Have always avoided tours- will we like ABD?

[kenthanson]

My wife and son just got back from the England/France tour and they loved it and i'll highlight a couple of things that really made being in a tour group stand out.

1. Because of the civil unrest in France the train between England and France was cancelled the night before they were supposed to take it. No one on the tour had to do any work, the ABD booked flights for everyone for the morning and they ended up getting into France much earlier than was originally planned. If my wife was solo she would have had to do the work to make that flight happen.

2. Front of the line for major attractions. Crown Jewels and the Louvre were the major attractions and they had front of the line access to both. My wife said it was like having a fast pass during magic hours.

3. Most meals you don't even think about where you need to eat. All ABD provided meals were at quality places and when i asked how much certain meals were that she send me pictures of she had no idea because everything was taken care of by ABD.

4. Two dedicated guides made it so there was never a time that they were confused about where to go or when to be somewhere and on many of the things they went to they picked up one of two other local tour guides so sometimes they would be broken into smaller groups with a ratio of 10 guests to 1 guide compared to other groups where it could be 50 to 1 or more.

 

[rnorwo1]

My wife and son just got back from the England/France tour and they loved it and i'll highlight a couple of things that really made being in a tour group stand out.

1. Because of the civil unrest in France the train between England and France was cancelled the night before they were supposed to take it. No one on the tour had to do any work, the ABD booked flights for everyone for the morning and they ended up getting into France much earlier than was originally planned. If my wife was solo she would have had to do the work to make that flight happen.

2. Front of the line for major attractions. Crown Jewels and the Louvre were the major attractions and they had front of the line access to both. My wife said it was like having a fast pass during magic hours.

3. Most meals you don't even think about where you need to eat. All ABD provided meals were at quality places and when i asked how much certain meals were that she send me pictures of she had no idea because everything was taken care of by ABD.

4. Two dedicated guides made it so there was never a time that they were confused about where to go or when to be somewhere and on many of the things they went to they picked up one of two other local tour guides so sometimes they would be broken into smaller groups with a ratio of 10 guests to 1 guide compared to other groups where it could be 50 to 1 or more.

That's all great to hear! Yes, I am starting to value simplicity over trying to get it all in and keeping up such a fast pace. Thanks for taking the time to share!

 

[Karin1984]

I would only do ABD (or any other organized tour) if it gives me access to places hard to do on your own, or are a guide/driver who speak the local languages. For certain parts of the world where English isn't widely spoken, it pays off having someone who speaks the local language. Not necessary in most of Europe, but it would be in certain parts of Asia, for example. My mom does a lot of organized tours in Asia and according to her the moments when she had a guide who spoke Chinese for example, it improved the experiences they had. They were visiting a market in China, with the guide they started talking to a tea vendor and he was able to perform a tea ceremony for them. That was something she wouldn't have been able to do on her own or if the guide didn't speak Chinese fluently.

 

[jimmymc]

I've also done a lot of travel, 95% of it planned on my own. And so far I've only done the Disneyland ABD, which is unique in the fact that it goes where literally no other tours can go. But I can give my thoughts comparing group and individual travel overall.

When it comes to the group, you can be as much of a part of it as you want. You don't have to make friends with everyone else in the group, but it happens pretty naturally, and by the second day you're talking with them as if you had planned the trip together. The fact that you're doing the same experiences makes it really easy to talk to people, and in my experience it never feels like anyone is holding others back. The guides also do a pretty good job at pacing the tours, and if something is more strenuous then they will split up the group or offer a less active alternative.

Of the tours I've researched or done, ABD offers more on your own time than most. The times where you're doing things together are packed and usually cover the highlights of the area, but then you'll have time to go on your own if the group was too much that day. If there is something you really want to do that ABD doesn't include, you can always skip some activities, but you won't get any money back for those.

Some things ABD includes that other companies and going on your own usually don't:
1. Two guides, plus the driver and local guide (many companies only have one guide). This is a huge perk, because the guides will do basically everything for you. They'll rearrange trips when things go wrong, and by booking one trip most of your meals and activities are done (rather than trying to book them separately and line up the times)
2. Luggage service. When switching hotels, you leave your luggage outside the room and it shows up in your next room
3. Skipping the lines at all major attractions.
4. Exclusive behind the scenes experiences, even at places like landmarks in Europe.
5. All tips and fees for activities, no upcharges during the trip

Here are the trips I think ABD is or would definitely be worth doing over trying to do them on your own:
1. Disneyland and Southern California
2. China
3. Egypt
4. Grand Europe

Most of the European trips and Japan I don't think would be worth it, just because it's easy to move around with public transit in those places. For the US trips, I usually want to do longer hikes than what ABD offers, so I also don't really look at those. Trips like Australia or New Zealand are in the middle, where I can see the value but I don't know if I want to spend that much money.

 

[pjacobi]

2. Front of the line for major attractions. Crown Jewels and the Louvre were the major attractions and they had front of the line access to both. My wife said it was like having a fast pass during magic hours.

This can be done by anyone by going to the museum website and purchasing timed and dated tickets in advance. In fact, this is the only way I would go to a tourist site in Europe, since the walk-up lines can be huge. It just takes a little effort in advance.


-Paul

 

[chuff88]

When it comes to the group, you can be as much of a part of it as you want. You don't have to make friends with everyone else in the group, but it happens pretty naturally, and by the second day you're talking with them as if you had planned the trip together. The fact that you're doing the same experiences makes it really easy to talk to people, and in my experience it never feels like anyone is holding others back.

I've only done one ABD, but this was a huge thing for me - I don't always have the easiest time being friendly with strangers, but the fact that everyone on the tour was a) interested in the destination (in this case, Norway) and b) a fan of Disney made it easy to find a lot of common ground.

Some things ABD includes that other companies and going on your own usually don't:
1. Two guides, plus the driver and local guide (many companies only have one guide). This is a huge perk, because the guides will do basically everything for you. They'll rearrange trips when things go wrong, and by booking one trip most of your meals and activities are done (rather than trying to book them separately and line up the times)
2. Luggage service. When switching hotels, you leave your luggage outside the room and it shows up in your next room
3. Skipping the lines at all major attractions.
4. Exclusive behind the scenes experiences, even at places like landmarks in Europe.
5. All tips and fees for activities, no upcharges during the trip

I highlighted what I found to be the points that were most relevant to the tour that I did. First of all, THE DRIVER. Our driver in Norway (Sven) was fantastic. Friendly, professional, and an expert at navigating the very winding and narrow Norwegian mountain roads. Knowing we were in his capable hands greatly reduced my anxiety about being on that kind of road.

Luggage service was likewise fantastic. We changed hotels a few times, and it was so seamless and easy. The guides and the driver handle everything and it's so smooth.

Not needing to worry about tipping tour operators or at restaurants where meals were included was really nice, it was just one less thing to worry about. And the guides accepted Venmo or PayPal (Norway doesn't have Venmo, so we used PayPal for our local guide) for their tips, which made it all the easier to show our appreciation for them at the end of the trip.

 

[rnorwo1]

Thanks for all of these perspectives. I couldn't see myself doing them for anything in the US, but Asia intimidates me a bit, so that's definitely a consideration. Now just to get past the sticker shock!

 

[WeLoveABD]

Everyone has their own way to travel-- no right or wrong, for me it is just great to get out in the world! For those who do it all on your own, more power to you-- I did that for many trips but now am a happy camper to be guided about and yes, pampered. It is worth it to me, and you really do get what you pay for. (We still get to a location early, and sometimes stay post, to do things on our own). One thing that still irks me are the posters who talk about trips they haven't done, or want to say how you can do this or that in a less expensive way so don't do a tour-- yes yes, true true, but for me it is worth the extra money to be free of all of the headaches of travel, allowing down time and allowing me to absorb my surroundings, the culture, etc without worrying about the hotel, driving, bags, getting to sites well known and lesser known, etc. We have done 13 ABDs (with kids and without), soon to be 7 Tauck, an A&K, Viking and others. It is about the destination for us, and we have always enjoyed the ABD attention to detail. I liked Dusty's approach (in addition to toner time): it isn’t good, it isn't bad, it's just different...

 

[chuff88]

Thanks for all of these perspectives. I couldn't see myself doing them for anything in the US, but Asia intimidates me a bit, so that's definitely a consideration. Now just to get past the sticker shock!

I definitely think it's a huge advantage in places where English isn't widely spoken or where most of the signs will be in another language. My only experience in Asia is in Japan, and while a lot of people speak enough English to be able to communicate, the signs are almost exclusively in Japanese (which is a whole different writing system in addition to being a foreign language), so I know I would struggle to get around without a knowledgeable guide.

 

[Jess_S]

Everyone has their own way to travel-- no right or wrong, for me it is just great to get out in the world! For those who do it all on your own, more power to you-- I did that for many trips but now am a happy camper to be guided about and yes, pampered. It is worth it to me, and you really do get what you pay for. (We still get to a location early, and sometimes stay post, to do things on our own). One thing that still irks me are the posters who talk about trips they haven't done, or want to say how you can do this or that in a less expensive way so don't do a tour-- yes yes, true true, but for me it is worth the extra money to be free of all of the headaches of travel, allowing down time and allowing me to absorb my surroundings, the culture, etc without worrying about the hotel, driving, bags, getting to sites well known and lesser known, etc. We have done 13 ABDs (with kids and without), soon to be 7 Tauck, an A&K, Viking and others. It is about the destination for us, and we have always enjoyed the ABD attention to detail. I liked Dusty's approach (in addition to toner time): it isn’t good, it isn't bad, it's just different...

I agree with you on this. Saying that you shouldn't book a package tour because traveling on your own is cheaper is like saying you shouldn't stay at a 5-star hotel because you can find a moderate or budget hotel cheaper. The question is whether a particular traveler finds value in the extras offered by the more expensive product. For me and ABD, the answer is sometimes yes and sometimes no.

That said, I was really interested to do the math on our Italy trip because I looked at the website for the hotel we are staying at in Rome and saw that it was bananas expensive for a triple room. A double is about $900 per night when we are there, but the Gran Melia does not allow 3 to stay in a standard room if they book outside a tour block. So, our on your own cost would be $1300 per night for a triple. Because of that and the cost of arranging some of the experiences without ABD ($300 per person for early entry to the Vatican, for example), I think it actually would have been more expensive for us to book certain days of the trip on our own. (Our rate was about $2230 per night after the Dreams Unlimited credit).

 

[jimmymc]

I agree with you on this. Saying that you shouldn't book a package tour because traveling on your own is cheaper is like saying you shouldn't stay at a 5-star hotel because you can find a moderate or budget hotel cheaper. The question is whether a particular traveler finds value in the extras offered by the more expensive product. For me and ABD, the answer is sometimes yes and sometimes no.

Exactly. There isn't a perfect answer for everybody. I find trains in Europe so easy to use that those trips don't have value for me, but as soon as internal flights enter the mix you have my attention.

 

[MKMK]

Everyone has their own way to travel-- no right or wrong, for me it is just great to get out in the world! For those who do it all on your own, more power to you-- I did that for many trips but now am a happy camper to be guided about and yes, pampered. It is worth it to me, and you really do get what you pay for. (We still get to a location early, and sometimes stay post, to do things on our own). One thing that still irks me are the posters who talk about trips they haven't done, or want to say how you can do this or that in a less expensive way so don't do a tour-- yes yes, true true, but for me it is worth the extra money to be free of all of the headaches of travel, allowing down time and allowing me to absorb my surroundings, the culture, etc without worrying about the hotel, driving, bags, getting to sites well known and lesser known, etc. We have done 13 ABDs (with kids and without), soon to be 7 Tauck, an A&K, Viking and others. It is about the destination for us, and we have always enjoyed the ABD attention to detail. I liked Dusty's approach (in addition to toner time): it isn’t good, it isn't bad, it's just different...

100% agree with your POV

Question about your experience with Tauck. I am attempting to schedule a last minute trip ... no availability on ABD. Found almost the exact same itinerary with Tauck (family travel) that I am tempted to book.

My kids (who have never been on a tour company other than ABD ... 9 and counting) are hesitating because they like the camaraderie the ABD guides foster with the kids. Is it similar on Tauck? Recognize Tauck only has one guide, but in your experience, do the kids on the tour sit/hang out together etc?

 

[WeLoveABD]

We did one trip with Tauck Bridges (the rest were just the two of us on Tauck adult exclusive trips). Having just one guide made a difference-- less guest attention, etc. But also, our two kids were older and hung out together and with us-- and I think that was true for the other families. So no back of the bus mixing that I recall, and no guide devoted to the kids on the trip. I'd be interested to hear from others who took younger kids on a Tauck Bridges trip.

 

[lpm23]

We have done 8 ABDs and now two Tauck bridges. It’s definitely different with one guide. On Tauck they are still great with logistics etc. but with one guide they don’t have the time to really chat with guests etc. the guide usually never eats with the guests. They definitely don’t have junior adventure dinners etc. my kids still hung out with other kids and had a great time but it’s definitely different with the guides. We have loved our abd guides. We didn’t have same connection with Tauck guides.

 

[pjacobi]

$1300 per night for a triple

I'd rather find a 100 Euro a night room in a 500-year-old building with one old guy at the front desk that doesn't speak English.


-Paul

 

[sayhello]

I'd rather find a 100 Euro a night room in a 500-year-old building with one old guy at the front desk that doesn't speak English.


-Paul

You do you, Paul.

Sayhello

 

[Jess_S]

I'd rather find a 100 Euro a night room in a 500-year-old building with one old guy at the front desk that doesn't speak English.


-Paul

I personally would have rather spent $100 a night for a 5-star hotel in Southeast Asia, but my husband wanted to go to Italy. Since Italy is always busy and this is the busiest year on record, I am glad to have ABD arranging everything for me. I sense that you would not find value in it though?

Incidentally, my understanding from reading other travel forums is that a room like you describe is not available in Rome this year. All of the hotel are price gouging due to the tourism boom. As a test to validate what I have read, I did a search on hotels.com to see what the cheapest available room is for our tour dates. It's currently $428 for a triple in a 1-star hotel.

 

[AquaDame]

This is making me glad we booked all our hotels months ago for Greece in July....

 

[pjacobi]

As a test to validate what I have read, I did a search on hotels.com to see what the cheapest available room is for our tour dates. It's currently $428 for a triple in a 1-star hotel.

Most small hotels cannot afford to pay the booking fees to be listed on major hotel website. Consult guidebooks such as Rick Steves Italy to find more affordable rooms. Often this requires going directly to hotel website and making a reservation, with a follow-up phone call with a credit card number.


-Paul

 

[Jess_S]

I feel like we are getting really far afield from the original topic of this thread at this point. The point of my original post was that if you wanted to recreate ABD's Italy itinerary this year, including saying at the same hotels, there are days where it would actually cost more to book on your own. In my mind, that adds to the value for us. Had we booked on our own, we would have picked a 5 star hotel and not a $100 a night small family business; ABD got me my room (including the extra nights) for cheaper than I would have paid on my own.

I agree with your advice on researching hotels. I always start with guidebooks when researching a trip I plan on my own and I book directly with hotels and airlines rather than 3rd party booking sites. Since my goal was to validate scuttlebutt from other forums about the high cost of hotels in Rome this year -- rather than to actually find a hotel, I used hotels.com as a shortcut.