Smithsonian journeys Egypt and Jordan extension

I haven’t but I’ve compared itineraries for them and some other companies with the Egypt I did (O.A.T. Egypt by private yacht). Seems like the “name brand” affiliation tours like Smithsonian, National Geographic, college alumni, etc typically charge about twice as much for basically the same thing (including quality of hotel), especially considering that O.A.T. quoted price includes international airfare and a generous policy of available free single supplement. You pay a LOT for that name brand. Those tours also typically include a US based expert guide such as a college professor in addition to the local guides handling the nuts and bolts, but you don’t need that if (as with OAT) your local guide is a well qualified Egyptologist. My in-laws took some tours with Tauck and loved them too. They’re top of the line for luxury and coddling their guests. I also got the feeling from what they said that some people travel with Tauck because they only want to travel with other people who can afford Tauck, whereas the OAT groups seem a bit more diverse (certainly plenty of wealthy folks, but also retired nurses, teachers etc who are financially comfortable but not one percenters).

I have taken two Smithsonian tours that were rebadged Odysseys tours, and one Smithsonian river cruise. When I took the Smithsonian/Odysseys tours, the hotels and itineraries were identical for Smithsonian and Odysseys, and Odysseys handled all the communication and logistics after the initial booking. The main difference is that Smithsonian includes a "study guide," a PhD level expert to provide in depth context, in addition to the regular tour guide.

The value of the study guide depends on the personalities involved. On the southern Italy tour, our study guide engaged with the group, and the expertise of the tour guide and the study guide complemented each other nicely. Both were excellent, and both contributed plenty of knowledge and expertise. On that trip, I thought the study guide was worth it. On the Turkey tour, our study guide was really more of an authority on Ancient Greece, and our tour guide was a PhD archaeologist who had done his dissertation at Ephesus and worked as a marine archaeologist when he wasn't guiding. Although our study guide was knowledgeable and engaged well with the group, she just couldn't hold a candle to the expertise of the main tour guide. On the river cruise (which was not through Odysseys), the study guide was a pompous jerk who did the contractual minimum of three lectures --- admittedly, his lectures were good -- and otherwise didn't engage with tour group at all.

There may also be some differences in tipping policies. Smithsonian includes all tips. I am not sure about Odysseys.

Also, there may be some very small itinerary differences. The Smithsonian tour extension in Turkey included Ankara, and I am not sure that the Odysseys extension did. Other than that, the itineraries were identical.

I enjoyed the Smithsonian tours. We did Smithsonian because my friend was footing the bill and he insisted on Smithsonian because he and his mother used to always use Smithsonian. If I were paying out of my own pocket, I would probably go directly through Odysseys.