Putting The Tour Back In Tourist

I've never been much of a tour person, for a couple of good reasons.

First, I start screaming and clawing at the windows on crowded buses, which always makes the other people on the tour nervous. I don't do well in herds, and when I'm in Europe or Asia or Hawaii, I'd rather spend my time around Europeans, Asians and Hawaiians, rather than 150 people from Indiana on a tour (not that I have anything against Hoosiers; I'd just rather meet them at a Colts game than in Rome). Mostly, though, I love to discover a place on my own, and I believe that making small, personal observations is one of the most satisfying aspects of travel. Call it a personal flaw, but when I'm in Paris and I see a hundred people on a bus searching for clues from the Da Vinci Code, all I can do is shake my head and mutter, "So dark the con of man."

That said, I've had a few experiences recently that have changed my mind about tours. In London, my brother and I got in a small van with three other people and a friendly driver/guide named Gordon and spent three very pleasant hours on a Rock and Roll Tour. It proved to be a great way to explore neighborhoods like Chelsea and Marylebone that I wouldn't have found on my own, and the sightings of everything from Paul McCartney's house, Jimi Hendrix' last apartment, and the train station where they filmed "A Hard Day's Night" were nothing less than spectacular.

In New York recently, while researching a story about the city's history for a Japanese airline magazine, I had a wonderful, one-on-one walking tour of Central Park with James Nevius of Private Walking Tours of New York City. He revealed details about the park's history and design and sculptures that I would have never gotten on my own, like the fact that the statues of Shakespeare and Columbus have never once spoken to each other. We went at my pace and James never held up a yellow umbrella and said, "Come along, people."

So maybe I'm softening to the idea of tours. Are there any that you have loved, and can recommend?