Our trips are great personal adventures, filled with a new treat around every corner, fun surprises, delightful touches at just the right moment, music to fit the mood, wonderful food, and the feeling of being right at home in Europe.

It's all about flexibility - allowing the trip to take you - rather than being tied up in knots over what happens next, or if there's a minor inconvenience, or if you detect a down-tick on the comfort meter. If you have trouble enjoying the moment, you should probably take that dream trip to Europe with another tour organizer.

Every one of our unique trips is extremely well planned, with every detail well thought out. You're always in good hands. Relax. Don't worry; be happy.

Our trips can be physically demanding, often very active, and require a certain amount of "taking care of yourself". We do not offer so-called "luxury" travel for the pampered sojourner. We find that luxury travelers are usually insulated from the very flavor and charms of the places they spend so much money to visit. Why not just stay home in the lap of luxury, and watch a nice travel video? It's been said before, "When you travel with Your Man in Europe, you feel like you own the place." You feel at home, relaxed, comfortable, and a part of the countries you visit.

Our goal is to help you fall in love with Europe. We have!

WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT?

If you want travel to Europe to savor every place and every moment; to lose yourself in pure delight; to fall in love with it all, then sign up to travel with the one-of-a-kind: Your Man in Europe.

BUT, if you need to take a trip to Europe just to be able to say, "Been there, done that", then maybe you'd be happier signing up for one of the thousands of BIG BUS TOURS available.

Here Are the Differences:

1. No "Big Bus Tours"! If you do a Google search for "escorted tours to Europe", you will find in the neighborhood of 411,000 pages. Almost every "escorted tour", however, involves cramming yourself onto a 45-passenger bus with 44 other people. Of course, they're not called "buses" in Europe, but "coaches". So, you ask, "what does 'escorted' mean in that case?" Simply put, someone will board the bus and ride with you while using a crackly microphone to explain what you are whizzing by. But it's unlikely you'll be able to hear them, anyway. They'll also herd you around to make sure you get off, and back on the bus according to schedule. Sometimes you get the same person for the whole trip, and sometimes you get a dizzying array of different "guides" - some of them hired just moments before jumping on the bus. Referring to this mode of travel in Europe, many of you have heard the funny saying: "If it's Tuesday, it must be Belgium."
   The real down side to this way of "seeing" Europe is that you miss all the little things that make the place so endearing. Mass feedings, undistinguished chain motels, and "You've got two hours - then be back on the bus" restrictions are the rule. All the glamorous and romantic advance descriptions in the slick travel brochures take on a different complexion when you're slumped in your bus seat.
   And the prices are not especially cheap! If you do get a chance to get away for a quiet private meal, you usually have to find a restaurant in a hurry, and then it's not included in the trip price. Sometimes you have good luck, and sometimes you don't. Oh, and aren't those "everybody-wear-the-official-company-T-shirt-so-you-can-stay-with-the-herd", and "follow-the-tour-guide's-red-umbrella" touches just so much fun?
   Some tour companies pride themselves in "The Uncrowded Bus" approach. Another way to put it is "same bus, fewer passengers". Even with empty seats around, when a huge bus is part of the equation, the routine is going to be pretty much the same whether it's full or not. There are just a lot of places in Europe where those behemoths can't go...
   We don't use Big Buses except for the occasional side tour or double-decker city tour - and those offer plenty of freedom. Our travel is done by rail - often high-speed and first-class, taxis, subway systems, mini-vans, or for longer hops - European airlines.
   Imagine seeing the places of your dreams with no worries, no hassles. That's how it is with Your Man in Europe.


2. Small Groups. Except for specially-arranged tours, all Your Man in Europe tours are for 8 to 12 people. Any larger than that, our participants would have a much harder time going to cozy restaurants, petit bed and breakfasts or charming little hotels, or any other small venues. We travel as a happy family would. In fact, the best way to organize a tour is to make it a group of relatives(those who can get along for 2 weeks!) or friends who already like doing things together. If you already know everyone in the group, then you can be more comfortable and relaxed traveling together. But even with "mixed" groups - those where individual travelers or couples just sign up for pre-planned trips - we find that it's not long before you've made new friends of all your fellow sojourners.
   We make a real effort to take you to those little out-of the-way places that "only we know about." We seek out the real flavor of Europe in uncrowded, un-touristyplaces whenever possible. Only individuals or small groups can work with that approach.
3. No "middle men". One reason Your Man in Europe can offer reasonably- priced but genuinely custom tours is that there are no "middle men". When an organization - be it a school, church, or club - sets up a trip to Europe, they almost always contract with a "tour organizer" to make all the arrangements. Some of the key planners may get to travel for "free", but everyone else pays for sometimes several layers of "middle men", who each mark up their parts to provide a profit. They often have contacts with large hotel or motel chains, and restaurants or caterers that can handle big groups; and you can be certain that they will book the tours using their best profit-generating suppliers, even if they don't provide the most charming side of Europe. Big internationally-known agencies with glossy brochures and big advertising budgets usually take that same approach.
   One promise Your Man in Europe will make is that every place we go, everywhere we stay overnight, and everything we do has been carefully chosen - not because we have an "inside deal", but because they are the right choices to fit the mood or theme. Of course Your Man in Europe is a for-profit company, but a reasonable profit is factored in after all the travel arrangements are made solely on their own merit.
4. No unpleasant surprises! (Lots of pleasant ones, though) Any tour organizer who tells you that there will never be any hitches on tours to foreign countries thousand of miles from your home is being a bit overly optimistic!When those unexpected turns do happen, with our small groups, we're able to deal with them in creative ways - often leading to unplanned fun and adventure! Your Man in Europe trips are priced up-front to include almost every cost that will come up. Travelers with us enjoy the fact that they seldom even think about money: figuring out restaurant checks and tips, calculating exchange rates, or even carrying much cash. You can accurately and realistically plan your travel budget using the detailed information we'll provide.
   Many big tour companies entice you with what appear to be low advertised prices. The real profit is made through costly "add-ons". These unpleasant and unexpected extra costs can ruin the fun and leave you broke. "Optional" extra tours too often turn out to be the only way you actually get to see the things you came to see! The big chain hotels are frequently so far from the town center, an optional side tour is required just to get into town. Another problem is that guides are allowed to supplement meager incomes through "shopping kickbacks" from merchants. Tours often are diverted to shopping venues at the expense of missing the real sights! Underpaid guides frequently exert not-too-subtle pressure for big tips from tour members.
5. Truly customized travel. No two Your Man in Europe are ever identical. Great effort is put into making the trip just right for you. Every traveler is asked to complete a pre-trip survey in order to get a good idea of likes, dislikes, and expectations. And then - wonder of wonders - guess what? We actually use the survey information to plan the details of your group's trip. You see, we want all our travelers to explore Europe with us again. We truly want you to have the best trip you've ever had!
   We pride ourselves in supplying plenty of enjoyable little treats and surprises all along the way: personalized details impossible to pull off with big tour groups.
   Try it; you'll like it.
6. Music and Magic. We love Europe; and we want you to love it as much as we do. So throughout our trips, musical and "magical" touches are part of the experience. Music is all around you in Europe. We just help focus it so your trip will have its own "soundtrack". Long after you go back home these little touches will serve as pleasant reminders of all the fun you had in Europe. But don't ask for too much information on this in advance. Good magicians never reveal all their secrets...