to guided tours and totally independent travel. We just got back from our first Untours trip...2 weeks on the Rhine River in Germany. It was really great. The package included overseas air, a fully equipped apartment, a 2 week rail pass,and on site contacts if we needed help. We were met at the airport, given transport to our apartment, had an orientation meeting with an onsite person who informed us of restaurants, activities, festivals, etc. in the area, showed us how to use the railpass and read the timetables. Then we were on our own, going where we wanted with the railpass, eating in or eating out, having leisurely days or active days as we were inclined. It was a great experience, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants some help in foreign travel, but then wants independence and the opportunity to live with the people in the area he or she is visiting. If any of you have any questions about Untours or the Rhine trip in particular, feel free to email me at [email protected]. Just title your email "Response to Fodor Posting" so I dont inadvertently delete you.

I am curious as to whether you have done independent travel or tour group travel to Europe in the past. What made this special for you? The opportunity to settle in for 2 weeks in one place, or the opportunity to be on your own and not have to move on with the group, or the fact that there was someone to orient you to the area? We have always travelled independently and I have often wondered what the advantage of Untours is over what a resourceful person can arrange on her own.

Gerhardt:

Thank you for the info on Untours. I posted a question here about them a week or so ago (and also did a search) and got several positive responses. I have traveled both independently and with tour groups and am considering them for their Budapest/Vienna/Prague trip. I'm glad everything turned out well for you--sounds like you had a wonderful trip. you

I've looked them over a couple of times, but they seem pretty expensive compared to setting things up on your own.

In response to Julies, and to some extent,Rufus. My wife and I, who are in our mid-60's, did a lot of independent travel in our younger days when we worked in Africa. In our retirement years, we have been taking tours. Both have their advantages and are suitable for different types of people at, perhaps, different stages of life. (For instance, the hardest thing about the Untours experience, was wrestling with our own bags...it's harder to do when you are older.) I suggested Untours as an *option* to tours and totally independent travel. It was a good compromise. I liked being met at the airport and having assistance getting to our apartment. I liked staying at one place, shopping with locals, and deciding where and when I would eat. At this stage of my life, I don't want to have to worry about a whole lot of other details, so it was good that the details of the apartment and rail pass were set up for us, and that we had an in-area person for advice, *if* we wanted it. Many people like dealing with those kinds of details, and can have an extremely satisfying, and perhaps less expensive, experience doing so. Others of us find them a distraction from the enjoyment of the experience. Different strokes for different folks. I'm suggesting the Untours experience as an option for those who do not want the "closed-off", highly structured experience of a tour, but yet want some assistance in their overseas travel.

Also, from what I've read of others' Untours trips, the locations are a little off the path, to give you a better feel for the area.