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9 Drawbacks Of Traveling On Packaged Tours

It was not so long ago when your friends will give you that look of amusement when you declare that you are going on an independent trip instead of a packaged tour.

These days, the tables have turned.

People now wonder why you’d go on a guided tour instead of going about exploring the world yourself.

Having been on tours from travel packages in the past, and now predominantly on independent vacation trips, it would really take a lot to convince me to go on a guided tour… unless the destination is a place where a guide is absolutely essential like Antarctica or Everest.

And if you are still joining tour groups, here are some reasons that might convince you to stop and start going solo.

1) Financial savings

drop money in piggybank

Although sometimes a travel package can be cheaper in total costs compared to planning your own overseas trip, you will still probably find that you don’t really get the best bang for your buck when you break it all down.

Otherwise, booking your own flights and hotels, and making your own travel plans, usually will be less expensive than tagging along with a tour group.

You see, travel agencies have their own partnership programs with airlines and hotels. So the choices you have for transport and accommodation is usually limited to a few options. This effectively means that you will not be able to house yourself in a cheaper hotel or one that offers better value.

And common sense tells you that they will partner with affiliates that offer the best commissions.

Travel agencies might even mark-up the price quoted by airlines and hotels so that they can add on to their bottom line.

Often times, if not all of the time, if you break up the travel itinerary and find the actual cost of each segment, you will find that you are paying up to 50% more than if you were to book each segment yourself. But the travel agencies will of course… insist that the premium you pay is for the added value they bring to the table by putting the program together for you.

2) Hidden fees and add-ons

shock at hidden fees

The name of the game is upsell.

If you are able to secure a cheap travel package, good for you. But don’t go out celebrating with the money you think you have saved.

Popping the champagne now is premature.

Because now that an agency has got your foot into the door with a low priced travel deal, they go to stage 2 of their selling process.

Soon you will learn that you have to pay extra for local tours, better food, room upgrades, entrance fees of places of interest, etc. If you are dealing with a real sneaky agency, you might even have to fork out airport taxes as they are not included in the package price.

You’ll seldom be stabbed in the back if you are planning your holiday trip yourself. Because you have already done your research and factored all the costs in.

Other than that, don’t forget that it is a culture in many countries to tip your tour guide. The lesser you tip, the bigger your name is on their black book. This could mean things like being further back in the queue when there a few good rooms available for the group.

In recent times, I have also heard stories about tour groups being sent into dark rooms to attend high-pressure timeshare sales presentations. Yes these are actually part of their program.

You are then brought to suspiciously deserted shops to buy souvenirs… obviously the guides will get a cut from the sales generated from us.

You won’t be at the mercy of a tour guide if you travel independently.

3) Spending a lot of time on the road

rear view of bus

There’s a reason why tour packages can appear inexpensive.

There are 2 main factors that create this illusion:

  • The play on days and date
  • The play on transport

Don’t get excited when you see a good deal for a 5 day/4 night tour. Because when you take away the to and return flight from the schedule, very often you are actually only spending 3 day/4 night on tour.

I can’t believe that consumers still fall for marketing gimmicks like these.

On top of that, because you are visiting quite a few landmarks on your tour, that 3 day/4 night can become 2 day/2 night when you remove the time you spent on coaches, boats, trains, etc. Then take your bed time away from that equation, and you could be left with 2 day/1 night where you are actually on location.

Doesn’t look like such a deal now, does it?

What an irony when you finally convinced yourself to go out… and then have to play these crafty games created by businesses.

4) Have to wake up early in the morning

wake up in early morning

If there’s 1 thing I really hate about traveling in tour groups, it is having to wake up early in the morning because the guide said so.

Here you are on vacation trying to release some of the stress from the hectic city work life… then you can’t even recharge your body with sufficient sleep when a holiday is all about recharging…

It becomes a sin to sleep in the for the day even if the previous day was a pretty strenuous one. You are expected to suck it up, get up and follow along, or face the prospect of getting left behind.

If anything, this is 1 single reason that is good enough for me to avoid tour packages altogether.

And don’t forget that you have to…

5) Follow the schedule planned by the tour guide

unhappy with schedule

This means that you only have an hour or 2 as defined by the guide at each location. The pressure with keeping tabs on your time becomes overwhelming when other travelers in the group gives you the “eyes” when you are late to report to the reporting point.

You won’t even be able to spontaneously visit a place should it suddenly interest you. It’s not on the itinerary!

Even a relaxing restaurant or cafe cannot be a pleasant experience when you have to constantly check your watch so that you don’t miss the meeting time.

I personally think they plan the schedules with as much locations as possible so that travelers spend as much time on the road as possible. This helps reduce the real costs of conducting these tours.

And if there is some “free and easy” time, your can maybe squeeze in a mini local tour… at an extra charge of course…

Anyway, I find it more fun to travel without knowing exactly what’s in store the next day. Impromptu decisions can make life more unpredictably enjoyable.

6) You are trapped in a bubble

tour group follow guide

No matter where you are in the world, I’m sure that you are amused when you see tourists going about doing activities that the locals don’t do at all. The irony is that part of the reason they are here is to experience the culture and lifestyle. Yet they are doing stuff that the locals won’t touch with a fishing pole.

This is what happens in a tour group. You never get a real impression of reality.

Just making a simple journey via the subway in a foreign land during peak hour can be a real eye-opening experience in itself. You’ll never experience that in the protective shield of the tour group.

You don’t really get to learn about the life of the locals when you are being kept in the bubble that the guides have inflated. Your interactions are limited to the people in the group and the guides that are shepherding you around in a herd.

7) Being in a herd

tourist being herded

I didn’t realize how unfulfilling it is to travel in a herd until I started to travel independently.

For example, Being managed like school children lining up to get into a tourist spot when everyone else is just walking in without a care in the world make you feel a little stupid. But you can’t fault this arrangement because the shepherd has to keep track of the movement and headcount of everyone under his care.

You might not be a lone wolf. But being treated like a pack of children can feel condescending to some.

If freedom is an important element in your travel plans, tour packages is a no-no.

8) Lack of variety in local food

people sharing food

If you are visiting places with a reputation for local food like sushi in Japan, kimchi in Korea, or chicken rice in Singapore, tour guides would surely arrange for at least 1 meal that includes these dishes.

But if you are to go online and check where the best of these dishes are served, you will find that the places most famous for local delicacies will never be the places that tour guides bring you.

This is attributed to the costs and convenience factors.

But if you are to spend thousands of dollars to travel to another country, surely you are not going to put on that miser hat and save a few dollars on local food.

You can as good as forget about going to the best places for local food.

In fact, what you are most likely to get are buffet meals where miniature versions of famous local food are available. And meals in restaurants will already have the menu planned in advance.

Your food experience abroad could very well feel like you’ve never left home…

Do you really want to deprive yourself of the best sushi in town after flying halfway across the globe?

9) The internet and mobile phone is all you need

search on internet

In the past… before the internet… travel packaged tours make a lot of sense.

Information was too difficult to collate and you are simply too lazy to read lonely planet. You will then have to depend on travel agencies to organize activities and travel plans.

But now, all these information is just literally a couple of clicks away.

You can look up flight schedules and make a suitable booking online. You can find out bus routes and get on the right bus to the city. You can read up reviews of hotels and map out your accommodation. You can even read up restaurant reviews and see where the best local foods are located.

Businesses are making their presence felt online to help independent tourists navigate around unfamiliar places.

And if you do get lost, you can fire up your smart phone, and get a GPS to guide you to your destination of choice.

In fact, I’d say that if you are still traveling primarily with packaged tours, it is because you have yet to give planning your own trip a try. Once you realize that you can customize your itinerary to your liking easily online, you will never turn back to guided tour groups.

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