Should we take a tour, Or go on our own?

"I have found out that there ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them, than to travel with them." 
 Mark Twain

EEscorted Tours vs. Independent Travel

Taken on tour in China

As a travel agent I booked a lot of tours for my clients. And I have done a few tours myself over the years. Tours are great, but there are some things to consider. For one thing, you will be with a group of people, who you may or may not like. There are always a few of each in any group. And the amount of time you have in any one place is determined by someone else. But they are good bargains usually, because they include food, entrance fees and sightseeing and you have someone to tell you what you are seeing.

There are some places where it is better to take a tour.  My friend Bonnie and I went to China in 2010, and I can't imagine doing that completly on our own.  Figuring out transportation to things would be more difficult there than in Europe, which is fairly easy to get around in.  It just made sense to have someone telling us the history and pointing out things to see. However, you can go with a large group, or in our case, a very small group. There were 6 people total in our group and we traveled by van instead of bus. We had a tour guide and a driver for each city that we went to, and we flew between cities, so we had several different guides during our visit. I loved that, because each guide was so different in personality, and we were able to ask them so much about their lives, their government, and their feelings. I felt like I really got to know some Chinese people. Our guide in Beijing was particularly delightful. He was as curious about us as we were about him, and he was willing to tell us anything about him and his country.  And he was very proud of his country, but he realized that it still had problems, such as less freedoms then we have.



Taken on tour in Slovenia

 So, once you determine where you want to go, you should also decide how you want to go. Should you take a tour, or go it on your own? It depends on how adventuresome you are, and how willing you are to “roll with the punches” when things go wrong. And quite often things do go wrong. But I have had some of the best stories to tell when I get home, because of things that went wrong. Sometimes those things turn out to be the most fun, and the best memories.

There are pro's and con's to escorted tours and to independent travel. I have listed a few of them here, I'm sure there are more, and maybe you can write me in comments and tell me what you like or dislike about tours.

Escorted Tours:

Pro's

All transportation on the tour is provided.

They have done all the research on what things to see and do.

They have knowledgeable guides to tell you what you are seeing.

If there are problems, they take care of them.

Most tours include entrance fees to the major attractions and some meals, so there are not a lot of extra expenses once you get to your destination.

You have the chance to make friends in your tour group.

You do have some free time to go off and explore on your own.

Con's:

Lack of flexibility, you can't get off the beaten path.

You usually have a limited amount of time at each destination, time to see the sights but not necessarily enough time to relax and do some people-watching or explore the back streets of the town.

You are stuck with the group, even if you don't find people you have something in common with.

Some meals are provided with tours, unfortunately a lot of those meals will be in your hotel.

The buses are large and comfortable, however, they are still buses.

Independent Travel:

Pro's:

The freedom to go where you want, when you want. If you love a place you can stay a little longer, if you find a place boring, you can move on.

You can get off the beaten path and discover the small towns and find interesting places to eat.

Con's:

You need to do your own research on a place and decide what things you want to see.

You will need to budget for food, hotels, entrance fees, cost of transportation, etc.

You will not have a person to tell you the history and show you each place, and to help if there is a problem, although you can book city tours in each location.

Next time I will talk more about independent travel.