Escorted Tours:
You're In Safe Hands & Taken Care Of

An escorted tour implies a group of people traveling together on a pre-arranged itinerary, often by comfortable motorcoach or van, with a professional tour guide. The tour escort is on hand 24/7 to make sure all arrangements are taken care of, from hotels to sightseeing with local guides, and to assist as needed.

Escorted tours of old were satirized in the movie, "If It's Tuesday, It Must Be Belgium." (If you're too young to know of the movie, rent it for a laugh.) Escorted tours today have evolved considerably, keeping up with the needs and desires of today's traveler. There are different styles of tours!

Most escorted tours offer a wide variety of itineraries, caring escorts, and provide a balance between free time and sightseeing. Escorted tours enable travelers to better budget their vacation, and not have to worry much about planning. The traveler can sit back and enjoy.

Picking the right escorted tour

So what's the difference between the $1,299 escorted tour and the $3,299 escorted tour, if they're both 10 days to the same destinations?
Different strokes for different folks: It's important to evaluate a number of factors including the quality of accommodations, size of group, meals, sightseeing included, and quality of the guides. There are budget tours, mainstream tours (Trafalgar, Brendan), premium tours (Insight) and luxury tours (Tauck & Abercrombie & Kent)

Quality and location of accommodations

Deluxe escorted tours will stay in five-star hotels and resorts, or in some cases four-star or best available hotels (depending what a destination offers). Your comfort and a good night's sleep is important, and on a budget tour, which uses three-star hotels, you're less likely to have the most comfortable beds, quality beddings, and sound-insulated rooms that helps to ensure the best night's sleep and your personal comforts.

More expensive tours utilize centrally located hotels. Being well located in a city makes a lot of difference in making it easier to get to things you'd like to do on your free time, saving you time and money and offering you greater value. You may pay more for a tour that uses central hotels, but you will save money by maximizing your time to see and do things, finding good restaurants, and being able to walk to nearby sights.

Size of your escorted tour group

Deluxe tours operate smaller-sized groups than less costly options. A deluxe tour will have between 2 - 30 people, while more budget tours try to fill a large motorcoach with 40 - 50 people. With one tour escort, the amount of service and attention will also be different on a smaller escorted tour group than a larger one.

Meals included on your escorted tour

Compare what meals are included. Some tours include most meals as group meals, and some, by design, include very few. Some tours allow passengers to eat out on their own, and not always as part of a group, and offer a dine-around program where meals are pre-paid as part of your tour, and you are able to dine at whatever restaurant you like and eat what you like.

What sightseeing is included

Compare what sightseeing is included, and how much free time you'll have to explore on your own. Some tours, by design, include very little sightseeing to maximize your opportunity to sightsee as you wish. (It also enables them to sell their tours for a lower cost, avoiding the inclusion of entrance fees and local guides in the tour price.) Other tours "pack it in", catering to those that want to be sure they see all or as many of the highlights as possible. The best tours find the right balance.

The quality of the tour escort and local guides

A tour escort or guide will make or break a tour. While there are very many professional guides, for the most part, the chances of getting a great guide on a deluxe tour are better than on a budget tour. Deluxe tour companies have a greater investment in ensuring the consistency in the quality of the experience they deliver, and will pay their best guides more. Many moderate-priced tours have fine guides for the general tourist, who try to sell options and earn commission on "estras.". The chances of enhancing your overall experience with an exceptional guide are increased with a top-notch tour operator.

Some advantages of an escorted tour

An escorted tour will usually cost less than doing a similar tour on one's own. There are cost savings in traveling with a group of people, and the cost of guides, transportation, etc. are pro-rated among the group.
Many people like to socialize with fellow travelers. Making new friends with whom one can share travel memories is rewarding.
By taking an escorted tour, you can avoid a lot of aggravation and stress, as to what hotels to use, what meals to eat and where, what sightseeing to organize, and what it will all cost.

Some disadvantages of an escorted tour

Those that shy away from escorted tours often want total flexibility of custom travel arrangements, to spend their time as they wish, and protect their privacy a bit more.
They want to stop and smell the roses where and when they like, not when it's arranged to do so.
They may not enjoy paying to travel with strangers whom they may not get along with or whose company they may not enjoy.
Escorted tour groups may dine in restaurants that cater to groups, often with pre-set menu choices. Independent travelers may prefer to dine on their own where they wish (though as mentioned, this is certainly possible with some tour companies).

The bottom line on escorted tours

There are many stereotypes about escorted tours, but with so many available, there is no prevailing stereotype that really holds true across the board. From walking tours, cycling tours, cooking tours, women's tours, tours for those under 30 and tours for families--there are tours for just about every interest.

There's no reason to overpay for "more" than what you would enjoy or feel comfortable with on an escorted tour. Not every traveler is comfortable in a five-star resort, and likewise, not everyone would be comfortable in a three-star budget hotel on the outskirts of town.

Our travel experts can help you differentiate among escorted tours, and discuss which may be best suited to your needs. Contact one of our travel experts to help you arrange your next vacation, be it an escorted tour or a program customized just for you. You can also search our database for escorted tours, or send us your request.