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Pros and Cons: Is an organized tour for you?

June 04, 2020 - 2:15 pm
Pros and Cons: Is an organized tour for you?
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Travel is a personal endeavor; a traveler’s travel style reveals a lot about him/her.

Our travel decisions depend on our education, environment, personality, budget, and time; so when it comes to travel, there is actually no right or wrong. In this article, we will take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of organized tours.

The Perks

There are definitely advantages to organized travel. Many travelers seem to enjoy organized tours and they have good reasons.

  1. Some first-time travelers opt to take guided tours, as a group makes them feel less anxious about stepping out into a new country. Organized tours are for those who like the sense of adventure, but, at the same time want certainty, peace of mind, and a feeling of safety if traveling for the first time.
  2. The majority of people do not consider an organized tour as an option but as the only possible way to travel. They might not have the time to carefully plan a trip or feel scared to be alone, they might need a company or feel uncomfortable because of the foreign language. For whatever reason, an organized tour is their only option.
  3. In some countries, an organized tour might be the only way to get to the destination. You will have to rely on a tour operator, a local one, if you are having an independent journey.
  4. If you look for special experiences, like a scuba diving liveaboard or a safari in the wild, or a visit to the townships in South Africa, you are unlikely to go on your own.
  5. Group tours are a perfect choice if you like active travel and if you are keen to meet like-minded people sharing your same passions. You will have instant travel companions, in case you are not in the mood or ready to be on your own. If you are an extrovert, you will feel that there is something special about sharing an adventure with a bunch of strangers.
  6. If you want convenience, an organized tour is for you. Someone else will do your homework for you - booking the hotels, restaurants, transport from the airport and between cities, everything but the tips. You just need to show up.
  7. Everything is planned. You will have a schedule and an itinerary, which will allow you to plan around it.
  8. Your questions will be answered. Organized tours have local guides so you will be able to ask about this unusual headdress or that traditional building. These guides are experts in a particular aspect of your destination and may know out-of-the-way gems you would never have found on your own. Sure, you can always read Wikipedia to know more about the sights you will visit, but hearing them from a local is a totally new experience. You get an insider’s perspective and opinion on the locale’s history, impact, people, traditions, celebrations, and more!
  9. Someone else will take care of the language issue for you if you are not a linguist.
  10. You will see more, and that's a fact, especially if your time is limited. Guided tours allow you to see places that you will not normally be aware of. With things organized for you, you will not waste valuable travel time searching for a room, getting lost, or figuring out public transport.
  11. There is safety in numbers, and even if you do run into a little trouble, your guide will make sure you are well taken care of. This is especially true for women who prefer to travel in a group rather than independently. Further, in some parts of the world, you will hardly get to see anything because the culture will not allow it. Thus, a tour will help you get around some of these constraints.
  12. You are free from the trouble of making decisions. Not having to think and make decisions is a holiday in itself! If you have a stressful job, you might welcome having everything taken care of for you for a few days or weeks. If you are limited by time, then having everything organized for you is very appealing. You don’t have to worry about details as they are all done for you.
  13. There is little risk involved. Tour companies are not about to expose you to any risky areas. They will want to keep you as safe as possible, considering the world we live in.
  14. You do not have to worry about transportation. There are few things more terrifying than navigating public transportation in an unfamiliar destination, especially one in which you do not know the local language.
  15. You always have someone to take your photo. We know it, what is more annoying than getting home from your trip only to realize all you have on your camera are selfies of your giant face with few recognizable details in the background? You do not have to worry about this issue when traveling in a group, as you can ask your tourmates to snap a few shots for you. The photos might not always be great, but at least they show more than your right arm and face.
  16. Sometimes, a package tour is your best bet. There are destinations where a package tour is cheaper, and sometimes significantly. Tour operators buy in bulk and can pass on those savings to their customers.

The Thorns

On the other hand, the disadvantages of packaged tours are equally obvious.

  1. You may have to spend time with people you do not like, or who do not like you. You will have to adapt to people whose personalities might not blend with yours. If you are an introvert, being with a group of strangers all day is a nightmare.
  2. Your punctualities may not match. What if those on the tour with you delay the bus with their shopping while you are excruciatingly on time, seated five minutes ahead of schedule? Ugh.
  3. You can feel a bit rushed as you are whisked from A to B to C. If the tour is too large your visiting time will be reduced by things, like gathering everyone on time, getting on and off the bus, etc.
  4. Tour guides can make or break a trip; it is a hit and miss. If you are fortunate to have a passionate, enthusiastic guide that is both informative and helpful, then you will have a blast. If not, well you can imagine. You might have been better off just reading your guidebook.
  5. Guided tours range in price, but some can be pretty expensive depending on your destination. In some cases, they might not be worth your investment at all. For instance, travel blogger Emily Malott shared about booking their Mt. Rainier day trip. They did it in advance and figured the weather probably would not be great. What they did not know is that when the weather is not great, it affects the chances of seeing the mountain at all, which was the main reason they booked the day trip. When she asked their tour guide what their chances were of seeing Mt. Rainier, he would not say. She said that for a tour that cost $130 per person, that was a pretty risky gamble.
  6. You are stuck with your itinerary, with little flexibility built into the schedule. There is a pre-set itinerary and most of the time, it starts later than usual. Sadly, it is not uncommon to wait up to 20 minutes for lazy people who could not be on time.
  7. Because there is always a schedule, there is little or free time. In order to meet deadlines and the distance to travel, most activities are carefully planned, sometimes down to the last minute.
  8. You are also stuck with the food. Although some groups will cater to your food choices, alternatives might not be satisfactory. If you love all you can eat, banquet-style meals, and set menus, you will love guided tours, as that is how they mainly feed the masses. However, there is little opportunity to sample street food and local specialties.
  9. You might feel cheated if there are activities you do not enjoy, a bit like you feel when you eat a meal with friends who drink (and you don't) and the bill is split equally.
  10. You may be visiting too many shops and not enough real sights. It wastes your time at over-priced souvenir shops.
  11. Tours can be tiring; sometimes agencies cram them with every possible destination to make sure you get your money's worth. Some tours could be 12-hour day trips. You get up at the crack of dawn, head to the meet-up spot with nothing but a cup of coffee in your stomachs, and set-off on a long and often draining tour. This is the trade-off when you decide that you want to see everything on your bucket list.
  12. You are on the go all the time and there is no spontaneity. You want to go on a vacation to relax and de-stress, right? If you are looking to do this, then a guided tour is not for you, as you will be moving constantly and forget sleeping in!
  13. Your chances of meeting local people are small. Most of the time, you will only be gazing at them through a window or rushing past them to keep up with the guide. This type of travel can become superficial. On a tour you will be taken to touristy restaurants, markets and sights, snap photos to your heart’s content, but will you have a chance to really immerse yourself in the culture?
  14. Speaking of photos, there are usually people in your footage. If you are traveling with a large group, chances are that some of your tourmates will photobomb you.
  15. Pickpockets and petty criminals know where the tours are. Another travel blogger from World Travel Vibe shares an experience when, after lunch, two little girls shouting something in their own language approached his mother. While she was focused on them, a small boy held a piece of cardboard up just below her shoulder, thus could not see her handbag. As is the case, another young boy’s hands went to her bag and grabbed her money purse. Fortunately, she felt them, swung around, yelled at them, and they ran off. Their tour guide then told them that scenario happens quite a lot.

Traveling should be a pleasure. We are not all the same and there would be no point in doing something that makes you feel uncomfortable. There are pros and cons to organized tours (as well as independent travel), and the choice depends on your personality, what you are looking for from a trip, and the context of the travel.

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