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Old 08-12-2024, 06:21 AM   #1
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Tours - Adventure Caravans versus Fantasy RV

My wife and I are considering an organized tour of the Canadian maritimes. We have identified Adventure Caravans and Fantasy RV as vendors to consider. This thread is not to debate the merits of organized tours, but rather to discuss the relative value between these two vendors. The following questions apply to any tour offered by these vendors.

If you have toured with both organizations, which did you prefer and why?

If you have used one of these vendors, what was your experience?

Undoubtedly, both vendors will keep you busy. Did you ever feel that your schedule was over packed? Did you feel you had too much free time?

I’m just looking for overall experiences. I appreciate any input y’all have.
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Old 08-12-2024, 11:49 PM   #2
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Fantasy Tours is who FMCA uses for their tours. I haven't been on one of Fantasys tours.
I've one been on the former military club tours, and they are about $1,000 less than any other tours.
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Old 08-13-2024, 09:11 AM   #3
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I have been on one Fantasy tour. It was a 30+ day western tour. It was well done and professional. You are free to attend or not attend any of the planned activities. However, if you don't participate a lot, then the wagon master will want to talk with you and find out why - that is their job.
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Old 08-13-2024, 09:58 AM   #4
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I am currently on a 60 day Alaska tour with Fantasy. There are other threads on IRV2 where a larger number of people say Fantasy is better than Adventure. This is my one an only Fantasy tour, not because we do not like Fantasy, but because the group touring in an RV is just not our style. Our Wagonmaster is very good, he knows all of the places to go that you may miss on your own. He is also knowledgeable of the road conditions, gas stops large enough for RV's, interesting side stops during your drive, etc. Overall we are very happy we did this tour for Alaska since there is so much to see and so much you could miss. We are 28 days into the 60 day tour and have enjoyed Alaska and its beautiful scenery.
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Old 08-13-2024, 10:09 AM   #5
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We took the 60 day Alaska tour with Fantasy RV two years ago and we absolutely enjoyed it. The wagon master and tail gunner were both great guides, and it since they took care of all arrangements all we had to do was go along and enjoy ourselves! While you cover a lot of ground in 60 days, we really didn't feel rushed. On travel days you go at your own pace, stop where you want and do what you want. We haven't use Adventure so can't comment on their service.
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Old 08-13-2024, 08:39 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by boomersooner View Post
I am currently on a 60 day Alaska tour with Fantasy. There are other threads on IRV2 where a larger number of people say Fantasy is better than Adventure. This is my one an only Fantasy tour, not because we do not like Fantasy, but because the group touring in an RV is just not our style. Our Wagonmaster is very good, he knows all of the places to go that you may miss on your own. He is also knowledgeable of the road conditions, gas stops large enough for RV's, interesting side stops during your drive, etc. Overall we are very happy we did this tour for Alaska since there is so much to see and so much you could miss. We are 28 days into the 60 day tour and have enjoyed Alaska and its beautiful scenery.
Please report back after your trip is over. We are also in a Tiffin class A pulling an Expedition Max. I am curious about how you rig does over the tour. We are thinking of this trip in 2027.
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Old 08-13-2024, 08:40 PM   #7
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We took the 60 day Alaska tour with Fantasy RV two years ago and we absolutely enjoyed it. The wagon master and tail gunner were both great guides, and it since they took care of all arrangements all we had to do was go along and enjoy ourselves! While you cover a lot of ground in 60 days, we really didn't feel rushed. On travel days you go at your own pace, stop where you want and do what you want. We haven't use Adventure so can't comment on their service.
Thanks for the report. Sounds great.
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Old 08-13-2024, 08:41 PM   #8
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I have been on one Fantasy tour. It was a 30+ day western tour. It was well done and professional. You are free to attend or not attend any of the planned activities. However, if you don't participate a lot, then the wagon master will want to talk with you and find out why - that is their job.
Thanks for the info.
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Old 08-14-2024, 01:36 AM   #9
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Please report back after your trip is over. We are also in a Tiffin class A pulling an Expedition Max. I am curious about how you rig does over the tour. We are thinking of this trip in 2027.
So far so good. Although it was very rough and somewhat grueling, we did the Top of the World Highway and I would not do it again. It was very rough and slow going, the RV was filthy and dirt and dust inside the bays and inside the coach. However, it was a once in a lifetime experience that I can say I have done and do not have to do it again. Dawson City was a nice visit, and taking the ferry across the Yukon was pretty cool as well. Again, once is a lifetime and great experience but I would not do it again.
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Old 08-14-2024, 09:49 AM   #10
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The wagonmaster and tailgunner are paid positions, you're right "it's their job".
That is one of the reasons the former military club is so much less money, those positions are volunteer.
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Old 08-14-2024, 03:57 PM   #11
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So far so good. Although it was very rough and somewhat grueling, we did the Top of the World Highway and I would not do it again. It was very rough and slow going, the RV was filthy and dirt and dust inside the bays and inside the coach. However, it was a once in a lifetime experience that I can say I have done and do not have to do it again. Dawson City was a nice visit, and taking the ferry across the Yukon was pretty cool as well. Again, once is a lifetime and great experience but I would not do it again.
Hmmm.... our motorhome never got dirt in the bays or inside. We drove the Cassier and also many unpaved roads to get to boondocking spots.
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Old 08-14-2024, 05:45 PM   #12
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Hmmm.... our motorhome never got dirt in the bays or inside. We drove the Cassier and also many unpaved roads to get to boondocking spots.
Did you do TOW Highway? Every coach in our tour group had dust. It was very dry so the dust was literally in clouds. It is 108 miles of nothing but gravel, dirt, and dust from Dawson City to Chicken AK.
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Old 08-14-2024, 06:51 PM   #13
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Did you do TOW Highway? Every coach in our tour group had dust. It was very dry so the dust was literally in clouds. It is 108 miles of nothing but gravel, dirt, and dust from Dawson City to Chicken AK.
Yes, we did the Top of the World Highway both directions. Perhaps since you were with a group you were all following each other too closely.
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Old 08-15-2024, 07:51 AM   #14
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We have not taken a tour with Adventure, but have been on 2 with Fantasy. In summer of 2022, we went on the 7-week tour of the Canadian Maritimes with Fantasy. I can't remember how many stops there were, but it was a bunch. New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island. We saw some amazingly beautiful scenery, some interesting historical places, and met some really nice people. Some specifics regarding your questions:

- We went to so many places in such a very short time, I sort of felt rushed. I wish the tour had added a couple of weeks so that we could spend more time in some of the stops. I think that is just the nature of organized tours.
- Fantasy took care of almost everything. No worries about campground availability, no wondering about tickets to get into this museum or that program. Most meals were part of the tour.
- Getting to/from Newfoundland involves taking a lengthy ferry ride. Fantasy set up all the tickets and reservations for us. No worries about that at all.
- We had great Tailgunners, but our Wagonmaster was past his expiration date. He was very experienced and knew a lot of stuff, having been on this same trip several times. But had a difficult time organizing stuff. The good news is the Tailgunners were very good at organizing and took up the slack when necessary.
- There was a mix of free time and organized activities. I think the mix was balanced well. All of the organized activities required bus rides to the activity. And many of the bus rides were over an hour, some even longer. I guess riding the bus was preferable to having each person driving a toad, but it became very tedious as the tour progressed.

Bottom line: I highly recommend the Maritimes trip with Fantasy. They have put together a great set of stops with a wonderful mix of historical and scenic places. One of the best stops was in Halifax for the Military Tattoo Show. If you haven't been to a Tattoo, I suggest that you seek one out - I know they do one here in the US at Norfolk.

We went on 2 whale watching boat trips and were not disappointed.

Some of the food was just so-so. But we had GREAT seafood in some of the places. Specifically, the huge scallops in Digby Nova Scotia are a real treat. Seafood in Halifax was really good, too. Lobster almost everywhere we went.

The cost of the trip is pretty high, but with all the campground fees and especially the ferry trip to/from Newfoundland, I think it was reasonable.

Hope this helps.

Regards.

Chuck
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