Australian tours similar to RS?

Have you looked at Overseas Adventure Travel?

https://www.oattravel.com/trips/land-adventures/south-pacific/ultimate-australia/2021/itineraries

I've done three tours with them, and next year I'm doing their New Zealand tour and their Bulgaria/Romania tour.

I've found their style and pace of travel to be outstanding. And they don't really have a "no-grumps" policy per se, but they do, at the initial group meeting, talk about dos and don'ts, and most guides give you an opportunity to suggest your own. They limit group size to 16, which is smaller than RS tours. And they will handle your flights for you if you want (or give you a lower price if you want to book your own flights).

They do handle luggage for you, though, so if that's a deal-breaker, you'll have to keep looking.

You might also look at Road Scholar. They have different activity levels and the lower activity levels involve more hand-holding than Rick's tours. I like the educational aspect of their tours and for myself, like that tips are included. Here is the search page for Australia.

https://www.roadscholar.org/find-an-adventure?query=australia

If any of them strike your fancy and if you do FB, you might want to join the Friends of Road Scholar FB page. There will likely be someone on there who's done any tour you are considering.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/144578705623827

Generally they do handle your bags although the last one I did in April 2022 neither hotel had the staff to porter bags so we handled them ourselves. I always do anyway because I'm packing in a carry on size but some of the other group members had some difficulty with their giant suitcases. They also do not have a "no grumps" policy and I think it does make a difference. On one trip I was sitting with 2 other solo women and one said "lets start a list of things to complain about in our eval". The first one was only one pillow at the hotel. I said...why not ask at the front desk if you can have another pillow? They seemed shocked as it had apparently never occurred to them that they could solve issues as they went. Good grief. I don't think they complained...or at least they never talked about it in front of me again!

OAT tours are similar to RS tours but also very different. OAT (worldwide) can include flights and transfers. I prefer to do my own. Tips for tour guides are not included but recommended. RS (Europe) tours include all tips and prefer that you don’t tip otherwise. OAT handles (porters) one suitcase per person. Any additional bags would be your responsibility to carry. The maximum group size is 16. I’vè experienced as few as 9. Depending on the tour the RS group can get up to 28. I’ve experienced as few as 8. For all of my thirty-one tours between both companies the travelers have been very professional, courteous, respectful and timely. Both use experienced local guides throughout the tours where appropriate. Both include a head guide that stays with you throughout the entire tour. The guides can be great or just okay. I’ve found that I have slightly more personal time on OAT tours. OAT includes optional (for fee) activities. For both companies the hotels have been in the heart of things. Both also offer when appropriate culture immersive opportunities - meeting locals for in-depth discussions and even in home dining. Planning a tour with RS is simple with just a single online transaction. Planning a tour with OAT requires a phone call. Depending on your needs (insurance, flights, transfer, additional hotels) that call can be extensive. Both include online accounts for tour document distribution/referencing after you’ve made your initial deposit. I love the self planning encouraged by RS. I took the OAT Australia tour in 2017 and loved it. Back then it included New Zealand - for a total 6 or 7 week experience. I took a RS tour in September and just finished an OAT tour this month.

I don’t have a preference of companies but I love the RS model. I’ve used OAT to travel to places that RS does not offer and have never been disappointed.

Thanks all for your recommendations. I will look into both companies mentioned (OAT and Road Scholar).

I’m taking a New Zealand tour with Mondumo next year. It is operated by Colin Mair who does RS tours in Scotland. He also has a 2 week tour of Australia for October 2024.
https://mondumo.com/

Mondumo would probably be my first look, Tony, as Colin knows the RS model since he is a tour guide for Rick. His NZ tour looks great but I know you’ve done it. Guessing the Australia one will be similarly great. Have fun checking them all out, would love to know the one you choose!

@ Tony (Editted)

If you are looking for the real Australia away from the English/European influenced soft city living you could try my mate Russell Coight, who runs Australia’s most popular small, guided tours” Russell Coight’s All Aussie Adventures”. He has also produced some short education videos for Australians venturing away from the city life. Available for free via you tube.

Here is a couple of YouTube shorts on what to expect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Yp8CRuc540

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HTMrEi6SiI

How do you get to sign up for one of his tours? Well, you need to know someone who has a mate, who knows a sheila who once was silly enough to date Russell. Is difficult because most sheila’s who have dated Russell deny it ever happened.

Good luck
Ron

Mondumo does look good, but they have very few scheduled tours. The 15 day tour has only one offering in 2024.

Anyway, I'll let you know if we do decide to go on this one, though we may not be interested until 2025. I think one international trip per year is our limit.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Have you considered DIY? Australia is very welcoming and easy to travel. Many day tours and shuttles offered from major tourist hubs - Sydney, Melbourne, Carirns/Port Douglas, other areas. Uber. Train access to smaller towns outside Melbourne like Bendigo and Ballarat or Blue Mountains from Sydney. I have found air travel within the country quite easy.