Other Options...

[acndis]

I think Iceland is a great DIY trip! We did a stopover for a few days in Iceland flying back from Copenhagen after a Norway cruise. We enjoyed Iceland so much and the people were so friendly and welcoming that we plan to return and do it on our own.

I would love to hear about DIY Iceland. That sounds really appealing. On a completely different note, has anyone looked at S. Africa Itineraries from other companies. I was so bummed about the ABD price that I have been shopping around. Austin Adventures looks AMAZING! It is also expensive but seems to include more and is a bit longer. I also looked at Thomson which looked wonderful also. A&K does not seem to do S. Africa.

I also got REALLY sucked in by Thomson's Brazil. That looked AMAZING!

 

[carpenta]

I think Iceland is a great DIY trip! We did a stopover for a few days in Iceland flying back from Copenhagen after a Norway cruise. We enjoyed Iceland so much and the people were so friendly and welcoming that we plan to return and do it on our own.

We leave in 2 weeks for Iceland with NatGeo family trip. 21 total travelers with 9 of them being 16 yrs.old and younger. Leaving early to get an extra day on our own. Will report back upon our return.

 

[AdamEfimoff]

I'm going on my own in June. I can let you know how it goes when we get back. I researched all the parks in excruciating detail and made the decision about where I wanted to go. Then I had to work that in with my travel from Amsterdam (which flight would work best).

I am staying at 2 Singita lodges (Ebony and Lebombo). From Ebony we are flying via Nelspruit to Cape Town for 4 days. There we have 4 nights and 3 days -- 2 of the days we have private guides booked (one day wine country and the other a coastal tour) and the the third day I booked a private walk with cheetah cubs at a cheetah rescue sanctuary just outside of Cape Town. Then we will tour some of the markets.

From Cape Town we are flying to Livingstone via Jo'Burg to see Victoria Falls. We will stay at the Tongabezi Lodge for 3 nights. During our time there we will take a helicopter flight over the falls, go on a Zambezi River Cruise and experience an authentic BOMA dinner.

I am so happy that I booked on our own. We will be coming from the ABD Rhine River Cruise and that is enough time with a group for me. My teenage daughter is not excited that we won't be with other families in S. Africa but I really, really wanted to experience Kruger NP. Plus Singita is supposed to be quite luxurious and that really appealed to me. Also Victoria Falls is a must for me -- if I'm going all the way to S. Africa then I'm going to make the effort to get to Zambia to see the falls.

Singita has some excellent promos if you travel in off season. We got 1 night free (stay 7 nights and pay for 6) and our internal flight between the 2 lodges was free as well. Also since my daughter is under 16 she was half price. So that made it more affordable for us. Singita is located in the highly-regarded Sabi Sands game reserve and I believe has the largest traversing rights in Kruger. If not the largest, then right up there.

Our trip is costing significantly more than ABD, but some of that is attributed to our extra time in Livingstone. I just as easily could've booked a tour that was half the cost of ABD. It just depends on your travel preferences and budget.

The agent at Singita ended up booking everything for us, including Cape Town and Livingstone and all of our internal flights. She is excellent.


Planning the trip was exhausting as I researched for a very long time to get everything just right. My current plan is to go to Tanzania in June, 2018 and we will do a private tour. I definitely want to see the great migration and the only way to be guaranteed that is to book a stay with a mobile camp. The mobile lodges are too small to accommodate tour groups. But my plans are fluid until I have paid a deposit!

Good luck with your planning!

So next year you are going?

 

[cadien]

Has anyone tried the Rick Steves Family Europe tours? 13 or 14 days depending on itinerary. We've had one penciled in for when DS is old enough for a few years now.

 

[disneyphx]

For anyone who is interested, Tauck Bridges has their 2018 itineraries posted

 

[sayhello]

We leave in 2 weeks for Iceland with NatGeo family trip. 21 total travelers with 9 of them being 16 yrs.old and younger. Leaving early to get an extra day on our own. Will report back upon our return.

ENJOY!! Looking forward to your report!

Sayhello

 

[Stinkerbell1973]

Has anyone here been on a Rick Steves tour? I used to love his TV show on PBS and only recently discovered that he has a tour company as well. They are budget tours (older non-chain hotels, you carry your own luggage, etc.) and they only have a couple of family tours, but it seems like an interesting option at a lower price point than ABD & many of the other companies mentioned here.

Realizing you posted this a while back and you may no longer be interested, I wanted to let you know that my family just returned from our first Rick Steves tour. To give you some context, we originally were going to book the ABD Rhine River cruise.....then it morphed into a Northern Europe DCL itinerary due to price.....but as we began looking at the itineraries and prioritizing our bucket list, I began searching for guided tours of Germany and Switzerland and the Rick Steves website was the second listing on my Google search.
We did the Germany, Switzerland and Austria itinerary. And it was PHENOMENAL. Every experience we had was jaw dropping amazing and I'm so very thankful that we booked it.
Our guide was a native of Berlin. His English was perfect. He is very well educated and really brought life into the places we saw. His knowledge of all the places we went, the history of Germany, the volatile microclimates of the Swiss Alps was unmatched. It was almost like the could predict exactly what the weather was going to do and advised us accordingly. He was just awesome. Our bus driver was very professional, warm and funny. He definitely added to our overall experience as well.
You mentioned the smaller hotels and carrying your own luggage. That's all true. Part of the charm of the RS tours is that he puts you in the smaller, family run hotels and it's for great cause. On his tours, you stay in the heart of the city and activity. You're close enough to walk to the sights, shops, restaurants. You don't stay on the outskirts of town and have to take a cab/Uber to get back. Yes, you may have to drag your suitcase a few blocks, up a couple of cobblestone hills and possibly up a few flights of stairs, but if you follow his philosophies for traveling light (and trust me....this was a serious struggle for me, but I was determined and I managed three weeks in Europe with a carry on and a backpack) it is so worth it! Only one time on our trip did I have to carry my luggage up a flight of stairs due to no lift/elevator. Some times I chose to do it just because I was impatient and didn't want to wait for the lift.
Don't be put off by the smaller, family run hotels. They were quite charming and some of them really enhanced our experience (Google "Seehotel Gruener Baum" in Hallstatt, Austria...."Hotel Jungfrau" in Murren, Switzerland...."Hotel Heliopark Bad zum Hirsch" in Baden-Baden, Germany). A few of the places we stayed were quite elegant despite being small. Also, these tours have smaller groups - max size is 28 people. Another awesome detail.
Also, while they specify a couple of their tours as "family" tours, kids are welcome on all tours. That said, when I called their offices to confirm that my 12 year old would be ok on the tour we picked - which is not one of the family tours - the response was "absolutely". She had a fantastic experience as well.
Overall it was an amazing experience and we will definitely book another trip (already researching, will likely be Ireland next May). Obviously, I HIGHLY recommend booking a Rick Steves tour. Good luck!!

 

[aggiedog]

What really put my dh off for those trips was the mention that you might have to share bathrooms, i.e. use the one down the hall sort of setup. He would not even entertain that idea.

My friend and his wife did their 25 year anniversary trip to London and rave about how good a trip it was. I only found out much later it was a Rick Steves tour, but I haven't had a chance to really get details from them. I'm glad to know that all trips are basically family friendly.

 

[kmc33]

Also, these tours have smaller groups - max size is 28 people. Another awesome detail.
Also, while they specify a couple of their tours as "family" tours, kids are welcome on all tours. That said, when I called their offices to confirm that my 12 year old would be ok on the tour we picked - which is not one of the family tours - the response was "absolutely". She had a fantastic experience as well.

I am very intrigued about your trip. I like the idea of staying in the family run hotels. Also, I am interested to learn more about the make-up of the tour group. It looks like your tour was considered an "active" tour, so I would guess this type would skew younger than a less active tour itinerary.

What really put my dh off for those trips was the mention that you might have to share bathrooms, i.e. use the one down the hall sort of setup. He would not even entertain that idea.

My DH would not like this either. He would be okay with carrying his luggage, but not having an en-suite bathroom would be a deal breaker. I noticed that some of the hotels may have weak or no a/c, as is not unusual in Europe. Because we can only travel in the summer right now, that could be a deal breaker for DH unless we picked a more northern itinerary!

Thank you for your post! I realize it is a different type of tour from ABD, so it is great to get feedback from someone who has done one... and planning another!!

 

[cadien]

My DH really has a thing against luxury hotels (luxury anything, really) and it's one major reason I'm having trouble selling him on ABD. I can take or leave 4- or 5-star myself, and am perfectly happy in hostels, but I'm really in love with the China itinerary.

 

[sayhello]

My DH really has a thing against luxury hotels (luxury anything, really) and it's one major reason I'm having trouble selling him on ABD. I can take or leave 4- or 5-star myself, and am perfectly happy in hostels, but I'm really in love with the China itinerary.

The China itinerary is seriously fabulous (just got back this week) but you *would* have to "suffer" with some pretty luxurious hotels...

Sayhello

 

[RebelHawk]

The China itinerary is seriously fabulous (just got back this week) but you *would* have to "suffer" with some pretty luxurious hotels...

Sayhello

And we can't wait to read a trip report!

 

[Stinkerbell1973]

I am very intrigued about your trip. I like the idea of staying in the family run hotels. Also, I am interested to learn more about the make-up of the tour group. It looks like your tour was considered an "active" tour, so I would guess this type would skew younger than a less active tour itinerary.

My DH would not like this either. He would be okay with carrying his luggage, but not having an en-suite bathroom would be a deal breaker. I noticed that some of the hotels may have weak or no a/c, as is not unusual in Europe. Because we can only travel in the summer right now, that could be a deal breaker for DH unless we picked a more northern itinerary!

I'm happy to answer any questions you have!
On the RS website, the itinerary we picked is labeled as one of their most active. And it DEFINITELY was! My hubby monitored our activity via his Google Maps app and it shows we walked 56 miles over the course of the 14 days of the tour. As for the makeup of our tour group.....my daughter was the youngest. The next oldest couple was in their mid 20's (on their honeymoon), then a couple in their late 20's, 4 singles and hubby and me in our 40's, 2 couples in their 50's and the rest were retired. Very diverse group. We all gelled so well and we were joking & half serious about how to all book another tour together.

Every one of our hotels had en-suite bathrooms. I've read too that some of the RS tours/hotels share the hall bathroom....and I can check with some of my tourmates who have done previous tours to see what they've encountered if that will help you.

As for the A/C......yep, the only hotel we stayed in that had it was in our last city (Vienna). We had fans in all of our other rooms and it worked out great. I honestly thought the lack of A/C would be a deal breaker for my hubby as well, and that's why we went in late May/early June - as soon as our daughter got out of school. That said, it was unseasonably warm at the beginning of our trip (daytime highs in the low/mid 90's) but at night, it was in the 60's and with a fan it was actually very nice/comfortable.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Realizing you posted this a while back and you may no longer be interested, I wanted to let you know that my family just returned from our first Rick Steves tour. To give you some context, we originally were going to book the ABD Rhine River cruise.....then it morphed into a Northern Europe DCL itinerary due to price.....but as we began looking at the itineraries and prioritizing our bucket list, I began searching for guided tours of Germany and Switzerland and the Rick Steves website was the second listing on my Google search.
We did the Germany, Switzerland and Austria itinerary. And it was PHENOMENAL. Every experience we had was jaw dropping amazing and I'm so very thankful that we booked it.
Our guide was a native of Berlin. His English was perfect. He is very well educated and really brought life into the places we saw. His knowledge of all the places we went, the history of Germany, the volatile microclimates of the Swiss Alps was unmatched. It was almost like the could predict exactly what the weather was going to do and advised us accordingly. He was just awesome. Our bus driver was very professional, warm and funny. He definitely added to our overall experience as well.
You mentioned the smaller hotels and carrying your own luggage. That's all true. Part of the charm of the RS tours is that he puts you in the smaller, family run hotels and it's for great cause. On his tours, you stay in the heart of the city and activity. You're close enough to walk to the sights, shops, restaurants. You don't stay on the outskirts of town and have to take a cab/Uber to get back. Yes, you may have to drag your suitcase a few blocks, up a couple of cobblestone hills and possibly up a few flights of stairs, but if you follow his philosophies for traveling light (and trust me....this was a serious struggle for me, but I was determined and I managed three weeks in Europe with a carry on and a backpack) it is so worth it! Only one time on our trip did I have to carry my luggage up a flight of stairs due to no lift/elevator. Some times I chose to do it just because I was impatient and didn't want to wait for the lift.
Don't be put off by the smaller, family run hotels. They were quite charming and some of them really enhanced our experience (Google "Seehotel Gruener Baum" in Hallstatt, Austria...."Hotel Jungfrau" in Murren, Switzerland...."Hotel Heliopark Bad zum Hirsch" in Baden-Baden, Germany). A few of the places we stayed were quite elegant despite being small. Also, these tours have smaller groups - max size is 28 people. Another awesome detail.
Also, while they specify a couple of their tours as "family" tours, kids are welcome on all tours. That said, when I called their offices to confirm that my 12 year old would be ok on the tour we picked - which is not one of the family tours - the response was "absolutely". She had a fantastic experience as well.
Overall it was an amazing experience and we will definitely book another trip (already researching, will likely be Ireland next May). Obviously, I HIGHLY recommend booking a Rick Steves tour. Good luck!!

Thanks so much for the great post! I've never looked into Rick Steves's tours, but this sounds really wonderful. Love having more options! I really enjoy small hotels as well, although admit I do like my luxury hotels

 

[kmc33]

Every one of our hotels had en-suite bathrooms. I've read too that some of the RS tours/hotels share the hall bathroom....and I can check with some of my tourmates who have done previous tours to see what they've encountered if that will help you.

If you get any feedback, that would be great. It is not urgent. We are not planning 2018 quite yet. If I get to that point, I think perhaps RS tours could provide feedback regarding particular itineraries; perhaps hall bathrooms are more prevalent on certain itineraries. Thank you again for the information and your help!

 

[tink1970]

@Stinkerbell1973 thanks so much for posting! I've seen so many RS tours that look wonderful but my mantra is "I've never regretted overpacking" so don't think his is the company for me! Would love to hear all about your next trip with him, however

 

[Ava]

Realizing you posted this a while back and you may no longer be interested, I wanted to let you know that my family just returned from our first Rick Steves tour. To give you some context, we originally were going to book the ABD Rhine River cruise.....then it morphed into a Northern Europe DCL itinerary due to price.....but as we began looking at the itineraries and prioritizing our bucket list, I began searching for guided tours of Germany and Switzerland and the Rick Steves website was the second listing on my Google search.
We did the Germany, Switzerland and Austria itinerary. And it was PHENOMENAL. Every experience we had was jaw dropping amazing and I'm so very thankful that we booked it.
Our guide was a native of Berlin. His English was perfect. He is very well educated and really brought life into the places we saw. His knowledge of all the places we went, the history of Germany, the volatile microclimates of the Swiss Alps was unmatched. It was almost like the could predict exactly what the weather was going to do and advised us accordingly. He was just awesome. Our bus driver was very professional, warm and funny. He definitely added to our overall experience as well.
You mentioned the smaller hotels and carrying your own luggage. That's all true. Part of the charm of the RS tours is that he puts you in the smaller, family run hotels and it's for great cause. On his tours, you stay in the heart of the city and activity. You're close enough to walk to the sights, shops, restaurants. You don't stay on the outskirts of town and have to take a cab/Uber to get back. Yes, you may have to drag your suitcase a few blocks, up a couple of cobblestone hills and possibly up a few flights of stairs, but if you follow his philosophies for traveling light (and trust me....this was a serious struggle for me, but I was determined and I managed three weeks in Europe with a carry on and a backpack) it is so worth it! Only one time on our trip did I have to carry my luggage up a flight of stairs due to no lift/elevator. Some times I chose to do it just because I was impatient and didn't want to wait for the lift.
Don't be put off by the smaller, family run hotels. They were quite charming and some of them really enhanced our experience (Google "Seehotel Gruener Baum" in Hallstatt, Austria...."Hotel Jungfrau" in Murren, Switzerland...."Hotel Heliopark Bad zum Hirsch" in Baden-Baden, Germany). A few of the places we stayed were quite elegant despite being small. Also, these tours have smaller groups - max size is 28 people. Another awesome detail.
Also, while they specify a couple of their tours as "family" tours, kids are welcome on all tours. That said, when I called their offices to confirm that my 12 year old would be ok on the tour we picked - which is not one of the family tours - the response was "absolutely". She had a fantastic experience as well.
Overall it was an amazing experience and we will definitely book another trip (already researching, will likely be Ireland next May). Obviously, I HIGHLY recommend booking a Rick Steves tour. Good luck!!

Thank you for the info/review! My youngest is still too young for most group tours (she turned 4 in May) but researching trips we may or may not take one day is kind of a hobby for me, lol. The RS website says kids 8+ are welcome on family tours & "My Way" unguided tours, and teens are welcome on all tours. I guess they consider 12 close enough to teen. I'm glad she enjoyed it even though she was the only child in the group!

The smaller, family-run hotels are actually a pro to me, I just called it out as a point of difference from a lot of the other tour operators that are discussed here. I'd rather be in an older hotel that's within walking distance of the sights or allows easy access to public transportation. Even the potential for no A/C and the bathroom down the hall doesn't bother me. I stayed in several such places in Europe & NYC when I was younger. I would want an en suite bathroom if I were traveling with my kids, but for me as an adult it's not a deal breaker if I don't have one. I also think older buildings (in Europe & the US) are designed to stay comfortable without cooling - windows & doors positioned to allow for cross breezes, high ceilings, etc. - so the no A/C isn't as bad as it sounds to Americans who are used to modern buildings with central air.

Have you looked through the country-by-country itineraries on his site? I've probably read most of them at this point, which is not helping my list of places I want to visit get any shorter!

 

[AquamarineSteph]

Thanks for the review! We are doing a Rick Steves tour later this year. I understand having to schlep my own bag as we had to do that on our G Adventures/National Geographic tour. I quickly learned why I should pack light, but I'm so glad to hear you had a good time.

We're visiting Sicily which I haven't seen done on ABD properly. Your review makes me that much more excited. Fingers crossed!

 

[Bobo912]

Thanks for the post Stinkerbell. I'm considering the RS Scandinavia tour for 2018. My son is graduating from high school next year and I'll give him the opportunity to make the final selection, but he'll probably just tell me to choose anyway like he always does. I've read several reviews that compare RS with other tours that the reviewer has taken and they comment that they were more immersed in the local culture and got to meet more locals with RS than with other companies and that appeals to me. The smaller group is a big plus too.

AquamarineSteph, I would love to hear your impression when you return.

 

[NashSmartGuy]

I have been to Botswana, South Africa, and Zambia. I would not go on my own. I did an organized tour package with Alexander and Roberts. We stayed in very high end accommodations, and it was the best vacation of my life. I have also done the ABD China trip in 2015, and I would say that ABD does a better job with the added "magic" of Disney, but with Alexander and Roberts you're guaranteed not to have more than 16 people in your tour. I was fortunate to have only eight people on my ABD China trip, but that was a fluke. I really prefer small group experiences. It makes it so much easier to get around and adds flexibility. I am taking ABD to Peru this year, and I've booked Hollywood/Disneyland for next year, so I definitely like the ABD experience. I'm just not sure if ABD is right for every destination.