Why do people travel with tour groups?

I have friend who always travels with a tour group, he enjoys that kind of travelling and he never has to worry about the practical things as everything is planned for him and the guide takes takes of everything. I don't really understand why he finds that kind of trip so interesting, I have tried it a few times and I didn't like it. I find it frustrating when someone else decides what kinds if things I am going to see, when I am going to see them and for how long. I want to make my own decisions, I want to plan everything on my own, I want to solve the problems that I meet and I want to be in charge of my own trip. I definately prefer to be an independent traveller

I have always taken package tours and have travelled a lot. The itinerary is well defined and we have choices. We are given free hours and it is left to us to take those sight seeing tours. I remember when we were in Australia. we skipped the Great Ocean Road tour which was a full day affair as we had just returned late, the previous night watching the penguin parade. We spent the whole day at the hotel which was a 5-star, lounged around, ate in peace,watched a movie in our room, strolled around, took trams to see the place at leisure. Countries are huge and it is well nigh impossible to cover the whole place within a few days. The tour conductors select some worth seeing places which is enough to get the feel of a place. They take care of all the arrangements so that the traveller only concentrates on enjoying the tour.

looking for convenience when using the tour groups because of all the administrative affairs of the existing FISA that took care of travel, not dizzy anymore to solve the problem of transportation and accommodation

Hi Thorin, there may be several reasons why people travel in a group instead of independently. First of all you abdicate from any responsibility in trying to make logistics work. it can be a nightmare for a novice traveler going from one place to another if he does not have some knowledge or else help from the locals. Secondly in a group you can visit a lot more places than if you are travelling alone. i prefer to travel on my own, making my own holiday but this can be more expensive (regarding travelling fees).

I love to travel also and it's very easy to book it with a travel agent. And on group tours you come to socialize with the group it's fun. And it's also a better way to travel for first timers because it's cheaper with promos and you will be able to see many places and a tour guide will guide you. But if you are going to the same place again next time, it's much better to go alone by yourself so that you can do whatever activities you want and you don't need to follow a schedule that eat most of your time outside the hotel.

Nowadays, most people travel independently except for those who (1) have older folks travelling (2) don't know the language or (3) simply don't want the hassle of doing research or homework for the country they are visiting. Also, some of these packaged tours benefit from costs synergy and are very much cheaper. So for those who wants to travel the 'easy' and 'cheaper' way, they will sign onto these tours. I think it is more a practical and economical thing rather than cultural.

Some people are lazy and they don't want to spend time to manage the living, transportation etc. This is why they prefer to travel with a tour group. Because the guide already arranges everything well. They have the traveling schedule. And since it's a tour group, so they can get a nice price from the transportation, living etc. and therefore the price is sometimes even less expensive for you to travel. I love China

hello, Thorin! In my opinion, traveling with a group is safer and cheaper. I traveled somewhere in my country with a friend. That was our first time to travel in a far away place. It was a hassle and time consuming because we didn't know a lot of information about the place we wish to go. We got lost and we took the wrong bus and we needed to find a good place to stay and eat. We met people who are trying to deceive us. It was fun but frustrating. So on my next travel, I would go for tour groups. They organize everything. It's all set. Plus, we wouldn't miss the important places to be visited. It's a good idea.

Hi, Most of the time people will choose to travel in a group joined the travel agent because they are not familiar with the country they are visiting and it is safer to join the tour group,which provide accomodation and food during the trip. What they have to do is to make the full payment and follow the schedule given by the travel agents,then enjoy themselves. It may be tiring journey,as normally have to wake up early and then back to the hotel late at night. But that is the fun part of joining tour groups for holiday. Sametimes,you will get to know more people from your own country. In order to make the holiday trip more fun,then you can simply ask more friends to join for the holiday trip,then it will be so fun as you guys already know each other. I did joined the tour group for my holiday trip before. It is quite fun ;although I may not know some of the members that join the tour group.we can make some friends with them and have fun together.

Hi Thorin, Traveling with a tour group is, I think, a very safe and fun way to travel to place you have always wanted to see, but were afraid to travel alone. It I had the money, that is what I would do. In fact, I do plan to do that one day. Being with a group of strangers with the same interest, some or seasoned travelers and some are on an adventure for the very first time, is an exciting way to make new friends who will not be strangers on your next trip. All the responsibility of your safety is not totally on you. There is a limited of responsibility on the tour company and the guide to get you to and from your sightseeing destinations and back the safety and comfort of the hotel. I dream that one day I will be one of those tourist that can say "I have been there and there and there." This would be one of my ideal ways to see a little more of the world.

I live in China mainland,for here is not like that ,people choose group mainly for convernience,becouse we don't have that much time to prepare the trip everytime we will have to thought of everything,you are easy to meet with the reservation of the hotel is full when you going to book...but maybe like you said ..sometimes is like a cultural thing, ah anyway indeed for me I never choose going out in group...everytime I choose to go with my family or friend ,,,to choose a group is just for lasy people I think.... but it was not like what you write there,,some travel agency is turely like what you said make you be "busy",but mostly just take you to the place and let you play freely..and also won't wake you up that early

because it is much cheaper when we availed it in package, also it will be a lot more fun if we travel with lots of friends tag along right? i would that rather than travelling with only one or two only

Tour groups offer many advantages when travelling to a foreign country. For one thing you don't need to worry about language problems. You don't have to worry about hotels or transportation since that is included in the trip. It is often cheaper to travel with a group. Travelling with a group is also safer in many countries. I have been on several tours and have always been very pleased with them. Planning a trip on my own would require a lot of time, preparation, organising etc. and I would lack the support that a group gives in case of problems.

After all the travels me and my friends have gone to, it's already an irrefutable fact that traveling with more people means less expenses. Guides are less expensive if more people chip in for the fee, right? Moreover, since you mentioned chinese people, maybe they feel safer if they travel in groups wherein they are all chinese, and that they stick to their guide so that they won't have a hard time communicating with the people around them (who obviously speaks a different language). I don't get the thing about them staying at 5-star hotels though. A comfortable room to stay with all the essentials is enough if you plan to spend most of your time outside.

I am an independent traveler. I only take a tour if the public transport is not available. Like I did a two day tour of Kangaroo Island. I got to see lots of wildlife and meet some other backpackers. In Tallinn in Estonia I saw large groups of Chinese people. There were around 100 Chinese people in each of the different groups. Japanese people like to travel as part of a tour group because they feel safe in such a team of tourists. They can see many sights in a short pace of time.

well.. .people prefer tour group .. they think they will make most of it by going with a tour group.. and discover secrets and places..which they couldnt have found otherwise....but thse tour guides are too expensive for normal people to afford ... its better if you d o a week through study abt the place.. and u will be able to save whole lotta money and bring souveniors back home by the money :S

I believe it is cheaper than going on your own and also ease of travel. That is you don't have to worry about local transportation and well, the locals cheating you or getting lost....I personally think it is a great idea if you have limited time but want to maximize your time by seeing all the interesting spots.

I never got that either, I would never go on such a trip. But I guess it is much easier, so if you don't like planning stuff yourself, it can be a really good option I guess.

I am a very independent traveller because I like to go at my own pace but also I always thought it was cheaper to go it alone. However, I recently took my 82yr old grandma to Italy for a week via a tour guide type holiday, and it was truly wonderful. It's nice to meet new people and they do feel like friends after a week. It was also very relaxing not having to worry about anything while you are on holiday, ie, when the buses are, what time the attractions are open to, what days they are closed, it's really just for ease of use. Also some people only get 1-2 weeks off work and try to see as much of a new place as possible, whereas I usually bunk around the country for a month or two, and probably spend more money doing so! As I get older I am starting to reconsider tours as a viable way to visit places. If I can bring my grandma again!! if you are curious about these tours you should check out the film 'My Life in Ruins', it pretty much captures the whole experience and is a funny romantic comedy film! thanks, happy travellin~!

I agree that the guided tours are a cheaper and sometimes a safer way to visit distant places. And I think Japanese are the best example of mass tourists - apparently they like to travel and they do it in the more practical way. But there are other reasons to travel in groups. I'm from Bulgaria and I remember the groups of russian tourists back in the era of the Soviet Union. For many of them this was the only way to go abroad! In my country - to go abroad - we had to take an exit visa too. But this is a subject for another conversation...