DESTINATIONS — ESCORTED TOURS
GROUP TOURS v PRIVATE TOURS
What’s better, sharing a guide or having one to yourself? Katie McGonagle weighs up the pros and cons
schools or hospitals – smaller class sizes, shorter waiting lists and posher magazines in the waiting room.
M
But when it comes to escorted tours, the difference isn’t as clear. Does a private tour still include a guide and driver? Is it just for honeymooners, or can big families book out a departure? Wouldn’t a group tour be better value? To get the answers to those questions and more, we asked operators for the lowdown on group and private tours.
l GROUP TOURS: SOCIAL NETWORKS Almost every escorted tour operator promises the chance to mix with ‘like-minded travellers’
ost people know what going private means in
and, despite being a well-worn cliché, it’s also true. If passengers were attracted to the same itinerary, chances are they’ll have something in common. That’s important on active tours
– Explore says the camaraderie on cycling and trekking trips encourages everyone to keep going – and family tours, where kids can make friends the same age. Tim Winkworth of The Family Adventure Company says: “We are seeing more single-parent families and families with one child. Group trips work well for these clients as they provide ready-made friends for only children and adult conversation for single parents.” They’re not the only ones who
want company: solo travellers make up more than half of passengers for 18-35s specialist
Contiki and activity operators Intrepid Travel, Exodus and Explore. Growing demand for Saga’s solo departures shows the same is true of older clientele, with companionship from fellow passengers making travel a less daunting prospect.
l GROUP TOURS: GO FURTHER The added security of a group means less-familiar destinations and more-adventurous styles of travel seem altogether more manageable. That’s why Riviera Travel’s most popular long-haul trips are to South Africa, India,
Vietnam and Cambodia, and why Cosmos Tours & Cruises introduced small-group touring to the same destinations, to attract a younger, more-adventurous audience. Travellers are keen to explore, but they want the reassurance of fellow passengers. Even
adventurous types take comfort in a
group: Journey Latin America saw such success with off-the-beaten-track
tours to Aisen in Patagonia and the Guianas region of South America that it now has six more group options in remote parts of Nicaragua and northeast Brazil.
12 March 2015 —
travelweekly.co.uk • 53
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PICTURES: BACK-ROADS TOURING/CHRISMCLENNAN; CONTIKI
FAST FACT The Family
Adventure Company has extended child prices to age 14 and
under, and added teen trips to Croatia and Nepal
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