Group Tours

[Badger]

Maybe, but I have to agree with Badger that driving on the right in Scotland can be extremely frustrating, not to mention dangerous.

Actually, I think he meant right hand drive (steering wheel on the right).

Yes it was confusing. I did mean left side but did try driving on the right side a few times while my wife went into a panic. The right side steering wheel took some adjustment as well. I'm just glad I didn't have a manual shift.

We also had a nice 12 day drive around Iceland that allowed us free time to spend as long as we wanted before moving to the next stop. Places to stay at night with full breakfast were planned in advance of the trip. What an amazing country.

 

[OldShooter]

Thanks. That’s more research than I’m accustomed to doing, but seems it could be worth the effort.

It might take a week or two as emails go slowly back and forth but my experience is that I narrow it down to two, maybe three candidates pretty quickly. A side benefit is learning more about the area where I am hiring the guide so that's research I should be doing anyway.

 

[OldShooter]

Yes it was confusing. I did mean left side but did try driving on the right side a few times while my wife went into a panic. The right side steering wheel took some adjustment as well. I'm just glad I didn't have a manual shift.

DW and a girlfriend went to Europe and rented a car. At that time they were almost all stick shift but she had a VW Rabbit convert at the time that was a stick so she had plenty of confidence. It went well except for starting out at the rental car place where the car was up against a post and she couldn't figure out how to get reverse gear.

 

[Chuckanut]

The one thing we never bother with is restaurant recs...especially those in Ric Steves. Too crowded and restaurants change owners, chefs, frequently. We generally have no issues sussing out someone very local and well frequented by locals....for a reason! Besides, we do not have much interest in eating at a place that is full of tourists...we very much prefer the ambiance of locals!

RS has good restaurant reservations, but you can also find good ones on your own. My secret is to wander a few blocks off the tourist trap routes, poke my head in the door of a prospective place and get the feel of it. I did this in Rome after walking out of a restaurant that just did not feel right. The vibes felt like a chain restaurant in the USA. A few hundred feet down the street was another small restaurant whose vibes were family, good food, and pride of ownership.

 

[brett]

RS has good restaurant reservations, but you can also find good ones on your own. My secret is to wander a few blocks off the tourist trap routes, poke my head in the door of a prospective place and get the feel of it. I did this in Rome after walking out of a restaurant that just did not feel right. The vibes felt like a chain restaurant in the USA. A few hundred feet down the street was another small restaurant whose vibes were family, good food, and pride of ownership.

That is exactly what we do. If the menu is in several languages and all we see is tourists we walk.

Some of our very best meals in Europe have been in small, family run, local eateries. More than once we have been taken back to the kitchen in order to understand some menu offerings of the day that transcend sign language.

 

[audreyh1]

I used the Rick Steve’s books heavily when we visited a new European country, and they were super useful. But, the restaurant recommendations never worked out for me. We found lots of other places. I used to read reviews on TripAdvisor a lot. These days I probably use Google Map reviews the most. Also hotels/inns often give good recommendations. This last trip I was seeking out specific regional foods and restaurant findings were a lot of fun.

 

[Rosie]

I realize the OP asked about group tours with his wife, but this thread has drifted enough that I figured it would be OK for me to chime in as a solo traveler. (DH doesn't particularly like to travel, and my friends are often not available for time, cost, and/or heath reasons. So if I want to travel, more often than not it's on my own. And while I'm very self-sufficient, I'm reluctant to travel entirely on my own, especially overseas. )

I've found sort of a happy medium for group travel.

I'll choose a tour that departs from a location that's particularly interesting to me, and I'll book my own accommodations a few days ahead to explore that area on my own before the tour starts.

I also now try to find "women-only" tours. I've found those tours tend to be somewhat more accommodating to solo participants. And, I've observed an odd dynamic on a few of the co-ed tours I've taken on my own. On each of those tours, there was a couple with a very gregarious husband and a less outgoing wife. The husband would often chat with other women on the tour -- nothing inappropriate, just friendly -- and over the course of the tour the wife would become downright hostile to those women. I've seen this happen on three of the five co-ed Road Scholar tours I've taken. It was a shock to me in the first instance, especially since I was one of the main targets of the wife's wrath, but on subsequent tours I could see it happening and I would simply find it amusing. I subsequently took a Road Scholar women-only tour which didn't have any of that foolishness and was great fun (and yes, I realize that dynamic could exist with same-gendered partners, or with a pair of woman friends travelling together, but I simply haven't experienced it, at least not yet).

Although tour groups can generally room solo travelers together to minimize costs, I always get my own room because I'm not willing to risk ruining a trip by being stuck with an unpleasant roommate, and I can afford it.

I'm currently eyeing a tour to Denmark, Sweden and Norway next year with a group called Women Travelling Together (WTT). I intend to spend a few days in Copenhagen on my own prior to the start. I used to travel to Copenhagen for my j*b but I haven't been there in about 20 years so I'm eager to revisit some of my old haunts before I join up with the tour group. I haven't been on any of this company's tours and I'm eager to check 'em out - the tours generally have only 10-20 participants which is a bonus.

 

[athena53]

I'm currently eyeing a tour to Denmark, Sweden and Norway next year with a group called Women Travelling Together (WTT). I intend to spend a few days in Copenhagen on my own prior to the start. I used to travel to Copenhagen for my j*b but I haven't been there in about 20 years so I'm eager to revisit some of my old haunts before I join up with the tour group. I haven't been on any of this company's tours and I'm eager to check 'em out - the tours generally have only 10-20 participants which is a bonus.

I was on a small-ship cruise in Alaska that had a group from WTT. I enjoyed talking with them although they tended to hang together a lot, undoubtedly because many of them had been on multiple trips together. Totally agreed on having my own room! OAT tends to attract a lot of single women because there's no Single Supplement- single men, too, but more often women. I haven't seen the dynamic you mentioned with the more sociable husband and a wife who feels threatened, but could see it happening.

 

[audreyh1]

Our neighbors really like OAT and I’m glad to hear single women are common. Definitely own room required no matter what. I really need many hours of privacy every day.

 

[Scrapr]

It went well except for starting out at the rental car place where the car was up against a post and she couldn't figure out how to get reverse gear.

LOL....same for our recent Italy trip. Rented a car in Pisa. Stopped by to see the Leaning Tower. Drove into a parking lot & thought I'd show off a bit to reverse into a parking spot. Not happening. Found a space that was slightly uphill...A quick Google search & there is a "collar" that you lift to get the shifter into the R slot. I was good to go from then on

 

[FIYes]

I was on a group tour where two women had selected the share with room mate option and they turned out to be somewhat incompatible. I think part of their issue was a significant age difference. I agree that at this stage I’m not going to risk a random roommate.

 

[foxcreek9]

LOL....same for our recent Italy trip. Rented a car in Pisa. Stopped by to see the Leaning Tower. Drove into a parking lot & thought I'd show off a bit to reverse into a parking spot. Not happening. Found a space that was slightly uphill...A quick Google search & there is a "collar" that you lift to get the shifter into the R slot. I was good to go from then on

Same, the first time in France, had to ask random guy walking by...

 

[Out of Steam]

My wife and I are planning our first group trip in 2025, to Croatia with Road Scholar. As a serious introvert, I suspect that I'll find the togetherness a bit much, but am willing to try it.

 

[athena53]

I was on a group tour where two women had selected the share with room mate option and they turned out to be somewhat incompatible. I think part of their issue was a significant age difference. I agree that at this stage I’m not going to risk a random roommate.

A guide on one of my trips ran into that- and they weren't willing to pay extra to split up and have separate rooms. What a nightmare! My first OAT trip was with my 5-years-older Aunt and we chose separate rooms without even discussing it. We have a wonderful relationship but apparently she needed her own space to burrow into at night as much as I did.

 

[grasshopper]

My wife and I are planning our first group trip in 2025, to Croatia with Road Scholar. As a serious introvert, I suspect that I'll find the togetherness a bit much, but am willing to try it.

Croatia will make the trip enjoyable.

 

[Out of Steam]

Croatia will make the trip enjoyable.

My wife has wanted to go there forever, and it's not a trip I'm comfortable with planning with our normal DIY and drive method.

 

[tutan]

My wife and I are planning our first group trip in 2025, to Croatia with Road Scholar. As a serious introvert, I suspect that I'll find the togetherness a bit much, but am willing to try it.

I often wonder if a bigger group would be better for introverts… that the amount of interaction between the same few people can thus be avoided.

 

[Out of Steam]

I often wonder if a bigger group would be better for introverts… that the amount of interaction between the same few people can thus be avoided.

That's something worth thinking about. The group on this trip is only 16 people.

 

[OldShooter]

My wife and I are planning our first group trip in 2025, to Croatia with Road Scholar. As a serious introvert, I suspect that I'll find the togetherness a bit much, but am willing to try it.

You'll be fine. Remember too that you always have the option of breaking off from the group and having a private dinner and evening. Lunches are a little more difficult because the group moves together but you'll probably have the option of sitting at a separate table for lunch. Just ask the guide to arrange it.

 

[audreyh1]

I often wonder if a bigger group would be better for introverts… that the amount of interaction between the same few people can thus be avoided.

I can say no to that.

 

[Out of Steam]

Remember too that you always have the option of breaking off from the group and having a private dinner and evening.

This seems like it would be very helpful. Thank you.

 

[rodi]

Funny story about driving on the left side if the road... 25 years ago I was in Scotland with my husband (then fiance) and my parents. I was the driver. My dad was always in the front passenger seat. He would freak out... Yelling Ope!!!... Every time we hit traffic. Traffic circles were the worst. It was super stressing me out. My mom and (now) husband, in the back seats, decided they would fine my dad every time he shouted "ope!!!!". I made $20 before my dad stopped shouting, freaking me out. We still home about it, 25 years later.


On another topic, I mentioned I did a contiki tour of Ireland when I was in my early 30's. I choose to share a room with another solo traveler. She was a nurse from Australia, about 25 yo. We had a great time and it worked for us. She'd party with the group late at night and fill me in on the gossip from the group after I left to get sleep. .. I'd make sure she was up in time to make the bus deadline in the morning. It worked for both of us. She was a great roommate and we stayed in touch for a few years after the tour.

 

[brett]

The only time I have had issues with driving on the left hand side was when I first started driving in the UK. For some reason the roundabouts really scared me. Night driving on small backroads was another ratler. I am used to a stick so that really was not an issue.

The only other time was landing at Gold Coast, OZ after a 10 hr. or so flight from Kuala Lumpur and getting into a rental car. I made it to our destination, about 60 miles or so, however I was tired and should not have started my left hand driving like this. Never did that again.

The big laugh for my spouse, in both countries, was accidentally flipping on the wishshield wipers instead of the turn indicator light. It seemed to happen every time in Oz.

 

[Lorenzo]

My wife and I are planning our first group trip in 2025, to Croatia with Road Scholar. As a serious introvert, I suspect that I'll find the togetherness a bit much, but am willing to try it.

There should be a company that puts on group tours just for introverts.

 

[tutan]

Introvert Group Tours - a conflicted travel experience