Tour Companies - Whats Your Favourite?

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  pennae on 02/12/2017 - 19:19

  +1

  Intrepid are excellent, I’ve been on 4 of their tours and my best mate has done 12 (do 10 and you get one free). They pack loads of things / places in and yet you still have time to explore without feeling like you’re being lead around.

  Sure, planning your own trip is cheaper and personalised but when you’ve only got limited time it’s great not having the stress of bookings, tickets, transport to and fro etc. I also like their philosophy of using locally owned providers and avoiding multinationals as much as possible.

  Personally I love the food tours because of the ppl in the group :)

  Intrepid usually have a Boxing Day sale, that’s what I’m waiting for. But if there’s a last minute one that works for you, I’d not hesitate.

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    pennae on 02/12/2017 - 19:26

    Oops just read your timeline :) The last minute deals are definitely worth checking out. The question will be where do you want to spend New Years? :)

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  slknv on 02/12/2017 - 20:06

  Done some tours with intrepid and geckos, recommend both, they use local guides, some stays with local villages/communities, definitely takes you some places you wouldnt see as an independent traveller. Did a contiki once in my youth…. if you’re 18 and want to get smashed every night, then spend the next day sleeping on a packed coach then go for it. Topdeck i think cater for a much older crowd.

  For australia or nz though, dont bother using a travel company, super easy and far cheaper to do your own arrangements.

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  toniyellow on 02/12/2017 - 20:41

  +4

  Normally I think it is better all on your own, unless it is a country that is particularly logistically difficult to travel in. A lot more flexibility, a lot fewer trips to a restaurant/souvenir store/hotel chosen just because they are partners with the tour operator

  But you don't have long until you want to leave, not much time for planning and it is a very busy time of year, so I can see why you'd consider a tour for the Asian options, as long as you choose the demographic you feel comfortable with (e.g. Contiki very party heavy, lots of late nights, Intrepid a bit older, calmer). They often have a lot of added costs though - only provide some meals, charge for some excursions, so I'd make sure to factor that in to the last minute deals

  South Island of NZ would be easy by yourself, research/planning not hard since everything is in English and be great weather in summer. But you can do a 4 day weekend to NZ with airfare sales for not much hassle, so if 2 weeks off together is rare, i'd consider going further away.

  If you do go overseas and don't have a fee free way to take out money, organise that now - see https://www.ozbargain.com.au/wiki/cards_with_no_overseas_tra…

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  Ryanek on 02/12/2017 - 22:05

  We did Europe with Trafalgar. They tend to cost more but from our experience, while other tour groups were waiting in line at various attractions, we walked on through.

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  Savas on 02/12/2017 - 23:09

  cheaper to do it yourself, tour companies will rip you off

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  nubzy on 02/12/2017 - 23:14

  Why tour? I enjoy the planning and it usually ends up much cheaper, and you don't have to put up with the time restrictions and people that you don't get along with. Japan is very safe and easy to get around, you could do that solo without any troubles at all. If you want to meet people then tours are good but I wouldn't want to be stuck on one for much longer than a week.

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  AdosHouse on 03/12/2017 - 02:23

  I have done Europe with Topdeck, was a great experience, great guide and great driver, coach was new and clean.

  I believe that for a first time trip to Europe, a tour is a great way to get your foot in the door, so to say. But now that I've done that, I've been back to Europe without a tour, and would keep doing my own stuff on any further trips.

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  tendliya on 03/12/2017 - 19:55

  Decide the destination and PM me which tour you are looking for (if you have decided). I work in the travel industry, I can check if I can get you a possible discount may be.

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  jjjaar on 04/12/2017 - 13:36

  +1

  I have done contiki, topdeck and intrepid.

  Contiki is great but very cliquey. You tend to do everything together most of the time with not much free time in each place. When you do have free time, your guide will organsie optiknal activities that cost you more. You can pick and choose these, and basically not go on any, but most of the tour do all so some people feel left out when they don't do these. You also are expected to tip your tour guide at the end. The amount is up to you, but typically $1 a day is what's expected. Another added cost on top of your tour.

  Contiki can be perceived as very party, in that a large portion of the tour will go out each night. Sometimes this is great because even if you did go with someone, if they don't feel like going out, you still can. And people never really pressured you to go out, though some people tend to go out because they don't want to miss out.

  I have made lifetime friends from two separate contiki tours, and I would not hesitate to do another if I wanted to do a tour. It's a great way to travel solo if you don't want to plan and book everything, and also be sure you'll have people with you (yes, hostels, but you're not forced to interact like on tours)

  Topdeck were pretty similar, except they offer tours where you have usually half a day to a day in each place where you get to explore. I choose topdeck when I I want this freedom. You also can choose yours with a smaller number of people if this interests you. People say it's less party but that all depends on the people on the tour. Mine have usually had 3-5 people that want to go out every night so it's great to have the option.

  My two topdecks also didn't have a dedicated driver but contiki did, so contiki kind of had two guides which was nice.

  Intrepid were also great. Much more simple. Much cheaper. You get the local guide, which I loved. You also get a fair amount of time to explore. The transport options are usually simple. Public buses as opposed to a private coach. But it's all good fun.

  I've always decided based on the tour destinations first, though. If it's goes where I want then I will think about what tour i want.

  Also note that the average tour age is higher in USA v Europe as no one wants to do a USA contiki under 21.