First time traveling to Europe, will my 17 year old be the only teen in the tour group?

It's hard to say. We've been on three or four tours that had teens or tweens, but the majority of the tours we've taken have been all adults. The scale tips toward the older, but the age range does vary wildly.

If your son is comfortable with new people, chances are he'll be welcome to join other singles, couples, or groups. On two of the trips we took that had kids, the kids were younger - 9 to 13, and the parents hovered, understandably.

Our Village Italy tour had a charming 16-year old, and she fit in easily with the entire group. Our most recent tour had 2 youngish (but not teen) guys, who charmed all of us, but their mother also hovered, which interested me. She said it was because she was "a Basque mama."

In June, the likelihood of younger travelers would be higher than during the school year, of course.

Not in Spain in June, but have been on many RS tours during summer months which had a 17 or 18 year old in the group with parents or grand-parents. It seems to me that they fit right in and were accepted and treated by others in the group as a young adult. Don't think he'll be then only one his age on a tour in June. But even if he is, I really don't think it'll be a problem.

We've taken 3 RS tours (not Spain) and all have been with people between 50-75 except a 30ish young man traveling with his family. Not sure which Spain tour you are referring, as there is no "Grand Tour" listed, but I have often read that summer My Way tours are likely to have more of a likelihood of a few young people traveling with parents or grandparents. But with My Way, you are on your own to create your daily activities.

I think it depends on your 17 year old. Some are "old souls" and would be ok with only "mature" adults. I know mine never would have been ok with it though. You know your child best! We've only encountered friendly and interesting tour mates on our tours, and all would be welcoming.

Enjoy your travels!

We traveled to Europe with our daughter during both her teen-aged and college years and she would not have liked a tour group-especially getting up early in the morning! If there is free time on the tour, he might be happier if you let him plan how to spend that time.

Traveled with my 17 yrold son to Italy with my dad independently. We laugh now but it was not an easy trip. By day 6 I'd thought I'd kill him. Took him for a walk ...he confesses he hated what we were doing. Got him to plan some stuff. Made the difference. If he had to be up and out at a certain time do what group did he would have miserable. But you know your kid.

When you say RS Grand Tour of Spain”, do you mean Road Scholar or Rick Steves (this forum)? I ask because Rick Steves does not have a tour called that. Rick has several tours on this website that you could look at.

In answer to your question about ages on tours: I do not have personal experience with Road Scholar, but I understand that they have mostly older people on their tours and may go at a slower pace (years ago they were called Elderhostel, aimed specifically at retirees). They have an excellent reputation, but I’m not sure I would take a teen.

I have been on 10 Rick Steves tours. Most have been all adults, mostly 45 years and older (much older - I am 73!). But, depending on the time of year, some have had teens and young people. Right now I am on a tour that has a mother-daughter (junior in college) and a grandmother-grandson (recent high school graduate). There is no guarantee, but you can call Rick Steves and, if a specific tour already has some people signed up, they can give you an idea of the makeup of that group.

Also be aware that rooms that accommodate three people are rare in Europe, so think about whether you would be comfortable with splitting up in some configuration. This would likely be true with any tour company. I believe that Rick Steves requires children under 18 to share a room with one parent. You should verify this policy with any tour company you choose.

You might look at Rick Steves FAMILY tours. They do not include Spain, but I’ve heard they are really fun and attract many families with teens. And My Way tours, as suggested before, might be a good match.

You may consider having him bring a friend, on their dime.

I noticed that Spain and Portugal are very youthful countries as part of my 2013 visit. I saw a lot of young people in Madrid, Barcelona and Seville, especially the first two.

Would you be OK with your son staying in a youth hostel or two? In the 1990s, I stayed in multiple hostels in Ireland, Germany, Austria and other countries. You would pay a bit more for them and he would not be taking advantage of the Rick Steves trip while in hostels, but he is guaranteed to meet young people. A night in dorm room in a hostel probably averages $40-$50 these days; in my days they averaged $15-$30. I met people from all over Europe and the US, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Canada, South Africa, Israel and others. You'll have to read up how youth hostels work. Rick's book Europe Through the Back Door would be the best resource as well as multiple posts on this forum.

One of my fondest travel memories was staying in a youth hostel in an authentic medieval castle in Bachrach, Germany, in 1996. The charge was $25 a night. I know someone who once stayed in a hostel in a cave in Scotland. Sweden had a hostel in a boat in Stockholm harbor, and Munich had a hostel in a tent near the Okoberfest grounds.

We have gone on 4 RS tours with our kids. The first one my daughter was 10. None of these were the family tour. Half had other kids on them. The last one Rome for a week had about half families of different ages but it was right after Christmas

My kids of course had each other and there were times that especially my son wanted to do his own thing be it text friends in the room or go see a museum he really wanted to see on his own. They were your son’s age. Europe I feel is very safe & they can go explore on their own.

I have found the RS office can help & tell you if other young people are on a particular tour.

I know many say it is all old people on tours but of the six I have taken there have been all ages. Maybe because except for a 14 day one they have all been 10 days or less. Working people with less vacation time.

Next up the Ireland tour & our young adult daughter is coming with. She is as excited as us.

I did my first RS tour with my brother, SIL and their 2 young adult sons, ages 20 and 25 at the time. I suggested it precisely because I did not want to hassle with getting them up and going BUT they loved the tour guide, were eager to join her on everything AND were always the first ones up and at the meet up point. I was shocked.

The summer tour I've done, Scotland during June, had more "kids" on it than any other tour so if you are going when school is generally out for US students there may be a good chance he will not be the only one.

I will also add that my nephews hung out with others on the tour and had a wonderful time.

My first time in Europe was with the Foreign Study League, 1969, for 6 weeks, and I was 16. Surprising in retrospect, my folks let me go, though there was no one on the trip from anywhere near where we live. And, the counselors on the trip let me go off on my own in Rome, the very first week, twice. (I found a music shop and bought a guitar. I took the train out of town to see some architecture that interested me.) I spoke no Italian. I was not very self confident, but was perhaps naive. I came back alive and well. Your son is 17. Perhaps if you trust him, allowing him to be on the long leash, even off leash, to go off on his own a few times, it can allow him a sense of adventure that we all need, especially at 17 (and again at 71). For a 10-20 day trip, he might not need other teenagers as much as you imagine, finding his own way in a foreign land. (Note 2 things: I don't think Europe is any more dangerous for a young man in 2024 than it was in 1969 and... I've not had any children, so I have never had the same concerns and responsibility that you have.) Best

I did this tour in June 2016 and there were five teenagers (two sets of siblings and one traveling with her grandparents). I got to know one of them quite well and two others fairly well and it seemed they were all having a great time, but I didn't notice them hanging out together too much. I think they were all just excited for the trip and comfortable in adult company. How comfortable is your son with other adults, and with new people in general? Is he an only child? If so, he's probably used to it (I know I was). At 17, he may find he enjoys hanging out with other tour members with or without his parents. How interested is he in the itinerary? Also maybe the lack of contemporaries will be a bonus? When I was 17, I didn't have a ton in common with most of my schoolmates and would have been more comfortable in an adult group.

Because I'm a professor, I do much of my traveling during the summer, so I've been on several RS tours with teenagers. In 2022, there was a 15-year-old (traveling with her parents) on my tour and she also seemed to be having a great time (though her mother did tell me that she valued some solitary "down time" too). If he's really excited at the prospect of the tour (by which I mean is he really excited for some or all of the aspects--one of the teenagers I mentioned had been counting down the days to her visit to the Prado, another couldn't wait to see the horses and was keen to practice her Spanish more generally), I think he'll be fine.

Caroline

No way to predict what the tour composition might be.
He could be the only one under 30 or there could be 3-4 other teens.

As Forest Gump said " Life is like a box of chocolates...."

Have him be involved in planning your free time activities.