Female Aussie looking at seeing a little bit of this wonderful world we live in. 31 years and have had many friends that have travelled with no time limitations, but none that have had time limitations (like me). . I have never been O/s myself and I are looking at doing a 11 week trip. Have checked out Trafalgar "Ultimate" Europe break, seems thorough enough, but is it alot of money for a very long bus ride??? I really want to get the most out of this experience, would doing a couple of shorter trips be viable? any advice would be greatly appreciated.

If you want to spend one hundred hours planning, you can probably do far better than Trafalgar. If you want to see what everyone else has seen--or see a lot fast-- this is the best way to go. You have to get up really early, though. There is no "in-depth" exploration; you hit the highlights, and you are gone. I have been pleased with the quality of fellow tour participants; they come from many countries, which is a bonus. There can be a lot of pressure to take the optionals. I've gone twice on Trafalgar, and will go again. Their tour guides have somewhat limited knowledge. The bus drivers are excellent. Suggest that if you have the time and money, take a Trafalgar first to hit all the highlights of what you want to see, then go back on your own and do in-depth exploration to see what really interested you. All the beds are good, and all the hotels are clean. It's a lot of time on a bus, though.