Backpackers Vs Organized Tours – A Decision Every Traveler Faces
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Backpackers Vs Organized Tours – A Decision Every Traveler Faces

In planning my RTW adventure, I’ve been thinking a lot about the options of going backpack-only or booking an organized trip. In my previous trips, I have done a combination of organized tours and solo backpacking and both have their good and bad points.

ORGANIZED TOURS – THE GOOD…

poor weather – If you only have a limited amount of time to travel, then an organized tour is great, as you’ll be able to get around and see all the things you want, without the hassle of organizing the trip yourself.

New friends – People who book a package tour with a specific company usually have similar interests. I made some amazing friends through package tours and still, to this day, keep in touch with them.

you can be lazy – Once you’ve booked your tour, paid and packed your luggage, you don’t need to worry about a thing! In effect, you are paying the travel company to take care of your transportation, meals, accommodations, and all the hassles that the trip entails.

ORGANIZED TOURS – EVIL…

socially inept – Every shift has someone on the shift that will drive you crazy. When I was in India I was traveling with two girlfriends and as there were 3 of us in total we had to alternate sharing a room with another woman. Unfortunately this woman was an older woman who had no self-awareness and was clearly an inexperienced traveller, some of the “interesting experiences” we had with her included:

  • She didn’t close the door when she went to the bathroom, she would NEVER go to the bathroom with the door open, especially when she had only known the person for a few weeks…
  • She did not bring proper first aid supplies and medication, unfortunately she came down with a minor cold/flu and proceeded to use everyone else’s medications and never offered to replace them. When we passed a pharmacy, she was so inconsiderate that she didn’t even think to buy her own supplies.
  • She forgot her flashlight, now on this tour we were camping along the Ganges for several days and a flashlight was essential. So every time he went to the bathroom he would borrow my headlamp, the problem was that he would put it on his sweaty head and bring it back to me wet…BOOM!
  • He hung his underwear all over the bathroom and on my chair and bed, it was not a pleasant experience having to reposition his oversized panties every time I wanted to sit…
  • She would leave the hotel with the key, there were several occasions where I was stranded outside my room and had to wait for her to come back, the number 1 rule of an organized tour is to ALWAYS leave the key with reception when you leave.

People who don’t read travel notes – Of the tours I have done, I have met two travelers, who should never have booked the types of trips they did. The first meeting was in Thailand, there was a young English couple on the tour, they had never traveled outside of Britain and they were both very young. They flew, moaned, cried and weren’t amused and pretty much did everything they could to let the rest of us know they weren’t enjoying the experience. If this couple had taken the time to read the trip notes, they probably would have realized what they were getting into and maybe reconsidered their trip.

Waiting, waiting and waiting – Now, because the tour leaders are well aware that people are always late, whenever you need to check out of your hotel or meet as a group, the tour leaders always tell you to meet at least 1/2 hour before the actual time of the meeting. This is fine if you are the type of person who is always late, however for the rest of us it means waiting in the lobby for what seems like forever!

BACKPACKING – THE GOOD

Now my personal preferred method of traveling is backpacking! and some of my favorite things about this mode of travel include:

  • You don’t have to answer to anyone, if you don’t like a place you can just leave, if you like it you can stay!
  • You meet some amazing like-minded people along the way, hanging out in hostels and having a beer in the lounge can introduce you to some amazing people.
  • It is very inspiring to hear what other people have done and are doing, my addiction to travel has come from hearing other people’s stories about what they have done!
  • other backpackers are generally very considerate and willing to meet new people and share their experiences
  • It’s cheaper! You’re not paying a premium for a tour company, tour guide and your accommodation, so you can cut costs as you see fit, stay in a better hotel or a cheaper hotel if it suits you!
  • If you get drunk and make a fool of yourself, you can move on! You don’t need to deal with anyone the next day!
  • It’s easier to have a holiday romance! One of the most amazing romances I’ve ever had was when I finished my organized tour in Thailand and backpacked for a week, I met a wonderful American man who followed me to Bangkok and then to Australia! I couldn’t have had a romance on a package tour, especially a long one, because if it gets messy, it can make the whole trip awkward!

BACKPACKING – THE BAD

Sometimes you just want to have someone take your picture! If you can’t find someone to do side trips with, you end up getting a lot of selfies that aren’t exactly flattering!

It can be frustrating to navigate cities and countries on your own when you don’t speak the language. Particularly if you are white and traveling to an Asian country, people know that you are a tourist and can take advantage of this.

  • You are a target, as a woman you can be a target for male advances and this can be quite intimidating if you don’t have the confidence to face it.
  • It can be lonely, if you don’t make friends along the way, you can end up spending a lot of time alone, which can be nice at times, but it’s really nice to share experiences with other people.
  • If you get sick, you are alone, there is no one to bring you medicine or take care of you!
  • When you get home, you have no one to share your experiences with, when traveling with a partner you can always remember the things you have done, or you can email others on your tour and stay in touch. But when you travel alone, the reality is that no one cares about the adventures you have been doing, they pretend, but they are not really interested!

Overall there are definite pros and cons to both backpacking and package tours, for my trip I will be doing a mix of both at first, however once I am done in Africa I intend to go solo for the rest of my trip and meet new and exciting people along the way!

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