Group Breakfast

The final breakfast is just that. Breakfast. A lot of people leave before the final breakfast at the hotel because they have an early flight home or elsewhere. It is best to say goodbye to your fellow tour members the night before the final breakfast.

None of the breakfasts are done as a group, including the last one. As said above, some people leave early for travel plans, and others sleep in on the final day.

The final dinner the night before is the finale with a nice group camaraderie final farewell. People are usually leaving early morning skipping breakfast or just having breakfast themselves before heading out. I usually only saw a handful of my tour members that last morning.

The breakfast on last day of the tour is a non event. I wonder why they even count only a breakfast an official tour day.

The farewell dinner is a nice way to end the journey. Most likely you won't see anyone if you choose to go to breakfast. I always leave the party when it's good, before the clean up, before the rushing out, just when things are in full swing and fun. I like to leave on a high note. I find it sad to say goodbye to people I've hung out with the last week or two weeks and maybe never see again.

I would not adjust airline schedules around breakfast. We tend to fly out the next day. Using the final day, breakfast only, to enjoy some free time and decompress while we savor another day in Europe.

Many of our tour members had o'dark thirty flights and were gone by 4 am to the local airport, too.

I wonder why they even count only a breakfast an official tour day.

I've always wondered about this. I've never taken a tour but thought it seemed a bit questionable to advertise, for example, a 7-day tour of London, where the first day doesn't start until dinner, and the last ends at breakfast. You're looking at only 6 days max, and really even a bit less.

I wonder why they even count only a breakfast an official tour day.

They count it as a "tour" day because the tour provides a service to you on that day - the bed you slept in and breakfast. Virtually every RS tour itinerary description for the last day says "Breakfast is provided, but there are no group activities today." The description of the first tour day is also straightforward, listing when you meet the group - typically an afternoon meeting and dinner and hotel. This information allows you to plan arrival and departure that fits with the tour activities. Other tour companies I have used count your travel day(s) as a "tour" day, which I find more misleading and confusing.

That said, to your question, don't change your travel plans for breakfast. If you can, take advantage of the hotel provided meal before you head on to your next destination. If you have to leave before breakfast service starts, sometimes a hotel will provide a to-go option (though not always, wouldn't hurt to ask).

Other tour companies I have used count your travel day(s) as a "tour" day, which I find more misleading and confusing.

Yeah it is misleading. But I think they do it because many people would be confused as to the number of days to plan for being gone and the time change thing is confusing to many on its own.

When I plan my own trips, I count the number of nights, not the days (or partial days). Why not? Overnight accommodations are normally my biggest expense in a 24 hour period, and every overnight includes the previous dinner and the next breakfast.

When I say I spend 65-70€ per night on a trip, that's essentially 65-70€ per 24 hour period.

I think all tours should be quoted as the number of overnights.

Including the first and last days is just a way to make the tour look like less cost per "day" than it really is. I've seen tours include the airfare so they can include the day you leave the US as one of the days, too.