bnshannon

So, I'm by no means a tour expert but I work in travel.

My colleague and I were having a debate since he is looking at going on his first tour next year (Tanzania) and he's planning on doing it with G Adventures since that's the first (and I think only) company he's familiar with. He said he was satisfied with their Tanzania tour.. I on the other hand thought hey - you should take some time to research what's out there - everything's on Google these days, so why not look around. He argued that it's information overload, and really they can't be that different. I'm no pro, so can't argue.

To be honest, when I Googled around myself, it does look like quite a lot. I certainly discovered a bunch more tour operators than I thought (Intrepid, Tauck, Audley and a bunch of what looks like little local companies). And doing this has got me pretty interested in possibly taking a multi-day tour, but again, where to start.

I'm curious what's the normal way most people make this sort of decision is. ie; when you did it for the first time, are most people doing this on their own or do they get some sort of travel advisor? Also, is it normal to hunt through tour operator websites one by one, discovering as you go, or are there comparison websites that are actually useful? Did you base it off a friend or message forum like this?

Thought it may be resourceful to ask around before just trying it on my own, and I figure other people probably want some tips as well.

xcountry

“Also, is it normal to hunt through tour operator websites one by one, discovering as you go”

That’s what we did for Peru.

“or are there comparison websites that are actually useful?”

In our case perhaps not exactly comparison websites but sites that tell you who the most reliable tour operators are.

It helps to enjoy reading trip reports. I read them constantly. After awhile you get a good idea of who you can learn from and who you should ignore.

It also helps to read a lot, or watch videos, about where you are going. That really helps put the tour operators’ offerings in context.

People seem mystified about how to organize or choose trips. I tell them there are no secrets. Start reading.

thursdaysd

Guidebooks will also list tour operators. As best I remember that's how I learned about Intrepid way back in the early 2000s.

But if I am researching a particular trip and IF (very big if) I am thinking of using a tour operator I will certainly go through all the websites I can think of. I did that last year for Uzbekistan. I have most of the ones that interest me bookmarked, although I think I did a search as well (duckduckgo, NOT google).

I haven't used a travel agent for anything since 2000.

bnshannon

Thanks for your info @xcountry! Just getting started is sometimes the hardest - I've taken your feedback to heart! Were there any sites that were useful to you on saying who the most reliable operators are?

I'm looking at the Guidebook for Italy - and may go ahead and drop the $20 on it - 900 pages! Dizzying, but hard to imagine they miss anything.

xcountry

Hi Bnshannon - in our case the “adventure tour” was the Inca Trail. The useful website to learn about some of the companies was:

http://www.andeantravelweb.com/peru/

... which I read about here (I think it was a Crellston who mentioned it but not positive).

Guidebooks are a good idea. I eventually figured out that Lonely Planet was better for young people and Frommers was a good source for cheaper but good accommodation.

This may be obvious but some of our best “adventures” have started with researching a subject e.g. hiking rather than destinations. We sure wouldn’t have ended up in the middle of rocky Norway without researching the world’s geat hikes.

Good luck.

thursdaysd

" Lonely Planet was better for young people"

I just turned 70 and I still use Lonely Planet! Also Rough Guide, Bradt, and Footprints. And several others at various stages of research.