Guided tours are a large part of the travel industry and a common occurrence in my personal travels. I’ve taken a few multi-day group tours (like in Cuba and Peru) and what feels like a hundred single-day guided activities. These are fantastic for gaining access and knowledge that I would not have been able to do on my own. They are also what make travel more costly. In this post, I wanted to take a moment to think about how I approach guided tours and what you can do to make the most of an experience.
I’ll break down how I research tour companies and then how I narrow down and choose a company. Then I’ll give my recommendations and things to think about before, during, and after the tour. Before wrapping up, I have a short section on group dynamics – something that is inherent to most guided tours. Without further ado, let’s get started.
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Watch this blog post
I’ve also created a video if you would prefer to watch this information instead of reading it. In the video, I talk through these steps, with a few more examples including guided tours I’ve been on before. It is the same information as in this blog post, so it depends on what kind of learner you are!
This option requires a Skillshare account. This link will give you 15 days free, after which Skillshare costs $15/per month or $99/year.
Choosing a Company and Make the most of a Guided Tour
Which company you choose to do your guided tour with will have the biggest impact on your experience. This is because the company you choose is responsible for the details of your tour. Choose a company that is half the price of the competition with terrible reviews and you might have a terrible experience. Here are my thoughts for researching different tour companies and factors to narrow down which one to go with.
Research Different Companies
Instead of going with the first company you discover doing a group tour, let’s research a few options for you to be able to choose the best one for you. Sometimes there is only one company doing the tour or activity you want to do. However, many times there is more than one company. Here’s where I recommend researching tour companies:
- Google, of course. Try to be specific about the activity for better results. For multi-day group tours, including the word “group tour” and different cities you’re looking to visit. Investigate the first two to three pages to find different tour companies.
- Pinterest will be great for finding guided day tours. Travel bloggers often utilize Pinterest to promote their blog posts detailing out the activity and which company they went with. Although this may include more sifting, you’ll likely also be reading an in-depth review of the tour.
- Take a quick peek at Intrepid Travel for multi-day tours. This is a small group tour operator that I highly respect. They have initiatives to carbon off-set every trip, as well as Animal & Children Welfare, and Gender Equity in mind. They also have very cool tours – focused on active activities, vegan food tours, women-led expeditions, and etc.
- TripAdvisor is the obvious go-to for tour reviews and will have options for you, however, I find the platform frustrating to do general research on due to its structure.
- TourRadar is tour-aggregator will allow you to research multi-day tours and has a review section to look through. This site does not have all tours, especially smaller local tours and also pay attention to group size on here. However, this site is how I found Locally Sourced Cuba, which is who I went on my Cuba tour (I booked directly with the company).
Narrowing it Down
Now that you’ve broadened the field for different tour companies, it can be difficult to choose which company to do the guided tour. Here are the factors to consider to ultimately choose a tour:
- Group size – this factor is a big one for me. I’ve had wonderful large group experiences (see my Cooking Class in Thailand), but for the most part, I find that I enjoy small-group experiences better.
- Cost vs. your budget.
- Ethics aligned with yours – see Elephant Sanctuary Tour in Thailand for a good example of this. This factor comes to mind whenever I am looking to do wildlife or animal-involved activity.
- Timing – does the company do tours on the day/time you’re looking for?
- Local company or local guides.
- Review trends – this is when Tripadvisor comes in handy. If you know which companies you’re interested in, I recommend reading through some reviews to see general trends. Try not to focus on individual reviews, but find trends to what people are saying.
- Type of experience and included items – a good example of this is the Acatenango hike I did in Guatemala. This overnight hike on a volcano was particularly challenging. We ended up choosing a company that was a large group (didn’t love that part) but had the sleeping gear already on the volcano. This was critical because I am not sure I would be able to backpack the sleeping items up the challenging hike. It was the right choice for my level of fitness when we went.
Before You Book
Before you book the guided tour, make sure you understand the payment process. Are you paying for the entire experience now? Are there any expenses on the day of the tour? This is important to ensure you have the right amount of cash available on the day of the tour.
For the most part, I recommend booking ahead of time. This ensures that you have a spot on the guided tour and something to look forward to while traveling. I have heard of people saving money by shopping around while at the destination. Personally, I find that it saves time and the stress of difficult decision-making when I book ahead of time, which I find more valuable than the little amount of money that I would save. The only time I wait to book a tour is when there is a red flag and I want to talk to the company first or because the company does not take online reservations. Make sure you understand what is included with the tour and what is not, the book that baby!
Before a Multi-day Tour
In addition to the above, for a multi-day guided tour, I wanted to emphasize that you remember: it is still YOUR trip. Although someone else is responsible for the logistics, I recommend doing additional research about your destination to fill in any gaps or add activities that specifically interest you. Here are some things to consider:
- Understand your downtime during the tour as well as what meals are NOT included.
- Research extra sights in the cities you’re visiting that you might want to add.
- Research restaurants for the meals that are not included with the tour.
- And definitely research extra activities that you can do during your downtime. An example of this is the Sunrise Hike in Vinales, Havana Walking Tour, and Waterfall Trek near Trinidad that we added to our trip to Cuba. Each of these activities made the tour more specific to what I enjoy and my experience in Cuba that much better.
Overall, the trip is still YOUR trip and only you know what will make it the best for you. You also do not have to participate in every activity. I recommend that you choose a company that has the most amount of activities that you want to do, however, if there is an activity that you’re not interested in, you can skip it and do a different activity on your own. If you decide to do this, TELL YOUR GUIDE. You don’t want the entire group held up because they think you’re late when you are not coming. Consult your guide ahead of time if you’re doing anything outside the tour, during the tour time.
During the Guided Tour
After taking what feels like hundreds of guided tours, there are a couple of things that I have found to be successful in getting the most out of the experience:
- Analyze your expectations: Before the tour begins, take a moment to recognize what expectations you have. What photos have you seen? What have you done recently that might impact how you feel about the trip? Your expectations are the lens in which you view an experience, so it is good to pause and see what you’re expecting.
- Be prompt, every time.
- Tell your guide if there is something you’re hoping to see during the tour. They might not be able to guarantee it, but they will likely keep it in mind and point it out. Best to tell them near the beginning of the tour.
- Also, tell the guide issues you’re having as they happen. For example, if you hurt your knee one night during a multi-day tour, let them know so they can work to put you on the ground floor in future accommodation stays.
- Ask a question during each tour or each day during a multi-day tour. Doing this has made me more engaged with the activity and think more deeply about things.
- Stay curious and open-minded.
Group Dynamics
If you’re going on a guided tour, it will likely be a group setting. Sure, we’ve had guided tours where it was just my travel partner and me with a guide, but I always anticipate a group. And when there is a group, there will be group dynamics. I tend to notice group dynamics play out the longer I am with a group. So most of the following tips are for multi-day tours. For single-day tours, I recommend trying to stay focused on the activity at hand. If there is an annoying person, remind yourself that they will not be on any other tours with you.
Tips for multi-day tour groups:
- Be curious about everyone, at least initially. Rotate who you sit with at meals and who you stand next to while moving around to talk to everyone. Get to know where they are from, their interests, what they do/did for a living, and etc.
- Seek out those with similar interests as they apply to the tour. For example, I seek out fellow photography enthusiasts at picturesque locations to see what settings they are using, lighting, composition, and angles. At museums, I’ll seek out history-buffs to help fill in the blanks if I don’t understand elements of history. Or if I am stumped with souvenir ideas, I tag along with those who enjoy shopping to gather ideas.
- For those with a personality clash, create space between you and that person. It’s very natural to not necessarily get along with everyone on your tour. If you find someone who is irritating, find ways to create distance while on the tour – sit farther away at mealtimes, pick a different seat while on transportation, etc. If it is terrible, ask your guide to help you create space.
- Negativity breeds negativity in group settings. Recognize when you are being negative as you might affect someone else’s trip. Although it’s not your responsibility to manage anyone else’s negativity, you can disagree with negative statements and state something positive. “Oh I don’t see it that way, I am enjoying this because…” or “I know it’s frustrating that we do not have control, but I am trying to see the positives in this situation…” However, if there is a persistently negative person, I recommend creating space.
After the Guided Tour
There is something that happens at the end of every guided tour that can be awkward: tipping. Whether to tip or not is highly dependent on the tour and country where the tour is taking place. Do a little research on whether tips are expected in the country you are visiting. For many places (not all), tipping is not as expected for single-day activities. However, it is more likely expected for multi-day tours. Here are a couple of my thoughts on multi-day tour tipping:
- See if the tour company has a suggested tipping rate in the documentation they provided. If not, reach out ahead of time, so you can prepare the extra cash.
- Expect to pay different amounts for the different people involved in the tour. For example the guide vs. driver. During my trek in Peru, the company suggested that we tip the guide, our cooks, and the mule person.
- Usually, the tipping structure is something like $1-$5/per person/per day.
- Tip in cash.
I know tipping can be a tad controversial for those who live in countries where tipping is not expected on a day-to-day basis. But as I’ve traveled more, I do like the fact that the tip goes directly to support the person that provided me something valuable. Plus, I’ve never seen a guide decline a tip. In addition to tipping, you could consider leaving a review after a guided tour. Not a replacement for tipping, reviews are a nice gesture that can help a local company in the future. Some review locations include TripAdvisor, TourRadar, the company website, Facebook, and etc.
Guided Tour Overview
Guided tours are incredible because in many cases, you get access to something you would not be able to see on your own. And typically, you can learn a lot more by hearing from a local guide. They can also cost more than doing something on your own. That said, I hope these tips are helpful to making the most of a guided tour, from choosing a company to after the trip. Don’t forget that I have a single page checklist which includes the tips before, during, and after the trip.
What was the best group tour you’ve ever experienced? Share in the comments, so I can easily find inspiration for tours to take in the future.
Happy Travels,
Hanna
