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I'm more of a solo traveller but finally did a group tour in Scotland with MacBackers. It was a great choice! It was hostels and stops at the grocery store for self-catering. So the group tended to be more relaxed, content with seeing and exploring rather than fancy foods or hotels. Many were normally solo travellers like me, so we were a very social bunch, but people were also very respectful if you needed your space.
Day 1 up the east side from Edinburgh: Forth Bridge, Pitlochry, across Cairngorms National Park to Loch Ness and over the sea to Kyleakin, Skye. Day 2 Skye Cuillin, Old Man of Storr, Kilt Rock, Portree, Uig Day 3 left Skype stops at Eilean Donan, Fort William, Glen Coe, Stirling and back to Edinburgh. My fav part was the full day on Skye, Glen Coe and the beach on Loch Morlich in the Cairngorms (our tour guide took us here instead of Inverness, and was totally worth it).
Great video! My first "solo" trip to Europe was 60+ days when I was just out of high school. Most of it (about 40 days) was a group trip with Top Deck through Scandinavia, Russia and Northern Europe. I wouldn't trade the experience for the world! But, yes, long group trips get a bit like living in a dorm 24/7. That group trip totally gave me the confidence to travel on my own. If you want to travel, but are a bit nervous, I'd totally do a group tour - and you do really meet life-long friends on those trips!!
Oh my god, I needed this video so much, you've got me a totally new energy for solo travelling! I was desperate to find somebody to travel with me, but ended up alone and this video gave me so much hope for amazing solo/not solo experience! Love from Poland :*
We’ve always got travel buds waiting for you at www.LegitTrips.com We’re very open to solo travelers who love the freedom of solo travel but the community of a group when you want it 🥂
This was so incredibly helpful!! I want to go on a solo trip and was looking into group tours. I'm a new subscriber and I love how helpful and fun your videos are. Your travels are my goals!!
I am going on a 24 day group tour in Europe as apart of a college graduation gift! This video made me even more excited and you hit all the big points as I have researched group tours a ton. Very helpful!
This is great lol! I've traveled a lot in Europe on my own (my husband and I) but have also been on many group tours. There are advantages and disadvantages to each and she covers them pretty thoroughly. Good job Nadine!
Thankyou for this I been trying to decide whether to just go somewhere on my own accord or do a solo travel group. I’m definitely swaying towards a group now so I don’t get lonely or bored 😊
I binged your videos in 2019, planning to travel in 2020, but we all know what happened there. I'm back here again planning on travelling to Europe next year. Love your videos!
Actually only half of us know what ACTUALLY happened in 2020. The other half have Fauci altars in their living rooms and Pfizer tattoos on their foreheads. ; )
I have a few questions about the group tours: Provided meals- are they providing local food? Or is it all just American food? (I will not want American food?) My mom went to Israel on a tour group, and all of their food was American, so just asking! Also... Flying in. Let's say you fly in at 8am, but check-in time isn't until 2pm and you're tour isn't meeting up together until about 3..and you want to start exploring. Where do stash keep your bags until time to check in? (this question is for arriving in Spain or Italy or London)
I'm going to be doing a group tour with EF College Break next month! I'm going to Belize and its my first time out of the country. I get all my flight and hotel info tomorrow and I'm super excited!
Thank you so much for this, I am going to South America for 35 days on a 18-35 group tour and this video really helped visualise what it might be like. Great tips x
Nadine has travelled with Contiki several times and had very good experiences. You didn't say your age, but Contiki is for young people, like 18 to 35.
I've been on a Contiki tour and it was probably one of the best experiences of my life, it was a 30 day tour around Europe. It wasn't perfect but the friends i made on the trip definitely made it great and I still keep in touch with years later. But I have heard of other Contiki tours where people didn't get along well and lots of drama ensued but I think that's in the minority.
That's always a possibility because people bring their baggage with them, and I don't mean luggage. Maybe Nadine has some tips on how to deal with that. Also bear in mind that some rival companies may post false bad reports on a rival company. It happens a lot with hotels, so probably with tours as well. I have read bad reports on hotels that I have stayed in which were very different to my experience.
There are a lot of companies that do group tours. I realized that when I was waiting on the ferry UK to France a bunch of tour buses lined up. I just got back from a Contiki tour and it's the best decision I have ever done regards to traveling. I went solo and my very first time in Europe. Yes it's fast pace on some days(there are more slow paced trips but I did a 10days 8 countries), yes it's a lot of travel time on the coach(sleeping time), yes little click groups form really quickly, and yes there will be people who party every night. I got a pretty good group we all took care of each other and our belongings. I hung out with the same group almost every time but I made sure to always to talked to everyone in our group so did most of the ppl in my group. Like in the bus sitting on different seats to talk to other ppl. Just be open to talk to everyone and not just your little group. Basically put your phone away and socialize.
I love group tours! I use TrekAmerica! I did my first travel vlogs ever of this trip on my channel ☺ off to Canada with them again in May! Never been! So excited! 🇨🇦
You're right about doing lots of research before choosing a tour to join. It's a lot more fun when the people you share the tour with are on the same page as you. Reading reviews and social media posts should give you an idea of the demographic. :)
I've done a little research and the group tours I've found were ridiculously expensive! Sometimes the cost is so high you could go travel for a month or more and visit more countries for the cost of just one group tour!! They are like 3,4,5 thousand (US) dollars!! It's crazy how much they charge you! That's enough for two people to go somewhere for a long time. I just wish there was something more affordable.
I work for a small Canadian group TL Travel. They do "luxury backpacking" so price point is still around the same as a standard backpacking group or a little higher but never more than 2,500 or so and the hotels are all pretty swanky haha
Can you give us an example of a few of these tours that you're talking about in this video? Or recommendations based on the ones you're already been on? I can tell that you've been on a Contiki, what did you think of them?
I think it's really important that people actually understand what they're getting. I went on a day trip to Yosemite from San Francisco; it was a really long day and fast-paced, but what do you expect when there's about a three hour trip from SF to start with? Some of the review I read were really negative but it was clear those people hadn't actually understood that it wasn't going to be a relaxing day full of strolls at your own pace.
How did you like Yosemite National Park? What did you do on that one day? We went there for 4 days and the time was still not enough - such a mesmerising place. Really want to go back soon!! Hugs, Laura xx
Yeah I can bet 4 days was no where near enough. We visited the main sights, like El Capitan, Inspiration Point. It was very rushed but I still loved it and I didn't have time to spend more than a day there, so it was one day or nothing at all. I'd love to spend at least a week there and really explore the area.
Hello! great video! I just got back from a solo trip to Rome, Amalfi Coast, and Paris. Yes I flew to France in the middle of my Italian trip - I wasn't feeling the Amalfi Coast at the time, but I did miss it three days into Paris lol Anyways, as a solo traveler I did enjoy visiting the museums and the Vatican however doing the sightseeing and eating alone did feel quite lonely. I did make a friend at the Colosseo, but we only hung out for a couple hours because we were both staying at Airbnb, we couldn't visit each other. I told myself on the last day of my trip, I'm definitely doing a group tour next time.
This was a great video Nadine! I'm hoping to do a group tour at the end of the summer! My dream was to do the Yucatan Highlights trip with Contiki but it's fully booked! Do you have any other recommendations for group tours in Mexico?
This is great information, bless you for your effort of putting this video out here. Happy New Year Girl! And for others, I wish for you a great trip and a year ahead 😇
Seriously Nadine your videos are so amazing, educational and inspiring! They make me so happy as they help me to realise that what I want to do (travel) is actually doable! Thankyou!
I've never been on a group tour, but are planing on going on a Svalbard expedition next year to photograph Polar Bears, this will be a solo trip as it is expencive and nobody else in my age demo. (25) that I know wants to go, and I'm super alright with being on a ship for 15 days with what I'm imaging will be a way older age demographic, you can learn sooo much from people older then you, listen to their stories and enjoy :D
Lots of good information. My biggest issue with groups is that I am a morning person and I HATE waiting for people to get going. I often do more before most people even get up. With that said I guess going out and coming back is always an option. Do the group tours often give you a written itinerary where you can go off and just meet back up with them at one of the destinations?
dspid2404 I'm doing a contiki in a couple of weeks, and they sent me a list of all of our accommodation with the dates we will be staying at each place :)
wow thank you for the permission to not drink. as a full grown adult that can make his own decisions I truly appreciate you allowing me to say no to alcohol!!!
This is a group tour any thing that we should know any tips for this i agree that having tour specially with friends be alert on it more on expenses incurred and many others
Hola! This video came at the perfect time! I'm an American currently studying abroad in Spain and I have a little over 1 month after my program to backpack around Europe. Do you have any specific tours in mind that you could recommend? I'm 20 and will be traveling solo. Thanks! xo
I have found that they are great for Families. The kids get to interact with adults other than the parents. As long as the adults in the group do not dismiss the kids (which can happen), the interactions are amazing.
Suggest a group tour name ( not very cheap ) to Italy and Greece together … for a family with 22 year old girl and 17 year old boy and couples … no one like to plan . We don’t want racing from place to place … we don’t want the work of research!! Medium pace !!
Hello Nadine! I am in my mid teens at the moment and I want to travel. I dont picture myself in a normal job, I want to see the amazing things this world has to offer. What tips do you have for a ten to "prepare" or save up to travel. I always have wanted to just go and live in europe for a couple years and backpack. My mom thinks female solo travel is NOT safe. What should I say to change her mind?
You are so like Nadine when she made that very same decision. She was all lined up for a 9 to 5 in IT, then realised that was not the life she wanted. Nadine is the example that you can use to persuade your mom. If she can do it for almost 10 years and be safe, so can you. I endorse Nadine's reply. There are lots of travel advice videos on this channel and you could learn so much from Nadine.
Jade Tyra If you haven't already, open up Nadine's new video that was uploaded 7 hours ago :) It should be very helpful to get you off to a good start in your life and career, if travel is something you're super passionate about :) And it sure does sound like you are 🏝 ⛵
This july I'm moving to new zealand for the year. I know you did something similar and im wanted to go on a longish group tour of the south island near their summer time. Did you go on any group tour in NZ? Do you know of really great ones? thanks, and I love your channel!
Don't know if it's still going but i got 'The full kit & kaboodle' tour through Kiwi Experience in 2002/3 and it was a great option. They take you from one hostel to the next and will book ahead for you when you board if you haven't already booked accommodation at the next place. There's usually a couple of stops at interesting places along the route (you can join in or not, up to you) and you can just keep on travelling and do the whole lot in a oner or you can stay at any of the places along the way for as long as you like - just make sure you book your next pick up by the next bus, so you know you can make any connections you need to. I made some good travel buddies in the first hostel in Aukland after landing and a lot of us travelled up to Paihia this way and worked in Bay of Islands for 3 months (doing the odd trip/activity thereabouts as we could afford) then travelled with 1 other girl down the rest of the north island (meeting up briefly with a couple of others for NY) and down across to the south island. We worked in Christchurch for 3-4 months and then i struck out on my own to do the last bit and the big schlep back to Auckland for my flight to Oz almost solo on the bus, meeting people here and there, buddying up for activities etc. I'd recommend it for any solo traveller that wants SOME help and company along the way but also definitely wants freedom to do their own thing.
Hi Nadine, huge fan here; I was just wondering if you or anyone here in the community have had a really negative experience with one individual on a group tour? I really want to do one but I always seem to attract creepers and I don't want to be stuck with someone for weeks who freaks me out! Any experience with this anyone? x - Helen, The Penniless Writer's Guide to the World.
I think group tours a not made for me AT ALL because I love to be able to do whatever I want whenever I want ( that's honestly the thing I enjoy the most about solo travel lol). Though I must admit that sometimes I'm kinda sad to be experiencing a new place alone and I wouldn't say no to a travel buddy
Hi nadine, thanks for the video! I am planning a trip in central america, and its my first solo trip, so I want to start of with a group tour. Dou you have any recommendations for company's that organize grouptours in central america? Tnx!
Hello! I don't know if you'll respond but, next year I'm going on my first flight (I know it's a long time) and I'm going without family but with for a school trip! I'm a little nervous and your videos have helped a lot with that nervousness! Do you have any other tips that could help not stress about it? Thank you! :)
