southeastern~ But how about getting up early in the morning? You have to do that, right?

southeastern

Yes, but we get up early even traveling independantly. Like to get pictures when the "tourists" aren't out and we do "full" days. I can sleep late at home. We also like walking around when the streets of the city are waking up and you can see the people getting ready for the day. Like sipping a coffee, watching people go to work, sort of "slice of life" thing.

cybertraveler

DH and I took an organized tour to Italy on our first trip to the country. We had traveled extensively before on our own, but felt that since we didn't speak the language a tour would be best for our first time.

Benefits of the tour:
1)our guide shared a lot of information over the course of the trip about the Italian way of life that we wouldn't have found out on our own.
2)We did get to see a lot in a short period of time.
3)Cost was less than doing it on our own
4)We did feel safe for our first experience

Things we didn't care for:
1)The hotels chosen were out of the main parts of town where we would have preferred to stay, and we didn't really get a true taste of Rome or Florence (stayed in a Sheraton outside of town there--might as well have been at home!)
2)Early morning departure times that meant we HAD to get up around 6:30 daily--and we do not like to go to bed early on vacation!
3)Some of the stops were at places that we really didn't care about visiting (Padua, for one)
4)We hated being herded along by the bored-acting guides in each of the stops (Forum, Vatican, Florence art galleries)
5)Included dinners were again as part of a herd of the others in the group at restaurants we would never have chosen. We actually opted out of one of the free dinners, just to have some time on our own.

So, we haven't taken guided tours since then, and we've enjoyed our trips much more. I would try to convince your friends that you can plan the trip much better and you'll all have more fun if you do it on your own.

Let us know how it ends up!

PIPERPAT

It seems that most of the people who responded are fans of independent travel, so let me put in a plug for tours. We started out doing the large group tours and enjoyed them, although some of the bigger groups were larger than we liked. A few years ago we discovered OAT, with never more than 16 in a group and are extremely happy with them. I don't care to do all the planning myself and prefer to have things arranged for me. I also find that I learn a lot from the guides that I would probably never learn on my own, especially since OAT uses all local guides who have a great depth of knowledge. I also like the small group because you get to know the people and can have fun socializing if you enjoy doing that. We've found that we prefer the security and ease of group travel.

southeastern

We just did our first OAT tour in Jan. and totally agree with you. We enjoyed it so much that we have booked the Red Sea tour in Dec/Jan. with OAT. Their guides are fantastic! The small group was great. Felt like I was on a private tour, there were only 6 of us in Cambodia!

MarthaT

You never said what tour group you are going with. It might be too late but some of us might know the pros and cons with that company.
I am a tour person myself. I travel solo and like the social aspects of a group. That said I prefer to travel with small group tours. I have never tried OAT but I really like Adventures-Abroad. They only take up to 19 people. NO SHOPPING STOPS. In their post trip survey they ask if you were led into stores by the local guides because they do not like that and will let the city guides know.
You still have to get up early but I get up early for work and it is much easier for me on vacation because I am excited to start the day. I also like being out before the crowds and watching the locals doing their early morning things.
I have found the people on the small group tours really enjoy each other and have not have any problems with late people or nasty people.(Big group tours are another story).

bozama

I think with the range of tours available now its not fair to compare all tour experiences. Many are NOT a big bus expereince with 50 fellow travellers and a day in each place( like many tours sued to be).
There are now quite a few tour companies that offer small groups, two or three nights in each stop, well informed guides who do not do "shopping stops" and some tours are also interest specific.
In those cases tours can be an enjoyable and easy way to travel. You do have to be a somewhat socialable person, so for couples who only like each other, a tour may never work out.
Tours can also save money.

I have never taken a tour, always on my own, but this July I am going to Europe for 26 days, and 14 of those days I will be on a Family Tour. I am travelling alone with my 12 y r old and wanted to see more of Europe then England and France( which I have done alone and with my 14 yr old ) . I have been to about 8 different countries in Europe, BUT , that was years ago as a backpacker. Now that I am travelling with a child, I though it would be a good way for her to meet other kids( we are going on a tour for FAMLIES , so no it won't be a busload of seniors,,LOL) plus its a small group( not more then 26 apparently)
We will still have 12 days on our own in Paris,, but I speak french and have been there many times, but for Italy , Germany etc, where I have no language it will be all arranged for me.

BIG plus, when I booked and paid for tour the tour was priced based on a euro being 1.35.. so now with euro being so much higher I am saving some money on 14 nights of accomadations. In Paris we went from eating in cafes and bistros to eating sandwiches on the benches( as euro has risen) to keep us in a decent hotel! LOL