Has anyone else found that tours offer so much more than you expected?
Coming from the UK, where package holidays to beach resorts are the go to choice, I’ve always wanted more…to explore. What lies around the next corner? What can I see, experience and learn?! After doing plenty of independent travel (when I had the time!), for me, I found touring was a great way to do this.
I used to have an outdated view of tours (which I think some people still do), and pictured crowds of people shuffling through a city behind a patient guide. But the reality can be very different. Sure there are some big coach trips, and these a great for many people to easily see a region (and I’ve been on one of these too!), but that’s just one style.
The tours I’ve taken are so varied, from trekking the Inca Trail or the Sumatran jungle in search of Orangutans, road tripping in the USA to the music hotspots, hiking in Northern Greece, or having a private guide in Indonesia taking me to the tops sights - there is a tour for everything and everyone (if you know what you’re looking for).
Here’s my top reasons to take a multi-day tour:
- Less stress: My number one reason to choose a tour! As an over thinker I can pour hours each day into researching travel; hotels. destinations, what to do, how to get there, how to make it perfect. When I book a tour, I put my trust in the hands of that operator (after plenty of research to find the tour!) - they know their stuff, what people want to see and organise it all. This is worth it alone.
- You can see & do more: In an ideal world where I could spend months of the year travelling about, maybe this wouldn’t matter as much. But in reality, I have limited leave, and limited time to spend in the destination I’m visiting. Having logistics taken care of is like a dream. Someone waiting to pick me up at the airport on my last tour? Heaven. All these little touches save me time, and mental energy to enjoy more. Transport between each destination, tickets purchased in advance, recommendations of where to eat - it all adds up and allows you to visit more places, or spend more time enjoying the places you are in, not figuring out how to do it or being on your phone looking it up.
- Unique experiences: Of course there are some things you can only do with a tour - the Inca Trail for example, but vs independent travel, you can get to some very special places on a tour., that you might not ever see otherwise. In Sumatra, we had a tracker machete a path in front of us through virtually untouched rainforest far off the tourist trail - could I do this alone? Absolutely not. Seeing an exclusive performance and story telling from Johnny Cash’s grandaughter in Nashville - exclusive to the tour company I went with. Hearing stories a local of 30 years who had done countless mountain rescues and watched James bond being filmed there while hiking in Meteora? Unlikely to hear this on my own! So don’t discount the unique aspects you can only encounter on a tour.
- Local insights: One of the things I love most about tours is having a local guide. They know the small details, where to find the best viewpoint, what dishes to try, or the stories behind places you’d walk past on your own. You end up learning so much more and really getting to know the place on a deeper level.
- Budgeting: I have a bad habit (and I think most people do!) of drastically underestimating my spending costs when I’m arranging travel. Flight + hotel and a little bit of spending money - check. I don’t factor in all the costs of transport, and that day you decide to take a day trip, or the entrance fees to the museum, and all those breakfasts you decided to opt out of when booking the hotel because you’d make do. When you book a tour it will clearly tell you what is and isn’t included in the cost. Most of the time a lot of the activities, transport, breakfast and some other meals are already included. You know upfront and have budgeted for it, can save for it properly rather than stressing about money while you travel - which leads me back to point 1 - less stress!
The one caveat for me is early mornings - I am not a morning person, and sometimes there are early starts (usually to see something epic like a mountain sunrise!). But if you want to make the most of your time and see things at the right time, it’s all part of the explorer mentality(and is why I schedule a couple of rest days after if I can).
I’m so curious to hear how others have found taking tours and any unique moments you had because of them!