Europe Trip - Advice on Tour Companies

My wife and I are planning our first trip to Europe, most likely traveling with another couple (who have also never been).

We have initially decide to try to go with a tour company, and I am looking for recommendations, both good and bad, with places like Grand Circle, Grand European, Trafalgar, Rick Steves, Cosmos, etc.

I’m also looking for suggested web sites that would provide reviews and evaluations of these companies.

Any and all suggestions and recommendations are appreciated (such as go-it-alone, etc.).

One of our thoughts is to go spend two weeks in France (Paris) and Italy (Rome) – any one know of a company that does just those two?

Thanks for all your input,
Jim

My mother-in-law, who travels on tours 3-4 times per year booked us all on a 2 week tour of Italy with Insight Vacations (www.insightvacations.com). This will be my first trip, so can't comment, but she is happy with them. Our tour is called Easy Pace, there are 4 stops and 3 days at each stop with a 'free' day at each place that we can be on our own or sign up for optional tours. I guess the regular tours are pretty jam packed with activities.

The only times I have ever used a tour company were Morrocco, which I probably would again, and my first trip to Russia. I find tour companies are way too confining. France and Italy are easy places to get around on your own and at your own pace. There are good day trips out by rail in both.

We've traveled three times with Grand Circle www.gct.com and have our 4th trip coming up in September. We have recommended them to several people, and have met many on our tours who have used GC again and again.

Check out their website for all their trips around the world. They have the daily itineraries for each trip, hotels, some meals included, tours included, optional tours available (with prices).

We have been very satisfied with GC and the prices and the hotels they had for us. The hotels we have stayed in have been close to shopping & restaurants and/or the sights we would be seeing. (i.e. in Northern Mexico/Copper Canyon we were right on the edge of the canyon). Their tour directors are with you the whole trip...from the time you check in to when you leave. When we went to South America last year a GC person came to meet us in the Miami airport before we left, and our tour director met us at the airport in Santiago, Chile. The tour directors are usually from the country you are visiting and very knowledgeable and informed.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to email or PM me. If you decide on a GC trip, mention our name and we both get a discount on a trip. And they offer discounts for every trip you take...on the the next trip.

I agreed with the poster who suggested that you travel independently.... rail / rental car is easy to do.

I also agree with the idea of only trying to visit a limited number of places... it always astonishes Europeans when American visitors come over for two weeks to "do Europe".... kind of a whistlestop tour on steroids

We took 13 day tour with Grand European Tours in the fall of 2000: Rome, Sorrento, Sicily. We prefer independent travel and this is only experience we have with tour company lately, but we felt they did a good job and still receive their catalogs and think about going with them again someday.

Thanks for all of the replies and suggestions. We'll be doing some further research and investigations based on your ideas.

Thanks again,
Jim