Guides
What these places are actually like.
Written by the company that organises the trips: how the alternatives really compare and — where it helps — what the whole thing costs. What to do in each city is written on that city’s own page, linked below. Every guide ends at a trip you can book.
15 October 2026 · 6 min read
Nothing is included except the hotel level and the trains: what that means
A Guideless trip includes the hotel level you chose and the trains the route needs. Everything else is an extra you add or skip. Here is why, using our Southern France trip.
Read15 October 2026 · 5 min
What the price buys, line by line
What the headline price of our nine-day Southern France trip covers, and what it leaves to you: flights, meals, insurance, tickets and optional extras. We sell this trip.
15 October 2026 · 5 min
Why the price is for your own room
On scheduled trips we price per person with your own room, and treat sharing as a choice. At most two travelers on one booking may share; here is why, and what they pay.
10 October 2026 · 7 min
Why there is no guide on a Guideless trip
A guide does real work on a guided trip. Here is what that work is, what replaces each part on a Guideless trip, and what you give up and gain.
10 October 2026 · 5 min
Scheduled trips: room sharing for three
On a scheduled Guideless trip, two travelers may share one room. A party of three may choose a sharing pair and a separate room, or three own rooms. Current room fit and the actual party quote remain authoritative.
10 October 2026 · 6 min
The free days: how one group works across four hotel levels
Four hotel levels, one Route. On our Southern France trip the hotel is the only thing that differs, and the free days and free group moments are where people end up together.
5 October 2026 · 7 min
Guided tour, do it yourself, or Guideless: a fair comparison
One route, three ways to do it: a guided tour, booking it all yourself, or the hotels and trains booked with the days left to you. Planning time, responsibility, cancellation and cost, side by side. From the company that sells the third.
5 October 2026 · 6 min
An Intrepid alternative: what a group leader gives you, and travelling without one
Intrepid runs small groups with a local leader. This is an honest look at what that leader does for you, what changes without one, and how the prices compare. From a company that sells the trip without the leader.
5 October 2026 · 6 min
A Flash Pack alternative for solo travellers who want their own days
Flash Pack builds led group trips for solo travellers in their thirties and forties. Here is what it includes, who it suits, and what to consider if you want your own room and your own days. From a company that sells the alternative.
5 October 2026 · 6 min
Alternatives to EF Ultimate Break, compared on rooms, days and price
What EF Ultimate Break includes, who it suits, and what to look at instead if you want your own room or your own days. Written by a company that sells one of the alternatives.
5 October 2026 · 10 min
What a Norway trip actually costs in 2027
Hotels, the coastal bus, the long train east, the extras and the food bill for nine days in western Norway, priced live, with what a guided tour costs. From the company that sells the trip.
5 October 2026 · 10 min
What a Southern France trip actually costs in 2027
Hotels, trains, extras and flights for nine days from Nice to Avignon and Paris, priced live, with what a guided tour of the same ground costs. From the company that sells the trip.
16 September 2026 · 6 min
Getting to the Monaco Grand Prix: the airport, the train, and race week
Everyone arrives at the same airport and gets in one of five ways. The fares are published; this is what they are, and what race week does to them.
16 September 2026 · 6 min
Where to stay for the Monaco Grand Prix: Nice, Beausoleil or Monte Carlo
Four bases, twenty minutes apart on the same railway, and a price range between them that is hard to believe until you see it.
16 September 2026 · 9 min
The Monaco Grand Prix 2027, planned: where to stay, how to watch, and what it costs
The 2027 Formula 1 weekend runs 4–6 June, with a Saturday Sprint. This is the order to plan the weekend, with ticket and supplier availability checked separately.
14 September 2026 · 4 min
Alternatives to Contiki for adults who still want a group
Six Contiki alternatives for people who have outgrown the party, the guide, or both: who each suits and what it costs.
14 September 2026 · 4 min
Monaco Grand Prix group trips: what your options actually are
Four ways to do the Monaco Grand Prix with other people, compared honestly — including when one of the other three is the better answer.
14 September 2026 · 9 min
What a Monaco Grand Prix trip actually costs in 2027
Hotels, tickets, transport and the yachts — the real numbers for a five-night Monaco Grand Prix weekend, from the company that sells one.