Alternatives to Adventures by Disney?

[jls886]

My dad is a big history buff and has never left the US but has always wanted to visit Omaha Beach in France. Next year is the 70th anniversary of D-Day and he has apparently been 'planning' a trip to France next June for over a year. All of this planning has just been in his head up until now...now it will likely be up to my sister and me to do most of the actual planning. We have both been abroad multiple times so this is not totally new to us.

My dad wants to have full control while we are there and rent a car, etc, which makes the rest of us somewhat nervous since this is all new territory for him. Other than the one day that we spend at Normandy doing our thing I think we would be better off with some sort of organized group for the rest of the trip so that things go more smoothly and the kinks are handled by them. My mom also needs to use a wheelchair for long distances so we were thinking that AbD might also be able to assist us in that regard a little more than we would be able to do ourselves since Europe isn't exactly the most disabled-friendly country. We are just kind of thinking that we would rather have things handled for us (maybe) than stress out ourselves trying to get around and if anything goes wrong.

Ideally, we would love to do the Adventures by Disney Paris/London trip (and that may be what we end up doing) but I would love to hear if there are any other travel companies out there that provide the same type of service. The sticker shock of their prices has worn off a little but not totally!

ETA: I really am not looking for a debate on whether or not we should or should not plan this ourselves vs. using a travel company. I have planned multiple trips abroad myself and do know how to do so and also do understand how much cheaper it would be to do so. For multiple reasons we are considered using a travel company for this trip so I am truly just looking for suggestions for going that route.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

This is an easy trip you can plan yourself without too many problems; I don't know why you would need to pay the very expensive ABD prices or any other tour group for this.

 

[jls886]

This is an easy trip you can plan yourself without too many problems; I don't know why you would need to pay the very expensive ABD prices or any other tour group for this.

I appreciate your opinion and as I stated in the OP this is not my first time going abroad, and I planned my previous trips myself so I understand what is involved and how much that could save. For this trip we are looking into all of the options so I am really just looking for suggestions for travel companies.

 

[ssawka]

Have not used them since I was a kid, but my Dad always liked Globus. They were great back in the 90's, but not sure what they are like now.

We are in a similar situation. DW would love to travel to Ireland, and I would love to do ABD, but $4000 pp plus airfare is a bit hard to swallow when other companies offer tours for $1500 pp. Yes, I know Disney would be awesome and would provide the service others wouldn't, but $12,000 for the three of us it just too much!

 

[OhhBother]

We're leaving on a British Isles cruise in less than three weeks, and I'm super excited about it. We were originally booked on a ABD trip to Scotland that got canceled, so this was our second choice. Now, I think we'll be happier than we would have been on ABD. We still have a planned itinerary destination-wise, but we have freedom over what we choose to do in port each day.

Whatever route you go, I hope it's wonderful and memorable trip!

 

[jls886]

Have not used them since I was a kid, but my Dad always liked Globus. They were great back in the 90's, but not sure what they are like now.

We are in a similar situation. DW would love to travel to Ireland, and I would love to do ABD, but $4000 pp plus airfare is a bit hard to swallow when other companies offer tours for $1500 pp. Yes, I know Disney would be awesome and would provide the service others wouldn't, but $12,000 for the three of us it just too much!

Thanks for the name...I'll look into it! We may end up biting the bullet for ABD because this will likely be our only trip to Europe with our entire family, ever. But my goodness it is expensive and scary to look at those numbers!

We're leaving on a British Isles cruise in less than three weeks, and I'm super excited about it. We were originally booked on a ABD trip to Scotland that got canceled, so this was our second choice. Now, I think we'll be happier than we would have been on ABD. We still have a planned itinerary destination-wise, but we have freedom over what we choose to do in port each day.

Whatever route you go, I hope it's wonderful and memorable trip!

Thank you! We have also considered doing a cruise so we may end up doing that instead of a land-only trip. I hope you all have a great time on your cruise!

 

[Janepod]

You don't need a tour. We have been several times (probably 10 times in all.) It's an easy drive from Paris and there are many local hotels in all price ranges. It's also convenient to Mont St.-Michel.

You will be amazed. I think everyone should visit at least once.

As far as tour groups, try Tauck. They do a good job with historical/cultural visits.

Enjoy your trip.

 

[ProudMommyof2]

ABD, from what I have read, modeled their trips after Tauck Bridges tours. They are a little cheaper.

 

[jls886]

You don't need a tour. We have been several times (probably 10 times in all.) It's an easy drive from Paris and there are many local hotels in all price ranges. It's also convenient to Mont St.-Michel.

You will be amazed. I think everyone should visit at least once.

As far as tour groups, try Tauck. They do a good job with historical/cultural visits.

Enjoy your trip.

Thank you! We are definitely going to do Normandy on our own with a rental car, it is just the rest of the trip that we are weighing our options for. Just trying to figure out how to hit the most things with the least work and stress. We really may end up doing the whole thing on our own but I at least wanted to look into all of the options. I appreciate the info!

ABD, from what I have read, modeled their trips after Tauck Bridges tours. They are a little cheaper.

We will definitely take a look at Tauck! Thank you!

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Tauck Bridges is the family tour section of Tauck tours- good luck!

 

[dgthree]

Another vote for Tauck. My father has used them for many of his trips.

 

[tinka-belle]

Globus is a great company to work with. They are still around and growing every year. Travel agents use them extensively with good feedback from clients.

Tauck is another good one for this type of trip. Smaller companies that still have good trips but not as many dates scheduled are Image Tours or Collette Tours "Culturious" packages that are a little more in depth.

 

[silmarg]

Tauck is high end - like ABD.

Globus (who I worked for as a summer intern like 25 years ago) and Colette (who my brother worked for) are more "mainstream"

 

[jls886]

Awesome, thanks so much for all of the suggestions!! We will definitely take a look at those companies mentioned.

 

[Judyat]

Take a look at Gate1 too. We have done several trips with them and they have been wonderful. They include airfare and you can pick your flights. I like being alble to pick flight times that work for me. You can also pick optional sights to see. The single supplement is reasonable and you only need to put 100 - 200 down. The rest is due about 2 months before and if you send them a check instead of using a credit card you will get another 5% off. They will also alter trips for you. For example we wanted another night in Bangkok to get rid of jetlag and they arranged it with the hotel we were staying at. We flew in a day ahead (no extra charge) and the hotels we stayed at were super. For that extra night we paid about $65. Can't say enough about them. And yes we have done disney too and loved it but for the price and what you get Gate 1 is a great option if you can't afford ABD.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) Obviously, there are lots of tour companies.
2) With all of our travels, we have found one we stick with.
3) Try Trafalgar Tours. ( Trafalgar.Com )
. . . reasonable pricing
. . . good destinations
. . . lots of travel dates
. . . more guaranteed travel dates *
4) We have used them eleven times, thus far.

* Many tours get canceled if not enough people. This ca really mess
with your vacation dates at work, not counting airplane tickets. The
guaranteed tour dates go, regardless of amount of people.

 

[mommycrawford]

I don't know where you are located, but whenever I used to travel abroad I would visit the consulate building of any given country as they do a lot to encourage tourism, and with the focus on history, I think you could contact the French consulate and they would probably be happy to send you materials and give you suggestions on Travel companies!