Other Options...

I'll have to look into Austin Adventures. See whether I like their itineraries or not. What you've described sounds good to me, but ultimately, it's the itinerary & the Guides that make my decision. It's nice they have so many Guides (Backroads does, too) because I just can't see doing a trip with one Guide, especially if that Guide is not allowed to eat meals with us (I've been told that's how Tauck works). The NatGeo trips just seem too physical and not enough cultural for me, and Thompson doesn't want me. Maybe AA will turn out to be the ABD alternative that works for me...

Sayhello

Based on the makeup of our group for Yellowstone, I think you would be welcomed as a solo adult traveler :)
 
Just returned from Costa Rica with Tauck I was very impressed with our guides. The main guide was a native Costa Rican who knew so much history of his country and our associate guide was also born and raised in country. They did eat on occasion with the group but mostly were taking care of logistics and ticketing issues on computers or phones. The insights we got from their innate knowledge added so much more to our trip than the social aspect of eating together. IMO I'll take a native guide anytime.
 
Just returned from Costa Rica with Tauck I was very impressed with our guides. The main guide was a native Costa Rican who knew so much history of his country and our associate guide was also born and raised in country. They did eat on occasion with the group but mostly were taking care of logistics and ticketing issues on computers or phones. The insights we got from their innate knowledge added so much more to our trip than the social aspect of eating together. IMO I'll take a native guide anytime.

This is similar to our experience with Thomson Family Adventures in China.
 


We just returned from our first trip with Austin Adventures. We did their Yellowstone Family Winter Trip, and it was a fantastic trip. I would definitely book another trip with them. In fact, I’m actively considering booking with Austin Adventures for Africa in 2019 to take advantage of a 10% bounce back discount if we book another trip within 30 days of returning home. Depending on which Africa trip we choose, this discount could amount to a savings of $3,000 to $4,000 for our family of four! And, as a past Austin Adventures traveler, one perk is that new bookings are fully refundable up to 45 days out, so it would essentially be a risk-free booking if we go ahead.

One interesting thing is that even though this was technically a family trip, my kids (13 and 15) were the only actual minors on the trip. There was another family of four with 20- and 23-year-old sons, both in college. The other guests were three adult couples, and we had one other solo adult traveler, who I would guess is in her 30s. It was a great group of interesting people, and my kids had no issue at all blending in. It made me realize that we can branch out for our future trips and don’t have to consider only family trips going forward.

Here are the things I really really liked about our Austin Adventures trip:

--We had 15 guests and 3 full-time guides. (Austin’s stated guest to guide ratio is 6:1, so our ratio was right in line with that.) So vastly different from the 2 guides we had for 49 guests on our ABD Baltics cruise add-on, for example. All three guides currently live in Montana (where the trip started and ended), and each has guided in Yellowstone for multiple years, so they were very knowledgeable about the area, including Yellowstone’s geothermal features and history, the flora and fauna of the region, etc. They were friendly, personable and enthusiastic, but somehow also low-key, which I really really liked. They handled all of the logistics, including baggage handling. (The bags were waiting in our rooms at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge when we got to our rooms there, and they were delivered to our individual cabins at the 320 Guest Ranch within about 3 minutes of our arrival there, so no waiting at all for bags.) They also participated in all of our activities and meals and were our drivers in the Austin Adventures dedicated vans that we used when we weren’t in Yellowstone itself.

--The trip was very active (both from a physical activity standpoint and from the standpoint of having minimal down time), including cross country skiing, snow shoeing, hiking/walking, dog sledding and a sleigh ride. We had one afternoon on our own at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge, but all of the other days were pretty full of activities. We’d typically have an hour and a half or a little longer to relax, shower, etc. before dinner each day. The trip was really well planned out with a minimum of dead/transition time, but it never felt like the guides were rushing us or herding us around. There was plenty of time to stop to take pictures of the wildlife we saw (which included many many bison, as well as elk, coyotes, Trumpeter Swans and bald eagles, and grizzlies and wolves at our stop at the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, MT) or to have the guides answer any questions about what we were seeing/doing.

--We received lots of Austin Adventures swag, starting with these water bottles when we first met as a group in Bozeman, MT before starting out for Yellowstone:

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On our first night at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge, these draw string backpacks were waiting for us in our rooms after dinner, filled with the goodies shown:

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After our farewell dinner, we all received these t-shirts (they are navy, even though they look black in the pics):

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We also received flash drives of the slide show the guides put together for our farewell dinner (similar to what ABD now does).

We did an evening Steam, Stars and Soundscapes tour while in Yellowstone, and everyone got to take home these travel mugs that were used for hot chocolate during the tour:

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--The guides were constantly pulling out trays of goodies or pouring hot drinks in the middle of cross country skiing or hiking or snow shoeing. These included hot chocolate and hot apple cider for the drinks and trays of chocolate chip cookies + peppermint bark, oranges + salted caramel chocolates, dried fruit arranged in the shape of a morning glory flower for our cross country ski to Morning Glory Pool in Yellowstone, salted caramel pretzels, etc. During our evening tour in Yellowstone, they brought along bottles of Baileys and Peppermint Schnapps for the adults to supplement our hot chocolate. On New Year’s Eve, they brought bottles of bubbly to our dinner tables.

--All meals except for one lunch were included. Non-alcoholic beverages were also included, including espresso type drinks at our lunch in Big Sky, Montana. (Alcohol was extra, except for the examples above and unlimited adult coffees or hot chocolates on our evening sleigh ride in Big Sky.)

All in all, a really great, well-run trip, and I was very impressed with Austin Adventures. I think it is very likely that we will be traveling with them again. I’m happy to answer any specific questions.
Thank you for the review! I want to visit the national parks, but would like to go with a tour group as planning an outdoor/nature-focused trip is completely out of my comfort zone. My youngest is still a couple years too young to really do an active trip but I bookmarked Austin Adventures website as they seemed really good. Glad to hear that they actually are.
 
We just returned from our first trip with Austin Adventures. We did their Yellowstone Family Winter Trip, and it was a fantastic trip. I would definitely book another trip with them. In fact, I’m actively considering booking with Austin Adventures for Africa in 2019 to take advantage of a 10% bounce back discount if we book another trip within 30 days of returning home. Depending on which Africa trip we choose, this discount could amount to a savings of $3,000 to $4,000 for our family of four! And, as a past Austin Adventures traveler, one perk is that new bookings are fully refundable up to 45 days out, so it would essentially be a risk-free booking if we go ahead.

How did the bounceback work? I am sort of counting on it as we are seriously thinking of booking Costa Rica with them for December 2019 if we don't have a disaster in Belize this summer (I am sure we won't). I used to be able to find a reference to the bounceback on the website but can't find it now. Did they tell you on the trip?
 
How did the bounceback work? I am sort of counting on it as we are seriously thinking of booking Costa Rica with them for December 2019 if we don't have a disaster in Belize this summer (I am sure we won't). I used to be able to find a reference to the bounceback on the website but can't find it now. Did they tell you on the trip?

We received a letter after the trip (it might even have been waiting when we got home) that offered the 10% discount if we book another trip by Feb. 3 (our trip ended on Jan. 4). I've got Austin Adventures researching pricing and dates for a 2019 Africa trip. They have confirmed the discount is available for any new booking with them, whether 2018, 2019, etc.
 


As an FYI for folks considering AA, I had to switch the date of our Yellowstone trip. We’re now on a full trip - 18 people, 3 guides. Our group includes 7 kids between the ages of 7 and 12. Obviously demographics will vary trip to trip, but I thought it might be helpful to others to get a sense of what the trip might look like.
 
Is anyone familiar with Vantage Deluxe World Travel? I just saw an ad for them and I'm curious.
 
Is anyone familiar with Vantage Deluxe World Travel? I just saw an ad for them and I'm curious.

Never heard of them. Are they a tour operator? We're leaning more to in-country operators for travel in the future. Our most recent experience with Nat Geo has not been the best and we're thinking we might have better luck with people who actually know the countries we're interested in visiting because they live there. We're seriously considering a trip to France and I've found a really good in-country operator based in the Loire Valley who specializes in custom tours throughout France. I also have a recommendation for a really good in-country operator for Vietnam courtesy of our guide on our South East Asia trip last year.
 
They are a tour operator. They look to be US based and have a mix of land and river cruise tours up on their website. To be honest, my interest was sparked by the fact that they have their headquarters here in Boston -- which isn't a particularly good reason to use a tour company -- but it made me curious to learn more.
 
They are a tour operator. They look to be US based and have a mix of land and river cruise tours up on their website. To be honest, my interest was sparked by the fact that they have their headquarters here in Boston -- which isn't a particularly good reason to use a tour company -- but it made me curious to learn more.

One thing that I would look at would be the guides they use. Are they only using their own guides for the trips, like ABD, or are they using a combination of their own guides plus local guides, like Nat Geo tends to do. The reason I point this out is because companies like ABD actually aren't licensed to guide in many of the countries they are offering tours, which is why you have your 2 ABD guides plus a whole raft of short term local guides that you pick up in all the different areas you visit. Whereas Nat Geo, at least on the Active Adventure I was on, will have one official Nat Geo guide who stays with the group for the entire trip, and then will have 1 local guide who is licensed by the country your in, with you for the entirety of your time in a region. So for our South East Asia trip, we had Nat Geo guide Jessica who was with us from the time our trip started in Saigon all the way through to our departure in Siem Reap. Then while we were in Vietnam, we had Dat, he was our local Vietnamese guide who was licensed to guide in Vietnam by the Vietnamese government and he stayed with us from Saigon right up until we got on a plane bound for Laos. When we reached Laos, our next local guide Paan (pronounced Pawn) was there waiting to meet us and she stayed with us from arrival in Luang Prabang until we were back at the airport to catch our flight to Siem Reap. Again, Paan was licensed to guide in Laos by the government. Upon arrival in Siem Reap, our final local guide Visal was waiting for us at the airport and he stayed with us through to the farewell dinner. He also was licensed to guide in Cambodia by the Cambodian government. Every guide we had wore lanyards displaying their credentials at all times while guiding us through their countries. Even Jessica, our Nat Geo guide wore her credentials at all times.

On our ABD in Central Europe we found that the guides basically hid the fact that they were guiding a tour. No credentials were on display and the placards they carried were orange with no writing. And I know for a fact that in order to guide in Austria, Vienna especially, all guides and tours must be licensed and authorized by the Austrian government.
 
One thing that I would look at would be the guides they use. Are they only using their own guides for the trips, like ABD, or are they using a combination of their own guides plus local guides, like Nat Geo tends to do. The reason I point this out is because companies like ABD actually aren't licensed to guide in many of the countries they are offering tours, which is why you have your 2 ABD guides plus a whole raft of short term local guides that you pick up in all the different areas you visit. Whereas Nat Geo, at least on the Active Adventure I was on, will have one official Nat Geo guide who stays with the group for the entire trip, and then will have 1 local guide who is licensed by the country your in, with you for the entirety of your time in a region. So for our South East Asia trip, we had Nat Geo guide Jessica who was with us from the time our trip started in Saigon all the way through to our departure in Siem Reap. Then while we were in Vietnam, we had Dat, he was our local Vietnamese guide who was licensed to guide in Vietnam by the Vietnamese government and he stayed with us from Saigon right up until we got on a plane bound for Laos. When we reached Laos, our next local guide Paan (pronounced Pawn) was there waiting to meet us and she stayed with us from arrival in Luang Prabang until we were back at the airport to catch our flight to Siem Reap. Again, Paan was licensed to guide in Laos by the government. Upon arrival in Siem Reap, our final local guide Visal was waiting for us at the airport and he stayed with us through to the farewell dinner. He also was licensed to guide in Cambodia by the Cambodian government. Every guide we had wore lanyards displaying their credentials at all times while guiding us through their countries. Even Jessica, our Nat Geo guide wore her credentials at all times.

On our ABD in Central Europe we found that the guides basically hid the fact that they were guiding a tour. No credentials were on display and the placards they carried were orange with no writing. And I know for a fact that in order to guide in Austria, Vienna especially, all guides and tours must be licensed and authorized by the Austrian government.

Was this the tour you took? http://www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com/expeditions/vietnam-cambodia-thailand-tour/detail That is quite a bit cheaper than ABD and they add Thailand to the mix. I'm curious about the accommodations though. I haven't compared, but I was told ABD has best hotels available, which is big for us. We were spoiled big time in China with the Peninsulas, Rosewood and Four Seasons.
 
On our ABD in Central Europe we found that the guides basically hid the fact that they were guiding a tour. No credentials were on display and the placards they carried were orange with no writing.

While all of us appreciate hearing about other options, it seems like in every posting on these ABD boards you have to add a nasty negative comment about ABD, so I am surprised that you said the above. As we were told this was changed some time back to remove the name and logo from the group traveling to enhance security and safety for the group. The paddle is just orange or one color. The ponchos, etc. given out that would be worn in public no longer have the ABD logo. It makes it less obvious and less likely that the group would be targeted for terrorism or other misconduct - and it makes it look less obvious it is a USA tour group. The guides don't hide, and ABD isn't trying to do something inappropriate or under the radar. I don't think your continuing to bash ABD is going to get you another freebie or discount, so give it a rest please.
 
Is anyone familiar with Vantage Deluxe World Travel? I just saw an ad for them and I'm curious.
My mother-in-law and her sister have been on several Vantage tours. I will ask her for more details. I think the guests tend to be older (MIL is 72.)
 
On our ABD in Central Europe we found that the guides basically hid the fact that they were guiding a tour. No credentials were on display and the placards they carried were orange with no writing. And I know for a fact that in order to guide in Austria, Vienna especially, all guides and tours must be licensed and authorized by the Austrian government.
While all of us appreciate hearing about other options, it seems like in every posting on these ABD boards you have to add a nasty negative comment about ABD, so I am surprised that you said the above. As we were told this was changed some time back to remove the name and logo from the group traveling to enhance security and safety for the group. The paddle is just orange or one color. The ponchos, etc. given out that would be worn in public no longer have the ABD logo. It makes it less obvious and less likely that the group would be targeted for terrorism or other misconduct - and it makes it look less obvious it is a USA tour group. The guides don't hide, and ABD isn't trying to do something inappropriate or under the radar. I don't think your continuing to bash ABD is going to get you another freebie or discount, so give it a rest please.
As Grifdog22 so eloquently said, the ABD Adventure Guides stopped carrying and wearing identifying information in a lot of European areas for safety/security reasons. Until recently, the paddle of power in Europe had the Adventures by Disney logo on it, and the Guides always wore their ABD badges. In many non-European areas, such as China, they still do this.

Sayhello
 
Was this the tour you took? http://www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com/expeditions/vietnam-cambodia-thailand-tour/detail That is quite a bit cheaper than ABD and they add Thailand to the mix. I'm curious about the accommodations though. I haven't compared, but I was told ABD has best hotels available, which is big for us. We were spoiled big time in China with the Peninsulas, Rosewood and Four Seasons.

No that wasn't our trip. We did the active adventure so we were in 4 star hotels. We stayed in an Intercontinental in Hanoi. This was the trip I was on. http://www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com/expeditions/vietnam-laos-cambodia-tour/detail It's more expensive overall than ABD but on a day by day breakdown, I did one in another post which I think is buried somewhere further up in the thread, it actually works out cheaper because you are doing something every single day of this trip. It's worth every penny spent.
 
Even in the U.S. within many National Parks the only people allowed to lead a group to tour is a licensed tour guide or National Park employee. In Italy there is a license requirement to lead a tour group in a lot of areas and museums. I would think security in this day and age must also be considered.
 
Actually our official ABD guide told us they couldn't have ABD on the placards because they weren't allowed to as they weren't licensed to lead tours in the countries we were visiting. They said nothing about "security reasons".

I'm sorry if you don't like someone expressing an opinion that is anti-ABD. Believe me I was very much in ABD's corner when they started and I held them to the highest expectations. It's unfortunate that they never lived up to the same standards as they hold in the parks. Did I ask for a freebie or a discount? No. Should I have received a discount? Yes. The same as any other returning ABD traveller. Did I receive that discount? No. Why? Because I'm not American. Did I complain? Yes. Did Disney do anything. No. Did I have issues on my ABD? Yes. Did I complain? Yes. Both to the guides when it happened and upon my return. Did Disney do anything? No. Did I expect them to? Not really. It would have been nice if they had at least acknowledged there had been mistakes made but instead they blamed the guest. Since when is it the guests fault that the guide nearly hospitalizes them? Did I ask for compensation? Again no. Have I been turned off using them as a tour company? Yes. For these and for the fact that not once on our "group tours" were we ever made to feel like part of the group. It wasn't as if we didn't try but when you have people purposely exclude you and then proceed to belittle and make fun of you because you're not American, it makes it a little hard to get excited about a product that should have been in line with the rest of Disney's offerings.

I'm sorry to heard that you felt an anti-Canadian sentiment on your trip. I will say on our first two ABDs we had Canadian families with us and I don't feel like anyone made any fuss about it, and they seemed to fit in fine with the group. It's difficult when working with diverse groups of any sort, I'm sure. We noticed this on our spring break tour last year. Half of our group was Jewish and were celebrating a Jewish holiday at one of our groups dinners, while the other half of the group was not. However, they were really kind about trying to be inclusive and invited everyone to join their celebration if they wanted to.
 

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