[Tom C]

Viking is TOP SHELF. All the people are very helpful and very friendly! Besides the trip, you will learn SOOO MUCH! I can not say enough positive things about our long boat trips.

PS - I have no affiliation with any travel / tour groups - my wife and I are just very happy customers.

[SIRE1]

As some of the people have suggested, train trips thru Europe are really interesting. We, in fact, took an extra week after both of our Globus bus tours to travel on our own. We used the Eurail pass to get from London to Berlin and then back to Amsterdam for our flight home. The one comment I have to make on that method, however, is you may occasionally encounter language issues. Since you have never traveled to Europe before, I don't know how comfortable you will be on interacting with the locals for everything - From transportation, to lodging, to food, or to places to sight see.

If you are the adventurous type, this might be just the trip for you. But if you are a little apprehensive on making your FIRST trip to Europe, maybe a tour is best. Whether that be a big cruise ships that allows you to see the harbor towns and country side, the Rhine and Danube river cruises which gets you into the heart of Germany, or a bus tour that goes to all the "major" sights whether they are along the coast, river, or inland.

I have to say I was apprehensive about being on our own the first time in Europe and I was really glad we were with a tour group. They took us directly to the sights and we didn't have to stand in lines or figure out where/how to get there. So we could enjoy the sights and then got to know and become really good friends with the other people on the tour. Once I got some experience with European ways (like having to pay to use the bathroom) then our week on our own was enjoyable but sometimes stressful because we had to decide what to do next and figure out how to get there. Usually language wasn't much of a problem, but it does add just a little stress if you are having trouble communicating.

So, bottom line, decide what kind of vacation experience you want. Totally taken care of and have the same room - big cruise ships; pretty much totally taken care of but able to see more towns and sights - river cruise; totally taken care of but on the go almost every day - bus tour; or strictly on you own - rail and rental car. But regardless, you will REALLY ENJOY IT !!!! Europe if fantastic.

[SIRE1]

Originally Posted by cordenny

We've never traveled abroad before and would like some advice on who to use and how to go about it.

Thank you.

After re reading your original post, I would recommend that you first decide what kind of vacation experience you want and then go to any of the travel agents in The Villages. They all have access to the same resources and will recommend based on your vacation wish list. They will then handle all the details. So that is how "you go about it". All you have to do is pack.

[hillside19]

I have used Globus, Insight and Gate 1. All were very good. Try to stay city center.

[SIRE1]

Also, after re reading the title of the original post - "what tour company did you use for your European vacation", I have to ask the question - 'WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER EUROPE"???? This isn't as weird of a question as it sounds.

By that, do you think of a European vacation as central Europe (i.e. France, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy) or do you mean the British Isles (i.e. England, Whales, Scotland, and Ireland), or do you mean the Mediterranean coast (i.e. Spain, France Italy, Croatia). I ask this because a lot of first timers might say they are taking a European vacation when they intend to travel around the British Isles. So a lot of the responses, mine included, assumed it meant central Europe and so some have suggested the river cruises like Viking. But if you are considering one of the other definitions for Europe, I think a lot of our recommendations would be different.

So first of all, think about where you would like to travel. Then decide how much "on the go" you want. And then go talk to a travel agent.

[EPutnam1863]

We would never consider a tour because we want to do it on our own time and at our pace. Traveling is exhausting, and we liked taking some time off to rest. We do not want to have to be herded by a shepherd like sheep. We want to be able to spend as little or as much time as we want.

Before taking a trip, we always studied and researched and planned our own itineraries. Not once did we regret not being on a tour; in fact we felt we were able to see more than the tours did.

But I think I would have liked to go on a cruise as long as we can go back to the ship if we did not feel like walking and walking.

[chachacha]

i have taken five trips with Grand Circle Travel, which also owns Grand Circle River Cruises and Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) they are great and you can view all their trips on GCT.com. i love to make referrals because i get a credit and you get $100 off good luck!

[PennBF]

I reread my notes regarding the travel overseas and left out "Security". In a lot of cases traverlers are overly concerned about security. Almost all cities are the same. I worked for many years in NY City and for a while before it was really safe. We always told new visitors to follow 3 rules which were (1) If you see something going down ignore it, (2) If a street does not look safe it probably isn't so don't go down it, (3) avoid a lot of eye to eye contract as in some cases the person sees that as threatening. These are good rules regardless of the city. In Europe you have mostly non violent crimes, like pickpockets, simple roberies, etc. While in the US you get more violent crimes. Make sure you have money belts, etc to protect you passport and currency. When you get off the ship only take enough currency for that shore visit. Make a copy of your passport and leave it at home so if yours gets lost or stolen you can have a copy sent overnight. There are a number of other things to consider but I thought these are some of the critical ones.

[Rapscallion St Croix]

I used DOD.

[zigzag]

Suggest you start with a Viking River cruise. Can't go wrong. No need to go to a travel agent. Simply go on line.

[EPutnam1863]

If you are going to use credit cards, make sure to let the credit card companies know where and when you will be so your charges will be approved even though you are overseas.