Group tours, now often called Guided Holidays, are evolving with the demand of today’s traveller and truly create unique experiences that deliver memories that last a lifetime. Long gone are the days when a guide spoke over the intercom system while pointing out the window. Today’s small group tours offer exciting authentic accommodations, local venues and off the beaten path attractions you might not otherwise have found on your own.
When You Travel in Groups, You Save
When you travel by group tour, the tour company is able to negotiate bulk pricing to incorporate those savings into their prices. Everyone on board is given a better price per person on accommodations and attractions. If you were to book the same tour and accommodations on your own, you could be looking at a much bigger hit on your wallet for the same experience – if you could even book some of the exquisite, unique experiences often provided on a small group tour.
Smaller Tour Group for An Intimate Experience
A small group tour offers the camaraderie you expect from any group tour, but with a more intimate atmosphere. Because you are travelling with up to 10 people, as opposed to 50 people on a large group tour, you really get to know your fellow passengers. It’s easier to create friendships as well as maintain them. We see quite often people meet on a small group tour and begin to arrange their travels together.
Even though there are less people on a small group tour, you still have the safety and security of travelling in numbers (a safari holiday is a good example of this). Your tour guide is there to help you with the language or currency and to answer any questions you may have. They’ll be there to guide you in finding local venues without wandering into areas you shouldn’t venture.
Experiences You Won’t Find Anywhere Else
In years past, a group tour evoked thoughts of a tour guide at the front of a large coach telling passengers to look left, or look right to view sights. You made a few stops, filed off the bus, filed back on the bus and continued the pattern for a few more days. Group tours have changed progressively to meet the demands of today’s travellers.
Small group tours in particular answer the need for a well-organised holiday that still offers unique, local experiences. With a smaller group, coaches aren’t necessary. You travel by smaller vehicle, which typically means you can meander through back roads and areas of a city not reached by larger vehicles.
When it’s time to experience local attractions, it’s much easier to visit a local market or authentic restaurant with 10 people. You get to truly experience the culture and lifestyle of the places you visit without having to plan a single thing. Since most lunches are not included on small group tours, in the towns and villages you stop, your tour guide has the knowledge to help you find a hole in the wall restaurant or can direct to a path with plenty of sights to stop and photograph during your free time. Tour guides are excellent resources, and within a smaller group, you are enabled to get to know your guide better and to easily access him or her for help and information.
Logistics in general are much simpler in a smaller group as well. Checking in and out of hotels, meeting after free time to load backup on the vehicle, etc. take much less time – which means you have much more time to enjoy your holiday.
At Fine Travel we help you find the right small group tours for you and your family. We offer options from leading tour operators so you are sure to find a tour to suit your wishes and budget.