by Birte Edwards

Created on: April 02, 2009

This is a tough debate, solo or guided. It is a tough one, for I usually travel solo when I travel, and it would seem that I should write for the solo side.

The toughness comes from my profession. For the last 25 years I have been a tour guide for incoming tourists to my country (Israel). My perspective may for this reason be different from most here.

Because I predominantly travel solo when I travel, I see the pros, but I also know the cons. When traveling solo, you and only you are responsible for every aspect - where to sleep, where to tour, where to eat, what to tour, how to understand what you are looking at. I find I spend a lot of time reading the travel guide, which takes away precious time from experiencing the country, its people and its nature. When traveling solo, even with friends, we use a lot of time, which can be extremely fun time, finding our way around, getting lost driving and having to backtrack to get to where we want to go.

Of course the up side is that we are only accountable to ourselves, we don't have to be somewhere at a certain time, and even if we are late, it matters not. If we want to change our travel plans, we can do so at any moment.

Guided tours have the great advantage that you know in advance what you will be visiting. Guides for the most have undergone extensive education and can link many events and times together. The guides and bus drivers are usually totally professional and will serve the visitor to the utmost. On a guided tour you should receive the most important information not just about the place being visited, but you also have direct access to someone who can answer your questions, who will tell you about many aspects of the country or town or site that you are visiting, who will look after you should something happen, knows his/her way in the country, knows the opening and closing hours of the places to be visited, and usually also of places not on the schedule, and much more.

You are never stuck without company, unless you choose to be by yourself. This one point can be the reason why you may NOT choose a guided tour. You know you are going to see all the sites promised, and if lucky even a bit more, usually at no extra cost.

The cost is also an aspect to consider. It is usually much cheaper to travel with guided tours. The two places where prices become considerably lower are airfares and hotel accommodations. These two instances generally give much lower prices to organizing travel agents. There is so much less

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>