Thoughts on Thompson Family?

[lpm23]

We have done a bunch of ABDs and love them. However, looking to find a Canada itinerary with a bit less coach time and came across Thompson adventures. Has anyone had any experience with them good or bad? thanks!

 

[RSM]

We are going to Japan with Thomson in June. So, far they have been great to work with. Very knowledgeable on t-he phone. Another poster, Calfan, went to China with them and wrote up a mini-review/comparison.

 

[Aelin1977]

Where in Canada are you looking at visiting?

 

[Calfan]

We are going to Japan with Thomson in June. So, far they have been great to work with. Very knowledgeable on t-he phone. Another poster, Calfan, went to China with them and wrote up a mini-review/comparison.

Yes, my mini review is on the Other Options thread in this forum. You should be able to find it by searching on Thomson (be sure to spell it correctly, as many want to add a "p" that isn't in their name). We had a fantastic trip and experience with Thomson in China. We currently have a deposit with them for a 2020 trip.

 

[lpm23]

We are going to Japan with Thomson in June. So, far they have been great to work with. Very knowledgeable on t-he phone. Another poster, Calfan, went to China with them and wrote up a mini-review/comparison.

thanks good to know!

 

[lpm23]

Yes, my mini review is on the Other Options thread in this forum. You should be able to find it by searching on Thomson (be sure to spell it correctly, as many want to add a "p" that isn't in their name). We had a fantastic trip and experience with Thomson in China. We currently have a deposit with them for a 2020 trip.

thank you!

 

[lpm23]

Where in Canada are you looking at visiting?

the Canadian Rockies.

 

[TeeKo]

Following along.
We’ve been on several ABDs and are definitely fans. Looking at Canadian Rockies for 2019. The default choice has been ABD but gonna check out Thomson....

 

[lpm23]

Following along.
We’ve been on several ABDs and are definitely fans. Looking at Canadian Rockies for 2019. The default choice has been ABD but gonna check out Thomson....

Yes I had started looking at the ABD one but when I got info on drive times etc it was too much time on a coach for my kids. Plus the Thomson itinerary is a lore more active

 

[TeeKo]

Yes I had started looking at the ABD one but when I got info on drive times etc it was too much time on a coach for my kids. Plus the Thomson itinerary is a lore more active

We started with ABD 5 years ago. We all still love it but just starting to consider other options

 

[McPackers]

I took a Thomson this past December and had a fab time. I have taken 8 AbD and was a little nervous but have no complaints and would recommend Thompson. I especially liked the smaller group (a total of 12 people). I'm taking my first Tauck trip this summer so I will have a good comparison of "other" family friendly trip

 

[lpm23]

I took a Thomson this past December and had a fab time. I have taken 8 AbD and was a little nervous but have no complaints and would recommend Thompson. I especially liked the smaller group (a total of 12 people). I'm taking my first Tauck trip this summer so I will have a good comparison of "other" family friendly trip

That’s great. Would love to hear your comparison of all 3 when you get back. We have loved our ABDs and are doing another this summer but great to have other options too

 

[Calfan]

Yes I had started looking at the ABD one but when I got info on drive times etc it was too much time on a coach for my kids. Plus the Thomson itinerary is a lore more active

That's one of the things (in addition to the smaller group size and longer itinerary) that attracted me to Thomson for China, and I really enjoyed that aspect of our trip (2 hikes, 2 bike rides, bamboo rafts, etc.)

 

[samsteele]

As a Canadian who has lived & worked in Calgary, Alberta, in the foothill of the Rockies, the area is very friendly for a self-driving, independent holiday. If you are not used to serious winter driving, then you want to travel very late Spring to very early Fall (ie not past first week of September) to avoid snowfall. Keep in mind that peak Summer Tourist season falls from mid June to late August and you will be vying with large tour buses in major tourist spots like Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper & Columbia Ice Fields from 8:00am onwards. If renting a car & self-driving, you need to get a parking spot secured by at least 7:30am in those popular spots.

 

[sayhello]

As a Canadian who has lived & worked in Calgary, Alberta, in the foothill of the Rockies, the area is very friendly for a self-driving, independent holiday. If you are not used to serious winter driving, then you want to travel very late Spring to very early Fall (ie not past first week of September) to avoid snowfall. Keep in mind that peak Summer Tourist season falls from mid June to late August and you will be vying with large tour buses in major tourist spots like Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper & Columbia Ice Fields from 8:00am onwards. If renting a car & self-driving, you need to get a parking spot secured by at least 7:30am in those popular spots.

But if you travel with ABD, you don't have to worry about that! Just saying.

Sayhello

 

[Bobo912]

A few years ago we did a GNP/Canadian Rockies trip on our own in the first week of July. I combined the ABD and Tauck itineraries (GNP/Banff/Jasper/Lake Louise). We did every activity on both itineraries plus some additional things. We stayed at Lake McDonald Lodge, Many Glaciers Lodge, and the Fairmont hotels in Banff, Jasper and Lake Louise. None of the tourist attractions were crowded. It was all very easy to arrange and execute and cost about half of the price of the ABD trip. The biggest concern is booking hotels within the park at GNP as they fill up pretty far in advance. I booked 9 months in advance and was able to get what I wanted. Sorry my post has nothing to do with Thomson.

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

In addition to Thomson, you may want to take a look at Austin Adventures. We're traveling with them for the first time in June to Yellowstone, but others here who have traveled with them are positive on their experiences. Maximum group size is 18 on their family trips with 3 guides.

 

[disneyphx]

We did a Thomson trip to Peru - after 5 ABDs - and loved it. We preferred the itinerary and dates worked better for us. There were only 5 in our group! We are considering their Thailand and Croatia trips too.

 

[Travel junkie]

Following along. While we love ABD, I’ve been curious about Tauck, Kensington, etc. ABD has been a known commodity for us, but some of the others have lovely places like Patagonia, Thailand, etc.

 

[DCPhotoGal]

Following along. While we love ABD, I’ve been curious about Tauck, Kensington, etc. ABD has been a known commodity for us, but some of the others have lovely places like Patagonia, Thailand, etc.

Agreed. We have done many ABDs and are happy with them, but they don't cover all of the locations we'd like to see. I was looking at the Thomson Thailand trip recently, it looks great! I wonder if there's a place to see reviews and get info about them like this forum is for ABD?