Tour Company Vs On Your Own?

I have never used a tour company, but if I did, it would be RS. I run into RS tour members all over Europe and they seem very happy. If you have no fitness issues, you should be fine.

PRO: someone does all the logistical inter-city travel planning and execution for you. You have built-in resources from tour mates and guides who have been to places you might want to explore on your free time or on a later trip. You may have time to extend your independent travel after the tour, and use the skills you acquire during the tour.

CON: It's a tour, so the amount of time you have in any given location will be brief (with the exception of single-city or My Way tours). Some people (like me) like the possibility of waking up in the morning and changing the day's itinerary; although you can opt out of activities on a tour. You need to be ready to move when the bus is ready, no choice of how/when to move on to the next place. With independent travel, you can build an itinerary around opening/closing days of sights you really want to see (I tend to use Mondays as transportation days, since many sights are closed on Mondays).

Zoe is spot on as usual !

Ask yourself questions:
1. Do you enjoy the research process ? Planning process? Some people find it overwhelming to figure out how to get from Point A to Point B. Some LOVE the planning !
2. If this is your first trip, do you feel better allowing someone else to handle the lodging and logistics ?
3. Do you think you would like to be on someone else's schedule ? Will you enjoy someone, a tour guide, around you all the time ?
I take a tour of the Sistine Chapel and love it ! But I wonder about the structure of a tour for 2 weeks ?

Imagine yourself in Europe. Will you chafe at being a member of a tour group ? Or do you feel a sense of relief that you did not have to be overwhelmed by all of the planning ??

If you've got your airfare purchased and tell us the cities you want to visit and the time you've got we can give you ideas about how long in each destination, how to travel point A to point B, maybe a hotel suggestion.

I don't think it is an either/or question. There is "no better." As described above each has it own advantage and disadvantage so it depends on what appeals to you at a moment. We have done both and will do both in the future. It is just a question of the "trade offs" you are willing to accept. Tour company are always more efficient in the use of time mainly because travel and travel arrangements can be time consuming and confusing at times. There is a convenience to climbing on your tour bus outside the hotel and not to worry about where it is going.

I do a mix of both, I plan all travel on my own, because I love it. I am a researcher by nature and I know my resources to use on the internet to make me feel good about every hotel, every train schedule and all excursions. With that being said we always book some sort of tour when we are in a major city, sometimes they are food tours, bus tours, walking tours...so we get that expert guides and stories of the city. Sometimes I do just want to hop on a bus and let someone else plan my day and just sit back and enjoy, my only task for the day is getting to the meeting point on time. You seem well traveled and understand that not everything is going to go right all the time, but that is part of the adventure!

If you have strong preferences about what you want to do and what you don't want to do, you must do it on your own. With the internet it has never been so easy: train schedules are easily available, and advance booking of transport and hotels is one mouse-click away.
If you have no very articulate wishes, are not so keen on arranging it all by yourself, don't feel comfortable with finding you way in an unfamiliar environment or aren't keen on the prospect of waiting an hour for the connecting train to arrive, a tour is evidently the better choice.
Language is hardly a consideration. English is becoming rapidly the lingua franca in Europe.

You might want to consider taking a tour since this is your first trip to Europe. There's so much history, art, culture and food to take in that you'd be able to get more out of your trip with a tour. A tour would take the pressure off you to plan and execute a trip somewhere you've never experienced before.
It would be nice to go a few days early and a few days after the tours in larger cities, however.
You do want to take a tour to places that really peak your interest, however.

A lot may depend on where you want to go and how much time you have. As another poster (or two) said, a tour can be more efficient in use of time, getting you to your next destination effortlessly and usually quicker, having your hotels already booked and you just have to walk in and get your key, planning some of your meals in places you might not think to go on your own, etc. But if you're more of a "I want to go here, and I want to do this" kind of person, maybe a tour isn't for you. Traveling independently in Europe is, in a lot of ways, just as easy as traveling in the USA. It's often a different type of traveling - staying in one place and taking day trips, using trains and buses instead of driving - rather than road-tripping (although that's actually quite easy in Europe also). I started out taking tours because I was a solo female over 50 and felt more comfortable traveling with others. I quickly discovered the joy and freedom of traveling independently to Europe and have done several short and long (2 month) trips to Europe with no real problems or issues.

Although I might recommend taking a tour (RS, of course) because it is you first time in Europe, I'm not so sure I would say that taking a tour the first time is going to be of any help for planning your next one. My first trip to Europe was a business trip with all travel arrangements and accommodations arranged by the company. My second trip was a two week trip on my own planning. I don't think the previous trip was of much value to help me plan the next trip.

There is certainly something to be said for planning you own trip. You don't have to hold to someone else's schedule. If you find somewhere you really like, you can stay there longer. And you only have to go to the places you want to see in the first place. For example, I'd rather see places in the interior of the Black Forest than Baden-Baden.

On the other hand, with a tour you don't have to do any planning. Just show up. And a dedicated tour bus can get you places faster than either public transportation or driving a rental car, and you are free to look at the scenery without risking an accident.

HOWEVER, planning takes time, and time is money. I spend hundreds of hours researching a trip to do on my own (I love the planning. Not everyone does.). But I get exactly what I want. I only go to the places I want to see.

But a big difference is economics. I use public transportation. So far it has gotten me everywhere I wanted to go (but it takes research). I probably stay in simpler, less expensive places. I prefer it that way. When I traveled on business we always stayed in 3 and 4 star hotels. I found that environment too "sterile". We might as well have stayed the whole time in the Holiday Inn in Peoria and had them put pictures of Europe in the windows - Belgium one day, Germany the next.

But I can see that with a tour, I would be paying someone a lot of money to plan for me. On my last trip, traveling with a partner, I spent what Rick would call 22 days (actually 21 nights or 21 noon-to-noon days) traveling from the interior of the Black Forest and Schwabia for 4 nights, then 13 nights along the German Alps from the Oberallgäu to Berchtesgaden, finishing with 4 nights in Munich. My total expenses for this trip was 2800 euro, about $3000 at today's exchange rate, or $140/"day", double occupancy.

Compare that with Rick's Germany in 13 days (actually 12 of my days) tour for $3395 per person double occupancy. That's $6790 for a couple for 12 "days" or $566 per day. Four times what I spend, and I get all of my meals, not just breakfasts and six dinners. That's a lot of money to spend to have someone plan a trip for you.

I hate to keep bringing it back to economics, but how many of us have unlimited financial resources. If you spend less on you trips, you can afford to come back more often, or if you spend less per day you can afford to stay longer.

Hi Kentucky people, assuming I understood your handle,
I have traveled throughout the world, over several decades, and in various circumstances, sometimes alone, or as one of a couple, or in a small group. These recent years, being on my own, I have adopted a travel style of taking an excellent RS Tour in Europe, with some additional days before and/or after, usually to explore other places in the same country as the tour. For me, this combines the best of both worlds, given that I am now retired and have the time and resources for a somewhat longer trip. Clearly when you are on your own, you have to plan all your own itinerary, lodging, transportation, meals, tickets for popular sites, etc. some people love that, some really don't. In a tour those things are well planned for you. My experience is that RS Tours are really superb, as long as you are comfortable with the nature of the tour: pack light, no bellmen, no 5-star international hotels, walk quite a lot, rarely can "sleep in", no grumps, etc. RS guides are really terrific, very well informed, good communicators, really dedicated to each individual tour member's welfare and enjoyment of their experiences. Hotels range from quite nice to really surprisingly wonderful. Group meals are often great experiences and cuisine, sometimes involving a cooking demonstration, farm or winery visit, etc. Other tour members are good company and become friends. A big advantage is that the tour group and bus allow stops at interesting places along the way that you would not know about, locate or feasibly be able to reach on your own. Of course on your own, you could spend some less or much more, depending on the travel style you choose. One thing you might do would be to take a group tour, then add a few days in places different than the tour stops. For instance, in Italy, you might take a Venice, Florence and Rome Tour, and on your own visit some small towns in the Veneto, or in Tuscany or Umbria. Or, if you take the Village Italy Tour, then add on some days in Venice, Florence and/or Rome on your own. Travel well!

Thanks everyone. I am looking at Rome (of course), Florence, and Veince, possibly Cinque Terre. The only concern I have with the Rick Steves tours it says you may need to share a bathroom, no thanks. 10-14 day trip is what we are looking at.

And the other concern if we don't do a tour, how do we get from hotel to Vatican, etc, other than a cab.

Also, when looking at a hotel a friend used, when I go directly to the hotel, they state they do not have any rooms for those nights, but when using other sites such as hotels.com, it shows the room is available.

I have taken 7 RS Tours so far, never had to share a bathroom. I think that shared bathrooms on a tour are VERY RARE these days, maybe in some remote mountain location. You could call the RS Tour office and ask about that for a particular tour, just to be sure.
Depending on where in Rome you are starting out, you may be able to get very near the Vatican by walking, bus, metro, or taxi. You can also take an organized day tour (many of us on this forum recommend Walks of Italy "Pristine Sistine" tour), and the tour company will provide a meeting point and directions.
As for differing information about hotel availability, it can depend on how far in advance you are searching. Far in advance, some hotels do not yet have reservations open. You can try to e-mail or phone the hotel for clarification. I myself have never used hotels.com but have often used booking.com and expedia.com and have never had any problems. Just be careful whether you are choosing a cancelable or non-cancelable/non-refundable rate, which is often somewhat cheaper.

Kentuckmn-have you read Europe Through The back Door, this book explains public transport, hotels etc. I would also purchase a guide book on each county your visiting to get an overview of the sites, neighborhoods to stay in, hotel recommendations etc. I used RS book for some of our hotel bookings, and even requesting rooms 8 months in advanced they were sold out so I just kept going down the list till I found one and booked it right away! If you find a room on Hotels.com and the cancel policy is one you can live with and the room is one you want (do you really want a single room with a bathroom down the hall?), book it or call the Hotel Directly. You can also consider renting apartments if your in one place long enough, we only do an apartment for 3+ nights.

To get around Rome we use Uber, we would check google maps and see if we could walk. If we had a big walking day (Colosseum) we would save our feet and take an Uber.

Thank you Letizia. I am actually reading Europe thru the Back Door now. Plus I have a RS guide book for Rome and DK book for Italy.

I will call RS to learn more about having a private bathroom. Thanks.

Unless there's an unforeseen change, the only two tours that use hotels with shared baths for a few of the rooms are the 21-day Best of Europe and the Scandinavia tour. In those cases, it's mentioned in the details on the web page for the route.

Taxi, Metro, or bus can all be convenient ways to reach the Vatican, and I wouldn't hesitate to use any of those. However, buses sometimes get so crowded that you can practically only get on at the start of the line. There are only a couple of Metro lines, but it's still handy to have a hotel near one.

Personally, I love to make my own arrangements and my over 70 husband happily goes along! We feel that a tour company is too restrictive for us; frankly, we are not always ready to be at a meeting point at the specified time. We went on a self-planned 21-day trip to Italy this past April that went from Rome to Cinque Terre to Venice to Pescara (by train) to Corfinio, Abbruzzo by car to see where my grandparents were born, then by train to the Amalfi Coast and back to Rome. I purchased train tickets early at the best rate and we had no problem making the trains (well, except for when we got lost returning the car in Pescara - we made the train literally by 3 minutes!) All lodging was done through Expedia, relying heavily on customer reviews. It was all lovely, there were no surprises, we saw and did everything we wanted to do, and the entire trip for 2 people, 21 days, was $8,100. I'm most certain you cannot do that through any kind of a tour.

I just finished planning our next trip - 24 days to focus on the Adriatic Coast. Because we got such a killer deal on airfare, I estimate the entire trip at just over $6,000.

Last year we spent 20 nights in Italy, got our air travel with reward miles, and spent $4500 for two people - total, not each - for the entire trip! We stayed in apartments in four towns, one for 7 nights, one 6 nights, one 5 nights, and then one hotel for 2 nights. We were in Umbria, Amalfi Coast, the Paestum area, and Ostia. If you enjoy the planning phase and want to save money, then travel on your own. You don't say when you plan to go. When using reward miles, I usually book my airline tickets at least six months ahead and have been known to book them as soon as they're available (I think 11 months ahead?). I often book lodging six months ahead, but I'm picky about where I want to stay. Nowadays you can also save a small bundle by booking train trips way ahead.

My friend and I are taking a tour in August/September. It's theme based, Trail of the Lippizaners (horses). When we first started talking about it, we looked into the tour and because the company was unknown to us, debated about taking it. We then asked each other if we wanted to do the trip ourselves but decided we liked the organization of the tour which means we didn't have to hassle with transportation, hotels, etc. Su didn't want to drive in Europe and public transportation wasn't going to meet all of our needs. We research the tour company in depth and what all the tour included then booked the tour. The company has been wonderful to work with. What we really like is that the guided tour is limited to 16 people, thus in a smaller bus. I'll give you a report when we return. The 16-day tour has 5 afternoons/evenings of free time so we can explore on our own. I researched and found a trail ride at Lake Bled and am arranging my free time to include that. I don't know if there are other riders on the tour, but I don't mind going off by myself to do something I really enjoy. Slovenian countryside from horseback has to be great. We have two days pre-tour on our own in Venice to enjoy what we want to see. I enjoy the research and have scoped out lots of things to do within the parameters of the tour. Not every hour is regimented as someone referred to.
25 years ago, yes it's been a very long time, when I went riding in Ireland, the ride was tour-based, but the remainder of the time we rented a car and drove around the island staying at B&Bs and stopping wherever we wanted. Really the best of both worlds. But we were a lot younger then and more adventuresome.
Do consider a tour if you think that is best for you - if you want someone else to be responsible for transportation, hotels, restaurants, etc. But find one that gives you plenty of free time to explore on your own.

I have been to Europe on 6 occasions. The first 5 times, I made my own travel plans. On my last trip, I took the Rick Steves 17 Day Best of Italy Tour. I have to say it was the best of the 6 vacations. Granted it was a lot more expensive, but we saw and learned so much more than if we had done it on our own. I do all the planning on our trips. I think my wife enjoyed the tour more since she didn't have to listen to me all the time. I could really relax, because everything was planned. If you don't want to have everything planned, you might want to look at a "My Way Tour". At least you wouldn't have to worry about transportation and hotels. I really enjoyed going out to dinner with some of the people on the tour. It was great to share conversations on what we had seen during the day.

We never shared a bathroom with anyone else.

If you can travel in Thailand, then you can travel in Europe. I have only traveled in a tour when It was too hard to get my desired sites. There are plenty of pros and cons above. You will have to decide for yourself your level of comfort.

Thailand was a nightmare. Luckily a lot of our time was spent with a friend who lived there. Street food was scary since my husband has fish and seafood allergies

I always defer to the far more experienced travelers on this forum, as we took our first trip abroad in June 2015. But here are my thoughts.

Of course you can do it on your own, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. We did our first few days in London on our own and had a great time. Several answers to your post have focused on the pragmatic cost aspects of doing it yourself, and that's entirely valid. But we're taking our second Rick Steves tour in May, based primarily on these two somewhat more intangible, subjective criteria:

1) The quality of the guides. Our primary guide on the Best of Paris tour was fabulous, smart and fun, but so were all of the local guides, as well. All were tremendously, infectiously knowledgeable, which totally enriched our experience. Not much more to say about that.

2) The group dynamic. My wife, son and I are all introverts by nature, and we're perfectly happy functioning in our own bubble. But we've drunk the Rick Steves kool-aid and believe that the RS tours attract very like-minded, flexible, enthusiastic people. Being with such a group encourages us to exist outside our shell, to be more sociable, to interact with other people and, again, enriches our experience.

Our the RS tours pricey? Sure. Can you do it a lot cheaper on your own? Sure. And I'm sure we'll do plenty of traveling on our own. But we consider these tours to be an excellent value for what you get.

I am looking at Rome (of course), Florence, and Veince, possibly
Cinque Terre.

Others of the RS gang have already covered the usual pros and cons but I'll mention that these locations are easy to do solo. All of them are well used to hosting travelers from all over the world, basic English is widely spoken, and trains to get from one to another are neither difficult nor particularly expensive. China? Different story; I don't know as I'd be up to tackling that one!

But as already mentioned, the choice can be up to economics and preference? We don't take tours (or haven't yet) because they either don't spend enough time in locations we'd find particularly interesting, and too much time in others. We like to set our own daily agenda, flex it as the spirit moves us, and we can travel considerably longer for the price of a tour.

Yes, it means doing our own research and planning, and that's the piece that usually determines the choice? Tours take care of most of the details so are a plus for very busy people or those who simply dislike that process.

So the only "better" is what suits your style, budget and preferences.