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	Tour Companies and Operators

Tour companies, also called tour operators, take the hassle out of travel especially if going to exotic places or if you don't have much time to spend somewhere. They range from budget to deluxe tours and from city tours to worldwide cruises. All offer escorted tours and some also offer independent tours.

Affordable Tours This website is the best place to look for a tour company. They list almost all the major tour companies operating in the United States that cover both U.S. and worldwide destinations. They allow easy comparison shopping including discount prices and other details for the location you want to visit.

Using a Search Engine Just type in the name of the city or place followed by tours, tour operators or tour companies. Add any specialty descriptive words: Examples: Adventure tour Guatemala Sightseeing city tour Paris

A list of Tour Companies can be found at the bottom of this page.

General Resources

How To Pick a Tour Operator. A good article on how to pick a tour operator.

Finding A "Reliable" Tour Operator This is an article from Smarter Travel by well-known travel author Ed Perkins that discusses how to protect yourself from disappointment whether you sign with a small or large tour operator.

VIPBackpacker.com They offer a comprehensive selection of tours worldwide for backpackers and independent travelers.

GORP Travel This is a popular website for adventure travel, and they also offer a selection of tours for non-adventure activities like culinary travel vacations. (We know - food can be an adventure experience too!)

iExplore They are an online travel agency in association with National Geographic that specializes in finding you a tour. A beautiful website where you select a region of the world or country and activities and then they list tours that match your selection. The results include details such as cost, number of days, dates, etc.

InfoHub Specialty Travel Guide They have a comprehensive list of tours worldwide by various tour companies that you can search using various criteria such as country, type activity, etc. (Not all the major tour companies are represented in their search results.)

Tours.com They also have a comprehensive list of tours worldwide by various tour companies that you can search using various criteria such as country, type activity, etc. (Not all the major tour companies are represented in their search results.)

Specialty Travel Index A major player in the adventure tours and specialty travel market. You can search by activities, categories and countries.

Student Flights Based in the U.K., they have student and budget travel information including extensive package tours throughout the world.

Tour Operator Associations

European Tour Operators Association (ETOA) This is the Trade Association for European Tourism. You can use it to see what is happening in the tourism industry in Europe. You can also go to their Membership Directory and either enter a tour operator name or select from a member category (e.g., Tour operators, Ferry operators, etc). If you select a category you will get an alphabetical list of all their member companies in that category and link to them along with the country in which their headquarters is based.

National Tour Association (NTA) This is the NTA website. You can get a list of tour companies that are members of the association and other tour information.

United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA) This is the USTOA website. You can get a list of tour companies that are members of the association and other tour information.

Tour Companies

The difference in categories is primarily one of accommodations and their associated amenities and, sometimes, the transportation modes used. All have escorted tours and some also offer independent travel. Deluxe and Ultra-Deluxe are definitely luxury travel.

Company in alphabetical order	Category	Areas Covered
DMOZ Open Directory	Directory	Comprehensive list of Tour Operators worldwide, organized by continent and countries. Or use their search box and enter a country or city name followed by tour operators or specialty travel (e.g., France bicycling tours) You can also search by some specialty travel categories shown. Note: The Google Directory uses the Open Directory data base.
Yahoo! Tour Operators Directory	Directory	Comprehensive list of Tour Operators worldwide, organized at the top level by both by destination and a comprehensive list of categories (e.g., by activities such as kayaking, music, bus tours, etc). Or use their search box and enter a country or city name followed by tour operators or specialty travel. You can also search by some specialty travel categories shown (e.g., France bicycling tours).
Tours.com	Directory	Comprehensive list of Tour Operators worldwide. Their tour database can be searched by destination, activity, key words or tour operator. They strive to give you unbiased, comprehensive & timely information on leisure travel.
*Specific Tour Companies*
Abercrombie & Kent	Ultra-Deluxe	Worldwide
Brendan Vacations	First-Class	Worldwide except for Asia.
Caravan Tours	First-Class	North America, Central America, and Mexico
CIE Tours	Deluxe	North America, Ireland and Great Britain
Classic Vacations	Deluxe	Hawaii, the Caribbean, Mexico, Costa Rica, Europe and Tahiti.
Collette Vacations	First-Class	Worldwide Click here for their Travel Deal of the Week.
Co-Op Travel Departures from U.K.	All Classes	Tour packages originating in the U.K. to Europe, Middle-East and North American destinations.
Cosmos combined website with Globus	Budget	Worldwide
Delta Dream Vacations Delta Airlines	First-Class	North America, Caribbean and Europe
Europe-based Tours		See Co-Op Travel above.
Freegate Tours	Budget	Latin America, Europe, Mediterranean, South Africa
Globus combined website with Cosmos	Deluxe	Worldwide
Go Ahead Tours	First-Class	Worldwide Click here for last minute deals
Grand Circle Travel	First-Class	Worldwide Click here for special deals on their home page.
Insight Vacations	First-Class	USA, Europe, Eastern Mediterranean
Maupintour	Deluxe	Worldwide
Mayflower Tours	First-Class	Worldwide
Nordic Saga	First-Class	Scandinavia
Petrabax well-known regional tour company	First-Class	Spain, Portugal and Morocco
Perillo Tours well-known for their Italy tours	First-Class	Italy, Hawaii and Israel
Railamerica Tours worldwide tours	First-Class	Worldwide. Not limited to rail tours.
RealAdventures worldwide vacations and adventure tours	First-Class	Worldwide
Saga Holidays specializes in over 50 age group	First-Class	Worldwide
Sun Holidays	First-Class	USA, Europe, Mediterranean
Tauck Tours	Deluxe	Worldwide
Tourlite International	First-Class	Latin America, Greece
Trafalgar Tours	First-Class	North America, Europe, South Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand.
Travcoa	Ultra-Deluxe	Worldwide
Travelbound	First-Class	Worldwide
Tropical Island Vacations	Deluxe	Worldwide
Uniworld	First-Class	Worldwide
United Vacations United Airlines	Deluxe	Worldwide except Africa
Vantage Deluxe World Travel	Deluxe	Worldwide

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