Tour Companies

Tour companies to investigate:

Trafalgar Travel

G Adventures, some in conjunction with National Geographic.

Wheel & Anchor - a Canadian company

Natural Adventure UK organizes hikes throughout Europe (recommended by Linda from the U.S. at Zagreb B&B).

Funky Tours specializing in the Balkan Region countries (recommended by Rick Steves)

GoAhead Tours, Toronto

TourHub has a huge variety of tours around the world, both region, country and multi-country tours. An interesting one is the Five "Stans", visiting Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. See my page on Adventure Travel. Not sure of their quality compared to those about - they seem to be a consolidator who contracts with local tour companies.

Try the Wanderlicious website for information on out of the way locations in popular tourist destinations.

THE HORROR FILE

Don’t use Exoticca Tours according to Norm and Tina of This is Our Retirement.

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RICK STEVES 2025 SCANDINAVIAN TOUR

SWEDEN

Stockholm: Vasa Museum, walking tour.

DENMARK

Copenhagen. Walking tour.

Visit Ærøskóbing on Ærø Island.

NORWAY

Visit to Oslo. Walking tour.

Stay at Østerbø Fjellstove in Aurland.

Flåm to Gudvangen cruise which travelled the Aurlandsfjord and Nærøyfjord, two branches of the enormous Sognefjord.

Visit Bergen. Walking tour.

End of tour.

Inspiring Vacations

Inspiring Vacations looks interesting. Found them while searching Japan group travel sites, but they have tours all over the world. None of the packages include international flights; interconnecting flights in multi-country tours are included. Note that they tend to have large groups: 20-40 people, though some are 10-24.

They have Japan only tours from 7 day for $999 (solo $1,578), to 28 day for $8,199 (solo $12,474).

They have a 22-day Japan, South Korea & Taiwan tour. $8,025 (solo $11,235). Tours available June through November.

South Korea

• Seoul
• Mt Seoraksan
• Sokcho
• Andong
• Daegu
• Gyeongju

Japan

• Tokyo
• Mt Fuji
• Hamamatsu
• Osaka
• Kyoto
• Himeji
• Hiroshima

Taiwan

• Taipei
• Taroko
• Sun Moon Lake
• Tainan
• Kaohsiung
• Lukang

Travel Medical Insurance

Apart from CAA and Blue Cross, travel medical insurance is also available from SafetyWing (recommended by Gone with the Wynns) who specialize in insurance for nomads, i.e., perpetual travellers.

William Russel is a British company that specializes in expat medical insurance as well as life insurance. According to their website 95% of clients renew with them every year. Insurance coverage is by zones, meaning different geographical areas. From their website:

Does my policy give me full cover worldwide?
No. Where you have full cover depends on the coverage zone you select when you apply for your health insurance policy. There are six zones. Some give you full cover in more countries, others give you full cover in fewer countries. The wider your geographical cover, the more expensive your premium. Zones with limited geographical cover give you a greater saving on your premium.
Most zones have a list of countries where you have restricted cover. These are typically countries where private healthcare is expensive. Restricted cover might mean cover for accident and emergency treatment only, or cover for treatment you receive on short trips.

GoAheadTours.ca

Seen on Facebook, a Canadian travel company. Just looking into their tours and reviews to see if they are worth using.

Croatia

Sail Croatia provides information on cruising Croatia with additional cycling tours.

Group Travel

Found on Facebook, Wheel & Anchor is, what looks like, a Canadian company specializing in organizing group trips of independent travelers. I need to research on the quality of there services. They seem to offer two types of trips: "Experience" which are short term, and "LiveAways" which are longer term.

Their motto is

"Travel Together
Connecting explorers through remarkable experiences around the world."

Here are a few examples of their trips on offer:

Vietnam: Land of the Ascending Dragon
24th November 2023 - 9th December 2023 [16 days]
Our in-depth trip covers Vietnam from south to north, from the vibrant hub of Saigon to the coastal cities of Hoi An and Hue ending up in the mystical landscape of Ninh Binh. This is the real Vietnam.

Wheel & Anchor LiveAways: Koh Samui 2024
15th January 2024 - 26th February 2024 [41 days]
Join Wheel & Anchor for the first of our LiveAway programs - a month in the sun-soaked south of Thailand on the beautiful island of Koh Samui. Our experience on 'Coconut Island' will include lots of wellness, beach walks, fabulous dining, and optional weekend trips to Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Singapore.

African Rail Odyssey: Cape Town to Dar es Salaam
29th June 2024 - 13th July 2024
Join Wheel & Anchor for this luxurious train journey through the wilds of Africa beginning in the captivating city of Cape Town and crossing 5 countries over almost 6,000 kms. From the bounty of wildlife to the majesty of Victoria Falls, this is the ultimate African rail journey.

There are many on offer covering South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Europe and South America.

Solo Travel

Many tour operators (and cruises) offer deals for solo travel whereas in the past solo travellers had to many times pay a premium.

Uniworld offers what they call "boutique river cruises" and welcomes solo travellers. A typical one is the 8 day Castles Along the Rhine cruise from Amsterdam to Basel, starting at $6280USD. Here is an example of the French Balcony suite.