One of the biggest questions for new travelers is: why shouldn’t I just take a tour and let someone else plan it for me?
First and foremost, this is a question I 100% feel deeply in my bones. Sometimes, when I’m eight hours deep into researching my next trip, I just wish someone else would do it and I could just show up at the airport.
Secondly, know that it comes down to cost and flexibility. When trying to travel on a budget, booking through a tour company is not a good option. If money isn’t a factor, then consider the type of trip you want to have. For instance, if you want the freedom to change the day-to-day details of your itinerary—avoid booking a tour. On the other hand, if you like having a plan and sticking to it (plus the security of a tour guide), then a tour could be a great option.
However, I’ve also found unless that “someone else” is a member of my travel tribe—shout out to Lexie and our Iceland trip—I’m totally not a fan of guided travel. And she’s not even considered the type of tour guide you’re hypothetically asking about.
I’ve taken a guided day tour booked through AirBnB outside of Barcelona, and for a day handling tricky logistics it’s absolutely wonderful. I took another one through ViaTour (a subsidiary of TripAdvisor for experiences) while in Italy that made four different ideas a reality in one ten-hour day. I’m a big fan of these sort of guided moments—Iceland has a ton of them as well, but we didn’t take that route.
But when it gets applied to an entire trip, you don’t get to give into your whims and curiosities. You don’t have time to get a little lost, eat a little more, shop a little more… You don’t get to change your mind.
In Iceland, we never would’ve gone to an amazing brunch restaurant and re-visited a favorite waterfall. In Barcelona, I wouldn’t have spent two hours overlooking the city drinking a special brew I found at a bar I wandered into by accident. In Venice, I’ve found shops that I can’t find again.
A guided tour, for all intents and purposes, is fine—especially if you know your weaknesses and want to treat travel more like a checklist. I just can’t do that. I’m sorry, but Venice isn’t a day trip like so many guided Italy tours make it out to be. Cinque Terre isn’t a day trip. (Pisa shouldn’t be a destination, etc.)
But all of that said, if a tour gets you exactly what you want—by all means pay the premium—because there is one compared to what you can plan for yourself—and enjoy the heck out of that trip. Traveling for you may not have to feel the same way it does for me to achieve the expected purposes and goals.
My word of caution: if you go the tour route, do the research. Read copious amounts of reviews. The fine print matters: cancellation fees, refunds, other such things could cause you to lose your vacation and your money. My advice? Default to Rick Steve’s—he’s got his reputation for a reason.
Garrett M Lemons || 