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Touring with 18 year-old grrandson
Any thoughts on which type of tour an 18 year-old guy would like...with his 70+ grandparents? Is he too old for the Bridges tours?
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If you call Tauck they'll tell you the ages of the kids enrolled on the trip.
Yes, he is too old for a Bridges tour. He’s a young man.
I think I would pick one with a few active days for him if you can tolerate that or some with history he is interested in or a place he’s always wanted to see. Some of the tours I’ve done have been fascinating to me - art, cathedrals, castles…but I think an 18 yr old might have been bored. The Best of Ireland might be good - you stay in a castle if you pick a small group tour, go to the Titanic museum in Belfast and get a wonderful falconry experience at the castle plus lots of beautiful scenery. Peru/Galapagos might be good - lots of activity for him - hiking, snorkeling, kayaking etc…but that one is quite strenuous and could possibly be too much for grandparents based on your health and activity level. There are some really neat tours of the American West and Southwest that would have great scenery and outdoor activities.
Have you asked him where he’d like to go? Is there a tour to your country of ancestry that might interest all of you? Has he shown interest in a cruise? There are so many great tours - it just might be hard to keep an 18 yr old interested in some of them.
I might stay away from a cruise - they tend to skew towards an older crowd and young people I have seen on them do seem kind of bored.
Depending on his interest, an Africa trip could be a good choice.
I've done 14 Tauck trips and never seen anyone that young on any of the group tours. A large family group was on our Africa tour and they had some members in their 30's.
I've been pondering this question for my daughter and her husband. We'd like to do a family trip. They are not 18 but under 35 and I'm leaning towards a small ship adventure-type cruise that offers activities of different levels. Maybe Patagonia.
Go to Africa. It wil be the most notable and the most memorable trip of his life. He will want go again. We took our daughter when she was 7 on a family safari; then again in her 30’s. With her husband. She has a baby now and wants to go when he is 7. On another note, my daughter is very inquisitive and enjoyed the river cruises too. She enjoyed talking to older folks on the river boat. Plus these so called older folks were very engaging with her. At the time we didn’t allow staring at a screen while on a trip. Just something to think about with your grandson. One time when she was high school, she didn’t want to go with us and was quite firm about that as teenagers are, but that was the one trip, she had the best time. Parents and grandparents know best.
My vote is for Africa! Not only will your 18 year old grandson be engaged in safaris and daily activities, he (and YOU!) will remember this special visit for the rest of your lives! Africa seems to create forever footprints in people's lives, it certainly did mine!
Not everyone is interested in African safaris, but Egypt might a nice choice if he’s interested in ancient history. I think the key to a great trip is not listening to those of us who enjoyed various tours, but instead to find out his interests and see what’s out there that fits.
I think JaneP gives very sound advice. Surely the young man must have interests. Have him browse Tauck’s website or a brochure and ask him what intrigues him. If he is college bound maybe a tour that has elements of his potential college major—art?, history?, engineering?, mathematics?, theater?, et al.
Good luck with your/his decision making.