Prices of guided travel tours vary, and most times they can be more expensive than traveling on your own. Ultimately, you don't get to pick and choose your experience with a guided tour, meaning you pay for what the tour company organizes for you.
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A tour guide is the best way to enjoy an organised travel. While traveling to a place unknown, you might need a person who already knows about the place. It is safe and secure, and there are less chances of getting tricked by locals. During a group travel, everything is well-organized with precautionary measures.
A half-day tour with a private guide usually costs $100–300. Guides generally don't charge per person, so hiring one isn't nearly as budget-straining if you can split the cost with fellow travelers. (To get some of the same local info for less, join a group walking tour or hop a sightseeing bus.)
PRO – You'll learn more: There's no guide book better than a tour guide. Information is always more interesting and easier to retain when it comes from a real person with his or her own jokes and anecdotes. CON – All the token tourists: Group tours are often filled with the the worst kinds of tourists.
There are exceptions if your specific tour experience includes gratuities or you simply didn't have a good time, but in general, tipping your guide at the end of the tour is customary in the U.S. and Europe, though it's much more common in the States.
Cost (sometimes)Private tours are usually considered much more expensive due to the luxury, convenience and personal attention they offer. While there is some truth in this, as personal tours can often be more expensive than group tours, this isn't always the case.
It's easily one of the best ways to maximize the experiences at the heart of your trip: gaining some understanding of a different culture, discovering what's fascinating about a destination's sights, and maybe finding a personal connection with a person or people who might otherwise seem foreign.
With no-one else to share costs with, travelling solo can become a more expensive endeavour. Food, transport and accommodation can often be cheaper with group discounts. But of course, this isn't an option for solo-ers.
Many escorted tours are theme tours, putting people together that share the same interest or activity (such as cooking or sailing). On the downside, if you book an escorted tour you often have to pay a lot of money up front, and your lodging and dining choices are predetermined.
Best states for a tour guidePay, benefits, and opportunities vary greatly by state, and it's no different for tour guides. We found that Alaska is the best state in the nation for tour guides, and people in Anchorage earn the most in the field. The median salary for tour guides in Alaska is $40,533.
About.com has a Tipping Guide for travelers that further suggests that the tour guide should receive a tip of 10% to 20% of the tour cost. As a last thought, the guide still needs to earn his or her tip. Just with any other profession, the tip should match the level of service.
At table-service restaurants, the tipping etiquette and procedure vary slightly from country to country. But in general, European servers are well paid, and tips are considered a small bonus — to reward great service or for simplicity in rounding the total bill to a convenient number.
According to the UN World Trade Organization, there are three kinds of tours - domestic, inbound, and outbound - and thus three kinds of tour operators who hire tour directors. Many companies offer both domestic and outbound tours.