Convincing our friends

Look at hours on the bus vs hours seeing sights. Look at rigidity of the schedule--how much free time do you have? Compare prices. Explain what it's like when 40 people invade a sight vs. 4 people. If they still want a tour, then look at the Rick Steves tours--less bus time, more flexibility, and smaller tours. Good luck! Pam

Well, you introduce them to this site and Rick's books...

If that doesn't work, reassure them that your offer of a trip together still stands, but it won't be the bus tour. Wish them a good time, and wave goodbye.

Suggest that getting up and on the road when YOU decide is preferable to getting up at 6:00am EVERY morning for two weeks.

Press the benefit of being able to browse places of interest at YOUR speed rather than being rushed through because teh coach leaves at 1:00pm come what may!

Stress the advantage of changing your irinerary to accommodate the weather.

There is NO downside!

I agree with Pamela and Karen and Iain. Travelling with a bus group tour (2 weeks) in Europe is contrary to the good and wise travel advice and philosophy that is in the book "Rick Steves' EUROPE THROUGH THE BACK DOOR". And, travelling with the bus group tour would cost thousands of Dollars more than travelling indepently. And, if that couple and you travel together, independently, they can benefit from your experience of being a traveler in Europe many times before.

I disagree with the tactics of the previous posters.

You're looking at it from your point of view. It's now time to find out WHY your friends want to take a tour. And answer their concerns.

In Sales, you don't make a sale by selling someone what you like about a product or service. You find out what their needs are as well as their objections. And answer those. It has nothing to do with what you like.

Why do they want to take a tour? Is it just the photos their friends showed them. If so, show them photos from your trips. Show them the Rick Steves videos.

Are they concerned about not knowing the language, getting lost, making reservations, etc. Find out their objections to traveling independently and answer them specifically. Whatever their concerns are, turn it into a positive.

As an example, if they are concerned about finding places to eat, tell them about some of the wonderful places you found on your own. If they're worried about not knowing the language, tell them how you were able to handle not being fluent.

Remember, they have no frame of reference on traveling overseas while you do.

And lastly, if none of this works, they may just be "tour" people who have no desire to travel independently. If that's the case, then you might have to decide on traveling together some other time.

Mike,

Frank and the others raised some good points. Both methods of travel have pros & cons. Self guided travel is considerably more work to plan, but guided tours have benefits too (I use both methods these days).

In this situation, you would seem to have three options:

travel on your own and your friends can take the Bus tour

All of you travel together, as originally planned

The compromise option - you could all take a short RS Tour, perhaps a one week city tour (or other, depending on your interests) and then carry on with some self-guided travel. That way your friends would be able to experience the benefits of both methods first hand, to decide which one they prefer for future trips. A RS Tour would probably give them a very good "first impression" of tours.

Happy travels!

I totally agree re: asking your friends why they want to go on a tour. I personally mix independent travel with package tours. In some countries it is just too much hassle to do the independent thing. When I was in the USA I went on a bus tour because I was in the area for a week and I couldn't drive and the public transport system would not have got me to all the places I wanted to see.

I think friends and travel don't always mix. I have friends I love dearly, but would not even consider going away for a weekend with them!

I agree with Frank. You do need to find out Why they want to do the bus tour rather than travel independantly and then take it from them.

Fear of the unknown is a really big deterrent for alot of New Travellers, but learning from your experiences,photos and great stories, coupled with one of Ricks books and maybe a DVD or 2 will help them conquer some of those fears.

You cannot Convince them to change their minds, THEY need to convince themselves. Letting them make the decision based on your guidance is the best way to educate them, without You having to take on the role of " Tour Operator". After all, it's your holiday too, and the last thing you want is to be responsible for All the decisions.

If they just can't see past the bus tour, enjoy your holiday with your wife and maybe a nice weekend away in the States is a better option for the 4 of you.

Vacations with another couple have ruined more trips and friendships, when separate vacations would have preserved both the trip that each wanted and the friendship as well.

I agree Kent. This is a lose lose situation. Travelling with another couple is hard enough at the best of times. Travelling with a couple who have very different ideas about "travelling" is doomed from the start.

Regretfully, Mike, tell em to go on their bus tour and have fun.

as an aside...its my worst damn nightmare...trapped like Spam in a can with 40 people--all day, every day...going, doing what somebody else has decided.

Oh god, just shoot me.

I think someone above said it, but give them an RS book to research. If that doesn't do it, then your travel styles won't mesh. I can tell you that my first trip out of the US was daunting and came with a lot of fear of language, travel connections, food, currency. Then someone (who I owe a debt of gratitude to) put an RS book in my hand. His words made it not only seem possible, but downright easy. And it was. We are going back for our 4th trip and have done it RS all the way.

Let me add a couple of things since my previous post:

1) Many people have said that traveling with friends can be stressful and even hurt the friendship. That's true--especially if their travel "styles' are different.

2) Mike, did you ever think, that perhaps your friends don't want to travel with you and your wife....and they are trying to find the nicest way to get out of it without hurting your friendship?

If they continue to want to take a tour....bid them 'bon voyage" and preserve the friendship. After all, what's more important...that you convince them to travel your way or they remain friends? (And anyway, after one tour, they may be more open to traveling independently. But even then, they may not want to travel with you. Don't take it personally.)

I think the very fact that your friends are not listening to your opinions and and judgements, instead favoring the choices of other people, makes them unsuitable travel companions for you. On any trip, there are endless decisions to be made. If these people already don't trust your choices, the trip is doomed from the very beginning. If people think being led around in a herd sounds great, then they aren't likely to understand and appreciate the independent Rick Steves philosophy of travel. Nothing would be worse than traveling with whiny complainers who blame you for everything. Convincing unwilling, reluctant people to do something they're not interested in will cause you to be responsible for their trip, a big burden that will likely backfire. Wish them well on their big bus canned tour and maybe they bring you back some expensive, useless souvineer they were pressured to buy at one of the forced shopping tours.

Why not appeal the their sense (as in dollars and cents)? Do some research, make up a cost estimate, and show them what it will cost to travel with you. I'm sure it will be a small fraction of what they would pay for the bus tour. Rick has probably the best, most economical tours around, but his 14 day, Germany, Switzerland, Austria trip is still almost three times what I spent on my last 14 day trip.

On tours, you pay someone a lot of money to do the planning you could do for yourselves. Obviously, some people have more money than time and knowledge and would rather do it that way.

I'm with Frank and Lee on this one. I have one question that hasn't been asked.

Mike, have you ever traveled with this couple before? If not, I would suggest that you not use this opportunity to try out whether or not you will be "compatible traveling partners"

Mike, Refer them to this forum. Also arrange for them to get Ricks Newsletter. How much time do we have to get them to see the light??

If you invited them, and there are all these issues...well, just doesn't seem like a good fit. I would jump at an invitation like yours, but travel on a bus with 40 or 50, making stops at all the tourist traps? Nah. If they need lots of convincing, then perhaps these aren't the right travel buddies for you. Once you get to Europe, will you have to convince them every day about something or other?

I like the idea of taking a practice trip with them somewhere close-by and seeing how you mesh.

If you want to try to convince them, Europe Through the Back Door is the book to start with.

Other alternatives:

Take an RS tour. It's a tour but a little more active than the standard bus tour.

Do a Busabout tour. You get on and off where you want but always know the schedule to catch the bus to the next stop on the tour.

Take only part of your vacation together. Let them take a bus tour while you travel independently, then meet at the end of their tour for several days together where they may feel more comfortable traveling your way.

Are they very particular about lodging? To me that's one advantage of a bus tour, you stay in American style hotels each night. The other being you will never miss a meal. Since I don't care so much about lodging (and somewhat prefer B&B's and budget hotels) and will gladly skip a meal to catch a worthwhile site, tours don't hold much allure to me.