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i thought it was independently as opposed to organized, not necessarily solo.
It was, but a lot of the people putting down group tours in favor of traveling independently obviously hadn't given much thought to the fact that not everyone travels as a couple or with friends, and that independent travel as a solo traveler is an entirely different beast. It feels much different when you have someone else along who can help deal with unexpected problems, and with whom you can easily converse in your native language.
Group tours are absolutely not appealing to me.
I do love independent traveling, planing and everything expected and unexpected. I also often change plans WHILE traveling. Stay longer/shorter, change directions, go my own pace.
I am not responding well to structured traveling, rushing and be told what to do, where to go and what to see...
And I hate groups! Especially obnoxious, ignorant people complaining and disappointed about everything, or comparing everything with their own country.
I agree, enlina, and for the reasons you listed! I love the freedom that comes from solo travel, mostly the freedom and independence to do everything on my own time. Also, change in travel plans, like you mention, become more difficult.
Thus, groups, whether strangers or friends, are often off-putting. Granted, if I travel with my best buddies from college, that's another story as we generally have the same likes and dislikes and don't like to rush
One thing missing from solo travel, however, is the lack of people to share memories with. Still, if you're with the wrong crowd, you're not necessarily in for memories worth looking back on! If I'm missing some kind of companionship, though, there are plenty of other solo and group travelers to hang out with.
Group tours are often the best way to see a lot for a little amount of money and leave the work to someone else. They can be safer than indepentant travel as well.
For some, planning and doing your own thing is the answer. A lot has to do with what one is looking for, where they are going and their budget. Plus the age of the traveler enters into this as well.
There is no way anyone can say, with knowledge and fairness which is best. I know if I were going to someplace like Afica, I would certainly go on a tour. If I were taking 10 to 14 days in Europe I would probably do a tour. There are other trips i wouldnt even consider a tour.
We have done both, independent travel and group. we have enjoyed both as well.
BTW, someone did mention independent travel is less expensive, I wonder if that person has even used a tour company and if they have compared based on same quality hotels etc? I am guessing not.
You are right. It would depend where I was going if I used a group tour. If it were someplace safe like the US, Canada, and most of Europe, I probably wouldn't want a tour group as those places are not only safe but easily navigable. Somplace like Africa or Latin America that might bot be as safe and is tougher to get around seems easier with a tour group.
I usually favor independent travel but there are degrees of involvement with tour companies that work nicely. We went to Peru and had a local company schedule a few tours and handle the domestic travel connections and set up hotels in several towns. It was very convenient. They got the required tickets for Machu Picchu - one day with a guide and one day on our own. We were not part of a large group but there were a few other folks on the local tours but not the same folks each time. The tour company got a hold of us and hustled us out of Cusco a half day early because of a planned strike that would shut down the city and we would have missed our flight home otherwise. That was worth the fee.
On our first trip to Europe we had a tour company arrange hotels but we did everything else. We did everything on our own on the 2nd trip but we had the earlier experience that helped.
I agree that independent travel works best in europe, but not all of europe such as the baltic, russia. It works well in Turkey although english is not availabe everywhere, but where it counts, yes. Great in India, the travel industry is well organized and experienced and English almost everywhere.
I know people who arranged their own tour in China but i felt comfortable with our group tour. So also in The Serengeti and Kenya. South America. What i don't ever want to do again is cruise although we have not tried a river cruise yet.
Sometimes i think solo could be better, less arguments with your partner! You may also meet interesting people.
On our first trip to Europe we had a tour company arrange hotels but we did everything else.
I think this sort of "tour" is becoming increasingly popular, and for good reason, as arranging the hotels and transportation is the hardest part of trip planing (especially for folks who haven't traveled much).
I think this sort of "tour" is becoming increasingly popular, and for good reason, as arranging the hotels and transportation is the hardest part of trip planing (especially for folks who haven't traveled much).
we stayed in B&Bs all through and along the french reviera and in italy we found a villa. sometimes we stayed in hotels, a little out of the way from the city, which were more reasonable while Barcelona was totally booked. but this works only if you have a car. so much fun to drive in europe on the autoban, you cover distances so fast, and it is wonderful.
Group tours of a city are a major no-no in my book. I loathe them! I can do so much more by doing a little research before I leave, and being independent you aren't on a time crunch like you are in the group tour.
I am very much of an independent traveler, never having done a trip where the entire trip was on a tour with the same group of people. I can see, though, how such a trip would be convenient in places where transportation isn't widely available and you're trying to cover a lot of ground in a limited amount of time.
I have done group tour excursions on an otherwise independent vacation and it worked out well. The best example I can think of this was last fall in the Middle East. The public transportation system in Dubai is not good and despite what people may say, taxis are not cheap (and it is not an easily walkable city, although we walked a HUGE amount)....so we used guided tours for the desert safari and the dhow dinner cruise down Dubai Creek. It was very convenient to have a car pick us up at the hotel, drive us there, wait for us, and drive us back to the hotel. We also did a guided city tour in Muscat, Oman, because our resort was so far from the city and this was the most cost efficient way to get into town. In all cases, though, we were the only people on the tour so they ended up being private tours, which was nice!
We also have done a guided tour excursion at the Colosseum, so we could see the "underground" section that the average tourist can't see. It was well worth the extra money to have the knowledgeable guide.
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