My wife and I are looking into a trip to Europe this summer and are interested in setting something up with a tour company. It seems like a really good option since you get to see multiple cities in multiple countries. There seem to be a lot of choices in companies and trips. Does anyone have any experience with a tour company?

Lonely planet and train tickets are all you need IMO

Lonely Planet is not that useful if you have moved beyond hostel travel and finding bars that serve drugs in Latin America but, seriously, do you really want to be herded off and on a bus like cattle on your European vacation?

Put the pieces together yourself.

We are interested in seeing as much as we can since we will be having kids in the future. We probably won't make it back to Europe for a long time, if ever.

It is easy to do by trains by yourself. You can go at faster pace as you won't have a bunch of overweight Americans slowing you down with pictures and eating at predetermined crap restaurants. You will have more fun by yourselves not listening to guides and following them around. Where were you thinking of going anyways? Where do you want to get to? How long do you have?

If you are young; avoid escorted touring. The average age on escorted travel is close to the upper 50's and you will be bored with how slow it is moving.

The only advantage to escorted travel is that everything is planned for you.... the bad thing is that you are on someone else's schedule.

If you must, try looking into Contiki Travel (must be under 35 to go with them).

I thought a tour was nice for my first trip (especially since I went solo). Yes, people are older but it's nice not to have to worry with transportation, etc. I used Insight and was very pleased with the comfort of the coach we had. I used them for a 10 day tour of Spain. I won't use a tour company again because I feel more comfortable with getting around.

Insight is pretty good. My clients love their trips to Egypt.

i know folks that have gone on rick steve's tours and enjoyed them.

that said, if you are under the age of 50, do it yourself. if you are afraid of tackling it by yourself, i suggest reading rick steve's books. 'europe through the backdoor' is a good one for those just starting out. my wife and i are in our late 20's (no kids) and we are about to take our fourth european vacation together.

i love the rick steves books for frank recommendations on things to see and avoid. on our last trip, to spain, we had a seamless experience. it really is doable, and for cheaper than a tour would be.

his website has a message board that is a good resource as well.

i would also caution you to not try to cram as much as possible into one trip. the national lampoon "european vacation" model is not the one to follow. as much as you may think that this may be your only time to go to europe, if you have fun, you WILL be back. therefore, travel like you'll be coming back. i'd suggest no less than 2 nights at any one place. you don't want half of your trip to be spent on a train and walking to and from the station to your hotel room.

Afew tips. Download what you want to see and maps on a reader if you have one as guide books are a pain.
I like Lonely Planet Thorntree to get a pulse of an area.
Trip Advisor is great. WiFi is just about everywhere so you can book if that makes you comfortable.

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Download what you want to see and maps on a reader if you have one as guide books are a pain.

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i agree that you should go electronic where ever possible or convenient. i don't agree that guidebooks are a pain. i just tear out the section that is applicable to that day and stuff it in my pocket. if you're looking for a specific thing, a quick flipping through pages is often faster than trying to find it on your phone's or kindle's screen. if you will have a daypack with you, most likely you will, even the whole book isn't that much of a weight to carry.