OK, so first, Scotland. I just took a look at the current Scotland trip. For the most part, it bears VERY little resemblance to the original Scotland trip, and hasn't for a while. There are a few elements in Edinburgh that are the same (tour of the castle, HolyroodHouse) but it's missing the storytelling activity, and the weaving lesson. But still a good day in Edinburgh. I *do* like that they added in the Royal Yacht Brittania.
The trip to Eilean Donan Castle and the hike of the Quirang on the Isle of Skye are missing, which were definite highlights to me. This trip for the most part sticks to the center of Scotland, whereas the original took in areas of the Highlands in Western Scotland, and eventually made it's way to the East Coast of Scotland. I like that it includes the Culloden Battlefield. I and a few others added that on during our OYO time in Inverness, and enjoyed it.
It still has the day at Loch Ness, including the Loch Ness Center, the boat ride on Loch Ness AND the canoeing on Loch Ness. So that day seems like a good one.
The day a Rothiemurchus looks pretty much the same except it adds in a hike, which I think is good, because this trip so far didn't seem to include as much hiking. The horseback riding is gone, but that's not a surprise, as it was for Junior Adventurers only due to the size of the estate's ponies.
The Waldorf Astoria looks very nice (we stayed at the Balmoral) and the Kingsmill *is* a nice hotel. It *is* nice that you only change hotels once.
All-in-all, it looks like a good, fairly typical Scotland tour, with a few extra ABD bits like canoeing on Loch Ness. But it used to be a fantastically unique Scotland tour, with the itinerary based on places that inspired the movie "Brave". It visited a lot of off-the-beaten-path places that most tours don't go to.
I looked at Tauck's "equivalent" 8-day "A Week In... Scotland" trip, and while they both look pretty good, I honestly like ABD's itinerary better. But that's just me.
HOWEVER, if you have more time, Tauck's 11-day "Legendary Scottish Isles, Edinburgh & Glasgow" Scotland small ship cruise looks really cool. I need to look at it in more detail, but it looks to visit more of the outlying areas such as the Shetland Islands, Orkney, and the Isles of Lewis and of Skye which both were on the original ABD itinerary. It also offers multiple really nice days in Edinburgh, plus Glasgow. I'm actually going to be giving this trip a serious look-see.
As for the ABD Japan trip, although some of the elements of the original itinerary are gone, I think the itinerary is still wonderful. Most of the days up through the time in Takayama are pretty similar to what they were originally (although you do miss out on visiting the Big Buddha in Nara). Also the boat ride is gone, but they were closed most of this summer after they had a tragic accident on one of the boats a year and a half ago. They've since re-opened, but ABD may have just decided not to add it back in.
The start of the ABD with the rickshaw tour through the Bamboo Forest is one of the best first days of an ABD ever! Totally enchanting, and a lot of the people around us looked at us quite jealously!
The whole day to Hiroshima & Miyajima Island is wonderful, as is the Shinkansen train and the Okonomiyaki dinner.
The visit to the Sumo Experience is very unique and very fun!
The days in Takayama are pretty much the same. I thought the trip to Shirakawa-go, which I'd never heard of, and the bike ride were both stellar activities.
The travel days from Takayama to Tokyo are different now, which cuts out the very fun CupNoodles museum and the amazing Hakone Open-Air Museum. I do think the loss of those two activities is too bad. You also miss the drive along the coast and the visit to the Great Buddha of Kamakura, which were nice but not highlights. But the travel time there was shortened by a day, because the drive from Takayama to Tokyo took a day and a half with the stops, and the Shinkansen train now takes an afternoon.
The time in Tokyo is different, but ABD has struggled with the Tokyo days since the trip started. It was a lot of shrines, and a river cruise that most people did not seem to care for. The current itinerary looks good to me, and I like the addition of the Tokyo Sky Tree and the Kintsugi Experience. Both sound amazing.
So, all-in-all, though parts of the trip have changed, I still think it is VERY worth doing! Still a magnificent trip.
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