Organised Tours.......A great way to travel or simply for the lazy gringo?

*Have you taken any organised tours?
*What have been your experiences of tour companies?
*What has made your tour great or how did they got it so wrong?
*Would you take a tour again & in which countries?
*Which tour would you recommend as being the best?


Having taken various organised tours we would be interested in your thoughts!

Reply to this

I have never taken a tour to travel. I dont like the idea of them. I like to pick and choose the things of interest to me in each country rather than have a tour agent plan and decide for me.
I have taken a tour now and again in places I was not allowed to enter without being on a tour such as a particular castle or whatever.

Mel
Reply to this

Organised tours are a nail in the coffin to real travelling. Reply to this

Though I generally travel independantly, years ago I did an organised tour of Japan.
My reasons were;


1. As I was on annual leave, I only had 3 weeks, so was restricted in what I could see.

2. I had never been to Japan before.

3. Figured there might be some problem with language.


The guided part of the tour when very smoothly. In my own unguide side tours I was constantly getting lost, because not many people I met spoke fluent english and I couldnt read the Japanese signs.

About half way through the tour we met an independant traveller who wanted to join the tour. The poor chap didnt have a clue where he was.

So I think a guided tour can be a good option to consider if you are short on time and are having a first look.
Reply to this

I agree with both Anna and Paul... there are occasions for touring and occasions for independently travelling. Because my friends usually either can't get the same holidays, or don't want to go to the same places, I join small-group tours so I can not only see and experience the countries I'm visiting, but meet some new friends as well.

My first tour overseas was a 'run of the mill' tour where there were 45 people (!) on a huge coach swarming into places and almost taking over. I've matured as a traveller since then and only take small-group tours where there is a maximum of 12-15 people that usually catches the local transport and get more into experiencing the city rather than staying on the edges and looking in as such (you've no doubt heard of travellers vs tourists...)

The tours I go for have a mixture of group activities and lots of free time to go your independent way. Of course, you don't even have to join the group activites if you don't want to, but that's how you get to know your new friends, by spending time together. The tour also has accommodation usually central to the town or location and sometimes offer quirky or off-beat accommodation that an independent traveller may never think of. The tours have also figured out that the best way to get from A to B is by catching this subway to that station to catch the next train to such and such a place. The traveller gets the experience without having to figure out the schedules and ticketing. They also hire guides in locations so you can learn and ask questions instead of trying to find it in the guidebook.

I am all for small-group touring for my overseas journeys and tend to make my domestic journeys (in Australia) more independent, picking up any local activities as I go along (a-la Stephen, though canyon-ing is a tad extreme for me).

I have noticed on tours that there seems to be that 'one person' that is either always late or loud that seems to rub people the wrong way. Sometimes it can be a bonding thing for the rest of the group. Good leaders 'deal' with them appropriately and sensitively.

Enjoy your trip whichever way you choose to travel!
Reply to this

I personally love independent travel and do not take organized tours for an entire trip. I have done a guided half day, couple hour, even full day tour of various sites, museums, the Vatican, etc, but that's about as much of a group tour that I can handle. A lot of the reason for this is that when I travel, I'm not a big fan of doing all the "must sees". Of course I do generally try to see these things (e.g. I went to Paris recently and did see the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, etc) but it's not my main objective. I love to just wander around and find what I find, and am especially excited when I find hidden gems that others have not seen. This does not usually mesh well with most guided tours. I have hired a private guide/driver for my family during a trip, but it was just our family and we determined the itinerary. When I was in Australia and New Zealand in college, they had their version of a "hop on hop off" bus which ran a certain itinerary for several weeks. You had to stop where the bus stopped overnight, but could opt to stay however long you wanted and catch the next bus, or keep on your current itinerary. So it was organized in a way, but really we had the freedom to do our own itinerary for the most part. The only time I might consider doing a tour would be if it was a very small group and was a special interest tour (e.g. geared towards a specific activity, a gastronomy tour, an eco-tour, etc). Also, I plan to do an African Safari for several some time in the hopefully near future so I guess this would count as an organized tour. I think for me though, it would provide me with the best experience and I would certainly look for a small group.

That being said, I plan travel for a living and there are some people who will definitely get their money's worth out of a guided tour and I highly recommend it to them for that reason. Many times it's because it's their first trip abroad, it's a big group of them (so they'd make up most of the tour anyways) or they are concerned with not knowing the language, what to do, where to go, how to handle problems, etc. Often times all they want is to see the major sites and this is great for them. Plus I have found that on the half day tours, etc that I've done, I do learn some interesting facts that I may not have found otherwise so these tours do have that advantage. I find singles often like guided tours as well because it gives them the chance to meet and travel with others.

There is a good middle ground for people who want some guidance but do not want the "If it's Tuesday it must be belgium" thing. There are hosted/independent tours which basically are a package which includes your flights, hotel, transportation between cities if applicable and usually includes a half day or several hour tour in each city on the day you arrive. These are nice for a lot of people because they have some structure so people don't feel totally lost, but they allow a lot of flexibility as well, plus since it's technically a tour, they have the tour operator who can handle many questions/concerns/issues. Whew that was long sorry!! :-) Reply to this

Yeah, I've had my share of organised tours. And there are enormous differences. You get the quasi-institutionalised guides in some cities that have been making the same descriptions and comments for twenty years. But sometimes you discover young, idealistic and quite innovative tour organizers and guides, who will make even dry content very interesting.

You get things like the "Before Sunrise"-Tour in the Austrian Capital Vienna where you re-visit the scenes of the Film by Richard Linklater. And we aren't talking about churches or museums. You visit a cemetery, a traditional restaurant, the Danube channel and a punkrock-stage - all in a few hours. I think in this way you get to see the "real" city beyond the disneyfied tourist traps (that are all the same in Europe at least).

The greatest difference between organised tours and backpacking on your own initiative is the lack of freedom. You get a package. So you stick with that. As a more freeminded traveler I prefer making my own discoveries and getting to know people who will act as a type of guide on a more personal level. You can find them at state universities (that are usually open to visitors), libraries and of course pubs. Sometimes I met people on the train (I played 12 hours of card games with a couple of Scotts on a traintrip from Berlin to Prag, we got so used to each other that we spent three days in Prag - but were pretty fed up with cards), sometimes I met people just asking for directions.

Of course the greatest advantage of organized tours besides getting a nice complete package is the insurance. If something happens to the bus or the group, the organizer can be held viable. You can sue the dirt out of them if they haven't some kind of insurance. While backpacking a lot of things can happen, you can have an accident or your stuff can be stolen or (knock on wood) you can fall ill. Of course these are all very extreme cases. But when something like this happens you realize how alone you are and how very foreign the country actually is, in which you are traveling. So you either take the risk or you can get yourself a cheap backpacker travel insurance which isn't very expensive but can help put your mind at ease.

All things considered I still think that origanized tours are good but you can do better if you get yourself organize.

Cheers!

Psemek Reply to this