Group Travel Myths Debunked

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A beautiful quote goes “The only impossible journey is the one you don’t begin!” and it is worth mentioning that if you avoid travelling as a tourist to the place you’ve always wanted to see and your friend isn’t coming, you might be missing a terribly nice opportunity! A few guided programs work very well for the tourists but many end up being a disappointing rip-off. Here’s a quick guide on how to choose your holiday planner well and debunking popular myths you’ve always heard from your friends about their unsatisfying trips.

Why you shouldn’t avoid a guided tour for the wrong reasons: 

Believe it or not, today’s guided programs are carefully curated to specifically capture the local flavour and the culture of the place you’re touring. If your friends aren’t able to join you in your trip, worry less because you can always make friends with your tour companions.

However, pat yourself on your back if you hear any of the following ‘myths’ about group travel and know they’re biased :

• It’s for old people who want to stick with just seeing around the city’s landmarks! 
• It isn’t flexible the way you want it. This one-size-fits-all concept doesn’t fit me!

When you’re visiting some of the glorious places on the earth, remember that you are not going to be one among the few who’s visiting that museum/church. What the guided tours offer in this case is to gain you, the tourist, valuable priority access to the place where you’d have otherwise spent hours just standing in the queues. With an insider’s view of the place, it’s always warm to listen to the stories from the guide and other locals with whom you’ll have lunch/dinner. Some hand-picked experiences that you’d have never get otherwise are on the cards if you have found a perfect guided-tour agency.

A fixed clock means you cannot have any plans on your own-

If you’re flying schedule is prepared long before you leave, it’s true you cannot change plans on the fly. However, some agencies provide you the complete itinerary around which you can plan for things to do on your own if you’re game for it. There are agencies that work in their free time just to provide an immersive experience for the tourists to explore more on their own if they want to. A South African agency Trafalgar’s M.D. says, “If the group is small, it’s easier to give them the flexibility they want but regardless, we always aim to give the guests some time to do what they feel like independent of the group. We work to get them the most out of their travel.”

No time to get to know the life of the locals-

Some tourists believe that guided tours rob them of the chance to get to meet the locals on their tours and spend time talking to them about their way of life, culture and their heritage. It’s a false opinion they carry. Guided tours are flexible enough now to let you mingle with the locals, make friends, have a casual chat over coffee. In some places, the group camps over for two nights at a spot and this can be the time to get out, walk into a bar and start some conversation with the local bartender.