Benefits of package tours vs independent travel
A package tour can be loosely termed as a pre-arranged and pre-paid trip with a fixed schedule and itinerary. Although just buying an air ticket and hotel room from a travel agent can also qualify as a package, the former is the more common terminology. The travel agent arranges for everything (or mostly everything) in a package tour. These include the transportation, ticket attractions and accommodation – all for one price. This convenience therefore makes packages tours a popular alternative to independent travel.
A package tour can last anywhere between one day and a few months, although the average trip normally lasts for a week.
There are tours that run the whole year round while others operate for or selected periods only. Then there are special-interest tours catering for specific clients, such as diving or golfing tours.
Normally, the agent will require a downpayment of about 30 per cent when you book a tour. However, you will be required to settle the full amount before the travel date.
Often the agent will encourage you to buy travel insurance to cover for eventualities such as lost baggage or trip cancellation.
Although having a fixed schedule and itinerary might sound boring or even alien to free-spirited individuals, package tours are a good and viable alternative to independent travel.
Firstly, package tours are the easiest to arrange. The tour operator and the travel agent will arrange for the air tickets, surface transportation, accommodation, attraction tickets, meals and even visas.
They will also take care of your luggage, checking in into airports, hotels and attractions. In short, they do all the planning and work for you. You just follow and enjoy the sights.
Next, the price of the package is known straightaway when joining a tour. You also know what you are getting for your money beforehand the attractions, the hotels, the mode of transportation, and the general standard of the tour.
While you will obviously spend more than the cost of the tour – buying souvenirs and gifts – you can more or less plan the expenditure beforehand.
This can be particularly important if you have limited budget.
Many people think that travelling alone is cheaper. (Perhaps popularised by travel guides with come-on titles like seeing Europe for US$10 a day.) While it can be cheaper to travel on your own, more often than not, the cost is more than joining a tour.
The cost of a package tour is usually only slightly more than the cost of the return airfare itself. For example, Malaysian travel agents charge RM1,999 for a siX-day package tour to Brisbane and the Gold Coast. That’s RM459 more than the return airfare from Kuala Lumpur.
But the tour price includes not only the airfare but the airport transfers, hotels, tickets and some meals. The same itinerary bought by an individual would be at least be 20 per cent more, and sometimes even double. This is because the tour company gets huge discounts from the establishments that would otherwise be charging you full retail prices.
In fact, it is highly recommended that you join a tour if this is your first time going overseas. Different country spells many different things – food, laws and regulations, among others.
No matter how much information you have obtained beforehand and no matter how prepared you are, there will be unexpected hassles and shocks on your travels. This can make the difference between a great vacation and a poor one.
By joining a tour, you will have the hassles and most of the shocks taken care by the tour company. You are just taking in the sights, watching the people and enjoying the food.
In short, you enjoy the good things without all the hassle.
Further, travelling together for a week on the same bus, you can’t help but befriend your fellow tourist. It develops friendships and comradeship that are missing if you are travelling alone. This can add to the excitement of the journey.
You will also see the most sights for the least amount of time by joining tour. Tour packages can cover five different countries in five days!
Lunch in picturesque Amsterdam, dinner in lovely Paris and the next day find yourself on a gondola in Venice. However, this also means that you will only get broad overview of the famous sights and miss out on the actual life beyond the tourists spots.
Still, this is preferable if you travel overseas once in five or 10 years.
Other than simply pointing out the attractions, tour guides can tell the story behind the scenes, adding more colour and spice. This often adds your understanding and appreciation for the attractions.
It is also safer to travel in a tour as you are in group. Chances of you being mugged or getting lost are nearly zero. You will also avoid being taken advantage of or swindled by unscrupulous characters that you can meet while travelling alone.
Further, your reservations will normally be honoured at hotels and airlines that sometimes tend to “bump” people off.
In the end, the choice of travel would depend on three factors – time, convenience and cost.
However, unless you are regular traveller or have a strong taste for adventure, choose a package tour. It saves a lot of time, it’s more convenient and also much cheaper. * The writer is a pilot with 16 years of flying experience.
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