Group Travel

Why do we travel? In my early years, about a half century ago, I traveled alone, my belongings in a backpack, hitchhiking, finding friends along the way. For fun, I’d dive off cliffs in Crete, snorkel in the Red Sea, wander the streets of London, Venice, Amsterdam. I traveled cheaply, staying in youth hostels, spending about a dollar a day.

Today, I want something different from my early journeys. The travel experience, like most things, has truly changed, as have my needs. Though I may not want luxury hotels and gourmet meals, I do want adventure. Well, some adventure, though I’m not Shackleton and not interested in hostels.

Above all, I’d like a guide and maybe someone to handle the details.

Guided Adventure

One group emphasizing guided adventuring is Backroads, offering, as the name suggests, bicycling, walking and hiking, or “multi-adventuring.” It offers over 500 trips across the globe, sometimes using their 10,000 bikes and e-bikes, each professionally maintained. Some trips are by kayak, canoe, raft, boat, while others are by snowshoe, horseback, safari vehicle or private planes. About 20 options are available on cruise ships. Or opt to stay in excellent hotels. Trip leaders are exceptional, averaging over 98% approval ratings.

Another option, REI Adventures has assembled nearly 150 journeys focusing on backpacking, climbing, cycling, kayaking, snowshoeing and other sports. They’ll take you to the Grand Canyon, the Everglades, Alaska and elsewhere in North America, including trips in national parks.

Intrepid Travel covers the whole world. With over 900 trips in over 100 countries, Intrepid travels to all seven continents. You’ll travel by small ship, private yacht or by rail, bicycle or foot. The longest trip is about two months through southern and eastern Africa, some by safari vehicle, some by dugout canoe and some by foot. Intrepid will also take you to the world’s greatest festivals: Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Halloween in Transylvania or the Firedance Festival in Papua New Guinea.

Another international option, G Adventures conducts trips worldwide, offering some by van, safari vehicle, bus, hiking and other means. They have over 800 tours: about 200 in Asia, 175 in Europe, 125 in Africa and the Middle East, and 125 in South America.

With Exodus Adventure Travel, you can choose from almost 500 trips. There are about nine cross-country ski trips in Scandinavia, with an option to try dog sledding, snowshoeing, tobogganing or horse-drawn sleighs. Or scale Mt. Kilimanjaro or several other peaks around the world. Sample about 30 polar trips: in the north, see the northern lights, glaciers and fjords of Greenland and Norway; in the south, see penguins, seals and other wildlife of Antarctica.

All these travel companies offer knowledgeable, experienced guides, with travel in small groups — typically 12 to 18 — to share your experience. And spread the costs!

Less Adventure, More Comfort

Cited by Travel & Leisure magazine as the “World’s Best” for 26 years, Tauck operates about 250 tours and cruises around the world. In the U.S., travel to the canyons of the southwest or villages of New England. Or spend your vacation in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America or the South Pacific. Travel by bus, rail, ship, charter plane or safari vehicle and stay in fine hotels and enjoy excellent meals. Tauck is especially recognized for its tour directors, who average 10 years of service and are generally fluent in the local language, art, music and cuisine.

A subsidiary of Grand Circle (more later), Overseas Adventure Travel — O.A.T. — also covers the world. By small ship or river boat, for example, visit Scandinavian fjords or cruise the Nile. By land, traverse the grasslands of Zimbabwe or ride horseback over the Patagonian steppes.

The emphasis is on “guided” with Odysseys Unlimited. Trips are mostly by bus, from 10 to 23 days, about half in Europe. Groups are 12 to 24, mainly alumni from universities and colleges.

Collette Travel and Tours also offers about 175 tours worldwide, traveling by bus or small ship. For cuisine, there are 12 featuring a cooking class and 10 offering a local meal.

Education Focused

Undoubtedly, your travels will be educational. Certainly, by visiting the palaces of Asia, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Incan ruins of Peru, the castles of Scotland, your mind will be expanded, even if you don’t crack a book. Still, you may yearn for something deeper and more focused.

Road Scholar may be the answer. A nonprofit company founded in 1975, Road Scholar now has about 100,000 participants, operating worldwide, conducting “classes” on a vast scale. For instance, you can study art history in Paris, ecology in the Galápagos and magnificent palaces of Tibet. In all, it has over 700 trips from which to choose.

EF — for Education First — is immense, with over 40,000 employees and volunteers, operating in over 100 countries. Its clientele tends to be younger — high school and college students primarily — and itineraries tend toward more cultural and historical lectures than the adventure or luxury brands. EF also offers tours for young adults and EF Go Ahead for even older folks. They also offer language study for up to 52 weeks for all ages. And you can even earn an MBA.

WorldStrides is focused on education, offering courses to students and teachers, basically in a K–12 and university format, usually for a week or less for travel within the U.S., longer for overseas.

For Over 50

Most tour operators don’t classify their trips by age, essentially leaving you to select travel based on ability and preference. For example, REI ranks trips from “easy active” to “strenuous.” Exodus ranks from “easy” to “tough.” Odyssey ranks from “easy” to “challenging.” Even Road Scholar ranks its travel from “easy going” to “let’s go!” and its outdoor adventures from “no sweat” to “challenging.” Don’t expect granddad to cycle the Alps!

Grand Circle, however, is a group of companies serving the over-50 set. Grand Circle River Cruises operates in Europe — the Danube, Rhine, Mediterranean and Adriatic — with primarily American clients. The cruise groups are large by comparison, 38 to 45 on ships that accommodate 86 to 162 passengers. Grand Circle Travel operates on land, with land tours, largely by bus, averaging about 30 to 42 tourgoers.

With travel ranging from about 10 to 20 days, traveling by bus, rail, ship or staying in one to three places, Senior Discovery is another company focusing on an older demographic. They travel to more than 100 destinations and have about 130 trips — about 25 are cruises, more than half in Europe. Trips are ranked from “leisurely” to “energetic.”

Women Only

As the name of the organization suggests, AdventureWomen is for women only. This company is woman-founded, women-owned and women-run, and currently offers about 65 trips, around the globe, ranging from six to 15 days, in groups of 12 to 14. Many trips feature meetings with local women — artisans, farmers, apprentice geishas, for example. AdventureWomen expects travelers to be “self-sufficient, flexible and able to accept situations as they exist, and open to cultures, traditions and experiences.”

REI, Backroads and Intrepid also have trips designed for women only. REI runs 25 trips for women in the North America, mainly in national parks. Backroads has over 40 in the Americas, Europe and a few in Asia. Intrepid focuses on the Middle East and Asia.

Families and Young Adults

Tauck created a specialty group, Tauck Bridges, with seven trips, eight to 10 days, especially to encourage family travel. In general, they ask you to exercise good judgment when traveling with kids, particularly on cruises and safaris.

Other travel companies also welcome kids. Intrepid has 50 family packages. Backroads has nearly 50 for families with kids under 15.

In association with National Geographic, G Adventures has 12 family journeys, from eight days in Mexico to 13 days in Vietnam. Exodus also has about 14 trips to take with kids, from an eight-day trip in Finland to a 15-day trip in Costa Rica.

REI has six family adventures, largely in the southwest. Except on safaris, Collette will take kids as well.

In addition, travel companies have created separate trips for young adults. G Adventures has about 160 for under-35s, mostly in Central and South America, southeastern Asia, Australia and the Pacific. Intrepid has over 70 in Africa, Asia and Central America. REI has two under-35 trips: one in Death Valley and the other in the Smoky Mountains.

With the weather cooling, you may find yourself dreaming of a warm Brazilian beach or the Australian outback. Don’t just dream! Whether you choose a Patagonian adventure, sampling the cuisines of southeast Asia or snowshoeing under the northern lights, you’ll find a group and a trip that’s going there. Join them for the experience of travel!