I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and managed to enjoy some of the lovely weather.

A few weeks ago, we asked you what it was that the Tour Manager added to your Just You experience and you expressed it was things like their organisation, their friendliness/sense of humour, their passion for travel and their adaptability to any group and situation. Some of you went on to name a couple... which takes us to this weeks Monday Musing;

We are lucky enough to have some of the best Tour Managers in the business, due to your feedback in the previous musings, and the fact they feature regularly in Community reviews/post-holiday questionnaires, we know how much you appreciate them. What we want to know is.... Who is/are your favourite Tour Manager(s) and most importantly why?

We look forward to reading your comments

Kindest regards,

Julia

Sadly not all the weather in the UK was lovely at the weekend - it has not stopped raining in Scotland for nearly 2 weeks now!

However, on to your subject! My favourite Tour Manager is Suzanne Brown. Suzanne was my first ever JY TM (over 9 years ago)  and I have based all TMs over the years on her! She is friendly, efficient, full of relevant information, and above all you feel as though you can always rely on her if you have a problem - health/flights/room etc. etc. She goes the extra mile and is always handing out goodies on long coach journeys - sweets, local bananas etc.! She also has the patience of a saint! For me, it is a joy to have Suzanne as TM as I know I am going to have a wonderful holiday, and that everything will be taken care of.

Cheers,

Hils

Hands down, best ever - David Crawford (Alaska May 2016).

Highly organised but laid back and relaxed. Nothing was too much trouble for him and he never lost his sense of humour, even when our Denali bus driver almost decapitated him by slamming his bus window shut without any warning !

In the lounge at Heathrow he provided us all with a detailed 16 page printed itinerary (including pictures) including his mobile number in case anyone got lost and covering dates, times we needed to have bags out each day, be on the bus, put our names on lists for lunches/excursions etc. I have never before or since had this on a JY tour and it was invaluable.

Top bloke but oh - when I said that he was highly organised, perhaps I should leave out the part about him forgetting his toothbrush ....  😃

All the best

Mandy

This is a great question - I've done 15 JY tours and 3 with TS and have had a different tour manager on each one!  Almost all have been excellent and the couple who didn't quite set the world on fire still did a perfectly professional job.  A few tour managers have been really outstanding and for me; my favourites have been:

Yvette Barnett - our TM in Namibia.  As many forum users will know, Yvette is one of JY's most experienced managers and has travelled to every corner of the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic and everywhere in between - and it shows.  She is so well organised, a fount of information, fascinating to talk to, a gifted photographer, has a great sense of humour and very approachable.  In fact, everything a TM should be.  She takes every situation in her stride and uses her extensive knowledge to tweak the itinerary so that we get the very best out of the destination - I know many others who have had her on a tour and they all say the same!

Zoe Ireland - our TM in South Africa/Zambia.  Zoe has a warm, fun and friendly personality and she went around everyone in our group every day to ensure we were happy, well and enjoying ourselves.  She has a real passion for Africa and this shone through every day.

Barbara Eastlake - our TM in India.  Barbara had never done our tour before (it was new) but she had a lot of experience of India and this was evident the way everything was incredibly well organised.  We found the crowds and especially the hawkers very draining, but Barbara did a deal with them in each place we visited - so that she took a selection of their tat on board the bus and told us the prices, so we didn't have to deal with all the hassle!  She had a couple of difficult situations to deal with on the tour and handled each one superbly.  She even gave our tips to her son's charity project (in Africa, I think).  What a lady!

Lisa Nitzic - TM in Costa Rica/Nicaragua.  I know I've got her name wrong!  An American lady, living in Italy.  Lisa was superb - so well prepared for our tour: she had a colour itinerary printed out for each of us, with lots of additional and helpful info.  She is an utterly charming and cultured lady and her commentary was excellent; again she checked with each of us to ensure we all had an amazing time.  I had a rotten hotel room in Monteverde and to make it up to me, she allocated me the room nearest the beach in Jaco, with lovely views!  She also organised a fantastic meal for us on our last night.  A real gem.

Honourable mentions go to: Steve Hodgson in Jordan, who organised extra trips for us for our free time and kept us entertained on the bus; Deborah Flower on the US National Parks tour again for more hysterical commentary and making sure that everyone had somewhere decent to go for dinner each evening; Erica Hadju in Borneo/Singapore: she wasn't accompanying us to Singapore but when some of us asked if extra excursions could be organised in Singapore, she got in touch with the local agents, who put a whole programme together for us, ensuring we saw the best of the island and we all had an incredible time there.  Anne Murray - I'm not sure if she's retired now, but she was the TM on the US Golden West tour and her knowledge and humour were...awesome!  Two final mentions: Branwen Edwards in China, for her infectious enthusiasm and kindness to everyone, a truly lovely lady and I couldn't end this without mentioning Freddy Morgan, our TM on our eventful Mexico tour - when things went wrong, he sorted everything out for us and despite a few mishaps, we all still had an amazing holiday.

I could go on...but I think I've said enough!  A TM can make or break the tour, in my opinion, and an excellent manager can make a good tour into a truly great one.  Many other tour companies don't use tour managers, just local guides and this is one of the main reasons I stick with JY and TS - it means that I can really relax on holiday, secure in the knowledge that the TM will work hard to ensure that everything runs smoothly and help us to get the best out of the tour.  Little things, like recommending a decent restaurant for dinner (and in many cases, actually bringing the group there themselves), make all the difference.  Amending the itinerary, so that we avoid the heat of the day or the crowds, or so that we get to see some extra out of the way places all add immeasurably to our holiday experience. 

Many thanks to your great team of tour managers for all that they add to make our holidays even more enjoyable!

Cheers,

Bob

I agree with Hils that Suzanne Brown is an excellent Tour Manager but my favourite is Caroline Rajani who was TM on my trip to Kerala. She was efficient, approachable, very knowledgeable and her enthusiasm for India was infectious. 

Lesley

since I re launched my TS/JY career in 2013 I have to say that ALL the Tour Managers have been excellent, 5 of them but I have to say that Rosario Malca ( Rosie ), Peru 2014, stands out amongst the rest, she just added that personal touch like she was also your friend and the remarkable way she handled so many altitude problems at all hours of the day and night, calling out doctors getting folk to hospital and medical centres and stretchered down from the top of Machu Picchu, organising Taxi's to get the fallen back to the hotel quicker, even dealing with scorpion bites from the amazon, Rosie also had a wicked sense of humour and took good care of each and every one of us not to mention her leadership skills, she was truly amazing and I for one shall never forget her for all the hard work and care she put in ensuring we all had the most wonderful time and that those affected by any ill health got the best care possible and all got home safely, we all had her personal mobile number with instructions to call her whatever the problem at any time of day or night, Rosie was one in a million

Good afternoon fellow solo travellers,

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and managed to enjoy some of the lovely weather.

A few weeks ago, we asked you what it was that the Tour Manager added to your Just You experience and you expressed it was things like their organisation, their friendliness/sense of humour, their passion for travel and their adaptability to any group and situation. Some of you went on to name a couple... which takes us to this weeks Monday Musing;

We are lucky enough to have some of the best Tour Managers in the business, due to your feedback in the previous musings, and the fact they feature regularly in Community reviews/post-holiday questionnaires, we know how much you appreciate them. What we want to know is.... Who is/are your favourite Tour Manager(s) and most importantly why?

We look forward to reading your comments

Kindest regards,

Julia

Hi Julia my favourite TM is Linda AKA Moggypawprints. Linda was always friendly and pleasant to all she seemed to make a point during the tour to speak directly to each person. She posted on the Forum before the tour to inform the group who she was and to say she was available if anyone wanted to contact her. Linda was usually to be found in the reception area or was with the group she didn't go AWOL...There were a couple of sick travellers for the duration and many complaints made to her about the tour however Linda tried to resolve the problems as best she could and was still consistently pleasant to all 

Best wishes ElizabethF

A credit to your organisation..

Cindy

The weather here was fantastic - lets hope its here to stay!! :)

Whilst I've only ever had one bad TM - Sue McCullough has been my favorite TM so far (Athens, Olympia and the Corinth Coast Holiday). She was great fun, organised and nothing was too much trouble for her. Her sense of fun was infectious. She was a big part of enjoying the holiday and I would love to be on another tour with her.

Kezzer

I have done 13 JY tours and 9 TS tours and apart from our TM in South Africa all the TMS have been great.

The TM who I will never forget is Rosario Malca, for all the reasons that Abbadave wrote about. I was the person who was stretchered unconscious down from Macchu Pichu in Sept 2014-not really an altitude problem though-and I couldn't have wished for a better TM than Rosie. Rosie is tops!

Suzanne Brown also previously mentioned was my TM on the TS Nile Cruise tour in 2006. She went more than the extra mile. I knew whilst my daughter and I were in Luxor that my friend who I had made on my first JY tour the previous Oct was in Luxor for a week with Voyages Jules Verne. I had hoped to bump into Margaret whilst we were at the Valley of the Kings, needless to say  we didn't bump into each other.. I mentioned this to Suzanne at lunch time on our boat and she asked me my friend's name. Then during our evening meal she told me that she and the local guide had located Margaret and knew that evening she was at the Sound and Light Show. Suzanne then arranged a taxi to take me and my daughter to Margaret's hotel  to surprize her when she and her granddaughter returned after the show. I was totally amazed but my daughter was a little nervous thinking that a random taxi driver would take us out into the desert and demand a ransom. All ended well fortunately.

I have an idea that Suzanne now does some work for One Traveller, having seen her photo on their website.

John Coleman, now retired I believe and actually coming from Market Harborough, the best ever TM we could have wished for on our Kenya Tour in 2007. Originally a JY tour, but cancelled due to lack of numbers so Margaret and I did the TS version which was identical. Having previously lived in Kenya and been a balloon pilot over the Masai Mara he was a font of all knowledge and extremely caring. Getting up at 4.30 am for game drives I can remember him making us sit down and getting our tea and biscuits for us. Not many TMs would do that.

Tony Clive, last but not least on my list, was our TM on the Canadian Rockies tour. apart from his knowledge he was hilarious, was a good singer and during long drives he always kept us smiling. On that tour he and the coach driver Marilyn really hit it off, Tony invariably asking Marilyn to do us a favour. We were always being taken off route to see an extra special waterfall, mountain etc. We all laughed so much when Tony and Marilyn sang their own version of The wheels on the bus.

Di

I have only been on 2 JY trips so far, and I can totally agree with Kezzer, that Sue McCullough is an excellent TM, and was a big part in enjoying the Athens, Olympia and Corinth trip last month. .

The other TM in Sardinia was not so good. He got into a heated drunken argument with a few of the group at the welcome drinks evening, kept his distance and head down the rest of the week.

Chris

Hi Julia

I have only been on 2 JY trips so far, and I can totally agree with Kezzer, that Sue McCullough is an excellent TM, and was a big part in enjoying the Athens, Olympia and Corinth trip last month. .  

The other TM in Sardinia was not so good. He got into a heated drunken argument with a few of the group at the welcome drinks evening, kept his distance and head down the rest of the week.  

Chris

Chris 

How awful re Sardinia tour I hope you put in a letter of complaint and got an answer in return.

The TM on Nashville and Memphis tour which was all about music, she had no interest in music whatsoever and let us all know her thoughts she just put a whole downer on the group...

TM can make or break a tour for me....

We are paying good money for these tours and we deserve someone who is up to the job.

Cindy

My  favourite TM  is Vlatka Milejovi.  "V" is the TM for JY's Istrian Coast, (amongst other tours she does).  I first met V when the tour was based in Rabac, and was struck by her organisational skills, good humour and friendliness.  The second time I went on this trip (now based in Lovran), we had a smaller group, and it was easier  to get to know her better.  She goes above and beyond, ensures that everyone is included, and just cares about everyone. 

She also sings well, and enjoys ice cream.  😃   And she has a fantastic memory.  I hadn't seen her for 3 years and she remembered me straight away, and gave me a big hug. 

I think I have been fairly lucky and had good TM's apart from one who wasn't bad, just had a "shouty" attitude, and tended to treat people like children.

I would like to mention 3 more good TM's who I have been lucky enough to encounter. 

Rob Hey was the TM for my second trip to Cilento Coast.  An excellent guy, very caring, good fun and there when you needed him.

Mark Harbidge was TM for my trip to Slovenia, which was the first trip there for JY.  He did so much that trip to enhance the experience for us, changing the itinerary where needed to give us more.  Without him I would not have seen Lublijana and Trieste.  I have very fond memories of that trip.

Lastly, my last TM, Damian Stent.  Damian was so kind to me after my accident on the flight out.  I think everyone on the tour liked him.  He was good fun, mixed well with us all, and obviously really enjoys being in Spain.

I agree with others in that TM can make or break a holiday, but I do try to rise above a bad one - I can only recall two real humdingers!

Of my favourites it's those who have TM'd my long haul holidays for their organisation, enthusiasm and ensuring that all travellers have a fun time - Judy Lewin New Zealand, Suzanne Brown South Africa, Brian Croft Canadian Rockies, Filomena Lima Cuba, David Crawford Alaska, Patrick Twomey Winter Rockies and then the unforgettable Sarah Wrightson Italian Dolomites and Croatia who kept the group informed about "facilities"!

Regards

Sylvia

Jan

Good afternoon fellow solo travellers,

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and managed to enjoy some of the lovely weather.

A few weeks ago, we asked you what it was that the Tour Manager added to your Just You experience and you expressed it was things like their organisation, their friendliness/sense of humour, their passion for travel and their adaptability to any group and situation. Some of you went on to name a couple... which takes us to this weeks Monday Musing;

We are lucky enough to have some of the best Tour Managers in the business, due to your feedback in the previous musings, and the fact they feature regularly in Community reviews/post-holiday questionnaires, we know how much you appreciate them. What we want to know is.... Who is/are your favourite Tour Manager(s) and most importantly why?

We look forward to reading your comments

Kindest regards,

Julia

Four of the Tour Managers have been great and the other one was 'ok', she did her job.

It doesn't really seem right to choose between them but my special favourite was Ann Forsey (Annie) who we had for South Africa. She and the local guide Shaun (Sean?), looked after us superbly and their knowledge of SA was first class. Their obvious love of the country shone through in their respective ways and was quite intoxicating.

By the end of the holiday Annie was much more than just a Tour Manager, she was a friend as well.

Sue