Private tours - van seating comfort

On my Europe and Mediterranean roll calls, there are a number of tours being organized by members in which the transportation is in an 8 or 10 person mini van. Would that not meant that at least one or two passengers would end up in a middle seat? Middle seat passengers, I would think, would have their views restricted, not being at a window. I'd also expect that 3 people on a bench seat would feel awfully cramped on an 8 to 10 hour tour.

Any thoughts or experiences?

I've done private tours in vans. They may not be able to see everything, but still can look out the window.

Monica

Sometimes it's a minibus which has a row down the center and two by two configuration on each side. The best thing to do is check out the tour operator's web site.

On my Europe and Mediterranean roll calls, there are a number of tours being organized by members in which the transportation is in an 8 or 10 person mini van. Would that not meant that at least one or two passengers would end up in a middle seat? Middle seat passengers, I would think, would have their views restricted, not being at a window. I'd also expect that 3 people on a bench seat would feel awfully cramped on an 8 to 10 hour tour.

 

Any thoughts or experiences?

Generally these 8-10 person mini busses seat with 1 in front (plus the driver), then there are 3 rows of 3 people if the jumper seats are used on 1st 2 rows, or 2-2-3 seating if the jumpers are not used.

So if you have 10, all will have middle seat, if 8, then only 3rd row will have middle seat.

One gives up comfort in lieu of savings for sure when booking with a group.

The vans used by Rome in Limo are comfortable Mercedes vans. I sat in the middle . If you're going to Italy, I suggest you join any and all RIL tours. I used them in 3 ports. Fabulous, and you can see on CC.

I've been on tours in vans. They're definitely more cramped. However, I don't think view's really an issue. Usually there are windows around the entire van, so you can easily look out anywhere. As long as the person at the window doesn't have his/her body plastered against the window, it's still easy to see out.

You are taking a chance. Some vans can be old and uncomfortable. The mini bus is much nicer,

Most of the van tours I've been on there were several stops to see the real views. Sometimes passengers would switch seats during the stops so no one person "suffered".

I personally like van tours as I cruise solo so I usually get the seat up front with the driver. Great views and nice conversations with the driver. It did get a little uncomfortable in Tahiti when the driver was pulled over for speeding. :eek:

Luckily he was given a warning and we were on our way.

Don

If you are on a ship tour, they almost always sit two people on each side of a center aisle. So half the people have a seat on the aisle and a some what obstructed view.

The vans used by Rome in Limo are comfortable Mercedes vans. I sat in the middle . If you're going to Italy, I suggest you join any and all RIL tours. I used them in 3 ports. Fabulous, and you can see on CC.

I agree with RIL. Great comapny, can't go wrong with this company

We have used romeinlimo many times. When we have had 7 in our group in the wonderful Mercedes van, someone had to sit in the middle seat. We traded off and the one with motion sickness issues sat in front with the driver. The ones with the great cameras sat by the windows. We traded around. Last time we were only 2 couples and arranged for a sedan. That meant 1 by the driver and 3 in the back seat. It was too tight and not comfortable. We will pay extra for the van next time.

Margee

That's good to know Margee since I would always use RIL. But, the price is better with 8, and since I'm a solo, there's a high probability there'd be 7 of us.

This poster didn't ask about RIL, but to compare the Mercedes vans to Caribbean vans is apples to oranges.

On a bus tour one person of the couple does not have a window seat.

Here are suggestions:

• Discuss ahead of time rotating seats every time you get back on the van. That way the person who gets there first does not have the best seat for the entire day. Most people will have no problem with this. However you may have someone who cannot climb into the back.
  
• Confirm that the guide uses a microphone. With vans the driver is usually the guide. The driver will be facing forward. It is often difficult for the people in the back row to hear without microphone.
  

When re-boarding a van/minibus after a stop, would it be considered rude to take any available seat, even if not the one you had when the tour began?

Even when arriving early/first to start a tour to get good seats, sometimes circumstances arise such that passengers don't board in the order they arrive or originally line up.

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The most you can do is check out the tour company website, or phone/email them ... and then hope they live up to what they say! This site & Trip Advisor are very good sources for checking out various companies.

Mr Chew is 6'4" and rather large, and even some of the nicest vans or mini-buses can be uncomfortable for him. If you have several people of the same size, and that does happen, it can become uncomfortable for everyone.

When re-boarding a van/minibus after a stop, would it be considered rude to take any available seat, even if not the one you had when the tour began?

 

Even when arriving early/first to start a tour to get good seats, sometimes circumstances arise such that passengers don't board in the order they arrive or originally line up.

 

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It can...but depends on the tour and if you are able to leave personal items at your seat on the bus when you HOHO..

We witnessed a very rude situation on a tour bus in Aruba...We had been involved in a (luckily) minor accident where we had to change buses on the side of the road...you would assume you would just get on the other bus taking the same seats...but a very rude pushy young couple nearly knocked an elderly couple over because they wanted the up front seats this couple had...this young couple was the last to board the bus when we started out..and loudly made it clear they were unhappy sitting in the back.

Many of us spoke out about this incident as it happened but this couple could have cared less.

Sorry to get carried away but the OP's post brought this incident unfortunately to mind.

It's been a few years for us, but we did all private tour and depends heavily on which tour/what kind of van they have and who your other riders are.

I've done many a big van tours both Europe and else where. Never have they been unbearable, but yes it can be a tight squeeze if you have a full van. I just thought of the extra money we saved by having more people on our private. I also pre screened to make sure none were umm American Average :D

On a serious note, all the important stuff we got out to see. That is the nice things with private, faster, many stops for the stuff and much more than the big bus affairs.

When we arranged a tour to Pisa and Florence, we were able to rent a van like the ones they use for rental car agencies. Those were so great and comfortable and easy to access even if you have someone with mobility problems. Two by two seating and it fit 20 people with no problem.

I think the OP 's question is aimed at the regular sized vans that most tour-sharing drivers provide. And, for me, this is one of the downsides of tour sharing with others on the roll call. I've been squished in the middle more times than I would like, even a bit car sick and a little claustrophobic on some trips where the van is totally full and the drive is pretty far from the port. I know that in some ports, it makes sense to share the cost of a private driver, but I still prefer independent travel whenever possible or even a ship's excursion billed as "on your own" with just the transport.

If prime views are important (like they are to me) we always choose to do a private tour with just the two of us. I've found I don't even have to leave the car for many pictures since the driver will pull into a prime position for me to take photos from the window.

It really depends on the tour group operator. When we were in the Med it was a variety of regular passenger vans But one was a mini-bus even though the description said van. If the operator says 8-10 I like to keep it at 8 because you never know how big the van will be.