A good friend of mine tried it a few times before deciding it wasn't for her. She's well educated and well read and found that her advance preparation took her beyond what was covered on the trips. Put another way, it was for more of a general audience rather than a more intellectual one. That might be what others could find more suitable.

Well, I am more general than intellectual, for sure!

Did an Appalachian Trail hike with Road Scholar last fall. Very accommodating of all levels of ability. Now we're going on a cruise around Iceland with them.

I will definitely look into SS. I never heard of them. Gardenweb has some gremlins going on, with double posts. Maybe that is why you could not post with your usual name. It is hard to choose a trip. So many places to go and see, and things to do.

Randy, I am jealous that you are going to Iceland. I wanted to talk my friends inot a trip there but they decided against it.

I have not traveled with them but a cousin did last year and could not say enough positive things about it. He felt it was very in depth (and I would consider him a pretty intelligent, well educated guy so I guess it's a case of your mileage may vary?). He is early 60's by the way.

Also last year when we were visiting Portland, there was a RS group staying in the same hotel as we were. They seemed to be enjoying very much..this group looked a bit older but very engaging.

Since then I have signed up to get their emails etc, but when we were planning our upcoming trip, theirs was a little longer and more $$ than we wanted.

I'm not a "group travel" person, so I can't think it would be fun. However, sounds like you're getting a lot of good advice....

Thanks for all the feedback. Sounds like it could be for us. Chloe, I never thought I was a group travel person either as I am very independent in real life. However, it is wonderful to have the itinerary, hotels, guides, driving, parking etc all arranged. We did Scotland on our own and had a blast but having to drive on the left, find parking, get lost, agree on restaurants, lug our luggage, made us tired and ate into time when we could have been doing other things. On the other hand we had several funny adventures that we would not have had with a group. There are pros and cons to each.

I'm a Tauck Tour girl myself. Have NEVER had a bad trip with them beginning when I was 12 years old. Their reputation speaks for itself.

LOL - my husband's a Brit, so the driving thing isn't an issue for us in the UK. We're both completely happy arranging things ourselves, studying the area and finding the best options for us. As for luggage, we both "pack light" - carry-on only, even for a 10-day trip. :)

We've actually looked at package tours and have never found one that
suits what we want to do, and they're generally higher-priced, plus we
don't get to choose our hotels. And we never need a hotel in London
because of our pied-à-terre.

Our next overseas trip (Scotland/Wales/England) involves flight to Glasgow, rental car to Fort William, Hogwarts Express train, drop off rental car in Edinburgh, hotel there, Virgin train to London, various tubes (Oyster cards are awesome), theater tickets (Harry Potter & the Cursed Child), overground to Watlow, Warner Brothers studio tour, two days of wandering London, flight home... We've done it all ourselves, and we don't have to spend time with a random group of people. :)

Most is already paid for. Including flights, Harry Potter train tickets, Virgin train tickets, theater tickets, hotels in Fort William and Edinburgh, WB studio tickets, we're at $3,100 total, right now.

Enjoy your trip - be sure to post pics so we can live vicariously through you! :)

Chloe, that sounds wonderful and how handy to have a British husband. We had to keep saying "right turn, go wide!" so we didn't end up heading into oncoming traffic. We did go the wrong way in a roundabout one time. That was exciting. In Edinburgh we caught the show "Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night time". We also spent a few days on the Isle of Raasay, which is off the coast of Skye. We got there by ferry. There is not much in the way of public transportation there beyond ferries and the postman! Our route was Edinburgh, St Andrews (wonderful), Inverness (might skip this, but the people were interesting), Raasay, Oban, Stirling and back to Edinburgh. I would be more willing to go on trips on our own, but my friends want tours and I have enjoyed myself going that way, too.

Oh, I so want to go to Inverness, but it's impossible on this particular trip! Why do you suggest skipping it?

I just did not see anything of interest there, although the people were kind of rowdy and fun in a good way. By the time we got there we had overdosed on castles. We did visit Eilean Donan and Stirling on the way back. We also visited Loch Ness after Inverness, which is gorgeous but so are all the other lochs. I would really love to go to the Shetland Islands.

We did see this guy along the way.

I've driven on the left numerous times and in numerous places - Rep of Ireland, Britain, Australia - and I don't find it all that difficult, except when driving down a narrow street when judging proximity on the left side of the car is an unaccustomed to task. Outside the US, roads are marked much better than here and even with odd intersections and non-right angle turns, there are always plenty of blue arrows telling where to go and not go.

I'm not sure why Americans are so drawn to the Britain and Ireland. Maybe it's for language reasons? I find just about any country or countries on the European continent to offer far richer and enjoyable travelling experiences from the standpoints of history, monuments, culture, arts, and, for gosh sakes, cuisine. But, to each their own taste.

The kilty guy is awesome! We're planning to do an "up and back" look-see at Loch Ness on our trip in September.

The language does make it easier, and we go there a lot simply because our lodging is taken care of. That said, we're going to Paris in November, and we'll be spending two weeks in the spring driving around Western Europe (Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Benelux, France, Switzerland). I love the continent very much and miss living there.

Denigrating folks for only going to the UK/Ireland is a bit much - at least they're leaving the USA and going somewhere other than Mexico or Canada, which is more than can be said for so many Americans! lol

Driving on the left wasn't all that bad but every time I came to a roundabout (or traffic circle as we say here in New Jersey) I had to remind myself that I wasn't in New Jersey any more. I actually think that made it harder than it might be for someone who isn't used to circles. My first trip I hired a driver for 5 days and it was wonderful. It was a last minute decision and a friend of mine had used him before. He drove us all over and then dropped us at our hotel in Dubin where we spent the next 4 days.

DD's boyfriend is from just outside London and we're contemplating a fall trip there. Unfortunately he never learned to drive in England and he's been here for over 10 years so I can't rely on his expertise. However he has a lot of family there so that might make it a little easier.

My friend and I picked Ireland because we both have loved ones with health problems at home and aren't quite free to go to Africa or Australia. I hope to, some day! I am leaving soon for a trip to Portugal and Spain. In the fall we are going to see some national parks out west. Last year we went to Greece, Macedonia and Albania. Before that it was Italy -- Tuscany and Umbria. So much world, so little time (and money). I like going just about anywhere. I even like Disney World. So go ahead, hate me! ;)

LOl - I've seen a meme on Facebook that I love: I haven't been everywhere yet, but it's on my list!

We love to travel, and intend to keep doing so until we're no longer able. I'm not a Disney World fan, but I'm a Universal Studios aficionado! Well, at least the Harry Potter parts. :)

By the way, I've found a great podcast series for learning the basics of languages for wherever you're going: Coffee Break [Language]. I'm listening to Coffee Break French every day during my commute and it's very helpful. :)

Good for you dedtired - I admire you! Go without any regrets - even to Disney World. I was only there when my kids were young but we had a great time. Just remember to report back, I love reading everyone's reviews of their trips.