Sharing Tours

[brian_uk]

Has anyone got good or bad experiences on Tour Sharing with strangers ?

 

We are worried that by commiting to full day tours in a minibus via the net we have absolutely no idea as to the compatibility of both us and the other unknown couple.

 

Are they smokers ? Do they want to spend endless time souvenir Shopping ?

Where do we all want to eat ? Do our timetables fit ?

 

I have no problem with anyone doing exactly what they like however I think we would prefer to make our own arrangements for the two of us......BUT maybe you can enlighten us with any experiences you have had.

 

Brian

[ROCKI]

Get all the info ahead of time. Such as the smoking issue. I am highly allergic to smoke so that's a big NO for me. The rest you can work out... If not what's wrong with just going solo??? My husband and I:) are very sociable and like company but we also enjoy traveling alone this way we can really enjoy each other and not have to worry about everyone else. Less STRESS!!!

[Andee]

Last year, I met a fellow traveller on these boards, who was going on the same cruise we were. We emailed back and forth enough that we thought the two couples would be compatible, and booked a can/driver for a full day tour of the Amalfi Coast. It worked out very well, and we found another couple on board to join us, which lowered the pp cost.

 

We spent a lot of time together throughout the cruise, and have stayed in touch.

[Bruin Steve]

Brian,

That is my concern as well...

And I'm the one looking for tour partners...

 

It seems is far easier to just go it alone...just costlier...

 

I have very little experience with finding tour partners...

 

I think I've done a shared private tour only once...and it was six of us in a minivan--my wife and I, our daughters and a couple from Louisiana we had little in common with (nobody smoked, thankfully)...Yet, we all had a pleasant time and it worked out well...

 

But I can picture things going terribly wrong as well.

 

My wife's greatest concern is sharing a tour with elderly folks...Not that there's anything wrong with the elderly, we all hope to be there one day...But, she can picture trying to tour with people who just can't move that fast anymore...and take forever just getting back to the car...and whatever other associated problems one could imagine...

 

Obviously, in a lot of ports, it comes down to the itinerary...which stops and how long one spends...I don't mind a SMALL amount of shopping time...but, to me, highlights of a tour should be landmarks, archaeological sites, historical sites, photo opportunities, places of interest...

 

I like to leave a good deal of the scheduling to the guide--he knows his home town--but I can certainly see telling him, "Okay, we've seen enough of this, let's move on"...Of course, when you share a tour, that order has to be by concensus...

 

And what if you just don't like the other people...or find them rude or embarassing? (I certainly hope not) Or they don't like you?

 

Of course, is it any worse than being on a bus with 30 or 40 other people you didn't choose?

[joan24]

Brian,

We booked guides and set up tours on two Oceania cruises. We used cc and Yahoo to find people to share tours with. We discussed the itineraries with people who were interested and were able to set up some great tours. We have made some wonderful new friends this way and had some terrific tours. I guess we had luck on our side, but I think it's worth a try.

Joan

[brian_uk]

Friends have now decided to join us on this Cruise so I guess that takes care of the problem.......

Thanks for your input

 

Brian

[whyme]

We have had only great success with professional tour guides. We havw used them in the Baltic cruise,,South America and Setting up tours for Sept 14 th 2006 in Athens , Odessa and Istanbul.. I have found if you seek advice from posters online and try and chat with them face to face , or through e mail . You get a good feel for the guides qualifactions./