There's a company called Elderhostel or something like that. Maybe you could check them out. I've never traveled with a tour group though, myself.
Leslie

I went with Go Ahead Tours one time, on a garden tour of England and France. I thought it was fun and the tour guides were helpful. That company specializes in foreign tours, but they do take groups to the U.S. national parks, to Alaska and also the Hawaiian islands.

I'm fairly outgoing and enjoyed meeting other tourists in the group, but I think a reserved person could keep to themselves and enjoy the tour just as much.

Tours are especially good when you're unfamiliar with where you are traveling. I didn't have to think about where to go, where to stay or what to do, except for some free evenings.

I have been on a few but hands down the best one I have done was a hiking tour thru Italy in 1998 with Steve Austin. We went hiking every day and had 3 different hotels/cities that we stayed in. He does different vacations every year. Walking tour thru the flower fields in France, Theatre tour in London and New York, Racecar tour in Italy, Cooking tour in Italy, etc. It is a little pricy, but it was absolutely spectacular. He took us to non-touristy places and also some tourist attractions. It was amazing. I highly recommend taking a trip thru him.

Here is a link that might be useful: Steve Austin Great Vacations

"Would you recommend them?"

Yes and no! You have to way the pros and cons. A place like Italy i would. I dont know much about the country and i would probably learn alot. You also get to meet some great people. However, the downfall is that you are on their schedule. When DH and i went to Puerto Rico they offered a day trip in San Jaun. We new we would learn more but we wanted to explore on our time. For 25cents each we took public transportation(bus). We wondered and explored at our pace. It was a great day. The tour company wanted $40 each for the trip. We probably spent around $25 total.

My DH traveled abroad with his brother with Globus Tours and never had a problem. They also do US tours.
Also Country Magazines (Reiman) do tours, but have never taken them I don't do tours--just me.

I would highly recommend Grand Circle Travel. I went on a three week tour of spain and Africa with them and had a wonderful time. Everything was all inclusive meaning the upfront fee I paid covered all my meals (we were given meal tickets) and transportation. I couldn't have asked for better treatment from them. As Ninos said if you didn't want to go on their planned trips you could certainly plan your own. I didn't and had plenty of shopping and leisure time on each tour. Charlene

Tours are nice because you don't have to worry about transportation, and you can see more than you could on your own.

Have lots, some good, some not so good!

The only tour i've taken was a day trip from London to Paris via the Eurostar train thru the chunnel. It was run by Britainshrinkers, and I would highly recommend them. First class.

I found the tour to be a great way to navigate unfamiliar travel venues and visit the interests in a strange city within a compact time frame.

My sister and brother-in-law have gone to Paris, twice, and Italy, once; all three times on a Rick Steves tour. They highly recommend them.

Vannie, where are you looking to travel? There are a lot of companies out there but it depends on where you are going as to whether they have tours to that region or not. For example, Perillo is one of the top operators for Italy but they don't do tours to Germany or here in the States.

Also, different operators are at different costs. Collette is a good solid operator, mid-cost, comparable to Globus. Tauck Tours is a big step up, Cosmos and Grand Circle a step down.

See if you can rent that movie "If it's Tuesday, It must be Belgium"!!!

It was a lot of fun about a tour.

Here is a link that might be useful: If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969)

Minnie,
That movie looks like something I would absolutely adore! Unfortunately, it is not available on DVD and the rental stores around here no longer have VHS. Darn!

Never in the U.S. but did a lot of bus touring over in Europe. It was a cheap way to see a lot of countries. Sorry can't recommend any companies.

My first trip was through a tour, Insight, and thought it was a good idea then. No worry about luggage, etc. We did the "see all of Europe in 16 days" thing, and did enjoy it, but realize there were places we would rather have seen than what was on the tour agenda. You could go off on separate trips, too, of course, such as the Palace of Versailles, etc.

I thought to ask my parents your question because they travel frequently. They recommend University-based travel groups, like those out of USC, UCLA Stanford and Harvard. They are led by professors and besides having fun you learn a lot.

For ship-based tours they like Zegrahm & Eco Expeditions which has a website at zeco.com.

I looked and Amazon has the movie for 27.99 but there are some cheaper on Ebay if anyone is interested.