Hi,

I have never traveled out of the U.S. First time I will be going on tour and all by myself. I had been researching and reading the message boards and I am very confused which company and package to choose.

I wanted to travel to Europe on or around the latter part of October 2005. Possibly for 15-21 days. However, while reading I had been seeing travel tour options which really adds up a lot. I wanted to travel where I wanted to see the best of everything in Europe and includes all the things which SHOULD be seen and experienced. By experienced, I could go inside and see the Sistine Chapel, Go to Museums where I don't have to hopefully pay extras. I read one post from one disgruntled Traveller that said all good options may cost $650 and then I still need to do the usual tipping (?). . Which will be too much for me.

Which company would you recommend, and which package is best suited for me? One where in, all I have to do is follow the leader and uhhh and ahhh as to the majesty and historic sights in front of me.

I am leaning towards Globus The Popular, because they seem to include everything, but is there something which is more cost effective?

Thank you very much for your assistance and advice.

Have you thought of going on your own and not with a package? It takes a lot of reading, research, and preparation but there's much to be said for traveling this way (and you will learn much, much more about where you are going). .. . With a package you may see more famous things (one right after another) but on your own you will have more the experience of being there. Public transportation in Europe is so good that it's almost hard for an American to believe until it's experienced. You can go anywhere by train and you can arrange your route before leaving the States. In the cities, use the same buses and subways that the local people do. For accommodations, research online (you can reserve that way too). . For lower-cost accommodations you can stay, for example, in religious houses in Italy and university dorms in England. You will need to invest in some maps, but on the other hand there are no tour guides to tip. Your schedule is your own---you are free to investigate that interesting street or linger in that interesting church, store, park, or museum. Take one bag you can handle yourself. Use a money belt inside your clothing. You can do this.

Hi nhats,
To be honest it is impossible to really "Experiance" Europe in 2-3 weeks, but you will find that out. It will take several or more trips to Europe to really Experiance it, of course I personally think it is a good thing to go back as much as one can afford to. You will find that most tours (including the Poplar) actually let you Taste/See/Introduce/Dabble/Sip/Etc Europe rather then Experiance it.
All that aside a tour like the Poplar w/Globus (and many others)can be an Excellant Introduction to Europe in a comfortable setting of having the TD for problems and an Instant group of Friends to Vacation with. If you want to experiance more of Europe look into the tours with more 2 & 3 day stays in one city as those are slower paced and you see much more of certian areas.
I say decide just how much you really want to see with the hope of returning and spending more time in the areas you like the best in future trips. We went on a 21 day tour that covered a whole lot and was fast paced for our first. Now we look at either doing it on our own (a week in a rental villa is cheap with 6 people all over europe $2,000-$4,000 total) or a tour that covers one smaller area. You can even combine a short tour with a week in a Villa to get the best of both worlds. Transportation in Europe is great with the local systems and the trains getting you anywhere you want very easily. There is airlines that will fly you from anywhere to anywhere in europe for a set price $99 and another that will fly you all over for as little as $19 (im not kidding Amsterdam to Rome No Frills $29). .
Good luck decide what sounds best for you and have fun.