We highly recommend guided tours for a stress-free and enriching travel experience. These tours take care of all the logistics—transportation, accommodations, and itineraries—so you can focus on enjoying your trip. Expert guides provide invaluable local insights, helping you discover hidden gems and cultural highlights you might otherwise miss. Guided tours often include exclusive experiences, such as tastings, hands-on activities, or behind-the-scenes access to iconic landmarks. They also foster a sense of community with fellow travelers. By choosing a guided tour, you’ll enjoy a seamless journey filled with unique opportunities to connect with the destination and its culture.
Lori Derauf being interviewed by Travel Weekly....
At Vacation Designers near Madison, Wis., owner Lori Derauf spends a lot of time talking to clients, explaining the changes that have been taking place in the guided coach tour model over the past 24 to 36 months. The biggest one, she said, is that small tours are multiplying. “Years ago, the only options were a large coach, full of people, with very fast-paced itineraries,” Derauf said. Now, she added, it has become common to find tours capped at 15, 18 or 22 people on some departures. “Our clients prefer that,” Derauf said. “They like the fact that it’s a planned itinerary with some free time and all the logistics are taken care of, but there’s not this huge group of people moving around at the same time.”