Other Options...

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

Wasn't this thread set up to talk about other companies?

That's exactly why this thread was started. So we'd have a place to talk about companies OTHER than ABD. You just can't promote other Travel Agents/Agencies but you can talk about other operators like Nat Geo, Rick Steves, Tauck etc all you want on this thread.

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

I've always thought the same way! On our first family trip to Europe in 2014, which was a DCL Mediterranean cruise, I carried a 28 inch suitcase and a 21 inch carry on and each bag was filled to the gills. We are also a camping family so when you travel via RV, you don't have to worry about overpacking, you take what you want and as much as your RV can store (which could be my whole warerobe, lol).
I did really struggle with how to pack appropriately for this trip knowing I'd be carrying my own suitcase. I packed, unpacked and repacked five times the Sunday before we left and by the end of the day, thought I was good to go. Well then Mother Nature had her say....the forecast changed drastically (much warmer temps) so I had to rethink pants to capris and shorts, and less long sleeve shirts. So an hour before I left to go to the airport I unpacked and repacked for the final time.
And now that I've done it, I can't imagine going back to taking so much stuff with me on these trips. I packed mostly solid colored shirts and took a couple of sweaters and scarves to mix it up a bit. When you're changing hotels every 2-3 nights for two weeks, you get tired easily of unpacking and repacking. I'll take a lesson from some of my tourmates and better utilize packing cubes next time to sort things by day, that way I'm only unpacking a cube versus everything!

Here's another tip, especially if you're on a longer trip like I was. Take a good look at the itinerary and if you can, see if you can find the website for your hotels. If you're going to be in one place for at least 2 nights and your hotel offers laundry service, USE IT! Yes it will cost you but trust me, it will save you in the packing department. We did this on our South East Asia trip with Nat Geo. I looked at our itinerary ahead of time and realized we'd have time when we hit Ha Noi and Luang Prabang to have the hotels do our laundry. The day we arrived, we gathered up all our clothes we'd worn to that point, got the laundry bag from the closet, tossed everything and filled in the form. Then before we headed down to breakfast the next morning we called housekeeping to let them know we needed laundry service and they sent someone by to pick it up. Our laundry was waiting for us in our room when we got back that night. We also turned our dirty clothes inside out so we could quickly tell the dirty from the clean in our suitcases since we were on the move every 2 to 3 days.

 

[cadien]

I spent a summer in college doing the typical Let's Go train pass and hotel trip through Europe. In addition to it just being a great experience and wonderful memories, I've always been grateful for it teaching me to pack lightly. That trick of turning the dirty clothes inside out had never occurred to me though. I love it!

That is one downside to cruises and tours, I guess. There are total strangers who will know that you're repeating outfits, despite hitting a new location every couple days. Oh well.

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

I spent a summer in college doing the typical Let's Go train pass and hotel trip through Europe. In addition to it just being a great experience and wonderful memories, I've always been grateful for it teaching me to pack lightly. That trick of turning the dirty clothes inside out had never occurred to me though. I love it!

That is one downside to cruises and tours, I guess. There are total strangers who will know that you're repeating outfits, despite hitting a new location every couple days. Oh well.

We had someone on our tour ask us how we managed to survive with so few clothes. We told them we did laundry the minute we hit Hanoi, which was about 5 (7 days for us) days into our 13 day (for us 15) day trip. It never occurred to them to do laundry.

 

[Ava]

And yep, I've spent a lot of time looking over his other tours and trying to decide which is next for 2018 and which will be our 20th anniversary celebration in 2019. Next year looks like Ireland...the year after, I'm considering either Southern Italy or France.

Oh, he has a lot more information than just the other tours to read through. From the main RS page, click on "Explore Europe." Choose a country on the side, click Plan, then Itinerary. He has recommendations for which cities/towns to visit based on the number of days you have, plus a recommended 3-week itinerary for exploring that country. Not to mention all the related articles, videos, etc. It's a wealth of information that will make you wish you could just drop everything & spend your life traveling.

Hmmm......I was told by the RS company that teens are allowed (and was specifically told that this was the recommended age, not necessarily a mandate) on ALL Rick Steves tours. I have the email from them stating this. Not that I'm trying to pick an argument saying your friend was wrong...
On our tour, I was talking to one of our tourmates and she mentioned that on her RS tour last year, one of her tourmates was a lady in her late 40's with her two daughters, who were in their early 20's. She said that an older, retired gentleman on the tour wasted no time on the first night saying that these tours are built for people over 45 and that no one younger than that should be on any of the RS tours. She politely informed him that he was incorrect and that if he only wanted to tour with people his age, surely there were companies out there that cater to that and perhaps he should find one. I've also seen a couple of similar sentiments on other websites where his tours are discussed (TripAdvisor, etc). Some people don't want kids on their trips. That was a MAJOR concern for me, especially when I learned that she was the only kid. But our tour group, who was just awesome in general, could not have been any kinder to her. Most of them sought her out to talk about her day, her likes, etc. In every single photo of the whole group, she's nowhere near my hubby and me, because someone would always pull her to them.
One other thing the RS offices told me is that obviously during most of the year, kids don't go on the tours because of school schedules. Where I live, we got out of school the Friday before Memorial Day and most other schools were still in session at that time....our tour began on May 30 so it didn't necessarily surprise me that no other kids were with us.
The RS offices had no issues with my 12 year old being booked on our trip. The lady I conversed with actually encouraged it.

I'm glad you didn't have any curmudgeons like that on your trip! That gentleman should check out Road Scholar tours. My mom took a trip with them to New Orleans for Mardi Gras this year, and she was one of the youngest in the group. She's 66.

 

[tink1970]

That gentleman should check out Road Scholar tours. My mom took a trip with them to New Orleans for Mardi Gras this year, and she was one of the youngest in the group. She's 66.

I'm a precocious curmudgeon---I've considered those tours and I'm not yet 50! Seriously, they DO look interesting

 

[Ava]

I spent a summer in college doing the typical Let's Go train pass and hotel trip through Europe. In addition to it just being a great experience and wonderful memories, I've always been grateful for it teaching me to pack lightly. That trick of turning the dirty clothes inside out had never occurred to me though. I love it!

I did the same, 6 weeks backpacking & staying in hostels. Definitely taught me to pack light, and that laundromats are pretty much the same all over the Western hemisphere.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

After years of overpacking, I am bound and determined to start packing lighter. I'm a long way from the one carryon model, but I made my first attempt on my most recent China trip. It worked out pretty well. The key seems to be to wear casual skirts and dresses, which I don't typically do. But I tried in China and actually like it. The prana style clothing seems to work well (as does hiking clothes). I think I'm going to end up with a separate travel wardrobe

 

[SingingMom]

After years of overpacking, I am bound and determined to start packing lighter. I'm a long way from the one carryon model, but I made my first attempt on my most recent China trip. It worked out pretty well. The key seems to be to wear casual skirts and dresses, which I don't typically do. But I tried in China and actually like it. The prana style clothing seems to work well (as does hiking clothes). I think I'm going to end up with a separate travel wardrobe

I have been TRYING to pack lighter - but I can't seem to get the hang of it. I HAVE found that using packing cubes really has helped me, however. Baby steps....

 

[aggiedog]

Me too, Tink! Dh and I are doing a Rhine river cruise with Road Scholar in the fall. (Long story as to how we ended up with Road Scholar.) I'll have to post a TR when I get back. They do have a few family trips, and some for just grandparents and kids. The weird thing is that many of the trips that include kids skew towards younger kids, as in they can't be older than 16, and many of those trips select out the younger or older part of that spectrum. Kids 8-11, or kids 12-16. Doesn't work for us since we have 4 of varying ages. Or, they can be 18 and travel with someone over 40. I get that their primary focus is not family travel, but the age ranges seemed arbitrary.

My biggest concern for that trip will be night time activities on the boat. I know it will be sedate, but I'm not sure just how sedate. I'm not a party animal by any stretch, but I'm not looking forward to quiet conversation with only my dh for 13 nights straight. I'm hoping we meet folks we can share conversation and drinks with.

 

[SingingMom]

My biggest concern for that trip will be night time activities on the boat. I know it will be sedate, but I'm not sure just how sedate. I'm not a party animal by any stretch, but I'm not looking forward to quiet conversation with only my dh for 13 nights straight. I'm hoping we meet folks we can share conversation and drinks with[/B].

Heck, you can STAY HOME and do THAT! LOL

 

[tink1970]

My biggest concern for that trip will be night time activities on the boat. I know it will be sedate, but I'm not sure just how sedate. I'm not a party animal by any stretch, but I'm not looking forward to quiet conversation with only my dh for 13 nights straight. I'm hoping we meet folks we can share conversation and drinks with.

My conversations with DH are usually pretty one sided so I get that for sure. Sometimes I just have the conversation for both of us and he looks at me like I'm .

 

[Ava]

Me too, Tink! Dh and I are doing a Rhine river cruise with Road Scholar in the fall. (Long story as to how we ended up with Road Scholar.) I'll have to post a TR when I get back. They do have a few family trips, and some for just grandparents and kids. The weird thing is that many of the trips that include kids skew towards younger kids, as in they can't be older than 16, and many of those trips select out the younger or older part of that spectrum. Kids 8-11, or kids 12-16. Doesn't work for us since we have 4 of varying ages. Or, they can be 18 and travel with someone over 40. I get that their primary focus is not family travel, but the age ranges seemed arbitrary.

So, since you said this I looked at Road Scholar's website, and now I want to go on some of their trips! LOL. The age ranges for some of the family trips do seem arbitrary though. My kids are 4 years apart so I put various 4-year age gaps into the search function and every time I changed one of the ages, the number of available trips changed. It is a helpful tool, instead of having to click into each trip to see the minimum age like you do on most sites, but I can see how it'd be hard for a family with multiple kids and/or a big age gap to find a trip all the kids are able to take. The family trips also all say, "This is a Family program for participants, their adult children and grandchildren ages..." Which kind of makes it sound like you have to have multiple generations? Or it's worded that way because Road Scholar typically caters to people in the "grandparent" age range. Either way it's kind of an odd stipulation.

 

[cadien]

The different generation descriptions on the Road Scholar's site confused me too. But I'm really excited by their new China itinerary. Especially how it's about half the price of ABD's.

 

[aggiedog]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who isn't having exhilarating conversation with my dh every chance we get! LOL Maybe y'all should come on the cruise!

https://www.roadscholar.org/find-an...rn-history-amsterdam-to-basel-along-the-rhine leaving Sep 14.

We actually started looking at them particularly because they were significantly cheaper, for a longer trip, than ABD for a comparable location. We put a deposit down on that trip but had to cancel due to family obligations. We then had xxx amount of money to spend and dh and I decided to go somewhere without kids. While there are plenty of old people activities and trips, there were several that looked interesting that I am confident I could not do physically. Hiking in Cique Terre or the Dolomites. Biking thru Andorra, etc, etc. So, I think there are some pretty spry "old people" out there that could probably leave me in the dust!

I also suspect that the popularity of programs like ABD, etc, has led them to do more family oriented trips. There is a China one that is "open to all generations, aunts, uncles, etc."

The educational aspect appeals to me. I've really enjoyed the lectures I've been to on various cruises. We like tour guides that can tell us more than just "this is X building and Y happened here." I like context, history, and cultural differences. I keep hearing good things about other Road Scholar travelers that friends and acquaintances have met - that they seemed well traveled and interested in the culture around them. So, fingers crossed we like it!

 

[EllinK]

What size groups does Roads Scholar travel with? Also, is it just one guide? They do have some very active, interesting trips!

 

[aggiedog]

They have a small groups section that is 10-24, but I've noticed that several I've looked at are that size (and are listed as small group on their description) but don't come up if you filter for small group. So best answer is 10 to ??

 

[CrazyZeus1]

I am going with Abercrombie & Kent to Antarctica in December, 2017. We chose them for a few reasons: i) their timing worked with my daughter's school schedule, ii) their customer service is beyond amazing iii) there are around quite a few teenagers around the same age as my daughter on the trip iv) this is a "bucket list" trip for me and I am very excited to explore our seventh continent! v) this is silly, but they already sent the NICEST bound booklet with all the details we need for the trip (i.e. visa requirements, passport info {valid for 6 months after return}, shots, etc) with some gorgeous pictures.

I'm VERY impressed with A&K so far. I can certainly see using them again -- actually I was wishing we had booked Iceland with them, but I digress.

I will post a detailed review on the trip when we return in January, 2018.

A quick note -- we booked the trip in Feb. or March for December, 2017. I had a cabin on hold for 2 weeks (yeah, they let me hold it for waaaay more than the 3 days they were supposed to) - when I called to put down my deposit the trip was sold out.

Awesome!!!!! I can't wait to see your review!!! You guys do the Drake Passage right? No flights?

 

[Calfan]

So I finally finished the "part 2" photo book of our 2016 China trip, which is the two days we spent at Shanghai Disneyland on our own after the conclusion of our trip with Thomson Family Adventures. Since we did SHDL on our own (not surprisingly, SHDL is not part of the Thomson itinerary), it won't really be relevant to evaluating the Thomson itinerary vs. the ABD itinerary, but I'm happy to share it with anyone who is just curious about SHDL. I won't even try to share it via a link here since that was so unsuccessful with "part 1", but I can share it with anyone who gives me an email address by PM. If you're someone I shared the main photo book with already, I still have those email addresses, so you can just let me know that you'd like to see the book.

 

[Bobo912]

So I finally finished the "part 2" photo book of our 2016 China trip, which is the two days we spent at Shanghai Disneyland on our own after the conclusion of our trip with Thomson Family Adventures. Since we did SHDL on our own (not surprisingly, SHDL is not part of the Thomson itinerary), it won't really be relevant to evaluating the Thomson itinerary vs. the ABD itinerary, but I'm happy to share it with anyone who is just curious about SHDL. I won't even try to share it via a link here since that was so unsuccessful with "part 1", but I can share it with anyone who gives me an email address by PM. If you're someone I shared the main photo book with already, I still have those email addresses, so you can just let me know that you'd like to see the book.

I would like to see it. Thanks!