Group Tours

[OldShooter]

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

There are. But they don't advertise.

 

[audreyh1]

Introvert Group Tours - a conflicted travel experience

I found that as long as the group is small I’m fine.

 

[Out of Steam]

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.

I never got good at driving a manual transmission car with the opposite hand, and no longer do it now that I don't own a manual vehicle.

I did just fine with a manual in France on a visit in 2022.

 

[rodi]

I spent a summer in Okinawa during college. My sister lived there. Her car was stick and it took me about a week to adapt to the left side of the road, but stick shift was easy. I would have been screwed if they put the for peddles switched. Foot muscle memory.....

The driving with my panicking father in Scotland was also stick shift. First day was challenging, but it was easy after that fur the remainder of the 3 week trip.

 

[Bestwifeever]

It's nice that there are so many travel options out there today. We are just now booking a Lindblad/National Geographic thing for December 2025 to Panama--on a 50-cabin small ship. I admit to being disappointed with the Viking cruise we took in the fall, as the daily excursions were classic groups (every seat filled on the buses, earphones, follow the leader around the town at the pace of the slowest person in the group and that person could barely walk), but I am very excited about this one. We also recently booked a Globus tour of Portugal as we really enjoyed the Greek trip we took with Globus a few years ago, and are looking at another company for a four-person trip through Scotland with a local driver/guide and accommodations and attractions taken care of.

 

[grasshopper]

It's nice that there are so many travel options out there today. We are just now booking a Lindblad/National Geographic thing for December 2025 to Panama--on a 50-cabin small ship. I admit to being disappointed with the Viking cruise we took in the fall, as the daily excursions were classic groups (every seat filled on the buses, earphones, follow the leader around the town at the pace of the slowest person in the group and that person could barely walk), but I am very excited about this one. We also recently booked a Globus tour of Portugal as we really enjoyed the Greek trip we took with Globus a few years ago, and are looking at another company for a four-person trip through Scotland with a local driver/guide and accommodations and attractions taken care of.

Lindblads ship Quest serves Central America. We were on the Quest Jan 2024 to Belize and Guatemala. Couldn't find fault with anything. As matter of fact some weather came in and our plans changed to snorkel the Great Blue Hole. I think the GBH was even nicer than the itinerary we had. We met some friends who are going to the Greek Islands with us on Lindblad Orion in Sept 2025. You will love it.

 

[athena53]

I admit to being disappointed with the Viking cruise we took in the fall, as the daily excursions were classic groups (every seat filled on the buses, earphones, follow the leader around the town at the pace of the slowest person in the group and that person could barely walk), but I am very excited about this one.

Wow. I'd heard good things about Viking but have avoided them because of crazy-high single supplements. The "slowest person in the group" can be a real problem. We've had a few on OAT. Some were graceful enough to sit out excursions that might be hard on them and the on-line info is VERY detailed about conditions (rough surfaces, extreme temperatures, long uphill walks) but others who should have selected a less-strenuous trip really slowed us down. I'd booked a trip to Ethiopia but then re-read the description and decided that on long uphill climbs in 90+-degree temperatures I might be THAT person and I switched to another itinerary.

On introverted travel- I consider myself a "friendly introvert"- I can carry on a conversation with any random person at the dinner table or next to me on the bus and it's not a function of group size. I just need some alone time- to walk the city myself, explore a museum not on the schedule, maybe pick up food in a local grocery and have a light dinner in my room. I do NOT want to be "fully escorted".

 

[Bestwifeever]

Wow. I'd heard good things about Viking but have avoided them because of crazy-high single supplements. The "slowest person in the group" can be a real problem. We've had a few on OAT. Some were graceful enough to sit out excursions that might be hard on them and the on-line info is VERY detailed about conditions (rough surfaces, extreme temperatures, long uphill walks) but others who should have selected a less-strenuous trip really slowed us down. I'd booked a trip to Ethiopia but then re-read the description and decided that on long uphill climbs in 90+-degree temperatures I might be THAT person and I switched to another itinerary....

We traveled for the Viking trip with a group of seven friends and did not have much input into the decision--we are all early to mid-seventies but were not the youngest passengers on the ship by far. Aboard the ship was fine. We've had private guides for other travel and should we take another Viking trip, I think we would forgo the company's excursions and do our own thing at the stops.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Lindblads ship Quest serves Central America. We were on the Quest Jan 2024 to Belize and Guatemala. Couldn't find fault with anything. As matter of fact some weather came in and our plans changed to snorkel the Great Blue Hole. I think the GBH was even nicer than the itinerary we had. We met some friends who are going to the Greek Islands with us on Lindblad Orion in Sept 2025. You will love it.

So happy to hear this! I can already tell Lindblad will be my new favorite choice for future SKI (spending the kids' inheritance) trips. I can imagine how awesome a trip to the Greek Islands will be so please report in detail next fall!

 

[braumeister]

So happy to hear this! I can already tell Lindblad will be my new favorite choice

Lindblad fan here. Four trips with them and all were absolutely outstanding. More to come, I'm sure.

 

[audreyh1]

Lindblads ship Quest serves Central America. We were on the Quest Jan 2024 to Belize and Guatemala. Couldn't find fault with anything. As matter of fact some weather came in and our plans changed to snorkel the Great Blue Hole. I think the GBH was even nicer than the itinerary we had. We met some friends who are going to the Greek Islands with us on Lindblad Orion in Sept 2025. You will love it.

We are also traveling on the Orion in 2025 when it sails to Athens from Barcelona.

 

[mh]

i like doing small group guided lodge to lodge hiking / trekking / walking 'tours' you get all the enjoyment of doing the activity without all the hassle or dealing with logistics at the beginning/end of the day.

 

[audreyh1]

i like doing small group guided lodge to lodge hiking / trekking / walking 'tours' you get all the enjoyment of doing the activity without all the hassle or dealing with logistics at the beginning/end of the day.

Which walking tour companies have you traveled with and which are your favorites?

 

[OnTheBeach]

We have gone on 3 Adventures by Disney Tours and they have been excellent. London/Paris, Japan and Italy. Expensive but worth every penny. Each group had a Disney tour guide and a local native guide. They do tours all over the world. Family friendly or adults only - each is tailored to the group.