I have gone on quite a few organized group trips for birding, and plan to again. Tours are not all the same, and not all bad.

A friend of mine just went on a group tour of Italy, but it was a small group, and the gist of the tour was "experiences" in private homes: one lady in Venice hosted the group for tea; another taught them how to make pasta in her home in Tuscany, followed by lunch; and they stopped at a small, family-owned winery for lunch one day as well.

It looked great, and offered experiences that would be impossible for one to arrange on one's own.

Perhaps I digress. I do agree that the element of surprise is the big issue with the tour in the OP.

<<It looked great, and offered experiences that would be impossible for one to arrange on one's own.>>

Not at all impossible to arrange on one's own.

Really? Do tell, then. Provide links, if possible. I would love to know.

(I wonder why you wouldn't just explain how in your post, since travel advice is the point of this board, after all.)

I think it sounds exciting! I love the bit where they were given scratch cards at the airport to reveal where they were going. I actually really enjoy planning trips but id still be up for something this.

It isn't an organised group trip. It is an individual trip. You say city or road trip or whatever, and how much you want to spend.
They organise a trip for you.
I like winging it so would probably enjoy this. Those who love to plan and micromanage their holidays obviously hate the idea of not being in control, but maybe it would do you good occasionally.

As I said, once I am settled in the new house I shall look into it some more.

I wonder how many people posting in this thread read the website of the vendor?

It's hardly a blind trip.

It's actually more like those long-time Fodorites who start threads on Fodor's like: "Dear Fodor's friends, where should I go? I'm in the mood for blah blah, it's our 23d anniversary, and we can only get away for 7 days. We've been to Santorini, Amsterdam, Paris, & Ireland. Love good food and architecture. " Yada yada.

Unfortunately, the company is pretty conservative. Might be fun if you could sign up and find yourself in .... Taiwan! Or Uruguay. Someplace totally unexpected.

Stunned to read people enjoy trip planning so much they wouldn't consider it (especially after reading trip reports from same people where --that was a planned trip... ????)

"gist of the tour was "experiences" in private homes: one lady in Venice hosted the group for tea; another taught them how to make pasta in her home in Tuscany, followed by lunch; and they stopped at a small, family-owned winery for lunch one day ..."

Sound like total bore to me.

danon, if you'll pardon the expression, so what? My point was that not all organized tours are created equal. And that some provide experiences unavailable any other way.

Years ago, some friends of ours (lived in Swansea) did this in Torquay while on holiday for a day. They were taken to ..... Swansea, poped home, had a cup of tea and got back on the bus.

We fly space a military when we can and we never know where we will end up since flights are mission driven and only posted 72 hours out. A freind last week packed for Hawaii but ended up getting a flight to Preswick, UK. She did the Highlands after buying a few hoodies. We are thinking of Souda Bay in the fall but via Rota, Spain and Sicily. I have apps galore on my phone if we can't get base lodging. But, we could end up in Germany which would not upset me as the base is two hours from Paris. I was a planner but this has made me more adventurous and you can't beat the price of the ticket or the crew. The C17 is my favorite but the C5 was so big and something off my bucket list. I never felt it land btw. The USAF has the best pilots.

<<
Really? Do tell, then. Provide links, if possible. I would love to know.>>

I'm not going to do your homework for you, NewBe, but here's an example.

We just got back from a short trip to Montignac. We (easily) booked accommodations at a private home where we chose to eat what the owners prepared for us (with detailed explanations in the kitchen of the origin of the ingredients, the cooking techniques, etc.), but could have participated in a cooking lesson on making confit or other regional specialties.

We spent part of an afternoon at a small family-owned winery where we had a tour of the vineyards and an explanation of the various processes that went into making the wine (including seeing the equipment they used), followed by a dégustation.

We stopped on the way home at one of the many apiaries in the area (after calling in advance for an appointment), donned bee suits, and saw the hives in action, had a brief lecture on the various types of flowers the bees are attracted to and the differences in the flavors derived from the flowers, followed by a tasting of various honeys and confitures made from those honeys. Again, this was a private home with one person making the honey and tending the hives.

I cannot imagine a scenario where afternoon tea in Western Europe would be normal, but I'm sure it's possible.

These experiences, and many more, are completely normal all over Europe. There is nothing "impossible" or even unusual about gaining access to private homes or producteurs for lessons, tastings, or anything else. It's part and parcel of how every entrepreneur, artist, and artisan ekes out a living in any village or town. Every tourist office has reams of references to them, and they are all over the Internet.

"Stunned to read people enjoy trip planning so much they wouldn't consider it"

Perhaps it has to do less with the " joy of planing" and more with not wishing to
spend one's holiday with a group of strangers .
Of course there are places in the world one cannot visit without an organized group
- Porto is not one of them.

<and more with not wishing to
spend one's holiday with a group of strangers .>

I agree that this can be a crapshoot. We have been beyond fortunate with our birding trips, but I can imagine that traveling with people one doesn't find amiable would be a nightmare.

St. Cirq, lol, you never disappoint.

I think destinations like China warrant a group tour. It is a country wildly different from the West in its culture. My husband went without me with a couple of friends and, while they were successful in seeing a number of interesting sights, the logistical difficulties and a language barrier made it a challenging trip. I don't have any interest in China so I would not enjoy such a trip whatsoever. However, if it was a well-run and organized group tour, it would make it less frustrating, I think.

<<St. Cirq, lol, you never disappoint>>

You're very welcome.

My husband does this all the time! (book a mystery holiday) He goes wherever I go

In our early days of travel, we would be content to go along with friends who had visited places before and offered to be our tour guides.

Now I do my own research, look for experiences I know we will enjoy, and as some above, I'm picky about lodgings. To me a room with a good view is worth a lot, and it's fun to find nice locations.

I'm surprised at the number of people I know who get a good airfare deal, jump on a plane and head off without doing an iota of planning.

Yes, they manage to see the most popular tourist sites, but they return home having learned next to nothing of the country and culture they just visited.

But not everyone has the same interest in history or understanding the culture, and not everyone has time to plan. These days it's all about 'experiences', so I can imagine there are a lot of people who would go for this kind of thing.

<Yes, they manage to see the most popular tourist sites, but they return home having learned next to nothing of the country and culture they just visited.>

Do you hear yourself? I imagine these people you know would rather take a sharp stick in the eye than tell you about their travels, lol.

Just saying newbe not everyone's the same. The question was Would you?