Travel Tip 105
How to book a group tour
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The top ten questions to ask before booking a group tour.
This week I went on a 3-day, 2-night river trip with a couple friends from France and their two kids, age 9 and 12. It was their first river trip, so it took a lot of organization (which my mom did most of) and a lot of guiding on my part. We had a great time and I’m glad we did it ourselves, but it was a lot of work and next time I would sign us up for a guided river trip.
Whether you’re considering a guided river trip or a tour of Paris, here are the ten most important questions you need to ask.
1. What is the detailed itinerary?
When you’re on a group tour, you’re along for the ride. If one of the activities is something you can’t or won’t do, check if there is an alternative or if you’ll be left sitting by yourself while everybody else goes into a cave or does a long hike. Another important thing to check when looking at the itinerary is if you’ll have any free time.
My Penguin Island group tour near Ushuaia, Argentina was with a company that only operates small groups and is allowed to land on the island. Most people unknowingly book tours that have large groups and aren’t allowed to walk on the island.
2. Does the tour take you somewhere you couldn’t go on your own?
If you’re weighing whether to do a group tour or whether to do things on your own, you need to know if there are some things that you actually can’t do on your own. For example, if you don’t know how to enter the permit lottery for the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, or if you don’t get a permit after you enter, the only way to float the river is to pay for a guided trip. However, there are rivers that don’t require permits, like the Grand Ronde in Oregon, where I took my friends this week.
3. How big is the group?
There’s a big difference between being part of an 8-person group and a 20-person group. Consider how big of a group you want to be with, and make sure the tour agency has a limit that will work for you.
One of my Concordia, Argentina tours included a ropes course and zip line. If that’s not your thing, make sure your tour doesn’t include something like this - or that there is an alternative activity.
4. Will you be with the same group the whole time?
Sometimes it’s nice to stay with the same group, especially if you’re traveling solo and like to make friends during group tours. Sometimes it’s nice to switch up the group. This is a personal preference, so think about which you would prefer and look for a tour that guarantees that.
5. Who are the guides?
Check that the guide is local, speaks the local language and speaks your language. One of the reasons that we opted for a self-guided river trip this week is that my friend’s husband and her kids don’t speak English. I doubted we could get a fully bilingual guide on a river in Idaho or Oregon. (Read my travel tip 53 for why you need a local guide).
6. What is the transportation like?
This is very important if you suffer from motion sickness. If there’s a lot of driving involved, ask if you’ll be in vans, busses or something else. If there’s a ferry or boat ride, ask about what kind of craft you’ll be on. If you’ll be kayaking or canoeing, ask if the boats are single or double.
The only lunch option on this tour in Argentina was chicken. I traded my chicken away for extra vegetables but wished there was a vegetarian option.
7. Where will you eat?
Lots of group tours go to buffet restaurants to save time on ordering, and to ensure that there’s something everybody can eat. If you don’t like buffets, or if you have dietary restrictions, make sure that there will be something you can eat.
8. What is the accommodation like?
If you’re on a multi-day tour, you might not get to choose your hotel. Ask which hotel you’ll be staying in and do your own research on the place. If it doesn’t look like somewhere you’d want to stay, ask if there are alternatives.
When you’re checking the itinerary, consider the time of day for each activity. Most group tours visit Ollantaytambo in the afternoon, which is why I like to visit in the morning. You can see there weren’t any crowds this morning.
9. Are there extra charges for solo travelers?
This is becoming less common, but some companies still have surcharges for solo travelers. This is usually because hotel room prices are based on double occupancy, and they want solo travelers to pay double if they’re not sharing a room. Some tour companies expect solo travelers to share a room with a stranger, though this is not common. If you’re signing up for a day tour, there shouldn’t be any surcharges for solo travelers.
10. What are the tipping expectations?
Most group tour guides expect to be tipped if they do a good job – but some companies include tips. Read my travel tip 68 to help you understand tip expectations.
If the tour has small group excursions, ask how small those groups really are.
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Amazon River Cruises
One of my best group tour experiences was with Delfín Amazon Cruises in the Peruvian rainforest. Click on the blog title above to read about how Delfín manages group tours with tourists from different countries, who speak different languages and have different interests.
