Guided Tours

Google the area to discover the main points of interest: I usually like to start with a Google search. You can usually find some great information about the area and whether others have found it helpful to arrange a guided tour or explore the sites on your own. You also want to check that the area is safe to explore without an expert. Some areas have dangerous wildlife, others have higher violence or criminal activity. Either way, always do a bit of research on the area before you travel.

Prioritize your needs and set appropriate expectations: Depending on how long you are in the area, you may not have time to visit all the main sites. Make a list of everything you want to see and prioritize the activities to ensure that you get to do the things that interest you the most. For instance, if it a beach location, do you want to spend time on the land or the sea? Maybe you will find that it is best to pay for a snorkel cruise. If you have time, you can do a self-guided walking tour through the town.

Set a budget and stay below it: No matter what you would like to see, there are usualy cost effective ways have experiencing a location. For instance, if you want to do a snorkel tour on a budget, you can often find companies that take larger groups or shorter lengths of time. If you have a low budget, stay away from the private yacht tours that can cost several hundred dollars per person. You can often have just as much fun on the group tours. 

Read the previous reviews: Most reputable companies have been in business a long time and have several reviews. Sometimes there are too many to read them all. I typically like to read reviews from those who travelled in past years at similar times, as well as the most recent reviews.  I also like to read the reviews that give mediocre ratings because I find they usually are the most objective. If there are no reviews, and it is costly tour, I usually will pass it by and stick with the companies that are more established. There have been a few situations where I have taken a chance, and it was amazing, but it really depends on the tour and your comfort level.

Look for free resources and walking tours: I have always enjoyed free walking tours. Be warned, although there is no fee for the tour, these are usually heavily funded by gratuities, so expect to pay a fee. However, the amount you pay is usually determined by you, and it is heavily influenced on how well the guided tour goes. We have discovered some excellent restaurants and travel tips from some of the walking tours we did in Germany and Italy. We have never had a bad experience, but often we just don’t have the time. These tours have set schedules so it may be difficult to fit them into your day.

When we went to Europe, we signed up for a few SANDEMANs tours. They were great and we really liked the guides. I see they have anew name, but you can also find their tours on TripAdvisor. There are a ton of options and several reviews for each tour.

This is a great app! I have the free version on my phone. It is a very useful tool when planning a trip to a new area because it lists several points of interest, websites, contact information, etc. You can even track the cost of each activity and transportation between. I recommend checking it out!

This app doesn’t have free tours, but it does list several different options. I like using the app because it converts the payment into your local currency, and most of their tours have a great cancellation policy. We used this app for several tours in our 2023 Europe trip (an even bus passes) and everything worked flawlessly… except when I purchased the hop on hop off buss to the wrong destination, but that was a me issue.

Mot people are familiar with this company. There are several reviews. I like the ease of use, local currency options, and cancellation policies. You do have to read the description carefully, because every tour has it’s own policies.

I have never used this site, but there are a lot of tours here and some have great reviews. I look forward to trying it out.