<p>Does anyone have experience using a tour company to coordinate an international vacation? We are thinking of taking a family trip and wonder if it is worth the extra expense. We have a tight timeline and are not able to use the Rick Steves options.</p>
<p>We used a private local tour guide when we went to Rome. The guide was very knowledgeable and was able to get us in/out of museums very efficiently. We only had few days, so we didn’t want to waste any time. When we went to China, we also booked a private tour service via a regional airline. It was nice to have our own mini van, and not have to wait for 50+ other people. We are not package tour kind of people because we like the freedom of doing what we want, but we did find at those few occasions it was money well spent.</p>
<p>We’ve never gone on a “ten cities in seven days” tour vacation to Europe but have done the single day tours oldfort mentioned when we have planned vacations in Europe. We appreciated the ease of an occasional day tour, a few of which brought us to places we would never have found on our own. </p>
<p>My mother in law went to Africa on a two week tour, which was appropriate for an older person who was unfamiliar with the area. She had a wonderful time.</p>
<p>Do you mean a company like Globus or Brendan tours? I have to say that these mid level companies are not ones I would use again. The accomodations were not what we like. Some of the them are not that inexpensive if you have a few people to book for as well. I think a lot of people like Tauck tours. They are expensive, but seem to have top of the line accomodations. I guess it depends on what you like. We used a good travel agent for a trip to Italy, and stayed in wonderful hotels, however, they were top of the line and expensive.</p>
<p>I used a specialized travel agent when I booked a vacation for New Zealand. She booked the car, hotel and any requested sightseeing tours into one package.</p>
<p>Not an entire trip but as eastcoast and oldfort did we hired a local tour guide for day trips. We used “tours by locals” and were very pleased. The two guides we used customized the tour to our interests, although they do have standard tours also.</p>
<p>We have used local guides for personalized tours of Wales (4 day tour 2 years ago) and Scotland (8 day tour last year). It was terrific, and allowed us to go where ever and when ever we wanted. Not that much more expensive than package tours and the personalization was well worth the expense. Plus I didn’t have to drive on the left side of the road.</p>
<p>We went to Italy last year and had a very tight schedule. I didn’t have the time or energy to figure it all out ahead of time, and we certainly didn’t have enough time to “figure it out” once we got there. </p>
<p>We sort of did a “hybrid.” We booked and bought our own plane tickets, then sat down with a very good travel agent at AAA and booked hotels and day tours at each location. We left a little free time here and there for ourselves. She gave us a lot of good advice about how much was practical to schedule for one day, and logistics of getting from one place to the next. We took the metro around and also purchased train tickets from the station vending machines. We usually had to get to a location to meet our tour bus. It worked out very well. (We did get some help from our son for a couple of days who had been in Italy for 4 months and knew how to get around, but we also traveled without him for a few days)</p>
<p>We’ve had good luck with “Go Ahead” tours. Their web site has user ratings for each tour, so you can get a good idea of what to expect. Expect the usual drawbacks, lots of bus time and waiting for the slowest tour participant at every stop. However in Japan I know we could never have visited the variety of locations (inaccessible by public transportation) without a tour. When you look at itineraries be sure to find a tour that includes enough down time, so you can spend time exploring on your own. An alternative is to arrange your own travel to each major destination, then hop on tours operated locally. We’re headed to Costa Rica with a tour in September, and I am relishing the freedom from planning mania. We just need to show up at the airport.</p>
<p>Several years ago I consulted with a certified Aussie specialist before a trip to Australia. She charged a small ticketing fee ($100???) up front that would have been discounted from our final reservations had we ultimately booked with her. She made wonderful suggestions for activities and routing, and her broker sent us an entire preliminary trip plan. Ultimately we did all the booking ourselves and saved perhaps 30% on the ground portions by choosing different hotels, and slightly different day tours for snorkeling at the barrier reef.</p>
<p>To be honest, if I’d had less time to plan, and fewer stops to make (professional conference for spouse, visits to family/friends in various cities, “mom we gotta see this!!” in others) the original package recommended by the agent could have worked well. I say consult with an agent or two, get their suggestions, and then decide. The fee I paid the agent proved to be worth every penny for the advice that we received.</p>
<p>Thank you all for sharing your experiences and suggestions! We will probably go with the hybrid idea where we are sure to have some down time as well as an experienced person planning the tours.</p>
<p>I have heard good things about Tauck Tours</p>
<p>We have gone on a few Insight Tours and would recommend them. We travel a lot and taking tours at times relieves the stress of researching and booking everything on your own.We started taking organized tours when the kids were teenagers and it cut down a lot of unnecessary disagreements on where to go,what to see, where to eat, what time to get up etc.</p>
<p>I am a professional in this area. General advise I would give: Consider which international airline is the flagship carrier and learn which tour operators they use for their joint-tours. What you are finding out is reliability and value from those who know the destination best. Then look at the tour itineraries - number of days at each destination, sites visited in order to start deciding what you might want to do. If you go in high season, tour operators often hold considerable space (again if they have a preferred relationship - and if they don’t have that relationship they may have to fight for the space) Anyway, depending on specifics - the power of volume can make a big difference.</p>
<p>I’ve used the hybrid method of doing all the travel planning and using a tour guide for individual citys. I’m pretty sure this is the company we used for Italy - [day</a> trips and Guided tours of Rome](<a href=“http://www.driverinrome.com/tours_from_rome.html]day”>Best Private Shore Excursions of Rome | DriverInRome) It works well because you can have intensive days of travel with a tour guide but then some down time to wander around, and perhaps to go back to places you just saw briefly with a guide. I think planning is part of the fun of a trip.</p>
<p>I’m a tripadvisor junkie. Between hotel ratings, restaurant ratings, attraction ratings (will include day tours), and a forum to ask any questions, I’ve been able to plan several great trips. Planning is half of the fun for me.</p>
<p>I used the same tour guide oldfort did for Rome, and I highly recommend her. I’m a fan of hiring private tour guides if you don’t speak the language. It’s well worth it IMO. I’ve hired them in Israel, Rome, Moscow, Dubai, Cairo and Sao Paolo.</p>
<p>We’ve been on “Go Ahead” tours and really enjoyed it.</p>