Have always avoided tours- will we like ABD?

[AquaDame]

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 was so hopeful this would be true for us... I had wanted to book through ABD for a prenight at the Grand Oslo Hotel but they were more expensive than booking OYO for us. I am fairly sure it is because they included breakfast, but we would rather go get our own, and possibly it is a higher class of room. We'll likely have to repack and move, but I will ask at checkin if we can avoid it. I asked my TA if they could add the request but htey said we had to wait until then.

 

[Jess_S]

I was so hopeful this would be true for us... I had wanted to book through ABD for a prenight at the Grand Oslo Hotel but they were more expensive than booking OYO for us. I am fairly sure it is because they included breakfast, but we would rather go get our own, and possibly it is a higher class of room. We'll likely have to repack and move, but I will ask at checkin if we can avoid it. I asked my TA if they could add the request but htey said we had to wait until then.

We booked predays on our own for our last trip because it was cheaper than booking through ABD. The guides weren't able to arrange for us to keep our room because I had booked a different room category than ABD uses. But they were able to move all our things for us while we were out enjoying the day. We didn't even have to put them in the hall.

I think whatever the outcome of the request to keep your room, the guides will do what they can to make it easy.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I have been on 8 ABDs with my kids and we have had some amazing trips together. We also experienced one pretty awful other guests (but she was bad enough that it made a lasting impression) and had some negative experiences with ABD (which I've detailed here). I would say that the good have far out-weighed the bad, but I did not like how ABD managed their operations during COVID (I had a trip booked so can speak from first-hand knowledge). I would not rule out taking another ABD, especially to places where I would not feel comfortable traveling solo, such as Morocco, Egypt and India, but I will also be looking at other providers when the time comes (one of them will be Backroads because I really enjoy active vacations).

FTR I've only traveled with one other tour company, A&K Family, (albeit on a cruise to Antarctica) and the ABD guides were superior in every respect to A&K.

I travel solo a lot now and much prefer being on my own. I like staying in places a bit longer (some ABDs have a lot of packing up and changing hotels, mind you it's because you see *so* much with them) and not being tied to a schedule.

I will say that there is no way I would have done China on our own. The language barrier, especially in Beijing, was insurmountable, not to mention the travel between places, especially by plane, where staff at the airports and on the planes for the most part didn't speak a word of English. I have good friends that organized a private tour with guides and airport transfers organized for each city, but they speak Cantonese and understand Mandarin, which made a difference for them. I'm not sure if they saved any money versus going on a tour, but it is something to think about because you tailor the schedule to do exactly how much or little you want.

 

[AgentMama]

We use tour groups on locations that seem daunting to do it on our own. Otherwise we prefer to tour on our own. Our family is a mix of introverts and extroverts and we have generally found that we can always find some common ground with other travelers. There are always exceptions.

We're getting better at identifying parts of tours we might not enjoy anymore and where possible, we skip those things and go out on our own.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I have been on 8 ABDs with my kids and we have had some amazing trips together. We also experienced one pretty awful other guests (but she was bad enough that it made a lasting impression) and had some negative experiences with ABD (which I've detailed here). I would say that the good have far out-weighed the bad, but I did not like how ABD managed their operations during COVID (I had a trip booked so can speak from first-hand knowledge). I would not rule out taking another ABD, especially to places where I would not feel comfortable traveling solo, such as Morocco, Egypt and India, but I will also be looking at other providers when the time comes (one of them will be Backroads because I really enjoy active vacations).

FTR I've only traveled with one other tour company, A&K Family, (albeit on a cruise to Antarctica) and the ABD guides were superior in every respect to A&K.

I travel solo a lot now and much prefer being on my own. I like staying in places a bit longer (some ABDs have a lot of packing up and changing hotels, mind you it's because you see *so* much with them) and not being tied to a schedule.

I will say that there is no way I would have done China on our own. The language barrier, especially in Beijing, was insurmountable, not to mention the travel between places, especially by plane, where staff at the airports and on the planes for the most part didn't speak a word of English. I have good friends that organized a private tour with guides and airport transfers organized for each city, but they speak Cantonese and understand Mandarin, which made a difference for them. I'm not sure if they saved any money versus going on a tour, but it is something to think about because you tailor the schedule to do exactly how much or little you want.

I'm just going to say ditto to this post. I feel exactly the same! I used to be the biggest ABD cheerleader (circa 2007-2012) but a few negative experiences and IMO bad policy decisions gave me a less rosy view. COVID made it more negative, but I probably would still consider them for the right trip. And I agree, that in places like China and Japan it was really helpful having ABD organize and navigate everything. ABD guides are fantastic, but there are plenty of other amazing guides with other tour companies. Some of my favorites have been with the hiking trips I've done and the long expedition cruise I did through the British Isles, Ireland, and the Faroes. I've had exceptional experiences with the Stanford Alumni Travel trips I've done (3 to date and about to go on 4th). They have the same luxury level of ABD, but I was *so impressed with them during COVID. I was booked on a trip to hike Everest Base Camp (that I eventually went on two years later!). When COVID first happened, they gave me the option of holding the trip or getting my deposit back at any time. IOW I could hold my place in the trip, but if I decided later that I didn't want to go I would get my deposit back. They canceled the trip a few months later, immediately returned my deposit, and gave me first access to the trip when it came back. Before Disney purchased them, I had great luck with Nat Geo as well. I'm a little hesitant to use them since they were bought by Disney, but we'll see.