Tour Packages – Pros and Cons
Have you ever debated on booking a package versus planning a tour yourself? I have done different types of tours and learned a lot about them over the years.
By ‘tour’, I am referring to traveling in a country or area where you want to move around and see a lot. If you are going to one single destination, this advice doesn’t really apply.
That’s why I decided to create a blog post about Tour Packages – Pros and Cons.
Group Tour
I’ve had my share of group tours and really enjoyed them. I’m not a very social person when it comes to meeting new people when traveling. I’m shy and usually like to stick to myself or with my travel companion. But I found most of my group tours to be fun and stimulating!
I chose the option of a Group Tour when I went to the below places. You can click on the Destination link to see more info as well as the Tour Operator I used.
- Galapagos (Galakiwi)
- Bali/Lombok (GAdventures)
- Vietnam (Islandhopping.com)
- Croatia (Islandhopping.com)
- Sri Lanka (TourRadar)
- Morocco (Onthegotours.com)
- Azores (Net-tours.ch)
- Cyprus (Net-tours.ch)
Why did I choose a group tour for these destinations? Here are some of my main reasons:
- Included multiple transportations such as boats, flights, and trains (which would be complicated to figure out and book)
- Didn’t feel comfortable getting around the country or area on my own (too complex for the logistics)
- Included activities like biking where they knew exactly where to go
- Wanted to benefit from a knowledgeable tour guide to learn about the area
Pros of Group Tour
- Someone else does all the planning for you
- One price covers everything (and is sometimes cheaper than booking it yourself)
- Opportunity to meet others and socialize (especially good for solo travelers)
- Feel safe with a guide and group
- No stress to get around on your own
- Informative tour guide in your own language
- Activities (such as biking) are included and handled by the tour operator
Most group tours have ten to twenty people. We got extremely lucky for our group tour in Morocco as we were only 3 people plus the Tour guide and the driver. It was like getting a semi-private tour for the price of a group tour!
We had a similar case when we went to Sri Lanka and the two of us were only with another family of four. It was so much easier getting around with a smaller group. It also allowed us to get to know the other participants better and develop a relationship.
Cons of Group Tour
- Very little flexibility to do what you want, when you want
- May be stuck with people in your group tour that you don’t like
- Set agenda and schedule for excursions (no sleeping in late!)
- Food choices are usually made for you and are usually a set menu or buffet style
- May not like your Tour Guide (either not knowledgeable enough or annoying – believe me, I’ve experienced this too)
Worth noting is that usually during organized group tours, they give you ‘free days’ for you to do whatever you want. Free days are really nice in case you want to venture off to see something special or do some activities not included in the package. One example of what we did on our free day in Bali was to go white water rafting.
I went on two group tours in 2019 to Cyprus and the Azores islands (Portugal) with the same tour company. I chose this company because of the very low prices for these tours. I was very curious about how this company could offer such a great deal.
I found out how these companies can charge such low prices for their packages. Local businesses are paying the tour company to bring tourists to their factories with the hope of selling their products.
While we were in Cyprus for one week, we visited factories for carpets, jewelry, and leather. Each visit took about 2 hours. Some people would not like being forced to spend time in these places, but I found it to be a small inconvenience for the bargain tour package price. And yes, I did end up buying a leather jacket!
One more thing I would mention about organized group tours is that the best tours I’ve been on are with a local guide. The tour company may be global but they coordinate with agencies at the destination to have a local guide lead the group. Not only do they know more about their country, but the local tour guides enhance the whole experience and make it feel authentic.
I would say the only negative thing I’ve experienced with group tours is that sometimes you get put in a group with much older people. As the elderly can’t get around so easily on their own, they often use organized group tours. I’m no spring chicken but it does make me feel ‘older’ when traveling with a 70+ age group.
Self-guided Tour
This is an interesting option if you want the benefits of an organized group tour but don’t want to be part of a group. The way this kind of tour works is there is a set itinerary with transportation and accommodation booked, but you are on your own the whole time.
I did a self-guided tour in:
- Canadian Rockies (Canadian Rail)
- Costa Rica (CRS Tours)
- Norway (Norway Tours for my summer trip)
The tour company sends you an itinerary describing each day with the address of the hotel and pick up times for arranged transportation. You just need to be in the right place at the right time. When we were in Costa Rica, we shared van rides with other travelers. Sometimes the tour includes excursions and activities. If not, you can book them separately on your own.
These packages usually don’t include the flight to and from the destination. For my August Norway trip, the tour started in Oslo and included train travel to reach Bergen. From there we had an overnight boat trip to Alesund. I liked the fact that all the transportation was organized by the tour company. I think it would have been complicated to organize it myself.
The self-guided tours usually offer a choice of the hotel quality level, such as 3-star or 4-star. They select specific hotels based on your preference. I usually choose the option and pay the higher price for the 4-star hotels. I never had complaints about the places they selected.
This was May so there was still snow
I tend to choose these self-guided tours when I do girlfriend trips. I don’t like driving so much when I travel. It causes unnecessary stress in my opinion. These trips take care of the transportation for you.
Pros of Self-Guided Tour
- All the logistic details are booked for you
- Reduced time to plan and book it yourself
- Flexibility to do what you want
- The feeling of being ‘on your own’
- Food choices are up to you
Cons of Self-Guided Tour
- You have a set schedule you need to follow
- Some stress to get to the departure location on time
- Less opportunity to meet others
- Limited choice of accommodations (can’t choose your own hotel)
Independent Tour
I call this one ‘DIY’ (Do It Yourself). This is the option I’ve chosen for most of my travels because I love to research, plan, and book my trips myself. It takes more time than booking an organized tour but you have the ultimate flexibility!
Some of the places where I planned the itinerary and booked it myself:
Pros of Independent Tour
- Total independence to choose your flights, hotels (especially for staying in B&Bs), excursions, and food
- Can often get better price deals by shopping around before booking
- Flexibility to change your plans during the trip
Cons of Independent Tour
- Requires a lot of time to research and plan all the details
- No one to give you guidance and knowledge during the trip
- Risk of having to deal with logistic issues (such as if your car breaks down or you miss the train)
One special tip I have for planning tours on your own is to search for organized tours and then replicate it yourself. This allows you to discover the highlights in a country or area worth seeing. You can copy the itinerary and simply book the hotels and activities yourself. I used this trick for the Dolomites and Slovenia. I actually saved a lot of money as well by booking it myself.
As you can see, there are many considerations when deciding HOW to book your trip. For me, there is no clear winner. Each option has its advantages depending on where you are going and what you want to do.
Leave a comment below about what you think of my Tour Packages – Pros and Cons! Thanks!
For my Itinerary Planning service, I would consider all of these options to find the perfect fit for you. Based on my experience in the countries I’ve visited, I could definitely recommend different tour options for YOU.
If you are looking for assistance to plan your next trip, I am here for YOU! I love to plan travel itineraries for myself and others. For more details on how I provide this service, please check out my Itinerary Planning page and drop me a quick email at jan@janadventures.com to get started!
MY FAVORITE PRODUCTS… I get asked often which products I use when traveling so I created a page of all my favorite products. You can check it out here
35 Comments
Travel and Explore BD
Hey Jan, I have found some informative pros and cons in your article. Thanks for sharing this. As a tour guide I agree with you. But planning a tour through a group or a travel agency is better in my opinion than planning a trip to a completely new place alone.
Cindy Moore
Great post! I’ve only done one tour package, with Globus for a 12 day Italy tour. I loved it and it was a great way for my grandson, daughter and me to see the country. The rest of my trips are either self tours or I plan out what I want to do and then my travel agent sets it all up for me, to my specifications. He can get better deals and prices than I usually can.
Danielle M. Ardizzone
I don’t travel abroad much, but I felt much safer (and less likely to be ripped off) when I went on a group tour. Great info!
Melissa Jones
I’ve done group international trips and planned my own. I agree, both have so many pros and cons!
Barbara
I love the idea of researching a location…& the guided tour, then researching on your own to cherry pick the tour to make it your own and book it all independently including the tour hightlights in your personal plan! Very smart!
Erin
Jan, you’ve visited SO many wonderful destinations!! That sloth photo caught my eye right away, as we’re heading to Costa Rica soon. All of your photos are stunning!
Thank you for writing about the pros/cons of Tour Packages and Self-Guided Tours. The tours (excursions) are what we spend the most money on for our family of six. I’d love to trust myself to do a self-guided option (to save money) but I don’t trust that we’ll get to see everything that the area has to offer.
Jan
Thank you Erin and enjoy Costa Rica! I loved that country!
Cecile Leger
Wow, Jan. These pros and cons are super helpful. I never travel with a group before. We usually plan ourselves. But I don’t know these pros to do so seems so interesting. No worries to plan, and you get to see all the exciting places that someone could have missed otherwise.
Sabrina
I love all of your pros and cons. When I first started traveling I was a single mom and I took a tour vacation with my son. It was super fun. And yes, we traveled with seniors but it was perfect. As I became more experienced I book all my trips myself. However, if we ever traveled to Europe I am going back to tour vacation. Thanks for sharing this information.
Denise
Wow! This was incredibly informative to read and the pictures were great, nice job! 👍🏼 Seriously this was really good to know when traveling starts to be more open later. You definitely do have great adventures Jan and I”m really glad you decided to do a blog and share all these good tips with everyone.
Thank you 🥰
Jan
Thanks Denise, your comments are appreciated!
Alexis Farmer
Interesting read! I’m a fan of flexibility myself.
Debbie
Such good information to explore all of the options! We usually only do local specialized tours, but I’ve been wanting to try a trip tour. If I can let go of the planning and researching… haha
Holly B
I love to travel, but since my husband passed, it can be very lonely so I prefer small group travel! The pros outweigh the cons on my eyes! Great post!
melissa
These comparisons are super helpful – thank you! We have never done a Tour Package, as I really love planning our trips, however, there are definitely some pros to a Tour Package! We have looked at some at points, and I imagine we will try one at some point, but for now we will stick with the independent planning!
Jan
You are welcome! I agree with the fun in independent planning but in some countries, you may not want the hassles.
Pat
Wow!!! Great post! The pictures are beautiful. I had to say that first. Lol. You really put a lot of work into this article and you did a great job showing the pros and cons of each one. Great information for travelers of all levels.
Jan
Thanks so much! I’m glad it was helpful!
Bonnie
There are pros and cons to both. I tend to like smaller group tours vs larger ones but I’ve also met some great friends on group tours. I just miss traveling right now.
Jan
Yes indeed. I miss traveling too as I have only been doing trips in Switzerland and France this year.
Annette
Love reading about your visits!! One day I’ll be able to get out and about, but for now, I get to explore locally.
Jan
Thank you! Yes, I too hope to travel again soon…
Sabrina DeWalt
I am definitely a DIY gal. I love everything involved with the planning as well as the flexibility to be able to change things up on the fly based on discovering new things to do and our level of energy. Sometimes I am ok with missing out on something we had planned because we feel like taking a nap.
Jan
Yes, I know the feeling about being a DIY travel planner. That’s why I’ve started my itinerary planning business. I hope it will take off next year after this pandemic. 🙂
Jen
I never know whether tours are worth it or if it’s better to go solo. This is such a helpful article with fantastic information!
Jan
Hi Jen! I’m glad you liked my post! It may be good to experiment with an organized tour to see how you like it.
Cindy Mailhot
We travel in so many different ways depending on where we are going. We choose group tours frequently and opt out sometimes…
Jan
Hi Cindy, yes it all depends on where you are going and how you want to experience the destination 😉
ปั้มไลค์
Like!! I blog quite often and I genuinely thank you for your information. The article has truly peaked my interest.
Jan
Great! Thank you for reading my blog!
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Carlena Andrion
Pretty cool post. I just stumbled upon your article and wished to say that I’ve really enjoyed browsing your article. After all I’ll be subscribing to your rss feed and I hope you write again soon!
Jan
Hi! Thanks so much for your nice comment and glad you enjoyed this blog post! I try to publish one new post each week 😊
Mike
Great and insightful. Thanks Jan, are you available for hire?
Jan
Thanks Mike! I am indeed available for hire! I will email you to talk about working together. 😉