I am looking to travel with my family (2 adults and 2 teens 17/19). We'd like to explore and have free time but not have to worry about all the logistics.
My husband and I went on a tour to Ireland with another company and loved being led around like kids!
We didn't mind the smaller hotels but wonder what our kids will think. Also don't know how keen they will be on group dinners.
Would love to hear from you who went on this tour in 2025.
Have you looked at the scrapbooks created by people who have taken the tour? One of the entries for the Paris tour in 2024 is by a teen.
https://gianakusterer.wixsite.com/my-site
https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/scrapbooks/tour-alum-scrapbooks
The group dinners could definitely be a sticking point, depending on how well your teens interact with adults; particularly, more senior aged than not. Consider sitting them down and explaining in detail how your group dinners on the Ireland trip went (limited menu, sitting there for 1+ hour, expectation they'll engage in conversation with the other members, etc.) The tour scrapbooks will be a great basis to have a granular discussion about group touring and your expectations. I'd definitely add on extra days after your tour to use your Paris skills and do more exploring.
I haven't taken many tours, but the dinners tend to be good bonding experiences (if you want to bond). And most meals in France will last longer than one hour, whether they're the three tour dinners or the four dinners on your own.
Of course I don't know your kids (and keep in mind, one is an adult), but I could also see that they might not prefer all of the scheduled activities, especially in the morning. Ask them!
And of course, for the dinners, even though they are included in the tour price, you could always skip them (but please let the tour leader know in advance).
We did this tour in the August before Covid hit and our group consisted of a group of all ages including a 19 year old and several women in their 30’s which included my daughter. The younger people seem to bond quickly and tended to sit together at the dinners and walked together during our walking tours, at times herding us stragglers along. My daughter had a great time. You don’t say what time of year you are planning on going but the off-season is normally when you are going to find tours that consist mainly of us older travelers. My kids and now grand kids have grown up traveling so I’m a bit confused as to why a large generic hotel would be preferable over a smaller French hotel but everyone has their own likes.
