Tour Guide Wanted Guided Tour Recommendations Wanted (1 Viewer)

Billum

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Hello all, we would like to try a guided tour just to see if the concept works for us. We're looking to take 7 to 10 days touring anywhere in UK, or on continental Europe, sometime before the school holidays start. Does anyone have any recommendations?
 
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Billum

Billum

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Hello Stealaway, anything that we haven't done before. So site-seeing new places, travelling in new places and staying in new places. We're both in our 60s so nothing too energetic but equally we're not very good at staying in the same place for too long. We enjoy ocean cruising and would like to emulate the cruising concept in our MH. So, all ideas and suggestions are welcome and will be appreciated.

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Eeyore

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The NAtional Trust have a list of suggested itineraries on their website. There's also an excellent Michelin book ( from Vicarious Books ) called Escapades en Camping- Car Europe. This has suggestions for Aires, campsites and places to eat en route as well as a guided itinerary. Vicarious also have their own guided tour of WW1 and WW2 battlefields and sites of note called Road Trip Europe: Great War and More.
 
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Billum

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Thanks for your thoughts Eeyore (my wife's favourite character - do you know her?). We are well seasoned caravaners but relatively new to Motorhomes. In recent years we've cruised a lot and have come to like having someone else to do all the legwork like identifying good places to visit, calculating travel times and arranging ferries while still leaving us plenty of time to explore. We've done all our own organising this far and did so for the 30 years that we towed caravans throughout the UK and Europe. But we're not getting any younger and want to make sure that we get the most out of every trip so guided tours seem like a good idea? We've been collecting brochures and surfing the Interweb for guided tours and there seems to be a few to choose from but we're really looking for recommendations as we don't know one provider from another!

Please keep the suggestions coming, I'm sure we're not alone in wanting to give guided tours a chance.

We're seriously tempted to book for the 2017 Caravan and Camping Club Ireland tour but before doing so want to try one or two others so that we know what to expect.

Thanks again.
 

Allan & Loren

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Last summer we went on a tour with a company called Crossings to Provence. It's a relatively new company and they did all the planning, bookings, ferries, etc for you. You also get a booklet with all campsites listed, ideas for trips and maps but the timings estimated for drive times were way out. Our experience was if they said it was a 3/4 hour drive it was often 6/7 which meant we often arrived at the campsite too late to be able to explore or enjoy the surroundings. Very often the stops were only 1 night so the only time for sightseeing and exploring was when we had 2night or 3 night stopovers that we only got 2/3 times in the 16 nights we were away. 2 of the couples we met have gone on trips with them again this year, 1 to Italy and the other to Switzerland but the other 10 couples all said they wouldn't use them again.

A friend of ours has done the caravan clubs and camping and caravan club trips and gives glowing recommendations.

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Eeyore

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We did a Desert Detours Moroccan trip some years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. We've lived and camped in Africa for many years but knew there were places we could not visit and people we were unlikely to meet if we went to Morocco on our own and so the trip was ideal. We were lucky in that out tour was a very small one ( 6/7 vans) and I'm not sure we'd have been so happy to have been part of a bigger party.

The same company run the -I think Caravan Club but might be Camping and Caravan Club- tours of southern Spain. If these are done with the same thoroughness and attention to detail then they should be very good indeed. You do not travel in convoy ( unless you wish) but have a daily itinerary of en route places to visit and a place- camp site, wild camp etc to meet up at each evening. Most of the sites are ones you might well have visited in your caravanning days but it is relaxing to have transport laid on, or parking arranged and bookings made for places you want to visit.

Bon voyage, whatever you decide.

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Billum

Billum

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Great responses - thanks all. Allan and Loren, Crossings is one of the operators that we've been looking at so this is VERY helpful advice. irnbru, if you do, we'll come! I love Scotland and know that there's so much more up there (we're soft southerners) that we really must get to see. Eeyore, you've mentioned everything that matters to us. I'm especially grateful for your recommendation for small groups - great advice and something we'll check before booking.

Any more thoughts anyone?
 

MaidinDevon

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A fellow Murvi owner recently recommended GB Motorhome tours. I haven't used them myself yet, but worth checking out maybe.

Irnbru, I would come too! I am keen to explore Scotland, but travel on my own.
 

irnbru

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Sounds like a business could be in the making :LOL:

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DBK

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The Caravan Club and also the Camping and Caravan Club do escorted tours though I expect most are a lot longer than 7 to 10 days.

As mentioned by Karin these folk also do tours and one is quite short but the rest are two weeks or more. I know folk who have been to Greece with them and had a good time although if I was going to Greece I would want to take a lot longer than three weeks doing it although their times don't always include the time to get to the country which you are generally expected to arrange yourself - although they will help if you want. Their Canary Island tour at the start of this year was also very enjoyable and it suited the single lady I know who went on it to have company but at 70 days perhaps a bit longer than you might want. :) http://www.gbmotorhometours.com
 
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scotjimland

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Any more thoughts anyone?

yes.. also did a 'tour' of Morocco with Desert Detours.. .. and thought it expensive and poor value for money.. it was too rushed and the schedule was tiring..

Organised tours are probably better suited to less seasoned travellers who want or need the company of others and the planning done for them..

Wouldn't do another.. the only reason for using the services of a tour company was the 'hype' that to visit Morocco it was safer using a tour company.. and doing it alone would be difficult..

I've since learned that this was nonsense.. every year thousands of independent motorhomers visit Morocco.. and return safely.

But.. organised tours are popular so they must suit some people.. those who prefer the planning done for them, being told each day what they are doing, where they are camping, for how long etc etc .. .. sorry .. not for me..
 
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Eeyore

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But.. organised tours are popular so they must suit some people.. those who prefer the planning done for them, being told each day what they are doing, where they are camping, for how long etc etc .. .. sorry .. not for me..


But you are not the OP Jim. Some of us treat our vans purely as hotel rooms and transport and use them to get to sights we want to see. Some treat them as camping holidays and most of us do a bit of both. When you know there are a thousand places you want to visit and people to meet then doing the forward planning to ensure you do it, can be hard work and sometimes it is good to let others take the strain. Having bookings arranged for places of interest and arrangements made for transport or parking at those places can lead to a more relaxing holiday. How many of us, post-trip, read about the places we would have visited if we'd only known or those that we could not park at to visit ? From reading the blogs of others, I suspect quite a few !

As for the less-adventurous only ! Of the 7 couples on our Desert Detour, all were experienced long-term travellers and had been all over Europe on their own, making their own arrangements. We all felt that we had got more out of the trip than we would have done on our own, no matter how much pre-planning. There was no element of being told what we were doing. Places of interest en route were pointed out each day but whether you stopped there or found your own or went straight on to the next overnight place was entirely up to you. When you stayed for a day or two at one place then there was no obligation to do anything or join any visit. We met people and ate at places we'd not have found on our own as they were not on the tourist trail.

We count ourselves fairly adventurous, having done pretty well all of Europe in caravans, tents and motorhomes since 1969 , tented and motorhomed in East, Central, Southern Africa during the Amin, Obote and Mugabe era and in the days when wild camping meant just that as there were no campsites or facilities. We've also done 3 coast to coast road trips in America and Canada. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the DD and I am sorry you did not.

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scotjimland

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But you are not the OP Jim.

yes, very aware of that, I thought they asked for 'any more thoughts' .. ? which is what I was replying to..

your view is very different to mine.... there is no right or wrong.. each to their own..

I would never do another organised trip.. clearly they are not for me..
 
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Eeyore

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your view is very different to mine.... there is no right or wrong.. each to their own..
..

Indeed Jim, you are correct: there is no right or wrong BUT, it annoys me when those who disagree with a posters chosen lifestyle are " labelled" in what is clearly meant to be fairly derogatory terms. It happens all the time in the differences between those who choose to camp on sites and those who do not, those who choose to spend some time in one place and those who move on daily and so on. We all come to camping from different places in our lives and what suits someone when they are young might not suit the same people when they are older or are affected by factors beyond their control.

I can understand completely that your experience of an organised trip put you off for life- had we had the same experiences then it would have put us off too- but you do not then have to go on and label those who do choose an organised trip as unadventurous, wanting or needing the company of others and so on.
 

scotjimland

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you do not then have to go on and label those who do choose an organised trip as unadventurous

don't believe I said that .. and I wasn't being derogatory to anyone .. merely saying how I see guided tours... an opinion I am entitled to hold.

I prefer doing my own thing, others prefer having it arranged for them ..

guided tours are not for me.. you had a great time.. that's fine, each to their own ..

A quick Google brought this review up on Facts

perhaps a bit harsh .. ?
03-10-2013
Just been on Desert Detours new Amazigh Tour. Probably the worst euros 1900 I have ever spent on a "holiday". Great if you like to camp on rubbish strewn beaches and urine soaked car parks with tours organised for English speaking guests by a non English speaking guide!! Don't fall for the hype on the blog. A third of the motorhomes abandoned the tour half way through and we only saw it out to the bitter end in the hope it would redeem itself. It didn't.


more http://www.ivan.co.nz/Desert Detours 2.html

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Eeyore

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perhaps a bit harsh .. ?
03-10-2013
Just been on Desert Detours new Amazigh Tour. Probably the worst euros 1900 I have ever spent on a "holiday". Great if you like to camp on rubbish strewn beaches and urine soaked car parks with tours organised for English speaking guests by a non English speaking guide!! Don't fall for the hype on the blog. A third of the motorhomes abandoned the tour half way through and we only saw it out to the bitter end in the hope it would redeem itself. It didn't.


more http://www.ivan.co.nz/Desert Detours 2.html



I think it's only fair Jim that you publish the link to Ray's rebuttal of this criticism :

Link Removed Dark Side.com/forum-printtopic-1-145936-0-0-asc-viewresult-1.html

There are also, in fairness, several hundred other reviews of a DD tour, pretty well all being full of praise, published in many other parts of the internet.

The trip that brought forward such bile was a new, experimental tour and, my understanding of the information given to those who thought about joining, was that is was on new tour territory- Eastern Morocco along the Algerian border- and likely to be more of an adventure than most with overnighting conditions that would not have passed muster with our Own Dear Caravan Club As Ray said, the tours appeal to the adventurous who can cope with the unexpected.

http://desertdetours.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-all-new-tour.html
 
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Hagstrom

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Well, we did a Moroccan tour with DD and found the country and people very agreeable, but the tour leader - decidedly not so and would not travel with that company again under any circumstances.
 

scotjimland

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A guided tour to Morocco costs about £100 per day.. + Fuel and food..

Do it yourself..
£200 open ended ferry fare, £10 per night max. camping fees.. + Fuel and food

leaves a lot of change out of £2k ..

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androidGB

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I did the DD tour around 8 years ago, and agree that some aspects could have been better organised.

However we very much enjoyed the trip, liked being able to move at our own pace during the day, but liked the fact that we would meet up with the rest of the group in the evening.

I also think we went to places we wouldn't have found if we went on our own.

I can see it's not for everyone, but we prefered this approach

Andrew
 

bishopland

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We went to Lake Garda with Motorhome Crossings and had an amazing tour. Yes, some days the driving would not allow you to do much sight seeing that same day but we quickly learnt how to make the most of our free time. Some days we would sight see before we moved on to the next camp e.g. taking a train trip high up Mont Blanc before heading through the tunnel for that days journey or a late afternoon visit to the local village and restaurants. The six days stay at Lake Garda allowed for various trips out including Venice. In fact one couple left their motorhome on site and popped off to Rome for an overnighter knowing that the van was being looked after. If you want to go on an organised trip with freedom to join in or do your own thing knowing that you have friendly and experienced motorhome guiders at hand, then look at the Lake Garda Tour with Bob and Wendy of Crossings. The cost I feel was value for money but the memories and experience were priceless....we are booked to go to Austria with them in two weeks time and our friends are going to Scandanavia so that should tell you something. IF an organised trip is what you want to try, speak to Wendy ... she will tell you straight even though she sells the trip.
 
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We are just finishing a Crossings motorhome tour and never again. It is the Rhine and Moselle one. Imagine our disappointment when we turned up at Dover to find there were only 3 vans and that included us and the tour leaders! I did say to Bob one of the owners that surely this must be below there minimum and he said that it was but the other couple had only dropped out 2 weeks before. I said that we would have prefferred to at least have been given the chance to go on the italian trip, we were on the same ferry and there were only 8 on that trip. The other couple have said exactly the same to us.
The main reason fir doing it was the company and although the other couple are very nice it certainly wasn't what we expected, they feel let down as well.
Obviously the scenery was nice but we could have done the trip for half the price.
I think these trips can be fun but if you are tempted to use Crossings then I would make sure you have it in writing what the minimum number is and what their policy is if it drops below that figure. I believe that the CCC cancel the trip.

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bishopland

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On the Crossings Swiss/Austria trip right now. Great group, fantastic organisation,lovely site....cannot ask for more except an improvement in the weather! Life is for living the Dream whenever we can and that is what we are doing and it is made so much easier going with Crossings Motorhome Tours and their tour guests.
 

Bob Reeves

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We run Crossings Motorhome Tours and wanted to respond to some of the comments on this thread. First of all we would like to say that the way we run our tours will not suit everyone but it is pleasing to see that we do have a satisfied customer on here as well as two previous guests, who unfortunately did not enjoy their tours.

We do clearly explain every tour on our website and in our brochure so that guests can decide whether they think they are suitable. With regard to value for money, our prices are clearly stated so we leave customers to decide whether they think it is worth paying the extra to have the tour organised for them and to have tour escorts on hand throughout the trip. We couldn't agree more with the comments that states that guided tours are not for everyone.

Some of our tours do involve a lot of driving. The Provence Tour for example is over 1600 miles in 2 weeks so there are some long driving days. The total distance and daily distance (taken from RAC Route Planner) is stated in our brochure prior to booking, so guests can decide whether they think the amount of driving is suitable. We also provide detailed directions for toll and non-toll routes on each day in the tour pack. The longest driving day on the Provence tour is 240 miles, which is estimated at 5 hours. As a result of feedback, we have reduced the number of stop-overs on the Provence tour this year so that there is a little longer at each site.

For the record, we did receive six re-bookings from the group of 11 motorhomers that came with us to Provence in 2015. This reflects our tours in general in that most of our tour places are booked by guests who have been with us before. Our website has around 70 reviews from satisfied customers over the last three years. If you would like to be put in direct touch with someone who has travelled with us before and enjoyed it please contact us. We can give you several contacts from every tour we have run. You can then decide whether you think the tour is suitable for you.

With regard to minimum numbers we set this at three vans. The typical number on each tour is between 5 and 10 vans. Unfortunately on our Rhine and Moselle Tour this year, we only hit the minimum. One of our guests then cancelled 3 weeks prior to the departure date. We had to make a difficult decision as we did not want to cancel anyone's holiday so close to the departure date.

We have now changed our policy to take account of late cancellations but it will always be the case that there may be as few as three vans on a tour. We usually have a clear idea by Christmas the year before a tour leaves as to whether a tour is going to be full or under-subscribed and we will now be contacting guests on tours with low numbers much earlier to let them know.

We accept that we cannot 'please all of the people all of the time', but we do work hard to plan and run tours that the majority of our guests enjoy. We would just ask that if you are reading this thread, that you take a look at the reviews page of our website to get a balanced view.
 

Carol

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We have been on escorted tours with Ray on Dessert Detours to Morocco and to Greece with GB Privalage, which has now changed hands and is in the very capable hands of Kevin and his lovely wife very very experienced tour guides, I was chatting to them at Peterborough Show. Could be well worth googling GB Privalage they do tours in the UK and Europe and see if there is anything that takes your fancy.

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I would recommend the Camping & Caravan Club's Travel Service, We have done tours with them and their organising is 1st class in the current European brochure they have some short tours, have also used GB tours when we first tried a French trip they were also ok.
 

TerryL

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We came across Motoroamers (think that's how it's spelt) on our Morocco trip early this year. Seemed to be relatively new and they made a point of only having small groups - there were six on this trip. Spent a pleasant evening with the group, who happened to be staying on the same site as us, and everybody seemed more than happy. I agree that it always helps to have someone with more experience, especially somewhere like Morocco, to help make it a memorable trip. We later met the organising couple at a show and they seemed to be doing okay.

That said, like Scotjimland, it's not for us although we do like to travel with and/or meet up with folk on our wanderings. But if that's what floats your boat who are we to argue?
 

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