Take a Tour

I am yet to take a traditional tour - one booked from home and lasting several days with a fixed itinerary. However they do have there place and don't discount them entirely. First off - checking out the wonderful glossy brochures of companies such as World Expeditions or Intrepid are a great way to get trip ideas for either on or off the beaten trail.

What is a tour anyway ? When a group of us got together in nasty little river town in a remote provence of Ecuador to hire a canoe with driver for several days cruising and staying with villages was that a tour? It was certainly a highlight but I hadn't planned it in advance. Similarly 7 of us hired a 4WD and driver to take us out on the salt flats near Uyuni on the Bolivia/Chile border. It would have been a) very expensive and b) very stupid to head out into this remote landscape without a local guide. I suppose in each case I got to check out the group as we formed it so I knew there wasn't anyone too bizarre on the passenger list! Also the money we paid, although significantly less than if we had booked in the West, went directly to the locals.

There are times when I think it is probably easiest to go with an organized tour:

• If you are way out of your comfort zone. A friend of mine was very nervous about arriving in India solo. So she booked a tour for a week as an introduction and then subsequently had no problems spending another month solo in that fascinating country. Most tours don't include the long distance airfare from your home country so this option is definitely worth considering.
• Some countries make it very very hard to travel independently because of the their visa regulations. Key offenders on this list at the moment are : Russia and Libya
• Going to remote areas such as the Kimbrleys in Australia, or visiting the Guerillas in Rwanda you will need to go on a tour if you not have your vehicle and gear to safely travel independently.
• If you want to see a lot in expensive countries and want to have reasonable comfortable accommodations (private rooms with en-suites in say Europe) you may want to check out a tour as it could be a good value option. Make sure you check out what is / is not included and the costs of any extras that you may want to do.

In country tours can be also the best/only way to do things such as village tours, treks, home stays and cruises. Some countries are very good at doing short local tours for less than you could do it yourself - Vietnam is an excellent country for short local trips of 3-5 day trips which can be very good value.