Time to rethink the notion of guided tours. Of course they can include full bus service or just a morning tour of your destination the day after you arrive. What you do with the rest of your time is up to you. After reading our article about driving your car in Europe, you may decide that it's either too expensive or too much of an ordeal. Your alternatives are to explore train travel or to consider a Guide Tour. These come in two flavors: Full Escorted and Independent. Fully Escorted Guide Tours A fully escorted tour means you will be with a large group of people on a bus traveling from city to city. The benefits of course are that your hotels, meals and sightseeing are all planned and made for you. There is also some free time. You'll generally stick to the well know tourist spots in Europe and not get lost or in trouble. Our friends had a very good experience with a fully escorted guided tour in Spain. They took a 16-day escorted tour of Spain and Portugal several years ago with Trafalgar Tours. They flew from the U.S. to Madrid where they joined the tour. The price was right, hotels were clean, food was good, and sufficient time was spent in the cities visited. The big negative was the long bus rides between the cities. However, both of our friends don't drive and one is a senior. Despite the negatives, there really was no alternative for them except an escorted tour. Independent Guided Tours Independent guided tours are the way to go if you need a minimum of assistance and are willing to do most of your touring on your own and at your own pace. An independent tour provides:

• Your air fare,
• May include pickup and return to the airport,
• May include a city tour of your estination either via bus or private car, and
• American Breakfast

Hawaii via Independent Tour We personally used United Airlines Vacations to tour the Hawaiian Islands. We visited Oahu, Maui, Hawaii (the Big Island) and Kawaii during a 16-day period. United Airlines Vacations arranged all the air and inter island flights, hotels and car rentals. We spent 4 days on each island exploring the sights and did go on some tours. No one greeted us except upon arrival in Honolulu. We were not disadvantaged in any way. We were pretty much on our own on each Island. This wasn't a problem since we drive and the travel guides are great. We took travel excursions and spent the time at our own pace. The Orient We used American Express Travel for our Far East tour. We visited Japan (Tokyo & Kyoto), Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Bangkok, Thailand. American Express arranged all the air and hotels and a half day city tour in each city. They also provided breakfast each day. This was especially useful in Japan where a similar breakfast would have cost USD$22.50 per person. When you are going to a strange place and don't speak the language, it's nice when someone who does meets you at the airport. We were met at the airport on arrival and taken to our hotel in each city. The following morning, we were taken in a half day city tour via bus or private car. Having someone to meet us at the airport was reassuring. The half day city tours also were a great way to get acquainted with each city. After each city tour, we used our travel books to explore each city.
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