What are the best tour groups (such as Caravan, Colette, etc.) for travel in the US?
We would appreciate suggestions as to which is the best.
Thanks

without knowing what area of the US yuo want to tour it's difficult to know what you want/need. My mom has friends who do tours now that they're older - and they always do Tauck - since the hotels tend to be better with more central locations - and food is not so mediocre.

But they do charge for what you get.

From your other thread it seems you are looking for a tour of San Francisco/California -- is that correct?

We've been very happy with Road Scholar.

Please let us know where you want to go...the age group with which you hope to travel, and your price preference. There is a VERY big price difference between Tauck and Colette or Caravan.
Rhode Scholar used to be Elder Hostel and tends to have seniors in their grops.

Hi,
Thanks for your reply. We are planning a trip to California this summer. It will be a first time visit to that part of the country for me (I'm from the East Coast) so we would like to do a guided tour but a good one. We don't want to be exhausted by cramming too much into a week to 10 days.
I have read pretty good things about Caravan tours and not such good things about Coletter tours.
Any suggestions are much appreciated.
Thanks, again,
Melinda1221

Reply To nytraveler:
I investigated Tauck and I was impressed with the information and tours. Looks good!

Reply to Abram:
I have explored Road Scholar and they have some great trips, also. We are considering the one to Monterey, CA area this summer. The accomodations seem sparse but the itinerary seems pretty comprehensive. Any one have experience with this particular ROAD SCHOLAR trip?

What a great web site. AS a new traveler (but hope to become an experienced traveler in the future) this site is very helpful.

I'm a native New Yorker so would be happy to provide any info on the NT area.
THanks again.

I have traveled with Colette and Tauck. It's difficult to compare the two. Tauck stays in first class hotels and stays close to things you want to see. Their tour directors are great. However, their prices are usually quite a bit higher than other companies.
My sister did a Caravan tour in Costa Rica and loved it.
It all depends on how much you want to spend and how important your accommodations are to you.
You really can't go wrong with any of these companies.