My husband and I took the Rick Steves Heart of Italy Tour in October 2015 and we also loved it. We only went to Rome one night beforehand but two would have been better. After Florence we went on to Sienna (by public bus) for 3 nights and rented a car so we could see more of Tuscany. Then we unloaded the rental, took the bus back to Florence, and caught the train to Venice where we stayed for three more nights. Everything worked out beautifully!

I'm in the tour business and each tour operator has a pretty specific audience. Tauck is one of the original tour companies in the USA. It started based on fancy hotels as the 'destination' and lots of included meals. It serves a specific demographics. Rick Steves operates very differently than most tour operators. Many times you use local buses, haul your own bags but your more immersed in the destination. Road Scholar normally has a bit more of a educational slant. I think many good tour operators exist, but you need to know the 'style' of that particular tour operator. Sort of like cruises. Many go to Alaska but Holland America has a different audience than Royal Carribean.

Just got back from Road Scholar tour in Europe. VEry disappointing guide and hotel. NOt particularly educational, just common tourist places. Over-hyped organization, in my opinion. All couples & families. SIngles beware...they won't tell you in advance that you are the only one.

By families do you mean parents with kids or parents with adult "kids" leaving the grandchildren at home? They have both and as a single adult, why would you sign up for an intergenerational adventure? I called Road Scholar yesterday and they gave me an idea as to how many men and women were signed up as my husband would not like to be the only guy!! I took a RS trip with a long time girlfriend and there were only 2 couples (2 men) in the group. I think a lot of single women travel with RS...just ask them for this info in advance (not like they are giving out names, race, and religious or political affiliations).

Again, by families did you mean kids or adults. Of course if you signed up for an intergenerational tour that was a mistake.

As far as being the only single...that shouldn't have made a difference. I've been on a lot of RS trips and made friends with singles and couples, It wasn't a problem. Like minded people just seem to find each other no matter is single or not.

My very first RS trip was a complete disaster and I was encouraged by others on the trip to not let me stop from trying again. I did and have been on many since.

PunkinChunkin, sorry it did not work for you. I just did the Road Scholar Brittany and Normandy trip in May and it was fabulous. The guide was above excellent. Really, really knowledgeable, witty, great time management and just fun to travel with. He and the fantastic bus driver were able to work in a couple of surprise stops including the WWII Pegasus Bridge site.

This was #8 Road Scholar for me and yes, I will do more.

I do always travel solo and do research ahead on what I want to see. Sometimes I hang out with the other solos or even couples and sometimes I do my own thing. I'm always happy to have other solo travelers come with me if they want to do what I am setting out to do.

I have not done nor would I choose an Intergenerational tour which is family focused.

I have done trips with the Smithsonian, OAT, both "small ship" and on land, Grand Circle both River trips and exclusively on land, and Road scholar river trip. A major problem with Road Scholar was the logistics. Our guide was good, but once on the boat ALL arrangements were handled by the boat, which was complicated by the fact that the boat had sold space to a French speaking group, a Spanish speaking group, and individual travelers, All announcements had to be done in three languages, ship programs limited the time for lectures by our Road Scholar guide, and members of one of the other groups were very inconsiderate. The food was not as good nor as variable on the Road scholar trip as on the Grand Circle River tripsUnlike OAT and Grand Circle which "controls" matters on board, with Road scholar it was the boat staff itself, the pursar and his aides, who did so. I would not take such a trip with them again like this. Perhaps other trips would be better. In general, ALL OAT trips have been good, all Grand Circle River trips (but not land trips) have been good, and the Smithsonian trips have been good.

Please expand on Road Scholar's "educational" tours. Do all their guides have "educational" credentials, such as college professors, historians, architects, artists, chefs, etc.? IOW, are they more than run of the mill tour guides? Are there formal lectures given in classroom like settings?

Perhaps the explanation is in Road Scholar's own statement. They need "educational" to qualify for their non-profit status.

https://www.roadscholar.org/about/

"Road Scholar is not a traditional travel company. We’re a not-for-profit organization —and we have been ever since our founding in 1975. That not-for-profit status means we can put learning first in our decision-making. It allows us to keep costs low and to offer valuable programs that aren’t driven by revenue. It makes it possible to provide scholarships that help offset costs so that financial constraints don’t pose a barrier to participation. And it means we can dedicate resources to the research and advancement of lifelong learning."

https://www.roadscholar.org/globalassets/development/rs_annualreport_nov16_web.pdf

Educational in RoadScholar's case does not mean that all their instructors have teaching credentials. It means that the trips are intended to educate and enlighten the participants.

None of the trips are run by RoadScholar. They are outsourced. Some I've been on were operated by universities, museums, counties, local historians, foreign country,etc. Some had formal classes, some not.

Carefully reading the details for each trip will give you a good idea of what to expect

For trips to Asia, also consider World Spree. I've taken their 3 week China and 3 week India and recommend them. For China, they divided our group of 40 into two groups of 20. Their format is to offer information about the culture, politics, history, contemporary culture, everyday llife, school and home visits , etc, similar to OAT and RS. They are significantly less expensive ($4000 for 3 weeks including air ) and provide excellent hotels.