Other Options...

[Woodview]

To tgeorge,

As an European ( and a few years older than you ) my advice

is GO WITH A GROUP be it ABD or any other Tour Operator

& there are many in Europe

WHY go with a group ? Well Language for a start.

Your are an American .... so they see you comming

Travel Transport is good BUT to travel on your own will be a hard thing to do.

YES you Will meet new Friends >>>> BUT will they be YOUR

FRIENDS if you are in trouble.

....

PS NOt everywhere is easy to connect to Internet as I have found out over the last 2 weeks In South France , Spain & Andorra

 

[mgsquared]

Well just to provide a different perspective here... I am very familiar with the ABD central europe intenerary as I have bern doing all thise things regularly since I was a kid (every summer in Salzburg, etc). I can assure you that the same trip can be done for probably a third of the cost. Less if the hotels can be more local fancy hotels. I don't remember a single activity listed where the endtrance is more than 20€. Lots of these tickets can be bought online in advance.
There are tons of tour groups once you are here that you could jpin or from America that for sure cost less.
Also, those 3 places in one week is a crime.

Since you don't have kids, why spend the extra money?

 

[disneyphx]

We are considering Tauck bridges for 2015, based on itinerary preference - TB Switzerland appeals more to us than ABD Italy/Switzerland. We have done 5 ABDs, and also did one Thomson family Adventures based of itinerary preference (Peru)
I wanted to check on a couple of things that I thought I had read but cannot seem to find:
- does TB have 1 or 2 guides?
- with TB do you get to order from a full menu more often? and have fewer preorders.

Also, if anyone knows
- how often does TB include alcohol? I know ABD is only occasionally, but in Central Europe it was every lunch and dinner - not a deal breaker but a nice treat!

Thanks
Michele

 

[carpenta]

We are considering Tauck bridges for 2015, based on itinerary preference - TB Switzerland appeals more to us than ABD Italy/Switzerland. We have done 5 ABDs, and also did one Thomson family Adventures based of itinerary preference (Peru)
I wanted to check on a couple of things that I thought I had read but cannot seem to find:
- does TB have 1 or 2 guides?
- with TB do you get to order from a full menu more often? and have fewer preorders.

Also, if anyone knows
- how often does TB include alcohol? I know ABD is only occasionally, but in Central Europe it was every lunch and dinner - not a deal breaker but a nice treat!



Thanks
Michele

T.B. has one guide that stays with the group and local guides that go with the group at every stop. We just did T.B. to Italy in April and our 13 yr. old daughter loved it. We ordered off a menu when we ate at the restaurants except when we had special dinners like the pizza making for kids in Florence. I think the food choices is better on T.B.. In Italy wine and beer was included and in Venice our table won the prize for most bottles drunk. On all T.B. trips the tips are included for the guide too. We go back and forth between T.B. and ABD and like you choose the trip that appeals to us the best. You will not be disappointed at T.B. but really impressed on the quality. Any other questions I hope I could answer.

 

[mouselike-harrier]

We are also considering TB in 2015 based on itinerary preferences. Thanks for posting about your experiences. I like the idea that the guides' gratuities are included so we don't have to come up with the extra money while we are in Europe. Has anyone done a regular Tauck tour, not Bridges, with teenagers?

 

[TammyAlphabet]

We are also considering TB in 2015 based on itinerary preferences. Thanks for posting about your experiences. I like the idea that the guides' gratuities are included so we don't have to come up with the extra money while we are in Europe. Has anyone done a regular Tauck tour, not Bridges, with teenagers?

I have done the Australia and New Zealand with my DD when she was 14. There were other families with teens on our trip. Tauck is top notch and we have done three trips with them. Highly recommended.

 

[jamieann]

I'm sure Adventures by Disney is "worth the money" and an incredible experience, but that doesn't make it feasible for everyone. Has anyone had experience with any other tour company that is similar but less expensive? The things that are most appealing to me about ABD are how everything is planned out, the varied activities (not just sightseeing all day every day), and the included transportation. The things I would be willing to compromise on would be those extra Disney touches like the fact that you never touch your luggage, etc.

I hope to be able to take an ABD trip someday, but in the meantime, any alternatives?

 

[Rapunzellover]

Tauck and Tauck Bridges are probably closest, but not on the cheap side either.

How much cheaper do you wanna go?

 

[jamieann]

Well, for instance, I'm most interested in Greece ABD trip which runs around 5500-6000 and doesn't include airfare. If I could find a company that offers something similar (again, I know it won't be exactly the same level of service) for 3000-4000, I think that would be more feasible.

Just like with the Disney Cruise Line you're paying for the extra Disney touches and the incredible level of service, but other cruise lines are significantly cheaper. Just wondering if there's a similar model for ABD?

 

[sayhello]

I could be searching incorrectly, but it looks like the only Greece tour Tauck does is a cruise, and is longer than the ABD trip, but more expensive. I'm having a hard time finding much of anything in a Greece tour that isn't a cruise.

There's another company, Insight, that does a land-based Greece tour, but I really know nothing about them. They appear to be cheaper, but I've seen their tours given five stars (same as Disney) on some sights I've visited.

Sayhello

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I wish there was! But ABD's are a VIP/luxury product and unfortunately they cost luxury prices. If you are looking for a similar upmarket type of product, Tauck seems to be the closest from what I've heard from people who'd done both, but as SayHello pointed out, they don't always have similar itineraries and you don't always save much. If you were simply looking for a more general family friendly tour company that won't have all the bells and whistles, to my knowledge I'm not aware of one. Definitely seems like a market that needs to be tapped.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Rick Steves operates tours in Europe. The hotels aren't as nice as Disney, but they tend to be centrally located. You have to take care of your own luggage. The price is very reasonable for what is offered.

There is also Austin. They are an active tour company -- i.e. biking across France. I wish I had a traveling companion that was interested in that because I would love to try one of those trips!

 

[NancyIL]

I would love to take a Rick Steves tour some day: http://www.ricksteves.com/tours

 

[Judyat]

We have done ABD a few times. We have also done Gate 1 travel. I like both of them. I agree the ABD are expensive and we used DVC points both times so it didn't seem so expensive. While we loved the ABD trips we did not like adding on airfare to an already expensive trip. With Gate 1 you can pick your flights and see exactly when they will be. This is a real advantage for us since we don't like early morning flights. We also like nonstop whenever possible. You also have the option to do flights on your own. If you pay by check you get another 5% off and payment is not due until 45 days before the trip. A small down payment does it. If you sign up for emails they come out with weekly specials.

 

[RSM]

If you are looking for lower cost family style tours, I have researched Go Ahead and Trafalgar. Both have tours that are designed for families amongst their offerings. We haven't done either one of them yet, but we are doing Trafalgar's Spanish Salsa tour this summer. It looks like the biggest difference is the hotel quality and location (not as centrally located). We don't spend alot of time in the hotel, and we have gotten pretty good at getting around European cities on our own, so a centrally located luxury hotel is not a huge criteria for us. From what I gather, the more economical tour operators also tend to use more local guides. Your tour director is there but more or less manages the tour. Anyways, later this summer we'll have a data point to compare an economy tour operator to a higher end ABD.

 

[disneyphx]

We have done 4 ABD trips (5 for DH and DD) and loved each one.
For Peru, we went with Thomson Family Adventues - ABD does not stay near Macchu Picchu which I really really wanted to do and their trip does 2 nights in the town near there. The trip was fabulous - only 1 guide though - but with only 5 guests total it really did not matter. Hotels etc were very similar. The trip was a bit cheaper than ABD I think. And lucking out with an almost private tour was amazing! I would not hesitate to use them again.
This summer we are trying Tauck Bridges in Switzerland - again we preferred the itinerary to the ABD one.
Next we are thinking East Africa which ABD does not do (ABD South Africa was fantastic!) - will most likely be Thomson or Tauck Bridges. If you really want sticker shock, look at Abercrombie and Kent family trips.....

 

[DisFan10]

I'm sure Adventures by Disney is "worth the money" and an incredible experience, but that doesn't make it feasible for everyone. Has anyone had experience with any other tour company that is similar but less expensive? The things that are most appealing to me about ABD are how everything is planned out, the varied activities (not just sightseeing all day every day), and the included transportation. The things I would be willing to compromise on would be those extra Disney touches like the fact that you never touch your luggage, etc.

I hope to be able to take an ABD trip someday, but in the meantime, any alternatives?

A friend has taken several trips with G-Adventures, a low-budget tour company. She knows she's getting what she pays for (which is very little), but her philosophy is that she's getting the opportunity to visit a foreign country that she wouldn't be able to afford otherwise. If you're okay with no-frills traveling and paying extra to get your own room, then you may want to take a look at this company.

Here is their website: https://www.gadventures.com/

Here is a link to their Greece trip ($2,299 for 15 days and group size of 12-16 people):

https://www.gadventures.com/trips/best-of-greece/EGBG/2015/

 

[WDWmom08]

Does anyone have any experience with Classic Journeys?

 

[kmc33]

I am resurrecting an old thread. Ironically I came across it doing a search to see if I can ask more about Tauck Bridges on this forum and this thread posed the the same question I wanted to ask about.

We have done two ABD trips and loved them. We were planning to book Viva Italy for next year (DH, DS16 and me). Then I started reading about issues with triple occupancy and I started looking at Tauck and have found that for 2016, ABD is ~$5700 and Tauck Bridges~$4100 per person. They are very similar trips, although the ABD trip is one extra day, but that is still a big difference in price. The ABD total would be slightly less with the travel agent incentive.

So, have a feeling I am missing something as to what accounts for the price difference. But in searching some information here, it sounds like there are a lot of ABDers who have used Tauck and have been pleased.

A couple questions about Tauck Bridges:

Do the Tauck prices rise as the trip fills as ABD prices do?
It looks like you lose your deposit if you have to cancel your trip, like ABD, but will Tauck allow you to move your trip to a different departure after you book without penalty (assuming availability)?
Does Tauck offer any incentives or early booking offers?
Do they have the "front of the line access" that ABD has?

TIA for your feedback!

 

[aggiedog]

I haven't done either, yet, but spoke extensively with Tauck regarding their Danube river cruise. I can tell you that if you buy their trip insurance, at $500/person, you get your deposit back. So, pay $500, to get $800 back. That was one reason we decided to sign up for the ABD Danube cruise, because when you added that cost on, the trips ended up being closer in price to each other. No, we didn't get ABD insurance, but we'll only be out $300/person if we have to cancel. And I believe the PIF date is significantly closer to the trip for ABD than it was for Tauck, allowing us more time to see if my business will be having a good year, or a not so good year.