travelbunny

..thanks for the support. I did make the comment re 5 countries in 10 days or 7 cities in 7 days because I am amazed at the number of people who do submit trips for review. They obviously want to have a Tuesday it must be Belgium kind of trip. If this is what they want they might as well do a bus trip because if they attempt it themselves they will be doing the equivalent of a self directed bus trip and they will be stuck with the driving!

Katie2

My husband loves to plan our trips and does extensive research before we go. We prefer to travel on our own and not take packaged tours. But this is a matter of one's own preference.

Patrick

I did not disagree with you travelbunny, nor was there an attempt to insult you!! You seemed to be indicating by your "heart set on. . ." comment just what I was agreeing with. If someone wants to do that then a bus tour IS the best way. If those who CRITICIZE me (I guess it's OK for you to criticize my opinion, but not OK for me to criticize someone else's, huh?) then you will note that in a post just above I strongly emphasized that a tour IS the best thing for some people. Was travelbunny saying that these "first timers" are educated travelers? That doesn't mean to imply that if not then they are stupid or dumb. I think some of you need to look up the word "educated" if you think that my reference to it was somehow derogatory. First time travelers who have not done their "homework" are indeed uneducated -- that isn't an insult, just a simple fact. And if they don't want to do their homework, then by all means a package bus tour whizzing them by scenic landmarks at the rate of a country every two days is probably indeed just what they are looking for, and they will indeed be happy with it just as travelbunny has suggested. Yes, I do totally agree with you.

If there is anyone here who suggests that "having your heart set on seeing 5 countries in 10 days" is an "educated way to travel" please explain yourself. Why am I being singled out for what dozens of people say here every day? Or is it only that I came straight to the point in saying it, instead of beating around the bush?

armand

Rex and Patrick make a great pair. Both arrogant

Patrick

Well, I'll say one thing. I have never in my life signed on to a post to just make one statement which is nothing but an insult like that last one. I don't care what you think Armand. That last post is way below anything I have ever said here. Some may regard a post of mine in an attempt to answer a question as being too straightforward or even arrogant, but again, I'd never bother to just make an insult here.

But thanks for your very valuable post in offering YOUR opinion of the topic at hand.

harzer

XYZ is right at the other end of the scale from me: travel by bus, first-class hotels, centrally located, two-night stays, big breakfasts, no insecurity about where you'll be each night, cultural self-improvement
versus
drive yourself, small B&B's/Ferienwohnungen, out in the sticks, four to seven-night stays, fix your own breakfast, no idea where the next stopover will be, sociological self-improvement

As they say, to each his own.

Harzer

jsmith

I am very proud to say my wife and I have enjoyed 3 guided tours (Scandinavia, France, Italy), 2 packaged tours (air, hotel, intercity transportation provided) and a dozen or so self directed travels in Europe. Oh, one cruise from Lisbon to Barcelona.

We think it's boring planning the minutiae. We think it's wonderful to get started by 7 or 8 AM. We can doze on a bus if necessary. We think guided tours are significantly more efficient. We have met interesting people each method of travel, both fellow travelers and natives.

On our guided tours, we've arranged our own air and added time both before and after the guided portion in a city of choice (Copenhagen, London, Paris, Rome).

What I'm saying is there is no single best way. "We" don't all prefer doing it on our own. Is that the royal "we", Rex, and does your moniker have a subliminal meaning?

seeseaia

We have always gone the package route because we feel it gives us info via guides that we wouldn't have on our own and we are usually limited on time and want to experience as much as we can during that time and since we don't speak any language other than English, that too helps. We always research the packages to see that they are what we are interested in first and sometimes they are more expensive than on your own but we don't want the hassle and worry of driving in a strange country. The tour companies can take care of any problems easier than we could. If you find an area you really want to spend time in, you could always go back sometime. Our moto has always been to leave something to see the next time so that we feel we can always return.

Statia

I prefer doing my own thing, from the planning stages to the actual trip. I like deciding what to do in my own time and not have my itinerary dictated to me.

That said, I took some wonderful guided trips when I was younger and really enjoyed them, so I agree that there are certainly different ways to look at the topic and there are pros and cons to each method.

rex

Please see http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34650829

tonyr

We have gone on a Bus tour of Italy with a one week stay in Rome at the end on our own. We've taken a couple of package tours where hotel and transportation were included, but time on our own in each city to do what we like. We have made all hotel and transportation arrangements on our own. We have used foreign,in country, travel agents to make arrangements that we have reserched on our before hand.
We have enjoyed some freedom or a lot of freedom on all these trips. On the Italy trip we went on only one of the additional daily tours offered, despite some hard selling from the tour leader, preferring to explore on our own. We will probably never go on a bus tour again unless to a really exotic location.
I think the important thing is to go overseas and experience the cultures and people and sights and then as you become more comfortable you will decide what is the best method or methods of travel for you.

walkinaround

I have never taken a group tour anywhere. However, I am a little confused with many of the responses that hold "package deals" in such low regard.

If I want to visit paris, berlin, prague, or just about anywhere in europe and i don't want to or can't stay in an apartment, I go to the many travel websites, pick my flight time and hotel and book the whole thing in one go. the price is always much less than if i booked the same flight and hotel separately. the flight is a scheduled flight (not charter) and i can choose from just about any hotel (please don't try tell me that the hotels are only out of town or only big chain hotels because this is not the case).

even outside of europe...i booked my last trip to asia as a package...3 locations...i chose all my flights and hotels. they did not advertise a hotel i wanted so i called up and they substituted my desired hotel. no tour group, no "package" feel.

in fact i will usually book the hotel and the air together unless i stay in a villa or apartment (which i usually prefer to hotels but they are not always practical.

what am i missing? what is the stigma with air/hotel packages? the flights, hotels, and experience is exactly the same. i plan exactly as i would doing it separately (i tell them where i want to stay and when i want to go), we don't wear name tags, there is no leader, we are not part of a group in any way. maybe it's different in other places but in europe, this is typically how people travel.

RufusTFirefly

It depends on what is and isn't included in the package. If it's just a hotel and transportation package and you aren't stuck lockstep with a tour group wherever you go, then they can be a very good deal.

Many air/hotel/tranport packages can't be beat price-wise for the same hotels and mode of transportation. Though you can always beat them by looking for cheaper hotels and modes of transportation.

Bob_C

We have taken tours and will again. But we have found that in a place that is easy to get around such as Europe, it is better on your own. I have compared trips and find that I can always plan a trip for the same amount or less. We use small 3 star hotels staying in city center and do things at our own pace.

WillTravel

I would book such a package if it were less than what I could do on my own, and of equivalent quality, but that's never been the case for me. It might be the case for some cities at some times, but I'd be doubtful.