Perceptions of guided tours while traveling vary greatly. It seems that many travelers fear, among other things, the feeling of being somewhat “stuck” and the feeling of actually being seen as a tourist! But now there are guided tours for all tastes and styles: on foot, by bicycle, by bus, carriage, vintage car, etc. In addition to transportation, joining a guided tour for a few hours or a day is an opportunity to go beyond first impressions.
8 Reasons To Sign Up For A Guided Tour
Here are 8 good reasons to join guided tours while traveling. After reading this, you might dare to do a guided activity, a guided tour, on your next trips.
1- The Guided Tour Helps You Benefit From Your Earnings
Spending a few hours with a guide at the start of the trip will allow you to get into the city and gather a lot of background information for further exploration.
2- Take A Travel Guide To Save Time
With Travel Guide, there’s no need to find your way around. The guide takes us straight to the point without turning around. It’s ideal when you have little time and a long list of tourist attractions you want to discover.
3- Guided Tours On The Trip Help To Travel Easily From One Attraction To Another
Without necessarily being on a guided tour, the “hop on, hop off” buses, which take you from one tourist attraction to another, will make your life a lot easier. You come and go as you please. On board, you can also use the provided headphones to listen to general explanations in the language of your choice.
4- Because There Are Guided Tours For Every Budget
SANDEMANs NEW EUROPE offers free guided tours in 18 cities. In Amsterdam, Holland, discover the Red Light District, its unmissable cafes, or simply take a general tour of the city on foot or by bicycle. In Berlin, Germany, join a tour that takes you from the ancient wall line of Check Point Charlie to the beautiful Gendarmenmarkt square, Museum Island and its former royal gardens, the Lustgarten.
In Copenhagen, in addition to the city tour, a pub crawl is offered. In Lisbon, in addition to a pub crawl (for sure) and a city tour, the medieval neighborhoods of Belém and Aldama are among the options. In Tel Aviv, there are two guided tours of the city on the program, as is the case in New York, where a third tour is also offered in Spanish.
Of course, a tip to the guide offering the tour (between $5-10 CAD) is highly recommended!
5- Tours Guided By Volunteers That Allow Them To Meet The Residents Of the City
A growing number of cities offer guided tours provided by volunteer guides to help you discover their corner of the country in a personal way, as if you were visiting a place with a friend.
In Paris, for example, “hello” usually focuses on the neighborhood. In the Bahamas, you may be invited to share a typical meal with a family. In Argentina, you will find a ‘cicerone’ who knows the songs or themes that interest you.
I invite you to read my article “Visiting favelas from the tourist’s perspective. With or against?” .
6- A Guided Tour Allows You To Delve Deeper Into A Topic And Discover Off-The-Beaten-Path Attractions
If you are interested in a certain topic and want to go beyond superficial tours, it is usually possible to find specialized guides by contacting travel agencies. Sometimes the most striking are those details pointed out by those who know the city like the back of their hand. Seemingly insignificant things, related to an event in history or a fairy tale, for example, which we remember for a lifetime. Often paying a little more for a themed private guided tour makes the trip more informative!
7- Guided Tours Allow You To Meet Other Travelers
If you’re on your own, joining a guided tour while traveling, especially in a small group, allows you to connect with fellow travelers. It’s easy to bond over a coffee break.
8- Because Travel Guides Tend To Delight People
Many retirees, for example, pursue a second career in the world of tourism. Among the tour guides you will be able to meet former journalists, professors, historians … Especially appreciated in the case of guided tours. The best guides are those who add grain of salt
