You’re ready for a vacation adventure but aren’t sure if you want to drive or join a tour group. You’ve heard a lot about senior tour groups but you aren’t sure if that’s your cup of tea. What are some of the pros and cons of joining a bus tour? Here are issues you’ll want to address:
The Expense
Depending on the price of gasoline, it may be cheaper to join a bus tour than to drive your own vehicle. You might want to consider the difference in the cost of driving to your destination and then taking public transport to get around your vacation area. Will you need to begin your journey with a flight to your destination? You’ll need to do your homework to decide if joining a tour is in your vacation budget.
The Ambiance
One of the plusses of joining a tour group is meeting new people who have like interests. You’ll be with the same group for a length of days, so this aspect is an unknown. You may make friends you keep for many years, or enjoy people that you’ll never see again. The worst scenario is one in which an individual is difficult to be around and more or less ruins some of your travel experience.
A bus seat is usually comfortable, but the time spent sitting may become too long. You have no control over the travel schedule. On the other hand, you can sit back and relax and let the driver deal with traffic, parking, and all of the other stresses of driving. If you’re a person who can relax easily, you may catch a nap or two along the way.
There is nothing subtle about a tour group. You won’t be able to “blend in” as you travel. If you enjoy becoming one with the area, you may not want to join a group because blending is not an option.
Seeing the Sights
Most tour guides are well-trained and knowledgeable. They will add interest to each stop of the trip and be able to answer your questions. Sometimes guides personalities may not fit your expectations and that can dampen you travel fun too. Again, you won’t have control over how long is spent at each stop. You may wish to leave sooner or stay longer and you need to be willing to adapt to the schedule set by the guide.
If you have physical limitations of any kind, it’s best to factor those in before making your travel decision. At times bus tours require a fair amount of walking or hiking. You may not be able to keep pace with the group. Or you may find the pace maddeningly slow and become bored.
Most people would agree that joining a bus tour ensures a high degree of safety. Drivers are professionals, the itinerary is well-planned, and the group stays together. If an area is known for any sort of travel danger such as pick-pocketing or other problems, the guides will offer appropriate warnings. Singles may feel more comfortable traveling in such a group just for the increased level of safety.
The decision is yours. Check out the bus tour travel sites below and explore your travel options. Is a bus tour for you? Maybe yes, maybe no. List all the plusses and minuses for your particular vacation dream, evaluate the expense, the ambience and the comfort level and then go have some fun.
