Do you want to travel, but you do not know anyone who wants to accompany you? If so, you may be considering signing up for some kind of tour or other group travel experience. There are pros and cons to traveling with a tour group that you should consider before putting down that deposit.
Con: Cost
Traveling as part of a tour can be more expensive than traveling on your own. Companies may be able to negotiate discounts on accommodations and flights, but the truth is that if you’re paying for a good experience led by knowledgeable people, you’ll pay a premium for it. This is not necessarily a bad thing and can enhance your experience, but if you’re on a budget, it can be a problem. You can put off your trip for a little longer and save, looking at ways to create extra room in your budget. Some of those may be creative, such as consolidating your student loans. A student loan consolidation calculator can help you determine how you will save by consolidating with a private lender.
Pro: Built-in Travel Companions
If you have a choice between traveling alone or going on a tour, you may decide you prefer the tour because you will always have people around to do something fun with. The experience of traveling solo can be rewarding, but it can also be tough, especially when there might be some things, you would like to do but would prefer to have a companion for. If this is important to you, look for tours that will put you with people who have similar interests or are near your age.
Con: Lack of Control
You will be relinquishing all your control if you go on a tour. That means you won’t be able to pick where you’ll eat or stay or what activities you’ll do. You might be bored by some of the itineraries, and you might miss out on some things you’d have preferred to do instead. Of course, this is not necessarily all bad. It can push you out of your comfort zone but ask yourself if you actually want to be pushed out of your comfort zone or if you just want a relaxing vacation. If you’re after the latter, maybe instead of a tour, you should just wait until a friend or family member can take the time off with you.
Pro: No Planning
For some people, creating an itinerary is the best part of the trip. If that doesn’t sound like you and you enjoy having someone else take on this responsibility, you might really enjoy just being able to go with the flow and sightsee or otherwise enjoy your vacation while other people attend to the logistics. While it certainly might enhance your trip if you learn about the place you’re going to ahead of time or a few words of the language if you’re headed to a foreign country, you can also conceivably just turn up without doing any preparation at all besides figuring out what you need to pack. This can feel liberating.
