I have a feeling I know what you're picturing when you read "Tour Group"...a big coach bus rolling up to a tourist site and 50 people piling out to follow their tour guide with a flag and microphone.
However, I've done enough of these tours to tell you that what you're picturing is far from the truth. Let's go through some of the commons misconceptions and what is actually the reality.
Tours are only for old people.
Depending on the tour, the age range of the tour is typically anywhere from 20s to 60s, but the tour groups I use tend to be for the more active traveler so by default that doesn’t usually attract an older crowd. However, regardless of age, one thing you’ll all have in common is a passion for travel and exploring so I encourage you to be open-minded when you embark on a tour. And once you start talking to some of these diehard travelers (and let me tell you, you’ll meet plenty of them!), you will be inspired and your list of places to visit will just keep growing.
They’re all big bus tours.
Almost all of the tours I’ve done have been a maximum of 15 people and with such a small group, they usually provide sprinter vans to shuttle you from place to place. The size of the group is ideal because it provides for an intimate experience that allows you to get to know your fellow travel mates and you'll quickly form a bond as you share in all of the new experiences on the tour. If it is the big bus tour you’re looking for, I can certainly provide that as an option, but the reason I steer away from them brings me to my next myth.
Tours don’t provide an authentic experience and give you a true feel of the country.
I will give a prime example from my Belize trip to debunk this myth. On our first day of our tour, we took a public bus amongst the locals from Belize City to San Ignacio. During that bus ride, our tour guide met a local woman who upon hearing that he was a tour guide, decided to invite him and the entire group to her house where she would cook us lunch when we returned to Belize City to get to Caye Caulker. A few days later, our tour guide proposed this idea to the group and it was a unanimous yes that of course we would want to experience a meal at a local's house. To this day, it's still one of my most memorable experiences.
From staying at homestays in small rural villages to visiting co-ops where woman make crafts to having breakfast at a local orphanage to a spontaneous lunch like the one I mentioned above, you’ll experience the country firsthand. You’ll be supporting the locals and their livelihood and seeing firsthand how they live. Also, most of the tours will have a local guide from that country so I highly suggest picking their brain and asking them as many questions as you’d like to really get a feel for their culture.
If a small group tour is something you want to experience for yourself, feel free to contact me to learn more!
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