Written by Peregrine Travel Centre Team Member Adriana.
Everyone has different opinions and preferences when it comes to taking a holiday. There’s no right or wrong way to see the world, and each experience is unique.
I’ve been lucky enough to do two group tours in the last 6 years. My first was a 17 day coach tour around Europe and last year I spent 7 days sailing the magnificent Croatian coastline. I’ve also travelled through Europe on my own without doing a tour. I can tell you that there are benefits to both – but I loved my group tour experiences, and here are my reasons why you should consider doing one too!
You’ll see more
A group tour is a great option if you’ve only got a limited amount of time and want to see as much as you can. In 17 days we visited 17 different cities across 9 different countries – yes, it sounds quick but it gave me a taste of some truly amazing destinations and was the perfect introduction to travelling around Europe. The tours are designed to give you free time and they aren’t as rushed or fast paced as you might think.
When I returned a couple of years later, I knew the cities I wanted to go back too and spend more time in and the ones that I didn’t.
You’ll learn more
The guides on both of my tours were amazing! They knew so much about everywhere we visited and gave everyone a very personal insight into the cities, the history and the cultures. Walking through cities as a group we were given firsthand knowledge and shown things that we would have missed if we were just wandering around on our own. They also knew of some great local places to eat traditional food and where to go at night depending on what we were after.
You’ll get to go with the flow
One of the best things about being on an organised group tour is that you don’t have to think. You don’t have to try and decide where to go next, how to get there, what time you need to leave or where to stay for the night – it is all done for you! It makes it easy. After 4 weeks travelling through Europe last year, catching trains between cities and my friend and I navigating our way around, it was a welcome change to spend a week sailing in Croatia and not having to think about what we were doing. The tour got us to where we needed to be, our guide showed us the great spots to eat and told us all about the history of this interesting country. We left knowing that we had seen all the highlights of Croatia and had made the most of our time.
Our only responsibilities for the week were knowing what time we could jump off the side of the ship for swim time and when happy hour was!
You’ll meet new people
Travelling alone has a certain serenity to it, travelling with a friend is an experience that will make your friendship stronger (or end it…but that’s a whole other blog post)– but travelling with 20-30 strangers from all over the world is something you will never forget. Meeting people from other countries, learning about how they live and sharing your experiences travelling with them is character building. I’ve made some wonderful friends through my tours, some I may not see again, others I keep in touch with on Facebook and a few who I now call very good friends and still visit as often as I can 6 years later.
You may not become best friends with everyone on your tour, but you have lots of laughs and good times, you learn lots and you share special memories of what is an amazing time in your life.
You’ll ignite your inner travel bug!
I was 23 when I went on my first group tour, it was the first time I had travelled overseas without my family. Those 17 days sparked a desire to see more of the world, which 6 years later is still as strong as ever. The places you see, the food you taste, the local people you meet and the experiences and memories you get to take home with you – nothing quite compares! That group tour was the reason I continue to travel and want to experience the world. It definitely ignited my inner travel bug!
