Guided Tours: Because Wandering Aimlessly Isn’t as Fun as It Sounds

Let’s be honest — the idea of “just winging it” sounds adventurous... until you’re lost in a foreign city, hangry, and arguing over a crumpled map.

*Insert me crying here*

Guided tours have gotten a bad rap for being slow, boring, and packed with people who think 9 p.m. is way past bedtime (in all honesty, 9PM is past my bedtime) — but times have changed!

Today’s tours are all about insider experiences, skipping long lines, uncovering hidden gems, and letting someone else handle the details while you soak up the fun.

Whether you’re 25 or 65, a good, guided tour can turn a stressful trip into an unforgettable adventure. Let’s bust the myths that surround guided tours — and show you why hopping on one might just be the smartest (and coolest) move for your next vacation.

Myth: #1

"No one younger than 35 is actually doing guided tours!"

You are about to realize my favorite hobby is traveling, but my second favorite is proving people wrong.

Let me introduce you to Contiki.

Contiki is a guided experience for ages 18-35 only. That means come June 30th I am officially too old for something else. (It's fine......honestly, I am ok)

This means you don't have to sacrifice your hard-earned vacation to spend another weekend in Vegas this time around, let's show Chad there is other things to do besides blacking out for a week straight and needing a whole week to recover from your "vacation".  How about options that give you the choice of 350 trips across 6 countries?

These trips are designed to facilitate a social group setting that will let you meet new people, while experiencing new places. I don't mean getting to experience these things by staying at a hostel with 30 others, and 1 bathroom that's out in the hallway. Contiki guided travel experiences all include accommodations (actual hotels), transportation (not the back of a moped), and excursions (not running off with a guy that has a spot) as part of the price to give you and your parents peace of mind, while still keeping the adventure alive.

MYTH: #2

" I'll never get to do my own thing"

This argument has come up more than once when I talk to people about guided tours. I love to tell them about my suppliers that have options liked relaxed starts, and free time automatically built into their itinerary like the Cost saver option from TTC. Cost saver is a guided tour option with choice experiences that let you build experiences while on your own trip. Also let's point out that you are a grown person and you really can choose to opt out of a certain activity, while some choose to include extra pre-curated excursions onto theirs. You are not held captive, do what you want, and meet up the next morning for the bus to take you to your next destination.

MYTH #3

"I can't afford something like that"

At this point, you should be able to finish this information if you've read my previous blogs, not only do I bring your dream trips to life, but we have payment options available for you. My suppliers have some of these options for deposits as low as $200 per person.

Also, most itineraries include some breakfasts, lunches or dinners prepackaged into the price, so you can be budget mindful while traveling.

Oh, don't worry for all my fancy friends, there are still options that provide doorstep to doorstep service, but in this economy, I just want to find a client who wants that kind of experience and ask if they need a travel buddy.

MYTH #4

"I don't want to be shuffled thru popular tourist destinations, like a cow in a chute"

How about staying overnight at a vineyard, with the owner cooking your dinner, and getting first-hand knowledge of what it takes for that grape on the vine to become your favorite after dinner drink? How about having a separate after-hours tour of locations that are usually packed during the day? The goal of suppliers like TTC is to Make Travel Matter, (It's literally a headline for them). This goes with their pledge of sustainability as well. Although we don't like to say sustainability is a travel trend (it's not, it's a conscious decision to help preserve all the places everyone loves), many travelers are becoming more conscious to the effects their travels have. You can check off those bucket list locations while being mindful and becoming a small part of the making travel matter goal, that these companies strive to provide for everyone.

MYTH #5

"I cannot be stuffed onto a bus with a 100 people for 10 hours a day"

You don't have to, because there won't be that many people on the tour with you. They make these tours a limited amount of people, so you will never have this problem. Did I also mention you get a dedicated guide (usually a local) to accompany you the entire trip, so you can get to know your guide, and ask the questions everyone else just thinks. I know after 2 hours you don't want to ask the weird questions, but after 2 days you don't mind throwing some off the wall stuff at them, they know you by now can they really be that surprised?

After reading this blog post I hope you can see the long way that guided tours have come. The next time you hear the phrase guided tours, I hope you keep this blog in mind and how I must be happier than an upgraded international flight passenger and know I did have fun proving you wrong about everything you thought you knew about guided tours. Also, I hope you send this to all of your nay saying friends (Get better friends honestly).

If you would like to see just a sample of a guided tour itinerary, click HERE!

Most importantly,

TAKE THE TRIP!

Samantha Cooley

Owner

Worth the Miles Travel