Toddlers on Tours

Wow! I would be really upset to spend good money on a tour, just to have it ruined by a cranky toddler. Especially with a wine tasting. I think most people would never consider asking if there would be children there. I don't have a problem with people traveling with children, but maybe those parents should think about how their children will impact other people in those situations.

I certainly agree this is inappropriate behavior, both for the parents and for the tour company. I am in Italy right now, and have a very similar full-day wine tour coming up in a week, and would hate to experience that. I wonder, George, if you might mention the name of the tour company. If a number of us wrote them that we had heard about an experience such as yours, and suggested a minimum age and some minimal standards of behavior, it might have an impact, at least with that company. Once this situation develops mid-trip, it would be hard to deal with. One couldn't throw someone off the tour hours away from the starting point, I suppose the only way to deal with it is to avoid the situation in the first place.

I really don't think you can deny customers the right to take a tour just because they have children. I know people with very young children who are very well behaved and wouldn't be a problem in either of the situations mentioned above. It's really not the fault of the tour company but rather the fault of the parents who insist on doing inappropriate activities with their children. Every child is different and the parents should know if their child can handle a long tour or not. I agree that is ruins the experience for everyone but I don't know that anything can be done to prevent it. Certainly I think the tour operator should have asked the parents to quiet their child and get rid of the smelly diapers but I don't know that they would have the right to do something like kicking them off the tour. Donna

George, Handing a soiled diaper off to the wait staff (who are serving food) is the epitome of boorish behaviour (IMHO). The rest of their behaviour was almost as bad. As the others have said, it's difficult to refuse tours to people with children as some are very well behaved. However, the parents should have used some discretion in this case, as I'm sure they knew what type of behaviour to expect from their children (especially with more "adult" activities like wine tasting tours). You could always file a report on Trip Advisor, as it would be good for other travellers to have some idea what they might expect with this particular tour firm. Cheers!

That's why I mentioned the parents and not the tour operators. People who say that they aren't going to change their lifestyle or sacrifice their activities because of their children are being selfish. Selfish to their children and to others that have to deal with these unhappy kids. I get irritated when we go to an expensive restaurant (not a family restaurant) and have to hear small children cry, complain about being bored, or allowed to run around in order for the parents to not have to deal with them. The same with going to an R rated movie and hearing kids cry or talk loudly, asking about what is happening. I have children, so I'm not just being cranky about kids. I sacrificed a lot of things when they were young, because I thought about their needs, not mine.

Our daughter stayed at home with our parents until she was old enough to behave herself. When we traveled with her, it was to Florida and DisneyWorld. After going through Anne Frank Haus at age 11, she was hung on reading Anne's book. We didn't hear another word out of her. Children should not be on tours until of a certain age. We would never think of ruining other peoples' trips putting up with unruly children.
And if parents cannot make vacation arrangements for their children, they should stay at home.

That would really tick me off. I think tour operators should have a minimum age requirement, but I think few would want to go that route because they may fear loss of revenue. I recall a thread recently about tours and how they deal with inappropriate behaviour and most posters said fine print usually covers the operators right to take someone off tour if they are disturbing the enjoyment of others. I wonder if poorly behaved children (and the adults they're with) could ever fall under that clause? And I'm sure in the case of 1/2 day tours, they wouldn't bother.

It was a Walk About Tour. We saw the couple demand to go on the Cinque Terre tour but were denied because it entailed climbing on steep paths. They then approached our tour and the tour leader let them right on. Those on a second bus were spared. At the wine tasting, a couple (both American couples BTW) barged right in, wanted a free drink, were denied, then proceeded to sit right in the middle and let the baby ruin the evening for all. We also went on tours with couples with young kids from South Africa and Denmark. Their kids were not only well behaved they were astonishingly polite and mannerly. American couples seem to think they have a right to inflict their kids on anyone and it's all about them and their kids. Oh well, I'll never go on another outing without checking on an age restriction. In Paris we've seen couples, again Americans, show up at a fancy restaurant with a toddler in tow. The restaurant somehow seemed to have lost their reservation and no amount of belligerence could convince the Maitre d'hotel to allow them entry. Hooray for small miracles.

I went on a tour my first trip to Europe in 1970. I may go on a tour my last trip to Europe. But we've had many memorable experiences in between. And the internet allows you to do so much great planning and touring "in your mind" before you get there. With GoogleMaps and Mapquest, I know the streets before I get there and where to go.
Modern internet tools just make travel so easy.

Just for clarification we freelance our trips to Asia, Europe, and Africa and have for over a decade and avoid tours unless African safaris and European hunting with ghillies would qualify as tours. The tour we had problems with was a last minute suggestion by a fellow traveler when we had a free day in Firenze. We booked the tour as a one day see-most-of-it Tuscany excursion we couldn't have done ourselves at the last minute. Planning our trip is part of the enjoyment we derive from traveling abroad. Tours? We normally avoid them like the plague for the reasons described in my question about age limits. Buon viaggio!