Travel in Europe Tip: Should I go with tour group or plan the trip on my own?

Answer:
Depends.

I have to choose planning the trip on my own:

• If I plan a family trip with kids, the only appropriate travel time is during summer and Christmas break, we have little flexibility on start and end date of the trip. And most tours have fixed start and end dates too, that will not work well with our dates.
• Traveling can be exhausting, getting up early everyday during the entire trip is not an option for us. 
• I like to take our own pace to enjoy the attractions, I do not like being told to spend only one hour to see one attraction. 

On the other side, planning a trip takes tremendous effort, which is not for everyone.

I spent almost a year planning the trip to Spain, which was my first ever trip to Europe. I did tons of research: watching Youtube videos, playing the routes and dates, booking flights, trains, buses, reserving attraction tickets, huge effort. 

Note that I learned so much about Spain's history and culture before my trip. It was eye opening in its own sense. If you enjoy the trip planning as a journey by itself, then do it.

All the efforts paid off, we had a wonderful trip to Spain, the entire itinerary went smoothly, we also learned so much for planning a trip, which I will share in this travel blog.