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Hi. I am 31 planning a trip to Europe next (so will be 32) solo traveler I have travelled quite a few times with Contiki and have always had a really good experience. I am not a big partier so the night when people when out drinking I hung out in the hotel or did something on my own.. I also don't like sharing room and they offer single rooms. I was thinking about doing another tour with them but wasn't sure if there other companies that would fit my personality better.. I don't know the first thing about planning a tour on my own and for safety purposes I feel better about the tour companies.. I don't want a group that's too old but not to young and no kids preferably simply because I don't want to listen to a crying kids on my vacation (sorry). Just wondering if anyone has done a trip on their own what would be your suggestion to do this or other travel companies that provide a way to see the things that one wants to see in Europe as well as the things that aren't. I don't want to be the old lady on the Contiki tour that doesn't go out but I also don't want to be the baby of a group.. I just want to travel with people my age.

Uh, so what are you looking for?

Contiki single country or small region tours (e.g., Italy, Spain/Portugal) tend to be more your age than the party-hardy, good gawd where did all these dang drunk Aussies come from, full of 23-25 year-olds, types of tours that the multinational 3-5 week adventures are. Greece is an exception to that - the Contiki Greek Islands tours are more hedonist than any of the others.

There was always a mix of rowdies/semirowdies and quieter types on my Contiki trips.

Thinking that any group that does not cater to younger travelers will be full of grannies and codgers (Globus, Trafalgar, etc).

There used to be a couple of other tour companies that offered a few age restricted tours (slightly older thank Contiki by a few years), but not known as party tours like Contiki. Last I looked, they had stopped offering them.

Most people on this board are DIY and many of us travel around as singles. There's a slew of trip reports by single travelers on the Travel Tips forum. This thread has quite a few trip reports, but many others have been added that aren't listed on it if you search that forum.

http://www.fodors.com/community/trav...collection.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/trav...s/solo-travel/

Most tours don;t have age restrictions - except against children under the age of 12. For more likelihood of a younger group you are probably better off looking for a more active group - perhaps the (dreaded) Rick Steeves tours - or one of those tours that focus on biking or hiking every day. But often you will still have a majority middle aged and older.

Frankly I would just organize what I want and go by myself. Often add a few days onto business trips and I never have any trouble finding people to have dinner or a drink with - or share a day trip. But I really like doing exactly what I want according to my whim.

It;s usually easy to meet compatible people in your hostel (if that's how you travel) or even in the lounge or breakfast room of your hotel as long as it;s fairly sizable (this is what I do, since I want room service, a concierge and a pleasant bar).

Disclaimer...I haven't traveled with them so can't say for sure...have you considered Rick Steve's tours? I think they tend to be a bit too strenuous to be full of elderly, bit aren't the same kind of party crowd as Contiki. This is just a guess on my part, maybe something to investigate.