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[Bobo912]

Hi everyone! This is my first time posting in the ABD forums, though I'm a regular poster in the DLC and WDW forums.

After reading ABD reviews here, I'm giving serious thought to giving it a try. I am generally not one for group travel. I have explored Europe, America and Canada on my own and like the independence and lack of schedule. Even on a cruise, I'm an on-my-own walking tour or grab-a-taxi traveler.

But I'm now looking at the South Africa and Galapagos trips offered by ABD, which seem wonderful and travel to places I wouldn't feel as comfortable traveling to on my own. When I looked into other tour companies that visit these destinations and are geared towards families, National Geographic Expeditions was the only other company that caught my eye. I'm curious about whether anyone can compare the two companies. Specific concerns are quality of guides, quality of food and whether someone who is used to independent travel would enjoy the trip. The prices for both are pretty darn expensive, so that wouldn't really be a factor.

(Having looked through this thread now that my post was merged, it looks to me like Nat Geo might be a better choice because of group size. Is the 40 person group on ABD standard on all tours now?)

I have been on 5 ABDs (Costa Rica, Alaska, Arizona/Utah, Peru, Ireland) and I have been on the Lindbald/Nat Geo Galapagos trip. I've also been on 2 Tauck Bridges trip. All of the trips were good to varying degrees, but the Nat Geo trip was by far the best. Booking and pre-trip experience were excellent. On some departures they offer free airfare from Miami, which we took advantage of. There was a Nat Geo rep at the gate, making sure all of the guests had arrived at the correct gate and providing information. I'm sure she only expected to be there for a short time, but our flight was delayed due to mechanical issues for around 5 hours and she stayed there the entire time and kept us updated on the situation and made sure we all got vouchers from the airline for dinner. Even though we arrived much later than expected (around 3:00AM) there were 2 cheerful Nat Geo reps at the Guayquil airport waiting for us when we arrived to whisk us away to our hotel. The cruise director and naturalists were fantastic. We were accompanied by a National Geographic videographer who documented our voyage and we were presented with a DVD at the end of the trip. Because of Sven Lindblad's support of conservation efforts in the Galapagos, the Lindblad/Nat Geo ships are allowed to visit some areas where others aren't allowed to go. For the Galapagos trip, the ship holds 96 and when we left the ship we split into groups of 12 to 16 people. Food was great. Service by the ships crew was wonderful. Everybody was great with the kids. When we took the trip, a local family from the Galapagos were guests on the ship. Nat Geo was doing this because most of the locals never get the chance to see any island except the one where they live. It was a wonderful experience for everyone, but especially the kids, to get to know this family. I hope they are still doing this. If you want to see the Galapagos, you don't have the option of seeing it on your own, but since your a seasoned cruiser, maybe this much smaller ship with many fewer guests will not be too much of an adjustment. I can't say enough good things about this trip - it was just perfect. If there weren't so many wonderful places that I haven't been yet, I would do this trip again in a heartbeat. I often consider doing it again anyway...maybe someday. I really regretted my decision to go to Peru with ABD instead of Nat Geo. We are seriously considering Japan with them next year.

There are sometimes more than 40 guests on ABDs, but if you are lucky it can be a smaller group. The largest group I have personally experienced was 44, but I believe some groups have been larger.

I wish I could comment on South Africa, but unfortunately, I haven't been there yet.

 

[Jess_S]

Thanks Bobo and Cinderellas Slipper. It's really helpful to get some detailed feedback on Nat Geo. I've tried lots of Google searches for reviews and they only comments I find are that "there are cheaper ways to take a safari" -- not particularly helpful when you're trying to find out if the experience is worth the slight price premium.

 

[Hlee]

I have been on 5 ABDs (Costa Rica, Alaska, Arizona/Utah, Peru, Ireland) and I have been on the Lindbald/Nat Geo Galapagos trip. I've also been on 2 Tauck Bridges trip. All of the trips were good to varying degrees, but the Nat Geo trip was by far the best. Booking and pre-trip experience were excellent. On some departures they offer free airfare from Miami, which we took advantage of. There was a Nat Geo rep at the gate, making sure all of the guests had arrived at the correct gate and providing information. I'm sure she only expected to be there for a short time, but our flight was delayed due to mechanical issues for around 5 hours and she stayed there the entire time and kept us updated on the situation and made sure we all got vouchers from the airline for dinner. Even though we arrived much later than expected (around 3:00AM) there were 2 cheerful Nat Geo reps at the Guayquil airport waiting for us when we arrived to whisk us away to our hotel. The cruise director and naturalists were fantastic. We were accompanied by a National Geographic videographer who documented our voyage and we were presented with a DVD at the end of the trip. Because of Sven Lindblad's support of conservation efforts in the Galapagos, the Lindblad/Nat Geo ships are allowed to visit some areas where others aren't allowed to go. For the Galapagos trip, the ship holds 96 and when we left the ship we split into groups of 12 to 16 people. Food was great. Service by the ships crew was wonderful. Everybody was great with the kids. When we took the trip, a local family from the Galapagos were guests on the ship. Nat Geo was doing this because most of the locals never get the chance to see any island except the one where they live. It was a wonderful experience for everyone, but especially the kids, to get to know this family. I hope they are still doing this. If you want to see the Galapagos, you don't have the option of seeing it on your own, but since your a seasoned cruiser, maybe this much smaller ship with many fewer guests will not be too much of an adjustment. I can't say enough good things about this trip - it was just perfect. If there weren't so many wonderful places that I haven't been yet, I would do this trip again in a heartbeat. I often consider doing it again anyway...maybe someday. I really regretted my decision to go to Peru with ABD instead of Nat Geo. We are seriously considering Japan with them next year.

There are sometimes more than 40 guests on ABDs, but if you are lucky it can be a smaller group. The largest group I have personally experienced was 44, but I believe some groups have been larger.

I wish I could comment on South Africa, but unfortunately, I haven't been there yet.

How old are your children? Were there any on your trip???

 

[Bobo912]

How old are your children? Were there any on your trip???

I only have one and he was 4 months shy of his 11th birthday at the time. I think I posted this info on this thread already, but I'll repeat myself. There were 94 guests and 14 of them were children, with most of them being 10-13, with maybe one younger and a couple of older teenagers.

 

[Hlee]

I only have one and he was 4 months shy of his 11th birthday at the time. I think I posted this info on this thread already, but I'll repeat myself. There were 94 guests and 14 of them were children, with most of them being 10-13, with maybe one younger and a couple of older teenagers.

Sorry! Didn't mean to make you repeat yourself. Thread is 15 pages long....Thanks for the great info

 

[aggiedog]

Has anyone tried a Road Scholars family trip?

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

We are booked with Tauck Bridges for the December 24th South Africa trip. Dd decided she wanted to be with others her own age (they currently have 2 boys: 14 and 16 and 2 girls: 11 and 14; dd will be 14), plus I really, really like the itinerary. I booked airfare this morning (Ethiopian Air business class going there with a connection in Addis Ababa - oy. Coming home we are S. African Airways and Air Canada with a connection in Heathrow); we are going to spend 2 days in the malaria-free Marakele NP (Marataba Safari Lodge) on safari before the trip and head to Cape Town on December 23rd.

I am so excited! A bit concerned about 1 guide and 34 travelers, but hopefully it will work out!

As an FYI the ABD December S. Africa trip is already sold out . But I prefer this itinerary as Ngala camp where TB stays was high on my list if we went on our own (I didn't want to stay at Kapama). As an added bonus this was over $1,000 less expensive.

Please someone tell me they have flown Ethiopian Airlines and it was okay. I am concerned about the age of some of their planes. I NEED a lie flat bed for a 12 hour flight! I am going to keep working on trying to get a SAA flight through London but this is what we have for now.

 

[DCPhotoGal]

Please someone tell me they have flown Ethiopian Airlines and it was okay. I am concerned about the age of some of their planes. I NEED a lie flat bed for a 12 hour flight! I am going to keep working on trying to get a SAA flight through London but this is what we have for now.

We did an unguided South Africa trip planned by South Africa Airlines Vacations several years ago. We flew direct from IAD to Capetown on SAA. Even though it is listed as a direct flight, there was a stop in Northern Africa for refueling. And I remember since it was a yellow fever country, there was some discussion as to whether SA would require the yellow fever vaccine because of the stop.

 

[emilymad]

I have traveled with Tauck before and it's true. Most often when you book your second + trip they offer a free hotel room pre or post trip. You can book airfare through them and it is usually a set price. I have done that Italy (Rome, Florence, Venice) Bridges with Tauck so if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Would you recommend this trip? Did you feel that 1 guide was enough? We are researching this trip and ABD but the TB itinerary seems a lot better.

 

[tink1970]

We did TB last Christmas in Italy (Italia Bella) and there were 32 with 1 guide. I never felt that we were lacking having only 1 tour guide. Our tour might have been a little different because we had mostly teens/college students as the "kids" and two of the college students were actually doing semesters in Europe so as a whole maybe we were more self sufficient(??). Anyway... it was so wonderful we scheduled it again for 2017 (weird, I know but DH is funny about his traveling...I'm just wanting to hit Florence and buy all the things I left behind ). I also have a river cruise scheduled with them for 2017 in the summer.

Again, if you have any questions about this trip or Tauck I'm happy to answer (if I know!).

 

[emilymad]

We did TB last Christmas in Italy (Italia Bella) and there were 32 with 1 guide. I never felt that we were lacking having only 1 tour guide. Our tour might have been a little different because we had mostly teens/college students as the "kids" and two of the college students were actually doing semesters in Europe so as a whole maybe we were more self sufficient(??). Anyway... it was so wonderful we scheduled it again for 2017 (weird, I know but DH is funny about his traveling...I'm just wanting to hit Florence and buy all the things I left behind ). I also have a river cruise scheduled with them for 2017 in the summer.

Again, if you have any questions about this trip or Tauck I'm happy to answer (if I know!).

Thanks! We are two adults with no kids so any age group would be fine with us. I am glad to hear to you enjoyed it. How was the food? It seems that Tauck does more ordering from a menu. Was this the case?

 

[carpenta]

Would you recommend this trip? Did you feel that 1 guide was enough? We are researching this trip and ABD but the TB itinerary seems a lot better.

I would definitely recommend this trip. Having one guide is deceiving. Our guide Andre stayed with us through out the trip. He was a native of Rome and spoke English quite well. He would lecture (talk really) on the bus between cities about what the history and culture we are looking at in each city. In each city we were split into groups and each had an expert guide specific to where we were touring. Our guide in Florence was absolutely an expert on the history and art of the city. In Pisa also we were met by another expert on the leaning tower,cathedral and baptistery which we toured inside. In St. Peters also another expert was our tour guide and he knew a lot of the guards so we had access to a lot more areas quickly. We stayed in four star hotels (Westin ) and in Florence and Venice we stayed in a two room suite for it was two adults and one child. There is nothing that can compare to opening the French balcony doors and staring at the Duomo in Florence. The food was excellent. When we did eat at restaurants we just ordered off the menu and TB paid the bill. In Venice our hotel opened to a main canal steps from St. Michaels where we would eat breakfast and some lunch on the patio on the water. We felt we really got to see so much more because we stayed right in the cities and I can't say enough how the expert guides made sure you went away with knowledge of the areas and history in a fun way especially for the kids. We had about 30 families split between kids and adults and the kids really bonded well. There was an adult couple on our trip with no kids. The kids actually grouped and left us adults to enjoy each others company. To this day it is one of my daughters and my favorite trips next to the TB Danube river boat cruise. If you have any questions I would be happy to answer.

 

[emilymad]

I would definitely recommend this trip. Having one guide is deceiving. Our guide Andre stayed with us through out the trip. He was a native of Rome and spoke English quite well. He would lecture (talk really) on the bus between cities about what the history and culture we are looking at in each city. In each city we were split into groups and each had an expert guide specific to where we were touring. Our guide in Florence was absolutely an expert on the history and art of the city. In Pisa also we were met by another expert on the leaning tower,cathedral and baptistery which we toured inside. In St. Peters also another expert was our tour guide and he knew a lot of the guards so we had access to a lot more areas quickly. We stayed in four star hotels (Westin ) and in Florence and Venice we stayed in a two room suite for it was two adults and one child. There is nothing that can compare to opening the French balcony doors and staring at the Duomo in Florence. The food was excellent. When we did eat at restaurants we just ordered off the menu and TB paid the bill. In Venice our hotel opened to a main canal steps from St. Michaels where we would eat breakfast and some lunch on the patio on the water. We felt we really got to see so much more because we stayed right in the cities and I can't say enough how the expert guides made sure you went away with knowledge of the areas and history in a fun way especially for the kids. We had about 30 families split between kids and adults and the kids really bonded well. There was an adult couple on our trip with no kids. The kids actually grouped and left us adults to enjoy each others company. To this day it is one of my daughters and my favorite trips next to the TB Danube river boat cruise. If you have any questions I would be happy to answer.

Thank you! That all sounds wonderful. It is hard to find reviews so this information is great!

 

[tink1970]

It was actually just my DH and myself too...and ironically the only child (when we booked I was warned no less than 3 times there would be children!) who was annoying was the 16 (very immature 16 year old...). Anyhoo...back to your question re: food. Sadly my DH and I aren't big foodies but we made friends quickly with a couple on the trip who were retired restaurant owners. Most of the sit down dinners (with I believe the exception of one night in Venice) they were very happy about. Every morning there was a breakfast buffet and interestingly I was walking listening to a Dis podcast of the Dis Exclusive trip to Italy. They stayed in the Westin and mentioned the price of the breakfast buffet in Venice...it was something crazy like 49 Euro or something like that. I told my DH that it was good, but not $225 worth (2x2 am x est conversion rate)!

So breakfast buffets were all good but again, I'm a pretty simple person. They varied a bit but were large and filling and I'm pretty sure someone could find something to like. In Rome, there was an huge dessert (think chocolate cake for breakfast) assortment (yep, I did...); in Florence there was the usual plus savory offerings like rice (? for international travelers?) and lots of healthy (and not so healthy guava is really really sweet ick) juices like carrot cucumber kale etc (they had the whole vegetables in Rome and called it a juice bar but I could never figure out how that worked )...Venice had wonderful fruit and spices next to the fruit displays (I love cinnamon!).

Lunches were frequently on your own-and my DH and I made some terrible choices...not Tauck's fault at all We did have a special Christmas lunch buffet in Venice and it was very good. I ate enough panettone this trip to last me...until the next trip

Dinners were mostly together, some buffet style, others order ahead-I believe 3 were ordered ahead from a menu but please don't quote me on that! Again, some were very good, some were good, and only one was just okay (This was according to our friends. My DH and I were in the military and figure fuel in fuel out. He's picky about coffee, I'm picky about sweets-the rest is gravy!). I do remember eating dinner out in Florence and we went somewhere our friends absolutely HAD TO GO which was very authentic. Ironically, the person who cared the least about food (me) got the best meal.

Our tour guide gave us maps with her recommendations in each city so any mistakes were definitely on us. The hotel front desk staff in each hotel were very helpful with directions and suggestions, sometimes we just didn't take them for whatever reason

The hotels, as carpenta mentioned were so nice. Our rooms were surprisingly large with nice bathrooms and usually good views. In Rome we had a balcony and would sit outside in our room robes and watch the sun set. In Florence, our room overlooked a lovely square and was across the street from the Arno River and three (I think) bridges down from the Ponte Vecchio. In Venice, we could hang out of our room and twist a bit and see the canal and a lovely church (no idea which one...by then we had seen so very many). I also loved the proximity of our hotel to St Marco Square -out the door, turn, over a bridge, down...there you were.

As mentioned, there are local guides and they, too, were excellent (well, okay, in Rome, bless her heart, she had bronchitis-still good but I really wanted to prescribe a Z-pack). My favorite was the guide in Florence who just made the Renaissance come alive. Our guide in Pisa allowed us to decide whether we wanted to climb the tower or not (I did-not for the faint of thighs!) ...apparently tickets usually have to be booked in advance but since we were there in the low season it wasn't an issue.
Since DH and I were the only "couple" we were the ones with the musicians in the gondola...for most a treat but I am a weirdo and hate live music so that was uncomfortable. But still...riding in Venice in a gondola is interesting-touristy but interesting. I didn't expect to enjoy the mask making, and I did. I expected to enjoy the glass blowing and did (not the sales pitch but that's okay). The biggest surprise was Orvieto and the caves. I was totally like "yeah, whatever" and it was quite enjoyable to learn their history.

Tauck also has a special after hours tour of the Vatican Museum (like ABD) and we were actually allowed to take photos in the Sistine Chapel. Of course, I'm a rule follower and told my DH not to bring the camera or phone since photos weren't allowed. D'oh!!!!! Oh well...

From everything I've read, heard and researched, ABD does very similar things (Orvieto but no caves; Florence but stays outside of the city; Venice but not glass blowing; Rome with a little more than Tauck-or at least our Tauck...it was the holidays after all). What decided it for us were these factors: cost, staying in Florence, dates, and frankly, not as many young children. I'm a curmudgeon.

The reason we're going back with TB? Cost, staying IN Florence (shopping, shopping, shopping), and my feeling that I really enjoy the brand.

They could make a couple of "tweaks" here and there but overall I had a wonderful experience. I realize you didn't ask (and forgive me anyone who didn't feel like a mini trip report) for this but hopefully this will help you decide.

 

[Rapunzellover]

Tink 1970- love the Tauck/ABD comparison. I do want to point one thing though, re: Sistine Chapel. The "can you take pictures?" thing has nothing to do with what group you're with. I did the ABD and got to take pics. The decision on whether or not pics are allowed depends on what guards you have in the Chapel. Our adventure guides warned us that taking pics would depend on the whims of the guards.

Just to clarify that for anyone curious. Pictures in the Chapel are a luck of the draw thing.

 

[tink1970]

Oh, in no way meant to imply anything to the contrary...that was just a surprise to me! Me without my phone/camera...

I've heard both experiences from people on both tours. But thanks for clarifying

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

The reason we're going back with TB? Cost, staying IN Florence (shopping, shopping, shopping), and my feeling that I really enjoy the brand.

They could make a couple of "tweaks" here and there but overall I had a wonderful experience. I realize you didn't ask (and forgive me anyone who didn't feel like a mini trip report) for this but hopefully this will help you decide.

Thank you so much for the comparison. It sounds to me like there isn't too much of a difference, except that Tauck is less expensive, more so if you count that Tauck includes gratuities for the guide. So for the S. Africa trip it is close to $2,000.00 per person less expensive figuring in the gratuities (2 ABD guides). In S. Africa ABD and TB stay at the same hotel in Knysa and I prefer the reserve TB uses as it borders Kruger (as opposed to a fenced park like the one ABD uses). I would prefer the ABD hotel in Cape Town, but that is the only drawback for me and I just can't justify paying an extra few thousand for the small difference. So TB for us in December!

 

[Rapunzellover]

^ I just didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea.

 

[carpenta]

The first time we did an after hour tour in the Sistine Chapel we were in the chapel and people started taking pictures. I did not want to be "locked up abroad" (lol) and have to do 50 "Hail Marys" to get out of the Pope's jail so I approached a guard. I asked if pictures were allowed? He replied " I don't care for you are on a private tour" and he resumed gabbing with his fellow guards. So I could not click fast enough and even have video of the famous ceiling. Our last time with TB guide as we exited we got to walk down a set of famous stairs that is not readily accessed by the public. I forget the name of the stairway, sorry. Loved Rome so much more for we arrived early and just wandered around checking out all the neighborhoods and even better the small restaurants off the beaten track.

 

[emilymad]

Thank you tink1970! That was a wonderful comparison. We were leaning towards TB mainly because the stay in Florence. I can't imagine a trip to Italy not staying there. The cost also seems to be significantly cheaper than ABD for a similar tour. I am with you about the musicians in the gondola. That would make us very uncomfortable!

We love Westin's so that is a big selling point for us as well. We ending up getting a comped breakfast at the Westin in Paris and it was amazing. It would have been crazy expensive if we had paid for it.

We are trying to decide if we are tour group people so all this information is extremely helpful.