To Tour or Not to Tour? That is the question.

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One of my planning decisions (when I thought travel could actually be planned hahahaha) was to use a tour of south east asia to help me get acclimated. While this was a good idea in theory I mainly focused on the tour including as many cities as possible for the least money on my itinerary. So this is all your travel dreamers trying to figure out how to plan a trip.

What to think about...

1. How does this tour travel as in what modes of transportation? Cars, Trains, buses, planes, elephants, limos? Then ask yourself if you can see yourself being comfortable with the answer because most of your time will be spent getting to each city.

2. How many people can sign up for the tour? I personally like as small as possible so you don't feel like a huge tourist. The one I did had 16 which for me was a little big as it got loud with people talking and walking around you just felt as it was a giant group but at the same time it gave you options of people to try to talk to. It is something to consider though.

3. How many cities will be covered? How long do you like to spend places when you travel? Do you want just an overview of a day or get to better know the city?

4. How much not group planned time is there?

5. What age does the tour target? If there is any mention of the word party or bar in the description you will mainly have 19-24 years olds which is what happened to me.

6. Call the company so they can better help you pick the tour for you or at least give you insight. Often websites are missing information a tour person can give you.

7. Is this tour over a holiday? If so where will you celebrate? I ended up with NYE on an overnight train and didnt realize it until I was already on the tour.

8. What does the tour include? Sometimes the tour sounds cheaper but in the end does not include as many meals or activities as other companies or tour choices.

Overall for me a tour was not a good choice at least not a 30 day one. Who you end up with is the luck of the draw so if possible bring a friend along.

Tour aren't all bad though..

Pros to tours: Your accomodations, transportation, some meals, some activities are planned so you can focus on the city. Often you will have an expert tour guide who can recommend what to do after the tour as well as local places to eat. You always have someone to walk around or eat with. You can do alot in a short time.

Cons: More expensive than on own, you have no way of knowing who else will be on the tour and if they will be a good fit for you. If you love a city you have to keep going you cant stay. You have little say with the itinerary. The group is the focus for the tour guide rather than the individual.

Take the time to imagine yourself and write your own pro con list to see if this will work for you. There are people that rave about their tours. For me it was too much constant moving and not being in a group with people in the same place in life so I would strongly think before I did another one. I think writing down what you are looking for in a tour before you book one is important.

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