By Larry Olmsted

It amazes me that it took over 20 years and thousands of articles for this full-time travel writer to finally experience a group tour, something I did a couple of weeks ago – and would gladly do again.

When I say “group tour,” I’m not counting the group participation active vacations like the road cycling trips I’ve written about in these pages, or river rafting, safaris or heli-skiing, where I have been grouped with other people simply because we were doing the same activity. I’m talking about an honest-to-goodness package trip where a group with a guide travels around a destination by bus, train and plane, visiting museums and sites and restaurants according to a very particular itinerary. Read more …

Award-winning travel journalist Larry Olmsted is a Contributing Editor to US Airways Magazine and Cigar Aficionado Magazine and “The Great Life” columnist for Forbes.com.

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