Tour group dynamics

We've been on 5 RS tours. At the beginning of the tour, the tour director gives a speech which discusses what is expected of us. It reiterates what is found on the website. Things like be respectful of others and don’t be late and so on. The famous “no grumps” policy was playful discussed on our Basque tour when our tour guide said we were allowed to be grumpy once per tour— but never before his coffee.

In those 5 tours, nobody was late. If there was grumpiness, I never saw it. (Okay, I was grumpy once— but I was entitled to be! My feet were sore.)

We’ve also taken a couple Tauck tours. They don’t have a no grumps policy. And on each of the two tours— great tours mind you— we experienced grumps and grumpiness, Still, all in all, great, fun people. Great guides and tours too.

There are tour people and then there are people who don’t like tours. I’d been traveling extensively before we tried Rick Steves and always thought I wouldn’t have the patience for being slowed down by a group. (My wife had no such worry.) I was delighted to find I got so much more out of the travels with a Rick Steves curated experience, fantastic guides and I learned to tolerate— even enjoyed— group slowdown effects.

With all of that said, there are people who go on these type of tours and say “Yep, not for me.” Traveling at your own pace with your own style is very popular for good reason. We enjoy both.

Happy travels!

When travelling with others, whether a on group tour or with people you know there will always be annoyances and compromises that will need to be made. I've only been on one group tour, other trips have been with friends and families. On the group tour, there were a few people I clicked with and chatted with them more than others. There were others that I learned that I would rather not hang out with them in the evenings.

We've been on a Rick Steves tour, and several tours with Overseas Adventure Travel/Grand Circle Travel. There is ALWAYS going to be "that one guy" lol (or gal, to be fair). I can't recall having anyone actually ruin an experience or a tour, there is always more upside than down. Guides are used to dealing with all types of people but there are limits what they can do with, say, chronically late people if the group is actually changing locations (we have seen people left at the hotel when they didn't get to the meeting place in a timely manner). While not everyone in a tour group has been my cup of tea, most have been fairly well-traveled people, intelligent, polite, curious, wanting to learn about wherever we are. You figure out after about day 2 who you want to spend time with at meals or excursions. The only way to find out is to take a tour and see if that's your thing. It may not be!

Having everyone on a RS tour commit to the "no grumps" policy is very helpful. (We even use it when planning travel with friends.) Policies like having tour members responsible for their own luggage weeds out less independent, "high needs" travelers. On each RS tour we've been on, there are the social butterflies and those who like to be in small groups or on their own, and that all sorts itself out fine.

We've only experienced one situation where a couple were hard to be around, because one of them seemed to have some cognitive decline. The group members and guide worked together to share the conversational load. It worked out ok and didn't spoil our tour.

The biggest thing that helps with group dynamics is excellent, highly trained guides. On one tour, a group member had a habit of frequently correcting/adding to whatever the guide told us, but that clearly was nipped in the bud early on with a private word from the guide.

I've been on 9 RS tours as well as a couple of tours with similar companies and have found it to be an overall good experience. Especially with the RS tours, I've found that on the one or 2 occasions where someone was late they were immediately reminded of the need to be on time and in fact on most of the tours we actually leave a couple minutes early because everyone is there ready to go. In terms of not getting along, I've found that there are dynamics that are a bit different on each tour. I still keep in touch with a few people I've met on tours over the years but in most cases we are all happy to have had the time together and then we go our separate ways. I have also found that the type of traveler that goes on RS tours is curious, flexible, "plays well with others", and are not an entitled-feeling group. I find that they are a varied mix of backgrounds but the common thread is a curiousity about the world around us and an interest in learning more about where we are visiting. I have been on tours in past years that were a lot more expensive than RS tours and did find some of that same "entitlement" attitude but have not found that on the RS tours (or the 2 Road Scholar tours I've also taken). And since I travel solo I make a conscious effort to get to know the others on the tour and to join others for meals, happy hours and side trips during free time. I have found that the people I've met on these tours have enhanced the travel experience - and being on a tour certainly makes it easier in terms of logistics of getting from one place to another and to have experiences that would not have happened on my own (including grape stomping at a vineyard in Portugal last year).

We’ve been on three RS tours. Except for one couple that didn’t want to hang out with anyone else on one tour the people have been easy to get along with. They removed themselves from some activities and frankly weren’t missed because everyone else was having fun. We didn’t stay in touch with anyone after but enjoyed talking during meals etc. I don’t expect to find my new best friends, but pleasant people to talk to.
A different tour had someone who didn’t want to do anything but shop wherever we were. Then we had the vacation from H*** that we took with our best friends. Let’s just say our expectations of what /how we should do things were very different and we didn’t speak to each other on the way home and six months afterwards. Needless to say that was the last time we wanted to travel with people we knew already. An exception is a family vacation our daughter planned. Fabulous from beginning to end.
We have discovered that “ I’ll do me and you do you” is the key in all travel, whether in a group or solo. We don’t spend the free time with others in the group, though many did make plans together. The exceptional tour guides and ease of having transportation and hotel logistics done for us makes tours helpful though we always travel on our own for some time before or after a tour.

I have been on 5 RS tours, one Gate1 tour, and one GAdventures tour. Every every single one had a different group dynamic so there's no one answer to your question. Knowing ahead of time what kind of vibe the tour company provides on a tour will have a lot to do with group dynamic. RS tours attract a certain crowd especially since you're expected to porter your luggage, make independent decisions, and you are given a lot of free time. Other companies provide elevated levels of service that attract a different type of traveler.

The tour company type doesn't guarantee you'll like (or dislike) everyone in the group, but it is a potential clue. I believe a lot is remedied by your individual attitude going into a group situation. If you go with an open mind, open heart, and a clear understanding of your own personal boundaries and interests you'll have a fine time. I am a solo traveler so it's fully on me how I interact with a group. For the most part it has been positive, but when I'm paying $$$ for a group tour, I'm going to do what I can to have an enjoyable time and not let any one person rain on the parade.

Do you make friends or stay in touch after the trip?

I have a few people I still keep in touch with after a tour, several for many years now. But for most, aside from a short flurry of contact post trip to share photos, I don't keep in touch with vast majority of tourmates. But I don't take tours to make friends specifically, it's just a bonus if you find one.

Are there people there that get on your nerves or negatively impact
the trip somehow ? For example, showing up late for the bus after an
independent outing thus delaying the scheduled activities, or maybe
being in a constant state of confusion or overdoing it with the wine
or cava daily.

There is almost always at least one person that has a personality or trait that is not my first choice. But I remind myself that I could very well annoying person for someone else in the group. So I try to be patient and politely extract myself from situations when possible. Sometimes you can't though, such as a less than desirable roommate sharing situation I went through, but even then it was a short term problem.

I assume the guides are responsible for dealing with these people.

The guide can do some things but they're not able to reverse someone's personality. Some guides handle things better than others, but for the most part they've encountered and managed all types on tours - the Chatty Cathy, the Know-it-All, the Chronically Late, the Tragically Confused, the Coffee is too Cold, the Freaked Out at All the Things. All of these have been on one of my tours at some point. But you could just as easily encounter these types of folks at any gathering of people who don't know each other well - church, social events, work.

All this to say, there are pros and cons to group travel. After seven group tours I can say the positives have vastly outweighed the negatives. But if you don't think you're a tour group person, then no need to take a tour. If you think you might want to try one out, find a company and tour that has a philosophy and structure that suits most of your needs and give it a go.

To me a group tour is sometimes easier than traveling with a group of family or friends! I know the expectations of whichever tour company I'm with and can meet those expectations. It drives me nuts with family if people are not planners...my least favorite thing is sitting around the breakfast table with the "What do you want to do today" and "Whatever you pick is fine".

For reference I"ve done 12 Rick Steves tour, 13 Road Scholar tours (5 of which were activity based - hiking, birding and genealogy and the other 8 in Europe) and 6 small group tours with Seymour Travels.

Probably the most uncomfortable I've been is where there was a group of 11 traveling together on a Rick tour and they only talked to each other or sat with each other. Most made no effort to be social with others in the group. THAT really changed the dynamic.

As far as people being late, as others mention, that might happen once on a Rick tour but the guides will get on that immediately and there will be no more lateness. One time some folks got lost trying to find the bus and were quite late. The guide said we were going to leave them but the other tour members insisted we wait. The lost folks had never been late so we all knew this was a special circumstance. It was also before everyone had international cell phone plans but this couple did and were able to call the guide to tell him where they had wound up.

Comparing Rick's tours with Road Scholar tours, the "NO Grumps" policy makes a huge difference. You can have some background gritching on a Road Scholar tour. I usually try to put a stop to that by telling them they need to talk to the guide or call the main office. They may still be complaining but they are not doing it around me, hahaha! Ohhh, that makes me sound like the person to avoid, doesn't it? I promise to be nice!

The tour where I've kept in touch with the most people was one early on that was the 21 day Best of Europe. I have about 8 that I am still FB friends with but like CL, I don't go on tours specifically to find new friends. I go to see things and have experiences.

Remember this SNL sketch about "Romano Tours"? Makes me laugh every time but yikes...it's SO true, lol!!

"You're still going to be you on vacation. If you are sad where you are and you get on a plane to Italy, the you in Italy will be the same sad you as before, just in Italy."

https://youtu.be/TbwlC2B-BIg?si=Pc8e61gVCgfts3JT

I was not aware of the NO GRUMPS policy. Sounds like a good idea to have this in place.

For extreme situations can you imagine someone being asked to leave a RS tour?

Sorry buddy, get off the bus, have a nice trip

Sounds severe, but probably necessary if it got to that point.

A lot has to do with the tour leader and how they mingle. I went on a non RS tour for the first time and it will probably be my last. Picked it because of the rave reviews of the guide. However they changed tour guides 3 months before tour and it suffered. The tour guides were superficially nice but by the second day had their favorites and would only sit and talk with them. My partner also tripped and fell on the bus stairs and guides made passive aggressive remarks about us getting on and off the bus afterwards.

We also had cliques emerge after 4 days and most people sat with their group. To me it was like being in a small college with people you couldn’t get away from. I’ve heard better things about RS but taking a tour showed me I’m an independent traveler and don’t like feeling like I’m taking a school field trip and visiting places with a group of Americans. I could have died when they told a craftswoman how cheap everything.

But a lot of people love the company and not worrying about hotels or transport. I would definitely take one tour to see for yourself. At the end of the day I was glad to see the country if not the actual tour.

The OP and some of the responses seems to focus on the challenges of traveling with a group. I want to mention that there are usually hidden rewards as well.
1) A good tour guide helps the group to "bond" as an entity and face the adventure together.
2) Somebody usually has your back. If you need assistance with something (example someone standing nearby while you use the cash machine) there is always someone willing to help out. If you miss your way, don't hear an announcement, etc. Someone else can fill you in. On one tour, a member had a bad fall and a bit of nasty cut. Within minutes they had received first aid and other tour members pooled their first aid supplies to make sure the individual was well taken care of.
3) People from different places and perspectives bring a broader experience to visiting locations. So fun to see some places through other tour members' eyes. Often the varied life experiences add so much to a location in terms of background.
4) A group sometimes challenges you to step a little out of your comfort zone and in travel that can be a good thing. I've gone places I thoroughly enjoyed that I would not have ventured out to without the group.
5) For those of us who find sharing a travel experience part of the fun of the experience, a group gives you more opportunities to share.

I wouldn't worry about one possible annoying person when the vast majority of any group is going to be fabulous.

I'll add to Carol Now Retired: I'm pretty introverted and quiet - but I really enjoy traveling with a group. I meet some really fun people, I don't feel totally alone, and I can always wander off by myself for a meal or some free time. I like to mix up the tour time with solo travel time.

I've traveled with lots of different companies...Rick Steves, Road Scholar, OAT, Odysseys Unlimited, Gate 1, Smartours, Perillo, and Caravan... and the people are generally nice, open-minded, and just curious for travel. Talking with other travelers is always fun.

My husband and I love travelling independently. However, we recently took an OAT tour to Peru because it was easier logistically. I was worried about being with strangers on a bus because I'm a bit shy and other people (not my husband!) tend to annoy me if I spend too much time with them There were 14 of us, mostly couples and a few single travelers. We enjoyed being with every one of those people, talking on the bus or at dinner or while walking. Nobody complained about anything. One couple had some dietary and physical issues and chose to do their own thing a few times. At one site, a couple was confused about where to meet after touring independently, so we had to return to the site entrance and wait while our trip leader found them. We were all worried and nobody minded spending 30 minutes making sure they were okay. We all stayed in touch for a few days after the trip, but we never tried to contact any of them after that.

Just as traveling independently requires a set of skills and the personality to go along with it, so does group travel. I think much depends on the demographic of the tour company. RS tours for example does tend to be couples, with a decent mix of solos, mostly American, mostly upper middle class (whatever that means these days), Older. even mostly retired. If you were a twenty something on the tour, your experience would be very different from a 50 something on the tour. Same if a 60 something took a backpacker party tour of Germany, or any group that strives for a specific demographic. Knowing what the vibe of a company is is key to finding a good tour for you, whether it be age, budget, activity level, type of activity, etc.

I do think group tours like this demand social interaction, that you talk to others, be friendly, be "one of the group". If you like to keep to yourself, or not hear about all of someone's grandkids or their hernia surgery, then it can be a bit of a challenge. In nearly every discussion like this, couples who do tend to be by themselves are always mentioned, with some suspicion.

Of course, yes, you will run into known types of characters, in general, not specifically on RS tours. There will be the "know it all" with a story or history bit about everything. The person who has been on the tour any number of times and sees themselves as the assistant tour guide or organizer. The one that is always late, the one that goes out every night, the comedian. the loner, the loud one, etc.

I was not aware of the NO GRUMPS policy. Sounds like a good idea to have this in place. For extreme situations can you imagine someone being asked to leave a RS tour?

Well, the "No Grumps Policy" is more philosophy than enforceable policy, and in practice is as much to warn against complaining about little problems with the room, disruptions to schedule, unexpected problems for the guides, than general behavior. I think the message from guides is more "Hey, things are going to happen, so roll with it"

I imagine in the history of RS tours, some 1000+ tours a year, yeah, someone may have been so disruptive as to be asked to leave, it is probably a tool that the guide is trained to use. Probably more that figure out part way that it is not for them, or unable to keep up, or a medical or personal emergency that takes them away.