Guided tour vacations

[marybet]

DH and I are going to Hawaii. We are trying to decide if we should do a guided tour or just go on our own.

Anyone done a guided vacation? Doesn't have to be to Hawaii, just would like thoughts on how you liked it, if you would do it again.

We were thinking of flying over and then taking a cruise around the islands, but I am afraid that there just is not enough time to relax as you are in a port everyday.

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

 

[bicker]

We took a wonderful escorted tour to Egypt in 2001. (Our travelogue, in case you're interested, can be found here: http://offwegotoegypt.brianandrobbie.com)

I wouldn't, however, take an escorted tour of any English-speaking country, or any country where I was fluent in the local language, unless I was going on a dedicated historical tour or eco-tour. I just isn't worth the extra money to me.

 

[Feralpeg]

We went on a guided tour of Hawaii and I am so glad we did. If we had gone on our own, we'd have missed so much just because we didn't know what to look for. We used Tauck Tours. I can't say enough good things about them.

They picked us up at the airport in a limo. From that point on, every bit of our trip was planned to make it easy on us. We visited all five islands over a two week period. In that time, I never had to touch a piece of luggage other than to remove items of clothing. Before we'd switch hotels, we'd leave our bags packed in our room. When we reached our new hotel, our bags would be in our new room.

The guides were wonderful. They gave us so much historical and local information. We saw all of the major sites on the various islands and we stayed in first class hotels with ocean views. All food was included in the price of the tour with the exception of liquor. We could eat as many times a day as we wanted. We just signed the check Tauck Tour and our room number.

We had at least one down day on each island where we could do anything we wanted. Tauck made suggestions and helped us arrange things. For instance, we took a helicopter tour of Kauai. They arranged it and provided transportation to and from the helicopter place at no charge to us. On Maui, they arranged a whale watching excursion. The only things we payed extra for were the helicopter tour and the whale watching.

We attended several dinner shows at the hotels. Again, at no extra cost to us. We enjoyed seeing Don Ho.

All transportation between islands was provided. When we flew from Maui to Hawaii, our tour group (about 35 people) had the plane to ourselves. The pilot flew down into the crater of the large dormant volcano on Maui (sorry, I can't spell the name) so that we could get a good view. It is a huge crater.

Just before heading home, we were invited to a luau at a private home on the side of Diamond Head. It was incredible being there and being able to look up the side of that mountain. The luau was fantastic. Great food and terrific entertainment. We were taken to the home in limos.

We went in January. The weather in Hawaii was wonderful. When we returned home to Kansas City, it was snowing and cold. About two weeks after returning home, I came home from work to find a package from Tauck Tours. Inside were several beautiful Bird Of Paradise flowers. There was a card included that said "We thought you might be missing the islands!". It was so nice and unexpected.

I plan on taking my DD to England, Scotland and Wales soon. We will be using Tauck Tours.

 

[jbdreamer]

It depends on the tour. We went on a weekend guided tour of Paris, and it was fabulous. We never would have been able to see all we did otherwise.

However we went on a Day tour in Mazatlan, and they kept stopping at all their sponsor's establishments. When they dropped us off at Senior Frogs where they wanted us to buy lunch, we got a cab back to our hotel, including half the bus.

 

[buzzlady]

I did a guided tour (Maupintour) in 1986 to Hawaii. We did 4 islands. It was a great trip and I would do it again. The only thing was that it was mostly senior citizens and older couples (I was 24 at the time). I still had a great time as the people came from all over (different countries) and were very intersting to meet. I went with my parents, another couple - friends of my parents and my grandmother. It was a 2 week trip. We did stay at very nice hotels, our flights for island hopping, a helicopter tour, and admissions to the places that we visited, and most meals were included. We had free time on each island to explore on our own also. During the free times there were also activities available that you could do but had to pay extra for. One that I did was a scuba diving trip.

 

[Sandy V.]

We did a 17 day guided tour to Australia and New Zealand through Globus. It was an "Independent Vacation", which meant that they arranged all of our flights, hotel stays, and one activity in each city we visited (usually a bus tour/city overview of the highlights). Breakfast at the hotels were also included.

It was a great deal for us because we didn't have to worry about the details of getting from Sydney to Cairns to Melborne to Christchurch to Queenstown to Auckland and then back to L.A. We also had a bed to sleep in each night. And we could plan our own agenda for the time we were in each location, which was usually 2-3 days. The group we traveled with was great!

Now that I've visited these 2 wonderful countries, we would have no hesitation about going back on our own. Especially because of the English language factor.

I don't speak a foreign language, so I would be inclined to do a tour in most instances for at least the first time I traveled somewhere. But that's just me.

Good luck on your Hawaii trip. We were just there over Christmas (Big Island, Kauai, and Oahu), and we had a wonderful time.

 

[Jimbo]

We took a guided walking tour of southern France 5 years ago. I think there were 8 couples, and we spent 2 days in each of 4 cities. A van would take us around to see the sights in each area, and we took walks in the countryside several of the days. Meals were included.

We liked it, and probably would have had a hard time on our own because of the language barrier. DW's high school French was worthless. She could say "Mr. and Mrs. Deveaux live on the 4th floor" perfectly. Unfortunately she just never had a chance to use it.

But we didn't love it. Our problem was that the days were absolutely packed with activities, and we would have preferred some more free time. Some of the other people felt the same way. The first Roman ruins we saw were interesting, but they got gradually less interesting as the week went on. The brochure promised free time, but it's not really the way it worked out.

If we were to do this sort of thing again, I'd get a very detailed itinerary, and try to mentally "walk through" it to see if it was a good fit. We're planning two weeks in Africa, and that's what I'm doing now.

Also, I agree with what Bicker said, I'd personally limit it to non-English speaking countries. And if you're a do-it-yourselfer type like I am, planning a trip is part of the fun. Cutting out a middle man makes it a lot cheaper too.

 

[DawnCt1]

I would never do a guided tour of Hawaii. Its the USA and there are countless guide books detailing what to see and when to see it. If you need ideas to get started, take a look at Tauk Tours or Perillo Tours itinerary and follow it. Renting a car, getting from island to island is easy. Read some tour books, Fodors or Frommers on Hawaii and when you decided which islands to visit, pick up the Wizard Publication Books, Oahu Revealed, Maui Revealed, etc. There is nothing you need to know that you won't find in those books. You can book your own tours on line or visit a time share presentation while you are there and get them for free. You can frequent boards like www.fodors.com, search Hawaii and there a zillions of people who just love to give advice on Hawaii. If you were going to Italy or France and didn't speak the language, then it makes sense but not for the USA. When we did San Francisco, Sausilito, Muir Woods, Napa, Tahoe, Yosemite, Cambria, Big Sur, Carmel and Monterey, I used the prepackaged Tauk tour sales brochures as a guide for the highlights, bought a Fodors and Frommers California book and we had a better tour than if we were following around a big group of people. Often older people. Seniors tend to like these because they don't have to drive.

 

[marybet]

Thanks everyone, what great replies, all very helpful. I will check out Tauck Tours, we have been looking at AAA and vacationstogo.com.

I think one of the biggest advantages would be in not having to make all the travel arrangements between the islands. Also having someone who knows those spots that the tourist miss. There are just so many choices and I know the sooner you start to plan things the better it goes.

 

[DawnCt1]

Thanks everyone, what great replies, all very helpful. I will check out Tauck Tours, we have been looking at AAA and vacationstogo.com.

I think one of the biggest advantages would be in not having to make all the travel arrangements between the islands. Also having someone who knows those spots that the tourist miss. There are just so many choices and I know the sooner you start to plan things the better it goes.

Marybet, it is so easy making travel arrangements between islands. There aren't too many spots that the tourists miss but there are some spots in the "blue books" that the residents miss. You could easily plan a Hawaiian vacation and with just the two of you, you could bid on priceline and save lots of money! I think planning is half of the fun.

 

[marybet]

Marybet, it is so easy making travel arrangements between islands. There aren't too many spots that the tourists miss but there are some spots in the "blue books" that the residents miss. You could easily plan a Hawaiian vacation and with just the two of you, you could bid on priceline and save lots of money! I think planning is half of the fun.

Of course we could do all that planning, but we want to go in Nov. of this year. I like to plan but I am also planning a trip for 11 to Orlando in June. I have visitors coming, so I am planning for that, 2 different weeks. And we also want to do a cruise and land tour of Alaska next year and to get the best deal that will have to be booked no later than Jan. Soooo, booking a guided tour has a certain appeal. My DH thinks it might be nice to do some things with a group, and it sounds as if some people have had some great trips on guided tours.

I'm a Libra, we have a hard time deciding things because we have to look at all sides of an issue. Anyone else have guided tour stories?