What mh said...
I have never gone on any tour in Europe and always managed on my own, even in countries where I do not know the language. But I can see the advantage of a tour.
I have watched Rick Steves shows and don't see how his tours would be any worse than any other tours. I can see how
a single woman traveler may be better in a tour group, in order to not having to worry about transportation and lodging logistics. My wife has traveled alone, or rather with friends, to places like the Komodo island, Bali, Brazil, and Argentina. Without me, she would not travel outside of a tour group. And there are places I am not ready to wander off on my own either, but Europe is a fairly safe place.
By traveling on our own, we have had some interesting experiences, like being stranded at an Italian train station when the workers decided to strike, or when we got off the last train of the evening, and at a wrong and remote station
. Or when we were wandering the streets of Sedlec (Czech Rep.) in a rainy and dark evening, looking for the train station - we arrived earlier in the day by bus, hence did not know where the train station was, and it got pitch dark at 4PM.
In a few years, we may no longer enjoy adventures like that!