travel companies
 

I would like opinions on the best tour companies for single women, 40-60, who wish to travel alone; ie, without a copanion

I think you'll find most people here do independent travel. And best tour company depends on your budget and where you want to go and yuor travel interests/style.

Best in what way?

I've done several trips with Grand Circle and have enjoyed the trips. If I had unlimited resources I'd try Taulk or Collette or A&K. Or DIY and hire private guides - that would be wonderful.

There are so many tour companies you would have to find someone who has experienced about dozen of them and could rate them for you once you identified your criteria.

You could start by saying if you mean escorted bus trips or river cruises or ocean cruises.

I would say stay away from Globus or companies that are even cheaper than Globus.

I did a Globus tour and found it to be well organized. The hotels were clean, the tour guide was knowledgeable and the meals were fine. I did do most of the optional tours and enjoyed all of them. I found their tour leaders in each city engaging and inteptresting. I really didn't have many ecomplaints except that I would have liked more time in each place (which is why I have since travelled solo).

Ive used Grand Circle 2x and would never go again! too many elderly people who whined and complained the whole time; or made certain every one knew how important they were. And cruises are boring; I need a more active trip.

Those of you who speak of independent travel, do you mean traveling on your own? No tour groups, just you. If so how did you manage it? Again keep in mind I am considered elderly.

I'm sorry you had a bad time with Grand Circle. I guess I had good luck and didn't meet up with whining people.

Now I'm confused. You're looking for a tour group that caters to 40 to 60 year olds and yet you say you're elderly? To me that means 80+. How will you keep up with 40 year olds - people half your age?

When you say: "again keep in mind I am considered elderly" how would I keep that in mind when you never mentioned your age and you still haven't.

Have you tried OAT or Road Scholar (formerly Elder Hostel)? I haven't used either company but have read reviews and known people who have done Road Scholar trips and thought they were great. There are many, many escorted tours so you can choose the level of activity you want.

Independent travel = traveling with friends or on your own. I'm not sure what you mean by "how did you manage it" but what I do is:

1. choose a destination(s)
2. read about the places I want to go, especially read guide books and secondarily the internet
3. book flight
4. book hotels
5. go
6. connect with city walking tours or local escorted bus tours
7. look around for other singles and connect for dinner, etc.

Look at the web site for Adventures-Abroad. I have done some trips with them and they are very active. No shopping stops or that kind of thing on their trips. Lots of walking and hotels are close to everything.
As long as you are in good health you might give them a look.

A few years back we did a culinary tour of the Amalfi Coast with Classic Journeys. The group was small (under 20) and ranged in age from the mid 50's to the early 70's. Some walking (it WAS the Amalfi Coast, afer all...) excellent hotel, excellent food (including the meals we hepled prepare) and the tourguide was great. There were some singles in the group and everyone hung out together, couples and singles. No one felt 'alone'.

I did a budget tour once that was cheaper than GLobus and it was really good, I used the company twice. It's out of business now.

I don't understand your question, roku, you said you wanted a tour group because you are elderly. I can understand that as I'll be there some day and if I am alone, will still want to travel. Tours can handle the baggage and a lot of th emoving around that you may need help with at an older age. You do what you have to do (in fact, the tour I was on had one woman who had had polio so really couldn't get around that well, she was probably in her 70s).

However, then you said you were only 40-60 and didn't like Grand Circle because everyone was "elderly." So I am confused what you want.

I know people around age 50-60 who have used gate1travel and liked it a lot. And there are those who like Rick Steves. There are several mainstream tour groups that get some good reviews on Fodors. Abercrombie and Kent are pretty upscale, I think. I think Trafalgar is pretty mainstream and something that begins with a C which I forget.

If you have traveled and can't even imagine how you could do it on your own, you probably should do a group.

<< something that begins with a C >>

Probably Collette.

BTW - the OP didn't say she was between 40 and 60, she said she wanted a tour with people that age.

I'm confused too about the age thing and the elderly thing. I hope she doesn't consider 60 to be elderly!!

Roku -

If you are 60 or under you are definitely NOT elderly. My mom is elderly - she's 91.

When the retirement age is 67, senior begins at 70 and runs until 85 or 90. After that is elderly.

(And when my parents retired they did a ton of traveling - just them and the car - untile thye were in their early 80s - and my dad decided not to drive so far from home or do lengthy trips after dark.)

I turn 65 next month and certainly don't consider myself elderly! And I do a lot of solo, independent travel.

To the tour companies already mentioned I'd add Intrepid, Explore, Imaginative Traveller and Exodus, but they aren't for the truly elderly (although there was an 80 y.o. woman traveling with her daughter on my Intrepid tour through western China and Pakistan in 2001).

I apologize for using the term elderly, which seemed to upset some of you all. Actually I am 70 hike in the Rocky Mt., work out at the gym 4x a week volunteer with cat and dog rescue. I thought if I said a group 40-60 I would find more people in my activity range. Have not traveled alone; maybe it is time I considered just that. Anyway I am overwhelmed by the number or helpful and considerate responses I received; thank you all so much and would love to continue to hear from you. I can give anyone a great tour of New Mexico if you come

Aha - so you're not elderly! :)

I would try a short trip with a combination of solo travel and local tours. That way you're not completely on your own and have other people to talk to.

Have you looked at Gutsy Women Travelers?

http://gutsywomentravel.com/2012/

No but I will,

Roku: The only kind of tours we do, even though at ages 67 and 59 we're inching up there, are cycling ones. We took one cruise 20 years ago and swore, "Never again."

We've found the people on these tours have an adventurous spirit, and we've always found the leaders to be interesting as well. It's not the miles or the elevation that matters; it's the attitude one brings to the miles that matters.

Don't get me wrong--I enjoy planning our independent trips. Indeed, my pre- and post- cycle tour planning is quite extensive. But it is such a treat for me to have someone else figure out for one week or so the cycling route, to have someone else provide and repair my bike, and someone else decide where we're staying and having dinner and breakfast.

Out of the five or so companies with whom we have cycled, only one did not get us a lot of wiggle room in spending our day. Basically, we eat our breakfast in the morning, saddle up with bike routes and maps, and spend most of the day OUR way.

These tour companies build in cultural aspects, all of which I totally enjoy, but if you are a whole-hearted cyclist and don't want to take the pit stop museum tour or the lecture or what have you, the leaders really don't care what you do as long as you are able to check out on time the day the group leaves a hotel.

My husband, a solid athlete, loves to cycle fast in the morning to get to his first expresso stop. He'll chat with the locals, get back on his bike, meet me/the family for lunch somewhere, get back on the bike, cycle fast to get to his first beer stop.

You get the drift.

I mosey along, look at flowers, stop to eat berries, take pictures, and visit bakeries.

So if you are very active, I'd really give this a try.