Hi Julia,
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