ncalhoun

Can anyone suggest some quality companies(websites) that offer tours throughour Europe? <BR><BR>My boyfriend and I would like to plan something for either Fall 2003 or Spring 2004. Best time to go? We're not exactly sure what parts we'd want to go since neither of us has been before (only to London). <BR><BR>We're in our mid-20s and love to travel so all ideas and suggestions are greatly appreicated. <BR><BR>Thank you!

MFNYC

How long of a trip do you plan? I'm not much of a tour person but I've heard from others that Tauck offers quality tours.

ncalhoun

We are thinking anywhere from 10-14 days total.

MFNYC

Whatever you should chose, make sure you won't be living out of a suitcase and spending 1/2 your time on a bus. Assuming you'll have some stops in major cities, figure at last 3 good days in each. Less then that will be too rushed.

elaine

HI<BR>following up on the comments above:<BR>you need to narrow it down a little.<BR>Time? Budget? Special interests, like food or wine or gardens? Interested in bike tours or hiking?<BR>Cities and/or countryside?<BR>How do you feel about art museums?<BR>You want an escorted tour, or just one that provides accommmodations, air fare, and maybe some intercity transport?<BR><BR>I'm not a tour veteran myself, but if you narrow down your criteria some experts can make suggestions.<BR><BR>You have no interest in planning completely independent travel?<BR>That's ok, just wondering.<BR>

bobthenavigator

The best advice I can give is to start with the biggies first and narrow your potential destinations based upon:<BR>WHEN--HOW LONG--HOW MUCH ???<BR><BR>Look at the Rick Steves site to get ideas for good itineraires, then plan an independent trip based on what turns you on. You are too young to ride the bus with retirees like me. Think Spain in April and Italy in the fall. The Steves tours are more mixed by age group, but you can do the same trip for yourself for 25% less. Last thought ! Your enjoyment will be directly proportional to your hours of homework.

suze

My concern about a tour group is your age. I'm no expert but I image you don't really want to be stuck on a bus full of retired folks. (Hey don't be mad old people, I'm 49 myself!).<BR><BR>I don't have the answer but I'd look into tours aimed for your ages group. Well actually, I'd just plan it myself, but if you aren't comfortable with that...<BR><BR>Rick Steves is a great place to start (guidebook: Europe thru the Backdoor) even if you don't decide to tour thru his company.

Janine

Trafalgar Tours (www.trafalgartours.com) or Busabout (www.busabout.com) for something less structured.

nancy

Having been on a couple of tours, usually they are filled with retirees (me included) which is not bad but you may want younger company. The trouble with tours is that they're very structured - bags out at 6:00 am, hit the road at 8:00am (when I'm ready to go at 7:00am), endless bus trips. However, saying that, I would definitely check out Rick Steves' tours. The prices are a bit high in my estimation and don't include airfare but they seem to very casual. Frankly, if I were you, I'd do it independently. And, I'd rent a car! So much more freedom. Either Fall or Spring would be fine. Have hit cold spells and heat spells in October.

Raven

ncalhoun<BR><BR> Take a look at Globus we have taken a couple tours with them and had a great experience both times. Happy traveling.<BR><BR> Peace, Raven<BR><BR>

walkabout

I usually travel independently now, but when I first started traveling in my 20's, I used escorted tours. As others have pointed out, most people on escorted tours are older, and back then I was usually the youngest or one of the youngest people in the group. This was especially true of the more expensive &quot;first-class&quot; tours such as Globus and Trafalgar. Cosmos, the budget arm of Globus, had a slightly younger crowd, presumably because of cost. Being the youngest person on an escorted tour wasn't a problem for me--just something you should be aware of. <BR><BR>Have you considered Contiki tours? They offer tours for people 18-35. I have never traveled with them, so can't comment on their quality. <BR><BR>Another option would be to spend part of the time with a tour and part of the time on your own. I always arranged to either fly in early before the tour started or stay on after the tour ended (sometimes both). This way you could have the convenience of both a tour and independent travel.<BR><BR>To help you decide which countries you want to visit, you may want to check out affordabletours.com. It lists several tours by different companies.<BR><BR>Whichever you choose, please pay attention to travel times. If you choose a tour that covers a lot of different countries, you may find that much of the time is spent on the bus rather that at the destinations. <BR> <BR><BR>

mpprh

Hi<BR><BR>Just a general observation :<BR><BR>I've noticed that US travel brochures offering inclusive European tours seem to be very expensive.<BR><BR>It may be worth booking a return flight to London, and taking a European trip London - Europe - London.<BR><BR>You can do this by searching on Yahoo UK version on http://uk.dir.yahoo.com<BR><BR>Even cheaper, but more work, is to put your own trip together using someone like Eurolines http://www.eurolines.com/<BR><BR>Peter<BR>http://tlp.netfirms.com<BR><BR>

Danacat

HI. I have done several Contiki tours, and loved both of them. One to Greek Islands, and one to Spain. It was a great way to be introduced to travelling. I am now comfortable to travel on my own. I usually travel in September, as I find the crowds and heat are not as great. Was just in Italy in September and had good weather as well. You could do a tour that covers several different countries to give you a taste, or pick a tour that concentrates on one country. This is the way I do it. I just keep going back to explore Europe country by country. Ireland is next!