Going to Italy-Solo or Group??
 

First, thanks to all who responded to my first post.

Ok, here goes:

I decided that I HAVE to take a trip soon because my daily life is sooo hectic & I need to get out & maybe let loose a little?!;-) j/k.

I've decided that I want to go to Italy & I want to travel w/a tour group. I just don't feel like going alone.

My question is, I don't want to spend a lot of $$ on this trip. How much can I expect to spend if I want to be there for 10-14 days?

I assume it will be cheaper if I went solo than w/the tour group?

If I did decide to go that route, wouldn't I be spending more on food, cabs to take me from place to place & so forth?

Please help!!

The cost for tours varies widely - at the low end take a look at Intrepid, at the middle look at Adventures Abroad or Rick Steves. At the high end there are outfits like the Smithsonian and Tauck. Divide the total cost by the number of hotel nights (not days).

Your post is confusing. Do you want to go with a tour, or not? You should base this on other reasons than cost, as the cost can vary so much. If you want to go alone there are lots of people on the Europe board, or at slowtrav.com, who can help you. There are several recent posts on how to travel cheaply in Italy.

How much you spend depends a lot on where you stay - an apartment, a hostel, a monastery, a pension, a hotel, a luxury hotel... How much you move around. Whether you take taxis. How you eat - picnics, sandwiches, pizza, cafes, restaurants... You see - you have a lot of control, but it's hard to generalize. And with the current state of the dollar, it's very hard to predict your costs in dollars.

It is impossible to say which will be cheaper or more expensive, just because you go solo or take a tour.

Depends the level & type of tour you choose... budget basic, mid-class, to luxury are all possible either alone or with a tour.

Since you say you don't want to spend a lot of money, you can find the cheapest organized tour with a 10-14 day itinerary that interests you (Gate1 or something like that?). Since you will be alone, you will most likely have to pay a "single supplement" or be willling to share a room with another single female.

Compare that to a plane ticket, hotel reservations, a few train tickets, and daily expenses self-planning. That's how you can answer (what I think is) your question about comparing costs of the two ways.

A trip (let's say) to Rome, Florence, Venice is a fairly straight-forward proposition to do yourself... but you said you don't feel like going alone, right?

Thursdaysd-

The reason I want to do a tour is because I really don't like being 'alone' when I travel. It's nice to share the experiences of sightseeing, eating in restaurants, etc., with other people & not by yourself.

I guess I've always been around people so I don't really know what's it like to be alone per se. But it surely doesn't sound comforting.

Also, I love to explore the night life wherever I go & I don't want to be going out to clubs/bars by myself at night or with a random guy. I also don't want to be in my room when the sun comes down because I can't go out at night by myself.

Hi Suze,

Thanks for your reply.

Yeah I was just wondering how I can compare costs, etc.

I mean I know I don't want to stay in a dump but then again I don't want to stay in a fancy place because I don't plan on spending any time in my hotel room other then when I'm sleeping.

It seems like this might take a lot more research & planning than I expected.

MissBlonde - absolutely no reason why you should stay in your hotel room in the evening even if you're on your own. European cities, at least in tourist areas, are safe. Worst case, you might run into a few scams (check a guide book for the ones to watch out for) or pickpockets (wear a money belt).

If you're looking for people to go clubbing with on a tour, you need to be really careful which tour you pick! Maybe you'd be a good candidate for a Contiki tour. Generally, tours require you to get up early in the morning, and that's not compatible with too many really late nights. The ones I've been on tended more to long, slow dinners rather than clubs.

I don't know how old you are but on most tours the age is mainly over 50. Most wake up calls are around 6 am, breakfast at 7 on bus at 8 so not many go out after dinner.
If you are under 30 check out Con Tiki tours.
If you really check out all the tour groups you should find one or two within your budget.

If you're looking at the budget end you could also look at Intrepid, or the companies represented by Adventure Center. The demographic for those tours is more mixed, and the whole set up more relaxed. But do avoid the "this is Tuesday so it must Venice" coach tours, which will involve to much time on the coach and too many shopping ops. Visit the Europe board for info on tour companies in Europe.

<I was just wondering how I can compare costs>

To compare costs simply find a couple organized tours that your would be interested in & what their price would be including EVERYthing plus your single supplement, taxes, optional day tours or activities, etc.

Then for your own trip, price:
1- RT plane ticket
2- Hotels ~$125USD per night x number of nights
3- Approx. cost of train tickets between cities
4- Allow $100USD on top of that per day for food, local transporation

... that will give you a general idea of what it will cost you solo. It's really not all that much time or research for a simple 3-city, 2-week trip in western European cities (as example).

Secondly, I often travel alone and certainly am not sitting in my hotel room alone after the sun goes down!! I am not interested in clubbing myself, but keep my eyes open during the day and find a couple casual restaurants or bars walking distance from my hotel where I would be comfortable going in the evenings to hang out. Or find some kind of activity like a concert or movie.

If you really want to party and be on a bus with a bunch of people to keep you company, I agree that Contikiki might be what you seek. Many organized tours (as already mentioned) skew to a MUCH older crowd, and while you will not be traveling solo, these people aren't going to likely be bar hopping cool places with you -lol!

Thanks Thursday & Suze!

I didn't mean to make it sound like a 'party girl.' No, far from it. I just enjoy exploring the night life when I'm in another country or different city.

You're welcome MissB.

Don't be afraid of the Europe forum (in addition to Solo Traveler forum). There's loads of helpful posters on that board.

Excepting for a couple specific things about traveling alone, most of the information you need is the same as anyone contemplating a trip to Europe.

If you are 18-26 you should take a look at EF College Break. They are who I use, and surprisingly, going through them is cheaper (in what i was looking at doing) than doing it on your own. it is also alot cheaper than contiki, and i just really liked them. I just booked another trip with them, and i still have the discount code i used from when i booked, its hesseln1188 and it saves you $50 if you want to use them. Have fun in Italy!!!

You can join up with daytours if you want to meet fellow travelers.

I've never seen a tour that made sense to me in $ terms, compared to what I could do on my own, although I agree it could be fun to tour with an amicable group.

It sounds like what you want to do, though, is go with a group, so I'd just focus on finding the tour that suits your personality and interests best.

Miss Blonde
I've traveled alone to Italy many times. Never felt lonely, or unsafe. I've been to clubs, bars, etc...alone and never had a problem. It is very easy to travel in Europe by yourself. I am around a lot of people all the time at home(Puerto Rico)too, but really love to travel alone. I wouldn't go with a group.

another blonde :-)

If you do go alone, focus on areas where there is a university, such as Padua, Perugia, Bologna, Florence, etc. There'll be more young people out at night who are more congenial for you.