A friend referred us to Graham Watson's cycling tours, out of the UK. Our friend had a good experience. So in 2003 we joined a GW group for a week to follow the Tour through the Alps. We found the trip to be a little disorganized, but it was low cost. Our impression was that, with the rise of Lance and American interest, GW had to organize more groups/busses than in the past and so perhaps they were stretched thin on support. That said, our leader (his first time with GW) did a great job and was genuinely interested in showing us the best of the tour.

The "goal" of our tour was to pedal along the actual route on race day. Climb at least one alp on that route, and wait at the top to watch the race go by. Then continue pedaling the route once re-opened to traffic. If you have a similar goal, to see the race every day, then be aware that you'll get up early every day, spend time on a bus/van both before and after the ride, arrive at hotels late every night (eating at perhaps 10pm), and not get too much sleep. We felt it was worth it to see the spectacle of the Tour. Once.