Other Options...

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

We took the jump and have booked a trip to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia with National Geographic Adventures. This trip costs slightly more than the ABD one but has all but 2 meals included, a few more stops in Vietnam, 2 nights on a private boat in Ha Long Bay plus 1 extra day overall. Also, while there is some 'downtime' worked into the itinerary, there are no 'down days' like there are on the ABD when they are in Hoi An. We have a year to wait for it but definitely looking forward to it.

 

[carpenta]

Happy travels Cinderella's Slipper 2015. Sounds wonderful.

 

[Calfan]

We took the jump and have booked a trip to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia with National Geographic Adventures. This trip costs slightly more than the ABD one but has all but 2 meals included, a few more stops in Vietnam, 2 nights on a private boat in Ha Long Bay plus 1 extra day overall. Also, while there is some 'downtime' worked into the itinerary, there are no 'down days' like there are on the ABD when they are in Hoi An. We have a year to wait for it but definitely looking forward to it.

Please make sure to come back and post about your experience on this trip with NatGeo. Angkor Wat is definitely on my bucket list, and I could see doing this trip a few years down the road.

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

Please make sure to come back and post about your experience on this trip with NatGeo. Angkor Wat is definitely on my bucket list, and I could see doing this trip a few years down the road.

Will do. We're actually looking at the trip you did across Northern England with Nat Geo. It's on our list of trips to do but we wanted to start with an "easy to moderate" trip first. We are booked on the February 4, 2017 departure. What I love is the fact that I've already got access to pre-trip information which is going to make getting ready for this trip so much easier.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Will do. We're actually looking at the trip you did across Northern England with Nat Geo. It's on our list of trips to do but we wanted to start with an "easy to moderate" trip first. We are booked on the February 4, 2017 departure. What I love is the fact that I've already got access to pre-trip information which is going to make getting ready for this trip so much easier.

I can't wait to hear, too. Also it on my list. We were really impressed with our trip coordinator. Hope you have a similar experience. Lol on the walk across England. It was awesome but not a bad idea to work up to and get a feel for the trips.

 

[Calfan]

Will do. We're actually looking at the trip you did across Northern England with Nat Geo. It's on our list of trips to do but we wanted to start with an "easy to moderate" trip first. We are booked on the February 4, 2017 departure. What I love is the fact that I've already got access to pre-trip information which is going to make getting ready for this trip so much easier.

It was great to get the pre-trip info (especially the packing list, which for me turned in to a shopping list of hiking equipment I had to buy, LOL) so far in advance, and, as CaliforniaGirl mentioned, having the trip coordinator was fantastic. I emailed her with all sorts of questions, and she always got right back to me.

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

It was great to get the pre-trip info (especially the packing list, which for me turned in to a shopping list of hiking equipment I had to buy, LOL) so far in advance, and, as CaliforniaGirl mentioned, having the trip coordinator was fantastic. I emailed her with all sorts of questions, and she always got right back to me.

I love the fact that we have a packing list specific to the area in which we are going. Packing for Vietnam is not the same as packing for Europe. We're going to start making our own list of things we need to get to supplement what we already have. I haven't had a chance to really sit down and look at everything that's on our trip page but I plan to do that this weekend. I'm sure I'll have tons of questions for our coordinator, even though it's a year away. Also, since our trip includes bicycling and kayaking we're going to brush up on those. Looking into a kayaking lessons so that we're not completely clueless when we get on the river in Vietnam. Also, neither of us has been on a bike in AGES so want to make sure we can still balance and ride safely. I actually found a bike shop not too far from where we live that rents bikes by the day. We are also going to get our own bike helmets to take with us cause lender helmets never fit properly.

 

[tgeorge]

Yes, please do come back and let us know how this trip was. I really, really want to do SE Asia and every since the Nat Geo trips were talked about on this thread I've looked into them. I've read Cousin Orville's report for the ABD he took with his son and it sounds absolutely amazing. The Nat Geo trip looks very cool as well! I will book one of them and would love to hear your thoughts on it.

 

[BluesTraveler]

I have been following this thread with interest. We are booked on our first ABD this summer - Alaska. We are really looking forward to it. I've been watching these trips for several years, and just waiting for my youngest to get to the age where I think he'll really get a lot out of it (they'll be 11 and 8 this summer).

However, I will say that the pressure with ABD to book so early (we booked in August 2015 for a trip in July 2016) because of concern of prices going up is definitely a dissatisfier. We had to book before we fully knew summer camp schedules, school start dates, vacation schedules of work colleagues, etc. And indeed, the trip has gone up $700 per person since we booked, so I'm glad we did book when we did, but I wasn't crazy about that pressure.

Next year, I do not want to book so early. I prefer to book in January for a summer trip, and that will likely lead to us looking at other companies for our 2017 trip.

 

[aggiedog]

Do other companies not raise their prices as the trip fills?

We're actually looking at using Inside Japan for a graduation trip to Japan for my girls next summer. They offer everything from deluxe guided tours to DIY "here's the train schedule" planning for you. We lived there for 2 years, so won't do the full press luxury option, but help with tours and accommodations will be nice.

 

[Bobo912]

Do other companies not raise their prices as the trip fills?

We're actually looking at using Inside Japan for a graduation trip to Japan for my girls next summer. They offer everything from deluxe guided tours to DIY "here's the train schedule" planning for you. We lived there for 2 years, so won't do the full press luxury option, but help with tours and accommodations will be nice.

I've traveled with several companies and do a lot of comparison shopping and I'm not aware of any other company that raises the prices as the trips fill up.

 

[EllinK]

for 2017. I just read a comment on the Tauck board -- one of the guest felt like it was a LOT of driving. How is the ABD trip? We may be traveling with a child who becomes car sick so this could be a deal breaker.

Anyone with experience on Tauck or ABD?

 

[carpenta]

I don't know of any too Bobo912........

 

[aggiedog]

Good to know, thanks! Really, while I want to feel the pixie dust, I'm beginning to think it's more like Kool-aid.

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

National Geographic doesn't raise their prices as the trips fill. The posted price is the price paid regardless of when you book.

One of the deciding factors for us with choosing to do South East Asia with National Geographic instead of Adventures by Disney is trip timing. All the National Geographic trips go between October and March, their "dry" season. All of the ABD trips but 2 go during monsoon season in South East Asia. Monsoon season runs April to September, when 95% of the ABD trips run. Here's a breakdown of how much rain 3 of the main locations that the trip goes to gets during monsoon season.

June
Ho Chi Minh - 12 inches of rain
Hanoi - 9.6 inches of rain
Siem Reap - 6.8 inches of rain

July
Ho Chi Minh - 11.6 inches of rain
Hanoi - 8 inches of rain
Siem Reap - 11.6 inches of rain

August
Ho Chi Minh - 10.8 inches of rain
Hanoi - 11.84 inches of rain
Siem Reap - 8 inches of rain

Whereas the rain amounts for February when we are going are as follows:

February
Ho Chi Minh - 0 inches of rain
Hanoi - 1.12 inches of rain
Siem Reap - 0.4 inches of rain

And for all of you who are interested in having me do a trip report, I will try to get one done when I get back. I'm working on creating a travel blog that will have the report in it. I will post a link to it when it's up.

For those of you who are interested in the trip, feel free to join us on the Feb 4, 2017 departure. We'd love to have you join us!

 

[disneyphx]

We did the ABD trip and loved it. Two of the days in Cape Town were a lot of driving. At Kapama, the game drives were twice a day for 2-3 hours. There were all flights between cities.
We are seriously considering Tauck Tanzania, but have not looked in detail at what each day is like.
We did ABD t

 

[EllinK]

Thanks for your response. Both trips sound great. I'm not worried about the game drives but more the driving from place to place. If you go on Tauck Tanzania, you'll have to report back!

 

[RhiannonGator]

I've been researching every company known to man (it feels like) for our 2017 trip, and ABD is the only one that raises prices based on more bookings. In fact, A&K (which I have not yet used) will REFUND you if they decide to put your departure date on sale. They also guarantee the trip at two guests. TWO!
The steady pricing, guaranteed trips, and smaller groups have been the main things to make me look outside ABD now that I'm comfortable with the idea of tour groups. Though I have not confirmed NatGeo Expedition sizes. Adventures and Journeys are 16, but they do not list for Exp. A&K is 18/24 depending on style.

What was a definitely Australia last wee, has morphed into maybe linking a Galapagos trip and Peru. I was getting frustrated finding an itinerary I wanted for Australia - each option seemed to have something to detract for me - though ABD I think came the closest. I couldn't justify why NatGeo was so much more expensive, A&K too long (can't get off work that long), and Tauck seemed a little.. meh. NatGeo private expedition was appealing and seemed very posh, but lost the main appeal of a tour which is having other people to socialize with.
So in my frustration I started looking at other destinations. Galapagos was very high on DH's list. Peru was high on mine but low on his. Then I found NatGeo does a Galapagos & Peru tour, which of course then he's like "Peru..? Isn't that where Machu Picchu is? That would be really cool." Apparently Machu Picchu only sounds appealing to him with "Galapagos" in front of it! It looks like NatGeo stopped packaging the two together on the site for 2017, but it was literally just their two separate trips linked together anyway with no cost savings. Seems every company I'm looking at sails Galapagos Sun-Sun and "starts" Peru on Sunday (the arrival day) so I could string any two together really. Besides NatGeo, I'm also looking at Ecoventura for Galapagos, and maybe A&K for Peru. ABD isn't completely off my radar for Peru, but the comments on here about the second day at Machu Picchu really was pushing me in the other direction.
All of this and I'll probably be on a different destination next week...

Also, I think someone else was mentioning how NatGeo includes the flights to/from the destination as trip time? It drives me nuts as well!! I get that all the companies include the arrival/departure days, but NatGeo is ridiculous. For Australia, Day 1, 2 and 3 are all flight days with arrival on Day 3. I saw some - I think it was SE Asia - where you fly out on the evening of let's say Day 13 and they count the rest of your flight home as "Day 14".

Phew.. long post.. Sorry!

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

Also, I think someone else was mentioning how NatGeo includes the flights to/from the destination as trip time? It drives me nuts as well!! I get that all the companies include the arrival/departure days, but NatGeo is ridiculous. For Australia, Day 1, 2 and 3 are all flight days with arrival on Day 3. I saw some - I think it was SE Asia - where you fly out on the evening of let's say Day 13 and they count the rest of your flight home as "Day 14".

Nat Geo isn't the only one who does this. In fact ABD is just as bad if not worse. I can think of at least 2 itineraries where Day 1 is arrival day with no activities planned beyond what you choose to do. Both South East Asia and South Africa itineraries with ABD do not officially start until Day 2. And the South East Asia trip with ABD essentially ends a day early as well as the last day is an "On your own" day. So essentially with ABD if you book the South East Asia trip, you are paying for 12 days but really only getting 10. At least with Nat Geo we get a welcome dinner on Day 1 and we are touring Angkor Archaeological Park with a guide on Day 13 before we head to the airport.

Oh and the Nat Geo Expeditions take 8-16 guests unless it's a private expedition, then it's based on however many people you want to take with you.

 

[sayhello]

Nat Geo isn't the only one who does this. In fact ABD is just as bad if not worse. I can think of at least 2 itineraries where Day 1 is arrival day with no activities planned beyond what you choose to do. Both South East Asia and South Africa itineraries with ABD do not officially start until Day 2. And the South East Asia trip with ABD essentially ends a day early as well as the last day is an "On your own" day. So essentially with ABD if you book the South East Asia trip, you are paying for 12 days but really only getting 10. At least with Nat Geo we get a welcome dinner on Day 1 and we are touring Angkor Archaeological Park with a guide on Day 13 before we head to the airport.

In this particular case, I do not think ABD is just as bad or worse. With them, not having anything on Day 1 is the exception and not the rule. The majority of their trips have at least a Welcome Dinner on day one. The Arizona/Utah trip stops at Montezuma's castle on the way to Sedona on day one. But that trip has a single transfer from the Phoenix airport, so everyone leaves Phoenix and arrives at Sedona at the same time. The truth is, they can't generally have an activity on Day one, because people are arriving all different times on that day. If they listed what's now Day 2 as the first day of the trip, then some people would be flying in on that day. It's just the nature of the beast. But I do think NatGeo listing multiple travel days as part of the trip is a bit extreme.

I think part of the reason a few of the ABD itineraries are like that is because of the time of day when most flights arrive at the location. If most flights land at 7pm, there's no point in setting up a Welcome Dinner before most people will have arrived. I know when the Alaska trip started in Fairbanks, that was the situation. Unless you arrived the day before, most flights got into Fairbanks in the evening. So there was no Welcome Dinner, but a Welcome Breakfast instead.

Sayhello