Group Traveling And Tours – Are They A Bad idea?

If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium—now there is a blast from the past, as far as movies go. The year, 1969, to be exact, and it starred Suzanne Pleshette, and Ian McShane, among others. More importantly, was the premise of the show. It was a comedy about Americans taking a whirlwind tour of Europe. Depending on what day it was, told the increasingly confused tourists what country and/or city they were supposed to in at any given moment. Apparently, so fast was the tour, so quick were the changes for the tourists, they just couldn’t keep it all straight in their minds.

One Stop On A Tour, Tours Cathedral, Author Erin Silversmith Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Why do I bring this up now? Well, that movie was based on the real-life problems many tourists had and still have, in some cases, in going on packaged tours to Europe, Asia, and elsewhere. Tours, and the groups that composed them, came to have very bad connotations for many travelers. And well-seasoned travelers began to avoid them like the very plague. In fact, a distinct and certain snobbery has set in these days. Where it is still okay to take cruises en masse to places (because of the luxury aspects of such type of travel), tours tend to be looked down upon as unworthy of any real traveler, Tours are often considered to be fraught with too many problems, such as traveling too fast, too far, too organized, no spontaneity, and fellow travelers that can drive you crazy and from whom you just can never seem to get away.

Tour buses have come a long ways over the years—from basic models to far more comfortable air conditioned ones!

Vintage Tour Bus of St .Marys, Author Dr. Neil Clifton

Modern Tour Bus - Volvo, Author, JI Engels,

Are these problems with group tours real? Oh, yes. They can be quite real, in some cases, and to varying degrees. Tour fatigue is not just a myth. Neither are the problems many tourists speak of upon having finished such tours. However, many problems can be avoided with a little foresight when planning your trip and choosing your tour.

You might well wonder, why even bother, right? Why try to deal with such problems when you can just avoid them by not taking tours at all? Well, tour groups also have some great advantages, ones that can be hard to beat. For instance, many tour packages include all forms of transportation and places to stay while on the tour. This can include, and often does, transportation to and from the airport, the bus you will use while en route, hotels (even porters fees plus all taxes included in the package price), side trips on such things as vaporettos in Venice, short cruises up the Rhine in Germany, and much else. The hotels have to be to certain standards, so you are assured of reasonable quality. Even some food can be included in the price, such as continental breakfasts, dinners every other night, some lunches, etc. To top this all off, it is the rare person who can complete such complex trips in such a timely manner and at so cheap a price! Tour companies get special rates from the hotels and restaurants they use. For you to purchase nights and meals at these same places would cost you far more as an individual.

Japanese Tourists In Front Of Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France Author, Luctor, Public Domain, Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

So the big advantage of tour groups? They are, comparatively, very cheap! They often are very inclusive. You get to see a lot. You don’t waste precious time stumbling around on your own trying to find places. Your hotel reservations are always there for you at the end of the day. And, you don’t have to worry about trying to rent a car, purchase train, bus, subway, or other types of transportation. In short, just about everything is done for you. You get to relax and enjoy the trip.

Lion Monument, Lucerne, Switzerland Public Domain, Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

There is also one more advantage to tours. For travelers going to new places, tours are a good way to get an overview of the main sites and tourist attractions. You, as a traveler, unless extremely well informed, can’t know all the places that you should see in a country. Tour groups do know this and they take you there. So whether it’s the Lion Monument in Lucerne, or the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, tourist companies know, and often incorporate such in their tours. What’s more, you have the benefit of a virtually round-the-clock guide to answer your questions on everything from what currency is being used and where, to how to go about getting a doctor if you need one. Tour guides are often like built-in concierges.

Bridge of Sighs, Venice, Italy, Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Again, packaged tours have a lot going for them. As an example, one tour I’m aware of is a 15-day excursion to Egypt. It includes Cairo, the museum there, the pyramids, the sphinx, a several-day cruise up the Nile, the Temple of Karnak, the statues of Abu Simbel, lots of other ancient sites, an overnight (with sleeping facilities) train trip, even an interior flight in Egypt, along with a short stay in Alexandria. And the price was incredibly low, being about $1,500 for all this, including transportation, days on a boat on the Nile (with staterooms), hotels, entrance to various sites, and again, even some meals. How can you beat that price?

Temple of Karnak, Egypt Author, Kurohito, Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Now, what are the problems with traveling in tour groups? Well, the ones stated near the beginning of this article can be real enough. Pick the wrong package and your “whirlwind tour” can be just a little too whirlwind at times. Traveling by bus can be fatiguing, but then, so can driving a rental car in a strange country. Dealing with other members of the tour, when you are with them all day, and then packed into the same hotel with them at night can get difficult, even downright annoying! And schedules have to be kept. There is little room for spontaneity on tours in this regard. You get up bright and early, and get on your way—like it or not!

So how does one take a tour without dealing with all these problems? Well, first choose your tour package carefully. Different packages include different things, such as number of places to visit, length of tour (time-wise, and mile-wise), tourist sites included, hotels, length of stay at each location, which meals are included, and which other costs are covered.

This means you can customize your tour package to some reasonable degree. My advice is to pick a longer tour. These often include free weekends in various cities and towns. The tour takes you on an excursion of the city the first morning there. These usually last a couple of hours and help with your personal orientation of the place. Then, you have the rest of the weekend free to go where you want, see what you want, and do what you want. Meanwhile, your hotel is paid for, usually you have at least a continental breakfast included in this, and sometimes an evening meal or lunch as well. This way, although with a tour group, you can strike out on your own and escape them all if you wish. Such free time helps a lot!

However, although there were times I wanted to do this, to get away from all of “them,” there were times when I really enjoyed my fellow travelers’ company. They could be a great bunch of people. What’s more, they spoke my language, English, so in places like Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and France, I didn’t feel so alone. And there is safety in numbers. Traveling as a group to various out-of-the-way, isolated tourist sites made one feel safer. And, I made a lot of lasting friends. One friend, a woman I met from Australia, still emails me regularly. It’s been 23 years now, and we still keep in touch this way. Also, I have some marvelous memories of things we all did together as a group (and photos as well), such things as dancing with a female member of the party in the actual summer house used in The Sound Of Music. That was on a trip to Salzburg. Or, another lasting memory is of having a joint hotel balcony party with food and drink while overlooking the Eternal City of Rome, Again, lots of memories.

Do you have to put up with the odd foibles of someone else while on these tours? Yes, this is true. One older gentleman and his wife latched onto me, and didn’t want to let me out of their sight. They actually became jealous if I spoke with other people. It took some doing and wriggling to avoid them at times, just to have some time alone. Still, we have become fast friends. Also, one tour guide I had was a bit too much of a flirt with the women on the tour, to the point of irritating several of my fellow passengers—the husbands, mostly. Not good…

So yes, tour packages can have their problems, but they can also be very reasonably priced alternatives to trying to travel alone in strange places, at what would be much higher costs. And, if the other members of the tour can sometimes get a little grating, they can also become fast friends you will keep for a lifetime. Just remember to pick the best tour for the style of travel you prefer. Again, I recommend one that leaves the traveler some free time when in various cities. Also, be firm. If someone is bothering you too much, won’t leave you alone, politely but firmly just tell them you prefer to spend some time on your own. One can still be polite, yet firm.

In these hard economic times, it can be just too costly for some of us to travel the usual way. This is where tour packages can be great alternatives. And, too, there are some countries I just don’t want to be completely on my own in, such as Egypt. I don’t know the language, don’t know the laws or customs well enough to want to travel their on my own. Again, tour groups do offer a certain “safety in numbers.” Moreover, it’s a good way for women who don’t wish to be completely alone when traveling. Some countries can still be very difficult for the lone woman to move about in, and sometimes even a bit dangerous.

Oh, and if your tour guide can’t answer your questions as to the most recent exchange rate for a currency, or is not able to help you with figuring out what different prices are in your own currency when you want to buy something, then I recommend using Currate.com’s excellent mobile phone features. If you have a mobile phone with Internet service, just go to http://currate.com/m.php. If your mobile phone has enhanced features, then use http://currate.com/e.php. Currate.com is the traveler’s best friend when it comes to currency matters. Currate.com has an online currency conversion calculator, regularly updated exchange rates for currencies, an Earth map that shows your destination countries by merely pointing to them and clicking.

Also, you will find actual images of all the worlds’ major currencies there. And to top it all off, we have an ongoing series of articles that cover such important matters as to where to find ATM’s upon your arrival in a country, what the costs (and hidden fees) are for withdrawing money in local currencies, where to eat, how best to travel, and places to see. We even recently discussed that mysterious Rule 240 that many airlines are supposed to adhere to when it comes to delayed flights. So check out Currate.com. With its great currency conversion features and topical articles, again, Currate.com is the traveler’s best friend! And enjoy that tour!

Rob Shelsky, Currate.com Contributing Editor
Robert Rademacher, Currate.com Editor-in-Chief

References:

Trafalgar Tours
http://www.cheapertravel.com/tours/Trafalgar?gclid=CK-Z5Ln3958CFSFy5QodPBzvEA

Atlas Tours And Cruises
http://www.atlastravelweb.com/europetours.shtml

Tours For Fun
http://www.tours4fun.com/europe-tours/

Tour Egypt
http://www.touregypt.net/Travtip.htm

Wanderlust and Lipstick, Your Destination For Women’s Travel
http://wanderlustandlipstick.com/

Good News For Single And Solo Travel
http://www.cstn.org/news/single.htm

Organized Tours…….A great way to travel or simply for the lazy gringo?
http://www.travelblog.org/Topics/10494-1.html

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