Other tour operators

I looked at them when they were recently mentioned in another thread. As I understood the website, airfare from New York or Boston was included. That's not quite the great deal for people outside the NYC/NE area. It is hard to compare tour itineraries, but the costs don't look that comparable to me, if you take away that airfare allowance. Note that they don't include gratuities to the tour leader as well.

My mom has taken both - one Rick Steves' tour and two Odysseys. She prefers Odysseys for generally nicer hotels, bags taken care of for her. She's really enjoyed her companions on all tours she's done, no matter the company. I like Odysseys tours but the included airfare doesn't draw me in as I like to book my own air, choose my seat and I generally buy upgraded air and Odysseys' upcharge to Premium Economy is pretty steep. I've called and asked them to price land only and the price does not come down as much as I assumed it would.

I've taken Italy tours with both companies.

You don't have to take airfare with Odyssey and can do land only. You have to call them for prices. If you want to have them arrange airfare they can do it from anywhere in the U.S. Their customer service is excellent. I traveled land only and arrived a day before everyone else traveling with the tour company. The tour director called me to make sure I had arrived okay and had no problems checking in. He wasn't even in town. He was at the airport awaiting the arrival of the group the next day.

With Odyssey, the hotels are nicer with elevators and air conditioning, you know where you will be staying when you book the tour and all hotels are centrally located. Luggage service at hotels is included if you don't want to carry your bag or want to take a bigger one, more meals included, no shopping stops and local guides everywhere. On my tour everyone got along great. Yes, you do have to tip the tour director if you choose to. They suggest $10-15/day per person.

I will say on RS tours more of the people I traveled with had read up on the country and could get a more authentic experience. A few on Odyssey wanted, and got, the American experience in Italy-- or as I called it "The Olive Garden in Italy". On the RS tour, most of my fellow tour members went sightseeing during their free time. On Odysses, many went shopping.

If I was doing it again I would go with Odyssey. For the simple reason that after a long, hot day of touring I get to return to a comfortable, air conditioned room. Not always the way with RS tours.

We’ve taken one RS tour and one Odyssey’s Unlimited tour and we really enjoyed both. Both the tour guides were knowledgeable and helpful, but in our case, I’d give a slight nod to the OU guide for her greater enthusiasm for her job. Our RS guide was competent, but she wasn’t what we had expected, after hearing how wonderful RS guides are, maybe just a fluke. OU does request the guide be tipped as they feel it gives them incentive to provide high quality service, we just calculated the tip as part of the price of the trip. We arranged our own flights, which was cheaper than through OU. The hotels were comparable for both tours. OU handles your bags for you where RS requires you to handle your own. Because of this, I think our OU group was slightly older and slightly less mobile, again maybe a fluke. The tour formats were very similar, meals provided were comparable. I would take either tour group again and we are taking a RS tour this fall, chosen largely because we preferred the itinerary.

Thank you Stan, Valerie, Frank and Clara for your comments regarding Odyssey tours. All of you were positive and honest and it is appreciated. I am a RS fan and encourage everyone to experience RS tours. I am going to "stick" with what I know. Sally

We have done both RS and OU. Both have great guides and give good service. I do favor OU, however, because of the nicer hotels. On our last two OU tours, we had three young women in their 20’s and two in their late 30’s. All of the tour participants are well traveled and well educated.

I’m very interested in this topic, we had a couple of bad hotel experiences on our last RS tour. For those that have taken the odessy tour, is the guide tipping awkward? Are there shopping excursions? And how comfortable is the transportation?

Tipping..,just put it in an envelope and hand it to him/her when you thank them for the tour. This is usually done at the fairwell dinner. Nothing needs to be said. I shake their hand with my right hand and give it to them with my left. They will say thank you. No big deal as everyone else will he doing it. Don't just hand them cash. Putting it in an envelope is classier/subtler. All other tips-- bellman, driver, at included meals--are taken care of by the tour company.

Shopping excursions-- none although you are free to shop at anytime. It's just not included timewise.

Coaches--full size coaches just like on RS tours. Only OU has a maximum of 24 passengers while RS is 28.

Hotels--mostly 4 star, elevators, air conditioning and bellman service. They carry your bags from coach to hotel room and back. (I was the only person on my tour with only carry on bags. Some had full size bags and a full size carry on as their "personal item.")

Tour Directors--all on OU are professionally trained and licensed. Many of RS's "guides" were trained by RS and do not have licenses

A question about the included airfare with Odyssey....will they be flexible with you if you wanted to arrive early or stay later? I'm guessing that if you wanted to do this you would have to purchase their "ground only" package....but I was wondering if anyone had ever asked them about flying in or out with the group on an earlier or later tour (for example, your tour ends on August 1, but you stay until August 8, when the next tour ends, and fly home with that group). Is that an option?
Thanks!

I'm really not sure. You would have to call them to find out. They offer packages if you want to stay later.

I made my own flight arrangements and many of those who purchased the option said their connections weren't great. They also didn't know their exact flight until 2 or 3 weeks prior.

I have taken 2 RS tours and 4 OU tours in the last 10 years. I prefer OU because the hotels are more dependably comfortable. But I usually prefer their itinerary and that is the main issue. I have bought my own air fare as well as purchasing from them. If your purchase their package you cannot arrange different dates to travel. I like to arrive early so we usually buy our own (or use miles). I really like knowing what the accommodations are when I sign up, so another plus for OU. OU also travels more places, not just Europe. The guides are much the same as RS, some better than others. We had one at OU who works for both companies. OU also organizes Smithsonian tours. They have excellent customer service. They are both excellent companies. I love this Travel Forum!

It seems that this thread has become an Odyessey vs RS discussion despite the title of "Other tour operators". I have not used either RS or Odyssey Unlimited tour operators however I am signed up to take my first RS tour this September to the Loire Valley. I am looking forward to it since I have had many friends tell me that they loved RS tours. I have tried three other tour operators and have some brief comments on each. Hopefully it is helpful to others.

REI Adventures: To date, this has been my favorite tour operator. The groups are limited to 16 which is really nice and because it is an active tour (hiking, biking, and/or kayaking) the group tends to be in very good physical condition. We hiked the coasts of Ireland. Most of the travelers were professionals from the US in their 50s or 60s but there were a some younger persons (20s and 30s) and we had one woman from Saudi Arabia. It was only one trip but it was the most enjoyable group we've traveled with. The guide was good but I had better. I get the feeling this was an aberration as many of our fellow travelers said REI guides are generally great. Our daughter did another REI trip to Nepal to hike to Everest Base Camp and she said the guide on that trek was great. Tipping your guide is expected.

Collette Vacations: We did 3 Collette Vacations. One was the small group "Explorations" (limited to 24-26 travelers). Collette is based in Massachusetts so most of our fellow travelers were from the East Coast. We really enjoyed our trip to Northern Italy with the small group. Our 2 other trips the "Classic" type: 1. to Southern Italy; and 2. to Prague, Vienna & Budapest. Much like REI the people in the Explorations group were in their 50s to 60s and in good physical condition. The "Classic" style can be up to 40 travelers was a little bit too big. Also, there were people in the Classic who underestimated the walking. Collette combined their tour with another British company so we had 4 British couples (they were a hoot). Our guides were good but tipping and extra costs of side trips will inflate the cost of a Collette tour. This company and the next one use the same formula, basic tour plus side trips for extra money. You have to plan to spend an extra $1,000 for a couple for these extra charges. I also didn't like it when they take you to a shop for an "exclusive" shopping experience. It's just a small discount for Collette travelers and I'm sure that Collette gets paid a commission. Food and hotels were nice. Our Explorations guide sprung for extra wine at dinners so there was much merriment.

Insight Tours: Almost every thing I said about Collette Vacations could be said about Insight. They really try to sell the extra leg room on their buses. It wasn't a big of deal to me. We used Insight for a trip to Croatia which was my favorite destination to date. One interesting item is that the fellow travelers were almost entirely Australians. We were the only Americans and there was one Chinese couple. Same as Collette they had a lot of side trips for extra cash and you were expected to tip the guide. Our guide was first rate and she was probably the best guide we've had.

On all of our tours we typically combine our tour with up to a week on our own. We like the tour because to the information and the camaraderie of the group. There is nothing more enjoyable than the 2-3 hour European dinners with friends. We also enjoy our solo time. Most tours start and end in or near fantastic cities so getting there early or leaving late allows us to explore more. Also, our first time touring we booked our flight to get us there the day before and we almost didn't make it due to weather delays at the airport. It's so much more relaxing to know you have a cushion of a few days. Insurance is nice but it is monetary compensation and doesn't cover the disappointment of missing or being delayed in your trip. Sorry for the long post.

We took a tour to Ireland last summer with Inishfree tours. Small company that is music focused. Pricing similar to RS, but each night we had a private music concert for just our group. They do Ireland only. Small group, 22. We had a great time, however of the 3 different destinations, one hotel was not that great. I would still recommend them.

We have have not done an RS tour yet.

All these responses are appreciated. Jim of Minneapolis your write up was phenomenal and well crafted. We took the South of France tour in 2011 and am writing to tell you how much you will enjoy this beautiful tour. Oh I would give anything to do it again. I chose the tour because of the canoeing the Dordogne river. Encourage any hesitant tour members to participate. It is the kind of activity that differentiates Rick Steve tours from other tours. In 2011 the tour did not include Chartres and we went two days early to go to Chartres. Your tour starts in Chartres and you have the privilege of staying in Chartres two nights. Yeah Rick Steves and color me green w/ envy. We got to Chartres from Paris on the train.
Enjoy your first Rick Steves tour and report back. We are registered for our eighth tour.

Thanks all for contributing to this excellent discussion. I'm going to keep this info.

Thanks sallymoxley! We leave for Paris next week and start our RS adventure in Chartres on September 2nd. We are excited to get started. I ran out of characters but I wanted to comment on accommodations for all three:

REI Adventures: We had a combination of really nice hotels and fantastic Bed & Breakfast Inns. From what I have read, this is what I expect with RS Tour.

Collette Vacations Explorations and Insight Tours: 4 stars to 5 star hotels. Some were big chains, for example Insight use the Sheraton Hotel in Zagreb. Most hotels, if not chains, were of similar character. Some were unique. My favorite hotels were: 1. Stresa, Italy, Grand Hotel Des Iles Borromees (the balcony and breakfast overlooking the Lago Maggiore - Hemingway's favorite place to stay); 2. Rixos Libertas Dubrovnik (swimming in the Ocean and the views were incredible); 3. Grand Hotel dei Castelli, Sestri Levante, Italy (nice rooms but the winner for me was the private beach cut into the rocks and the proximity to Cinque Terra and Portofino).

Collette Vacations Classic: Really nice 4 and 4 1/2 star hotels.

Since this has turned into a discussion of alternatives to RS Tours, I will chime in with a recommendation for Gate 1 Travel. We took their Lisbon and Spain tour in 2017 and were very pleased(and my husband can be quite critical). Even with the tips and if we had purchased optional tours, it was still considerably less expensive than RS. But the big thing for us is-elevators so I don't waste my aging knees on all the steps at hotels that RS uses and air conditioning. There were 0 shopping stops. The locations of the hotels were all ok (I think it was the Madrid hotel that was not as central as some others but there were restaurants in the area and public transportation but taxis were so cheap we used them) and some excellent (Torremolinos was on the beach and our room had a balcony with a partial ocean view). One thing that I especially appreciated was the cold bottle of water given out each day when we got on the bus. In a place where dehydration is likely, I think it showed good concern for the health of those on the tour. My husband wears hearing aids and they had earphones adapted for hearing aids. Our guide was from Spain and was very enthusiastic about showing us both countries and had spent time with a host family in the U.S. so liked Americans(which was not the case on a tour we took in 1990 with one of the largest Europe operators which shall remain nameless). I was not aware of any grumps being on the tour. We have signed up to go one of their Balkans tours in Sept 2019.