1.
Escorted tours are for old people.
- There are many unique tour companies each catering to a different age group and tailor their itinerary accordingly.
A tour that is geared towards 18-35 year olds will be more adventurous and have appropriate excursions such as white water rafting or zip-lining whereas a tour featuring museums, churches and more historical landmarks will probably attract an older clientele.
Pick a tour that is suited to your own interests and you can't go wrong.
2.
Guided tours are expensive.
- By buying in bulk, tour companies are able to purchase at a lower price.
Escorted tours may seem costly up front however your hotels, transportation, most meals and entrance fees are paid for in advance leaving you with little cost while at destination.
Doing the same itineraries on your own will always be more expensive.
3.
There is little or no free time.
- Itineraries are planned to not only give you the most insight but also designed to allow for maximum free time.
Tour companies purchase and arrange admission to most attractions in advance therefore allowing more free time instead of standing in lines.
4.
Escorted travel is too rushed.
- This really is about preference again.
It depends on how much or little you want to see.
Most brochures have a guide inside showing how busy or strenuous a tour is.
Some tours are fairly fast paced to allow more sightseeing opportunities while others are more laid back and take more time at each location.
The faster paced a tour is, the more you will see.
Check around for a tour that suits your flow.
5.
You have to walk everywhere.
- I feel this is just a cop-out as whether you are on an escorted tour or not let's face it...
you're going to be walking most of time when you're sightseeing anyway.
6.
The food is always a buffet.
- It is true that many breakfasts are buffet style to make sure you fuel up for the day ahead however, dinners or lunches are usually in unique settings or higher end restaurants with locally authentic themes and cuisine.
7.
You're stuck with a large group of strangers.
- Everyone on the tour has relatively the same interests as you do otherwise they would be on a different tour and therefore you all have something in common.
Many people take tours to meet other people with similar interests and keep those friendships for years.
Some tour companies offer smaller tours of 15-20 passengers to give a more personalized vacation experience.
8.
They use cheaper hotels outside of the city.
- Lower cost tours tend to use hotels outside of the main area to keep costs down for travelers on a budget.
Like anything, if you want to be in the middle of the action, you have to pay for it.
In general however, most accommodation is either in the city or around some sort of nightlife, shopping or attraction for when you want to explore on your own.
It all comes down to the tour you purchased or what upgrades you opted in to.
9.
You spend all day on a cramped bus.
- Most tour companies use luxury coaches with extra leg room and do make extra stops on longer legs of the journey.
Depending on what type of tour you are doing, other modes of transfers such as ferry or train are often upgraded to first class to ensure comfort.
10.
Escorted Tours are not family friendly.
- More and more companies are catering to family travel.
To be fair, not everyone wants to be on a bus trying to relax with kids running around and this is why there are now a lot of family only tours available.
These tours are designed for family activities and even take the little ones into consideration for excursions, food and other ways to keep them occupied and happy.