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Published: November 20th 2012
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UK & Europe Tour Companions 1993
Wonder if any of these people are on TB? UK & Europe, May 1993
Conclusion:
In a sense this was a trip of a life time. Although we have travelled a fair amount since then, we have never seen so many countries - 7 countries in less than two weeks, in one holiday again as well as fitting in the business part of our trip in Germany and Holland
and visiting family in the UK and sightseeing in London. A total of 1 month of travelling and work. Paul and I often joke that when we retire we are going to hire a motor home and amongst other things, follow the Tour de France and travel around Europe. Who knows if this dream will come true....then again, maybe we will just leave the TdF out of this for now!
Would we go with a tour group again? Not really our style of travelling and we haven't done it again. Having said that, it was probably the best thing we did, because of the short time we had available to us to see Europe. We saw so much in those 12 days that we would never have managed on our own. We also had a very knowledgeable tour guide who gave us a lot of insight into each country. It also opened doors for us into museums, art galleries, etc. because we never had to wait in a long queues. Those of you that have stood in queues waiting to go into a museum or art gallery in Europe will know exactly what I am talking about. Another draw back was that we only went to selected cities, but then, once again, we didn’t have time to see each country in its entirety.
There was great camaraderie among all of the tourists on the bus. It was also exhausting, because your day is filled with so much sightseeing, crammed in to each day. Early rise every morning, most of the time to pack up and go – I doubt if we spent more than 1 night in each hotel room. Time was far too short to see everything in each country or town. I highly recommend that you are reasonably fit when doing a tour like this. But you are sitting in a bus most of the time, you will say, perhaps, but you are continuously on the go, from one sight to another…been there, done that scenario. One aspect we never considered was the hidden costs of 'Extra Excursions' and 'Tipping'. We planned a budget for the cost of the tour, extra food and drinks and a little bit of extra spending money. The thought didn't cross our minds that there would be so many extra excursions that we would have to pay for over and above the tour and tip the tour guide and driver. We had to carefully calculate for these extras and selected a couple of excursions that we could afford.
We certainly don't regret having done this tour but it would have been even more enjoyable to spend more time in each country and observe their way of life, get a feel for their culture and not just go to all the tourist spots. We most certainly cannot be ungrateful for an opportunity like this.
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liliram
liliram
Hi there
Loving your "series". I've traveled quite a bit and confirm the DIY and staying longer n one place is waaaaayyyyy better. But I also love it that I need not waste much time booking flights, hotels and dinners. So I try to combine both. I usually join a 2 week tour group then stay on or return to wherever I wish to stay longer. It works! Looking forward to reading more of your adventures!