Take a tour or go on your own. Which is better: an organized tour or an independent trip? Cons of self-guided tours

It is believed that traveling through travel agencies is expensive and inconvenient. In fact, this is not always the case. We decided to study this issue in detail and find out what you should pay attention to when buying a tour.

Travel agency and tour operator

When choosing where to purchase a ticket - from a tour operator or a travel agency, it is important to understand the difference between them. A tour operator is an organization whose task is to think through and organize a tour: its specialists negotiate with hotels, select a transfer, calculate the route and program. Whereas a travel agency or travel company is an intermediary between tour operators and the client, who, as a rule, sells tours of different tour operators, receiving a commission for this. Recently, travel agencies often act as consultants, providing tourists with all the necessary information on various destinations. The most important role in both the tour operator and the travel agency is played by the manager who communicates directly with the client - often it is to him, and not to the company, that people entrust their vacation. It is worth considering that a number of tour operators do not work with tourists directly, preferring to develop their agent network. Therefore, often under the sign with the name of a famous tour operator there is actually a travel agency that operates as a franchise. Everyone has it Russian tour operator has its own individual number in the Unified Federal Register of Tour Operators - it can always be viewed in the corresponding section on the Rostourism website (russiatourism.ru/operators). It must always be specified in the contract. If you are afraid that a travel agency is offering you a tour at an inflated price, you can call the office of the tour operator that organizes the trip and check the cost there. It should match the one the agency gives you.

Why take a tour

Book package tours (which may include flights, accommodation, meals, transfers, excursions and/or treatment, as well as health insurance) always makes sense in popular, mass areas. In Europe these include, among others, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, Croatia and Spain, in Asia - Thailand, Vietnam, India and Sri Lanka. Actually, the benefit of the package tour offered by the agency depends not on the destination, but on the volume of bookings, thanks to which hotels make concessions and offer special prices and conditions. This applies, in particular, to group transfers and flight programs - blocks of seats both on charter and on regular flights. Costs in this case are divided between big amount person and become low in relation to those carried by the individual tourist. In addition, tour operators and travel agencies have a clearly established process for processing all documents in these areas, which means you don’t have to waste extra time. Finally, it is the travel agency that will save you if your vacation turns up unexpectedly - here you can find last-minute offers at very attractive prices.

Do it yourself

If you don’t want to spend your vacation on the beach, but like to travel on your own, at your own pace and according to your own program, then excursion package tours are clearly not for you. Although sometimes they can come in handy, because the cost of a package with flights and a stay in an inexpensive hotel can be lower than the price of a ticket on a regular flight (separate tickets for charters are not sold so often). In addition, some companies offer direct charters to destinations where you cannot fly directly from Russia. The most convenient way to “catch” profitable flights is by subscribing to updates on the destinations you are interested in on specialized sites such as aviasales.ru, expressavia.ru, momondo.ru or skyscanner.ru, as well as on yandex.avia and google.flights. The availability of hotel rooms and prices should be looked at on the websites booking.com or expedia.ru, prices for rented apartments - on airbnb.ru, for hostels - hostels.com. The more complex and lengthy your route, the more likely it is that it will be more profitable and convenient to organize such a trip yourself. After all, only you know how much time you need to spend exploring the city, and how much time for relaxation or shopping, what you can save on, and what, on the contrary, requires additional investment.

Visa issue

Travel companies often act as assistants in the preparation of documents for obtaining visas, saving clients from filling out an application form, and in some cases, from visiting the consular departments of embassies. Yes, in this case you will have to pay more, but you will save time. And if you are going to travel, say, to Japan, you cannot do without contacting a travel agency. The fact is that to obtain a visa to this country, you need an original invitation from the company that will act as a guarantor for you. Hotels and hostels, as a rule, do not issue such invitations, and the only option to receive one is to contact one of the accredited tour operators. Previously, it was possible to order a Schengen visa from a travel agency, but since September 2015, you can get a Schengen visa only after submitting your fingerprints. This must be done in person at one of the visa centers. The good news is that fingerprints are stored in the system for five years - during this time you do not need to come to the visa center in person.

Cancellation of a trip

When buying a tour, even from a trusted company, you should pay attention to those places in the contract that are written in fine print. The most important of them is the clause regarding the cancellation of your already confirmed trip. In case of trip cancellation, the tour operator has the right to demand from the travel agency (and therefore from you) reimbursement of expenses already incurred, which, depending on the date of departure and the moment when the cancellation occurs, can amount to up to 100% of the cost of the trip. In the contract it is spelled out something like this: “The client is informed by the Travel Agency that the actually incurred expenses of the Tour Operator for the booked tourist product can approximately be: 25 or more days before the start of the tour - 10%, from 25 to 16 days - 50%, from 15 to 5 days – 75%, less than 5 working days before the start of the tour – 100% of the cost of the booked tourist product.” Often, the contract separately specifies the conditions for cancellation of “special” tours, for example, New Year’s, Christmas, or those that include visits to certain attractions. Good idea– take out travel insurance for yourself, which will help you get back the money spent on the tour. In this case, you must have all contracts and checks on hand.

Departure postponement

The next issue, which may not be specified in the contract, is the specifics of charter flights. Many tourists, when booking a tour, believe that the stated departure time and airline are some kind of constant, while the fine print in the contract states that the flight can be rescheduled. Let’s assume that the flight was initially scheduled at 8:00 from Domodedovo by UTair airlines, and when documents are issued 2-3 days before departure, it turns out that the tourist will fly at 3:00 (that is, five hours earlier) or at 17:00 (that is, nine hours later) from Sheremetyevo by Orenburg Airlines. Rescheduling flights is permissible within a day, and the fact that a person loses half a day does not formally solve anything, because he will spend the night paid for with the voucher in a hotel in any case. At the same time, charter tickets included in the tour package are difficult to return or exchange - and this is one of the reasons for their low cost.

Hotel replacement

There may be another tricky clause in the contract. It sounds like this: “The tour operator (host party) has the right to unilaterally change the hotel.” This is a common practice: it happens that the hotel is closed for reconstruction or is overcrowded. Another thing is important here - the above line must be followed by another: “Replacement is made only for a hotel of the same or higher category. Replacement with a hotel of a lower category is not permitted." If it is not there, you risk getting a two-star hotel instead of a five-star hotel. And even the court will not help - after all, you yourself signed an agreement that includes the possibility of such a replacement.

When to buy a tour

If this summer you are planning to go on vacation to such popular countries among mass tourists as Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, Montenegro or Croatia, you should book your tours from February, and best of all - in March or April. Starting in May, prices for these destinations traditionally increase by 30–40%, and tours to Montenegro become twice as expensive. For those who want to relax in the Alpine in winter ski resort or meet New Year and Christmas in one of European capitals, it is worth visiting the travel agency no later than October–November. People traditionally go on vacation to India and the countries of Southeast Asia in November–December, so it is best to purchase trips there starting in September.

At the last moment

If you don’t need to prepare for your vacation in advance and beg your boss for vacation on specific dates, you can try to catch a last-minute tour or special offer. It is best to look for them on the websites tury.ru, sletat.ru and tourdom.ru. When an agency experiences problems with the sale of tour packages, it is often ready to sell it even at half price, just so as not to remain in the red. For example, immediately after the May holidays, you can find a budget tour to almost any country in the world. Also, prices decrease significantly (by 20–30%) at the very end of August - from the 25th to the 31st. This can be explained by the fact that planes are filled for flights to Russia, and not from it. In past years, many special offers for tours appeared on the market at the end of the January holidays, but now, due to decreased demand and reduction in flight programs Russian airlines, their number has decreased significantly. In addition, there are destinations where prices for tours are approximately the same at any time of the year - these are bus travel, sightseeing trips throughout Europe and places deprived of mass Russian tourists, for example, Japan, countries of Africa and South America.

Then this material is definitely for you! Rather, study our advice and turn into a free artist... or rather a traveler, however, this is about the same thing!

1. Start simple

You can start your journey from nearby regions

Try planning at least one trip yourself to make sure it's not a big deal. You can start with something simple: native Russian penates, near abroad(Baltics or CIS countries) or some country already familiar from the package tour. But it’s better for beginners not to get involved with little-known and exotic destinations. By the way, for those who have not yet decided on an idea for their trip, we recommend using our new useful service.

2. Find yourself an “accomplice”

Going on a trip with a friend is much more fun than traveling alone

Getting involved in an adventure, which is the first solo trip, is much easier and more fun in the company of like-minded people. Choose a reliable and interesting companion who will not get confused in a difficult situation and will not let you get bored, sharing the joy of new experiences. The main thing is not to overdo it with the number of fellow travelers: the more people, the more difficult it is to organize them. Ideally, take a step into new world It’s better with experienced people, but this is by no means necessary.

3. Get your finances sorted

You need to be able to control your expenses while traveling

First of all, get yourself by bank card for purchasing air tickets and booking accommodation online. In order to avoid unnecessary currency conversions, we advise you to issue a ruble card. And when traveling, it is better to pay in cash, purchased in advance at a favorable rate. For maximum protection of financial Internet transactions, you can issue a special virtual card. These are often offered by ordinary banks or, for example, you can get a card from Yandex Money.

In addition, to control and systematize your travel expenses (not only by card, but also in cash), we recommend maintaining a travel budget. This can be either a regular notepad or a table in Excel, or a special one mobile app, like Coinkeeper.

4. Prepare your passport

Don't forget about your visa!

Find out about the requirements for a foreign passport (validity period, number of blank pages) and the need for a visa to travel to the country where you are going. By the way, ours will be a good help in this.

To travel to most countries of the world, you can apply for a visa yourself and it’s not difficult at all. You just need to carefully study the list necessary documents, and in some cases we also recommend reading the tips experienced travelers in the Internet.

5. Catch cheap flights

Every traveler should know how to save money on air tickets

One of the main expenses for a trip is air tickets, so saving on them is the sacred duty of every self-traveler. Here are the main rules that will help you find the best air fares:

buy tickets in advance, especially for travel to high season(summer in Europe, winter in Asia, as well as New Year and May holidays); We recommend booking flights on average.
consider flight options with a transfer, it is often cheaper than direct flights;
be flexible in choosing dates; often tickets for neighboring days can cost much less;
and it’s even better to be flexible in choosing countries and, having a list of desired destinations, buy tickets to where the most profitable options are found;
Subscribe to the mailing list of sites searching for airline tickets and airlines, and also monitor travel forums and groups on social networks to always be aware of promotions and sales.

Learn all the ways to get to your checkpoint

An alternative to flying is often a train or bus. And if the trip is overnight, you can save on hotel costs, because you won’t have to pay for the previous night. Bus and railway companies just like air carriers constantly offer promotions and discounts. In the USA and Europe, for example, it is possible to move between cities for just $1. A ticket at this price, of course, needs to be booked as far in advance as possible, but, on the other hand, it’s not scary to risk that kind of money.

8. Take care of health and safety

Travel insurance is a must

The biggest mistake of self-travelers is the lack of a special one, which will save you, if not your life, then certainly your wallet. For a regular trip, a standard medical insurance policy is sufficient, and if you plan to do sports while traveling ( skiing, bike, surfing, etc.), be sure to take out an extended insurance option.

In case of other force majeure situations, we advise you to write down the contacts of the Russian Embassy in the destination country and emergency phone numbers, although this is usually needed more for your own peace of mind.

9. Prepare technically

In the 21st century, technical equipment can greatly simplify the life of a traveler. We recommend installing a mobile application with offline maps of the required cities in advance, and getting a SIM card to access the Internet on the spot, if necessary. City guides, for example our application, will also be very useful.

10. Find out everything about the destination country

Compilation cultural program responsible occupation

An important stage in preparing for an independent trip is drawing up a cultural (or not so cultural) program. Here are the main things we recommend doing:

Find out about local attractions and make a rough route along them, but don’t be afraid to improvise on the spot;
Look for free excursions and others tourist attractions marked “free”, for which we recommend using our selection of freebies in different cities;
Study the local public transport system and the names of the types of travel tickets in the original language in advance;
Read about national cuisine and write down the names of the main dishes so that you can try everything and at the same time have the opportunity to eat not only in expensive tourist restaurants with menus in English.

11. Prepare to meet the local population

As a rule, you can find out a lot of interesting and useful things from local residents

You will be surprised, but the locals are also a landmark that can tell about their country no worse than the Colosseum and Eiffel Tower. For minimal communication with foreigners, it is advisable to remember the school English course or at least install a translator application on your phone. It would also be useful to familiarize yourself in advance with local peculiarities, such as mentality and rules of decency, as well as find out about the dangers that may await in a new country.

If your level of courage and foreign language allows you to get to know each other better local residents, try to do this in advance via the Internet, for example, on the website of the Co uchsurfing hospitality club. So you can get it for free personal guide and arrange a real immersion in the culture of the country. By the way, a foreign language is an optional condition for such acquaintance, because “our people” live all over the world!

12. Start early

Do everything in advance!

You need to start preparing for independent trips in advance in order to have time to work out all the details. In addition, we would like to remind you that purchasing tickets and booking accommodation in advance often saves a lot of money, time and nerves.

And most importantly, enjoy the process of creating your own trip, otherwise nothing good will come of it!

Who cares. Personally, I hate organized tours.

Disadvantages of organized tours:

often they include unnecessary sponsored excursions to a jewelry or fur coat store (came across it in Paris and Turkey);

you are partly dependent on the other tourists in your group (they need to pee, they need souvenirs, they have a crying baby on the bus);

on tours usually the most popular places for excursions for which you have already paid. And if you want to go to a non-tourist place, but you are going to Versailles by bus, you’d be sorry to refuse, you’ve already paid.

Advantages of organized tours:

you don’t have to think about anything: what to do with yourself, how to get to the museum, where to eat, what to see. True, it is not a fact that all places will be good.

usually it is cheaper due to a travel agency, hotels on the outskirts or those where travel agencies have special prices, sponsors, whose store you will be taken to on an excursion, etc. Also Bus tours, like 7 countries in 5 days, very cheap.

There are very cool tours that are not for everyone, but especially for you. For example, in Ukraine there are guys who take designers and architects on tours. They plan well and with them you can get, for example, into the workshops of famous architects, where you would never get to yourself. Or there are photo tours. In short, highly specialized tours that will interest you. Or very expensive and rare tours, such as a cruise near Antarctica.

That is, you can have fun on a tour if the planning makes you hysterical and if you don’t worry too much about what you’ll see on the trip. Paris and okay, it doesn’t matter what exactly you see (you will see 100% the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre). Or if you find a unique tour.

If independence and quality are still important to you, it is better to do everything yourself.

pros self-guided tours:

you do whatever you want - visit the places you want, plane or bus - you choose yourself, you choose the hotel yourself, everything is up to you.

sites for selecting tickets, hotels, restaurants, establishments and entertainment give complete freedom (tickets.ua, tripadviser.com, hotels.com, anywayanyday and other hundreds of sites).

a guidebook (book) often tells everything you need, and if you choose it wisely, you can do without a guide on a bus, as on an organized tour. The Internet, again, knows everything.

you can get into tourist places, which you will learn about on some local website, and not in tourist consumer places, where the quality is designed so that you will never return, and others will come tomorrow.

many interesting routes are not subject to organized tours. If only we could see the Scottish northern castles, climb the most high point Great Britain, would visit Glasgow, Edinburgh, Oberdeen, Inverness, Loch Ness, Isle of Skye in one organized tour. And on your own it is quite possible.

Disadvantages of self-guided tours:

you have to plan a lot and rely on yourself. Often this means buying museum tickets online, otherwise there will be a huge line waiting for you (Uffizi, Louvre);

you can end up in a bad hotel with bedbugs (Paris:)), travel agencies usually choose proven hotels, because of reputation and all that matters;

Some places can only be accessed with a group, or it is easier to access with a group or an organized tour (in some collections, group-only excursions, cruises, etc. are most often an organized tour).

It’s a little more difficult to find a guide. I don’t know, somehow we have never had the practice of ordering a city guide from the Internet without recommendations. It’s always either a blogger-tour guide whom I read long before the trip (London, Stockholm), or on the recommendation of friends (Tallinn).

In short, it is usually easier and more pleasant to organize an independent trip to simple places (cities and countries in Europe and the USA). It’s easier and quieter to take a tour to exotic countries, as I understand it

It's not the same for everybody. Last year, my friend and I were looking for a place to relax, looking for options where we could surf (I’ve been dreaming of trying it for many years). The newbies themselves didn’t know how to do anything. First we wanted to get there ourselves, find board rentals and try it ourselves, but in the end we decided to choose a paid surf tour. And you know, we haven’t regretted it at all! We chose surfvan camp at our own risk - thank God. everything went very cool))))

Answer

It's better to travel on your own. Get out of your comfort zone, improve your languages, take local public transport, rent accommodation from locals, eat with locals, go where everyone else doesn’t, watch what group guides don’t show, find yourself in stories that will be interesting to tell. Take risks and discover new things. And you will be happy!

Independent travel is definitely better, and here's why:

Self-planning is the way to travel on any budget. No one in the chain between you and the computer has their own margin for food, flights, housing and all that.

Self-organization is zen. No one but you is responsible for mistakes, delays and failures. And since there is no point in blaming yourself, all you have to do is accept the universe with all its surprises.

Complete freedom of movement. Nowhere and never will you feel so many emotions as at a Bangkok station without boards and signs.

Go for it, friends.

Better water or beer?
It's the same here. You need to ask yourself several questions, in the spirit of “what do I want to get from the trip? What resources do I have (time, money, etc.)?”, and accordingly, based on the answers, it will be clear what is better in this case.

If you want to lie on the beach for a week in Turkey because your budget is limited, you’re too lazy to organize things, and besides, you don’t know languages and are afraid that they are needed (in fact, they are not) - then why not buy a tour.

But if you are interested in walking around Venice, then on the contrary - there is no point in contacting a company - you will overpay for the tour, and the hotel will most likely be offered who knows where.

1)If this European city, then, of course, travel on your own. Book a hotel on one of the many sites, upon arrival buy a “city name_card” (many European cities sell such cards for a period of one to 3 days, they usually give free travel on public transport and free or partially discounted passes to museums), until suburbs travels public transport, you can take an audio guide there, and if you arrive before the opening, you can walk around the attraction in front of all the tourist crowds. The nice things about such a trip: you don’t depend on anyone, you walk wherever you want, eat wherever you want, you blend in with the city, and not with the guide’s herd. But for this: you need to plan in advance what you will visit tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, etc., not to spare your legs, because there is a lot of walking, it is advisable to know English.

2) If this is a trip around the country, then the question is the budget. Everyone writes about tours as huge buses filled with time-oblivious women, sober men and their screaming offspring (hello, typical Turkey). Of course, such a journey is comparable to a descent into Hell. Another case: a driver-guide in a good car for a small company or family (assuming that you don’t drive/are afraid of getting confused in maps/not being able to control the controls on unusual terrain/take a break from the wheel and calmly look out the window) - this, believe me, is very good and helps to get to know the country from the inside. However, this is a tour, not an independent trip.

3) There are concept tours, but that’s a completely different story.

4) Destination: the difference between East and West is great, if you are not going to experiment with yourself by placing yourself in the condition of a newly hatched chick, then it is better to use a tour operator.

Agreeing with everyone who wrote back, I will add that if you are just starting to travel abroad, are not very fluent in the local language (where you are going) and are not yet very familiar with where to learn, buy, live, be, I would advise going with a group a couple of times. You take a closer look, learn basic things about travel, etc. And then you can reach an independent level. I traveled with groups for several years, and then it so happened that I went to Ireland as a “savage” - with a drawn up plan, a hotel reservation, a paid excursion to the cliffs. After this trip, I realized that I wouldn’t go with the group again))) This is such freedom! But it requires at least minimal traveler preparation :)

For me, independent travel is preferable. Sometimes you start preparing six months in advance, and this is already a great pleasure. I buy a bunch of books, a map, watch historical films, read reviews of other travelers. Finding housing is a special pleasure. When traveling around Europe, we ignore hotels and book accommodation on airbnb.com. We always take country houses close to the area we want to explore. Having a good kitchen is so important! You can live in a real medieval house very inexpensively! But regarding the cost of independent travel, I do not agree with those who write that you can save money on this. Traveling in a rented car around Europe will still cost at least 2 times more than a package tour, although it is worth it.

Depends on what you want from this trip. I will write about excursion trips, since I am not a fan of beach holidays.

When buying a trip through a travel agency, you, of course, overpay, but you don’t bother with the route (you just pre-select from several presented), accommodation, excursions, guidebooks, and mode of transportation. Sometimes you don’t even bother with food. They simply pick you up at the airport, put you on a bus and take you to wherever they have planned. All you have to do is relax, listen to the guide's stories and buy souvenirs. And another bonus: groups often get into museums faster than individual visitors.

When you plan your trip yourself, you take it all on yourself. You need to dig through a lot of information about the city or country you are going to in order to find out where and why you should go there :) You buy air tickets, look for accommodation, find out how to get to this accommodation. If you plan to travel, you will also need to buy train/bus tickets. But there are some advantages here: you go wherever you want, you don’t have to listen to the rantings of the guides (if this depresses you) and make sure that you don’t fall behind the group; you are the king and god of your journey, everything completely depends on you; you can go to super-interesting, non-pop places; you lie down and get up whenever you feel comfortable. And it's also much cheaper!

Personally, I went on tours and independent travel. I love both. Mostly I travel on my own, but when I have extra money and don’t have the strength to explore the country on my own (waiting to plan a trip in advance), but want to go on vacation, I go to a travel agency

There is no clear answer to this question. Depends on the direction and what you want.

Usually an organized tour, especially if it covers several countries or cities, allows you to free your head from organizational issues and put all your energy into perceiving and mastering what you see. For relative comfort and efficiency in terms of time, you pay here with standardization and a somewhat incubator approach.

Traveling on your own is more interesting because you can completely tailor it to your needs, interests, budget and pace of learning. However, this requires a lot of time, emotional and physical investment, which is rewarded interesting discoveries and adventures.

Some companies offer a combination of these two approaches, and this is probably the most advantageous option. Last year I had the opportunity to go on a two-week trip to Vietnam with the world well-known company Intrepid. We had basic things organized, such as travel between cities and overnight stays in hotels. Everything else was optional - additional excursions, entertainment, going out, dinners, and so on. And we put together the most interesting and relevant program for ourselves, as if from Legos, while we had enough time and opportunity to explore the area on our own.

I am always in favor of independent travel, since it assumes that unforeseen circumstances will arise that need to be resolved, you may run into some adventures, and so on, in general, everything will not be monotonous.

I see a lot of opponents of the organized tour, and I’ll add my two cents in defense of the tours. Firstly, an organized tour is often cheaper, this applies, of course, to known destinations. Let’s say the flight is direct, accommodation, transfer and insurance are cheaper than if you put everything together yourself, all thanks to charters from the operator, and by the way, a big plus is often a direct flight. Secondly, no one will keep you in the hotel, they will bring you, they will tell you what’s what and then do what you want, travel around the country yourself, this is already like an independent trip. In essence, the operator does not organize your journey he just comfortably takes you to your place and picks you up, and then you are free to do whatever you want.

Where is it cheaper to go on a tour, and where is it cheaper to book a vacation on your own? On what dates can you get tickets cheaper than a round trip flight? And why are tours no longer mainstream?

It is very difficult to dissuade a person. If we once accepted a certain statement as truth, then try to attack this fact with a portion of healthy argumentation. For example, if one day we decided that independently selecting a trip with booking plane tickets and hotel rooms separately is much more cheaper than buying tour, then all is lost. More precisely, our finances, which could be used more efficiently, will be lost.

Since Russia has only one seashore where you can bask - the Black Sea, our time for swimming is limited to only three months. Only in July, August and September and partly in June does the Black Sea warm up to a comfortable temperature for a full-fledged beach holiday. Yes and ours southern resorts not rubber and often “please” with unpredictable weather. Therefore, “our man” always strives to warm up somewhere, preferably away from home. And definitely - for a reasonable price.

Package tours have been around and popular for many years, especially beach holiday. Regulated by a market economy, they have undergone many changes during their existence - in pricing policy, trends, and the degree of reliability of tour operators. And during this time they have acquired many myths. Here are a few of the most important ones that it's time to stop believing in if you want to have a good rest.

Myth 1 (the most important!)

Tours are always more expensive than independent travel

In fact, the benefits of purchasing in one way or another - with a voucher or with self-booking- depends on the direction. If you want to go to Tunisia on an “all inclusive” basis, then naturally it is better for you to choose a full tour package. If you would like to visit wineries in French Provence, then it is better to organize such a trip yourself.

However, you should not limit the range of package tours only to Bulgaria, Greece and other top sellers in the summer. Often on a tour you can fly to Spain very profitably and stay with sandy beach Costa del Maresme and visit Barcelona every day, which is half an hour’s drive from the resort.

It happens that at the turn of the seasons or due to a sudden promotion you can buy a tour to Thailand - most often, for the most popular resorts- to Pattaya, Bangkok and the island of Phuket - cheaper than flying. For example, you can fly to Phuket on Qatar Airlines with a transfer in Doha. Here the advantage will be the quality of the airlines - comfortable seats, good food, TV, and the disadvantage is the flight up to 18 hours. At the beginning of June, the price of a flight with transfers costs 26,000 rubles, a direct Aeroflot flight costs 28,000 rubles (the journey takes 10 hours), and you can buy the entire tour with a direct charter flight, 10 nights’ accommodation, transfer, insurance and breakfast at the hotel for 25,000 per person (based on double occupancy). An example is the 3-star Tuana M Narina Hotel in Patong.It is not even necessary to live in the chosen hotel - you can move to any other place on the spot (you will only have to return to the hotel for the transfer).

Myth 2

Tours are boring for retirees too

Any tour can always be customized to suit you. For example, go to Ayia Napa, rent a car and drive around the island. No rights? Sign up for any excursions or meet the locals, and they will give you a tour of the territories that you cannot even imagine. And in the evening, have fun at discos, meet tourists from all over the world, and practice English.

Pensioners sit in the hotel and go down to the beach. You can arrange any adventures for yourself, and no guide limits you in this. In addition, the price of the tour in the vast majority of cases is a really decisive factor. Even if the entire hotel is filled with old people, this will not stop you from going out on adventures every day. And it doesn’t matter what your friends think if your flight was really cheap and safe.

Myth 3

No guarantees!

Many people believe that in the process of buying a tour and during the vacation itself, you go through many intermediaries, which means no one is responsible if something goes wrong. In fact, everything is different.

For example, a travel agency that works with several tour operators on the same terms, although it is an intermediary, takes responsibility for organizing your vacation. You are guaranteed to receive a visa, as there is an agreement with the consulates. If you have problems at the airport, immediately contact representatives of tour operators on the spot and solve them. If you are late for a flight, they help you find and buy the best cheap ticket on the next flight and contact the hotel, warning about being late. Moreover, if you are not satisfied with the hotel, you are required to be moved to another hotel of a similar category. Independent travel agencies even help you write a claim against the tour operator and demand a refund! To request assistance in organizing a service or compensation for losses, you can always contact your travel agent by direct phone or email.

However, there is always the possibility that the tour operator (not the travel agency) will go bankrupt, and then you will lose everything. To avoid such risks, contact only trusted tour operators who are registered in the public register of tour operators.

When purchasing a plane ticket and booking a hotel room, either the airline or the hotelier is responsible for each item directly. A hotel is unlikely to close, and airlines rarely go bankrupt. If a regular flight is cancelled, you must be transferred to another flight or compensated for the cost of the ticket. And hotels are afraid negative reviews and do everything possible to ensure that you enjoy your vacation. In addition, they take great care of those clients who book rooms directly.

Why is it so cheap?

Tourists often miss profitable tours, because they don’t believe that they are really that cheap. They expect surcharges and other fees and do not even try to purchase this tour. Well, who will believe that after May holidays could you fly to Greece for 7 nights and half board for 18 thousand rubles for two for the entire tour? In fact, there is always a rational explanation for such cheapness.

Tour operators buy tickets for regular and charter flights across popular destinations m in advance, planning the whole season. That is, they have every right to significantly reduce ticket prices if they were not sold out before departure. There are no last-minute offers on scheduled flights that you purchase yourself. If the plane is not full, any seat will be sold at a pre-fixed price. But there may be airline promotions that need to be closely monitored.

In addition, tour operators often organize promotions for certain destinations with discounts of up to 50-60% - when there is an urgent need to sell tours to this resort according to the tour operator’s internal plan. Typically, such a promotion lasts no more than 3 days - it is convenient to follow offers on the social networks of a travel agency you trust and not miss a profitable offer.

It is also always profitable to travel immediately after the holidays - when Russian tourists return from vacation, and the resorts are empty and the planes are not full. For example, towards the end of the January or May holidays. And also with a return date that coincides with the beginning of the holidays - for example, in the last week of April with a return on May 1.

As for the aforementioned Greece, the offer was so cheap (up to 70% discount!), since the flight was planned 5-7 days after the purchase. During this time you would not have time to obtain a visa. But if you already have Schengen, you can always travel to European resorts on very last-minute tours - buying a tour a few days before the departure date.

There is also a system called “ Early booking" Using it you can save up to 40% on the purchase of a tour to a specific hotel (usually a very popular one). The basic principle is to buy out the tour or pay for it partially with arrival during the peak period (summer or New Year), but always in advance - several months in advance. It is important for hoteliers to know how many tourists will check in, and it is convenient to receive money as early as possible.

When traveling on your own, it is always beneficial to buy a plane ticket six months in advance, or more precisely at least 29 weeks before the departure date. Moreover, in European countries they often run promotions, especially if you are flying for only 2-3 nights. And there is no point in buying a tour.

So what are the pros and cons?

And a few more points for comparison and making the right decision for this summer:

Vacation by tour

Fast, easy: no need to look for anything yourself

Constant Russian-language support for your travel agent

Visa support

Possibility to fly on last minute offers

The tour includes everything you need: flight (charter or regular), hotel accommodation, meals, transfer, insurance, support of a Russian-speaking guide

Individual support of a travel agent at the stage of selecting a tour - extensive experience, knowledge of hotels and tourist reviews, to advise or dissuade

The tour operator may go bankrupt and you will not get your money back

It is not profitable to buy a tour to unpopular destinations

Often used charter flights with poor food and uncomfortable chairs

The travel agency must provide you with freevisa support. This service is necessary for obtaining a visa yourself. As a rule, documents for a tour - voucher, insurance and air tickets - are sent to the tourist a few days before departure. When applying for a visa, the travel agency will advise you on what documents will be required to obtain a visa, and will also send you a full package of documents confirming that you have booked the tour.

Self-guided tours:

Absolute freedom in organizing your holiday - happiness for introverts!

If you are planning your vacation in advance, then it is much cheaper to buy plane tickets 29 weeks before departure (according to the Skyscanner service).

Independence from other group members (in transfers or on excursions)

Many airline and hotel websites are in English

No transfer and insurance

Good command required English language, sometimes not only English (for example, in China a very small part of the population speaks English)

In total, it is always cheaper to buy a tour for popular destinations, especially a last-minute offer. And this cheapness often covers all the possible disadvantages of a holiday package. And for some, even the search itself becomes the beginning of a vacation adventure - many are even ready to overpay, but organize their vacation completely on their own! Remember all the pros and cons that we have told you about in this article and make the right decision! 😉

Perhaps everyone modern travelers can be roughly divided into two categories - those who go to unknown destinations with the help of travel companies and those who organize their trip from start to finish on their own.

Recently, there are more and more people traveling without intermediaries - both in the world and in Russia in particular. It's obvious that independent tourism became widespread thanks to the development of the Internet and electronic technologies, which do not even require, say, personal presence when purchasing air tickets.

Maximum simplification of paperwork, hotel reservations, and purchasing tickets for all kinds of transport allowed people to expand the boundaries of choice. And if previously a person had to go to a travel agency to find out absolutely all the questions about the upcoming trip, now we just need to enter any query into the search bar on the Internet and get an exhaustive amount of information.

Interestingly, according to some data, they themselves employees of a number of travel companies are already talking about the fact that their business is on the verge of extinction. Of course, travel companies will not be able to completely disappear - lazy, rich and elderly people will always crave the caring “hand” of a tour operator, but companies are beginning to feel problems with “passenger flow” more and more often and more clearly. After all, it is mostly young people who are turning away from them - they are not afraid of anything and know perfectly well how to find cheap air tickets, how to book the most suitable hotel rooms, how to apply for a visa and how to see the maximum of attractions with a minimum of financial costs.

In this material, we will not debunk the uselessness of travel agents and praise independent travelers, if only because both the first and second cases have both their obvious advantages and disadvantages that are not so noticeable at first glance.

Here we will talk about how to travel cheaper - through a travel agency or on your own, which country is better to go through a tour operator, and which one you can go on your own, and we will also look at an example - how to organize a trip yourself according to a similar offer from a travel agency, at what time it will cost - what will be its advantages and disadvantages.

Let's start with the fact that the choice of organizing an upcoming trip depends on a number of circumstances and factors. This includes primarily travel dates, choice of dates and days for flight or relocation, financial capabilities of tourists, direction - that is, the country they have chosen for their vacation, as well as personal wishes regarding the level of the hotel, its location, and so on.

As practice shows, travel companies are usually approached by people who do not want or do not have enough time to independently organize a trip, citizens who have problems with a foreign language and need the constant accompaniment of a guide, as well as those who are “greedy” for last-minute tours, that is vouchers that can be bought, roughly speaking, a day before departure at a super-low price.

As a rule, people who travel to foreign countries on their own are people who speak fluent English, who know how to independently organize the best leisure time and conditions for their stay in a foreign country, who are not afraid to independently purchase air tickets, resolve visa issues, and so on, as well as those who do not want to relax according to the template set by the travel company.

Now let’s look at the example of specific countries where it is still easier for our fellow citizens to travel through travel companies, and where it is more profitable to travel on their own.

All statistics show that the most popular tourist destinations for Russians are Turkey, Egypt, Greece, China, Thailand, India and Spain. The sample of these countries is naturally supplemented year by year by others, but even among those given here it is clear that mostly in demand European states, or countries South-East Asia . Neither Latin nor North America, neither Australia, nor Central and South Africa You won’t find it in this top.

The attraction to Europe among our compatriots is most often explained by the close proximity of countries, their rich history and a wealth of attractions smoothly interspersed with a favorable Mediterranean climate. As for Asia, Russians are most often drawn there by a thirst to get acquainted with the exotic, expand spiritual knowledge, and are also attracted by the cheapness of Asian life. However, first things first.

Where is the best place to go on a trip?

To begin with, let’s take such popular destinations among Russians as Türkiye and Egypt. As a rule, these countries attract compatriots due to their territorial proximity to Russia, resorts with access to the sea, warm climate and developed tourism infrastructure. Both countries, due to their popularity, are in good standing with Russian travel companies. That is why you can easily spend a week in Egyptian Hurghada or Turkish Antalya with the help of a tour operator for 14-16 thousand rubles, with flights, mandatory all-inclusive meals and drinks, in at least a 4-star hotel with a swimming pool and a water park on site.

Otherwise, the choice is up to the tourists themselves - to stay in the hotel for all 7 days, relaxing and basking in the sun, or to combine passive relaxation with active trips to sights for an additional price. For example, at the hotel itself you can easily take an excursion and go on a real safari or to the ancient mysterious pyramids.

As practice shows, It is better and cheaper to travel to the countries in question on a package tour. Independent trip for round-trip tickets alone it will cost the traveler the price of the entire trip from the tour operator. And if you add accommodation, food and entertainment to this, then you will need to overpay at least twice.

Of course, if you really want to, you can go to Turkey or Egypt on your own. However, if you choose a beach holiday, then it makes sense to overpay for it, using an individual hotel search and good conditions there is practically none in them.

It is known that destinations such as Thailand, China and India have also recently been widely explored by travel companies and, accordingly, by flows of Russian citizens. At first glance, these countries are also easier, safer and more appropriate to visit on tours offered by operators. However, it immediately becomes obvious that flying to, say, sunny Thailand is several times more expensive than plunging into warm seas

Turkey.

Typically, travel agencies' offers for vacations in Southeast Asia for two are replete with amounts almost reaching 100 thousand rubles for a week's vacation, and here we are definitely not talking about any allinclusive. Sometimes, of course, companies “throw away” unsold trips and Internet surfers, thirsty for wandering, snag a discounted trip for 30-40 thousand, which, you see, is noticeably cheaper than 100, but still more expensive than Turkish “baklava”.

Which countries are cheaper to travel to on your own?

And here tour operators are replaced by free travelers, those who are meticulously ready to tell you that it is best to travel around Asia on your own. Firstly, it is important to understand that such resorts in Thailand as Pattaya and Phuket (the most popular among tour operators and, accordingly, tourists) are becoming prohibitively expensive every year, not without the help of our compatriots. Secondly, even in these expensive places in Thailand independent wanderers find budget options

and food and accommodation than what the operators offer. For example, in the “kingdom of smiles” it is not necessary to rent a 4-star hotel with free breakfast at a fabulous price from a travel agency. At independent search

You can easily find hotels or guest houses on the same Booking that are two or even three times cheaper, with conditions practically no different from a 4-star hotel. As for air travel, if you plan your trip in advance, say, three months in advance, you can buy the cheapest tickets, and sometimes even direct ones. Sometimes independent travelers I manage to snag round-trip tickets for $500-550. And if we add in rental housing, on average 500-600 rubles per room per day in a decent guest house, and daily meals for the same amount, then

housing plus food will cost a maximum of 8 thousand rubles for one or 12-15 thousand for two. At the same time, you will not be constrained by the schedule set by the travel company, you will be free to change your location in accordance with your preferences and budget, and you will also be able to easily travel around countries without the help of guides and groups hanging around behind him. To implement the last point, it will be enough to arm yourself with a map of the area and a smile, You won’t even be required to have a high level of knowledge of the English language.

If we talk about a trip to India on a tour, then it’s definitely worth saying that the benefit of such a trip will only be that the organizer will in some sense be responsible for you - for the round-trip flight, hotel check-in and something food. For the rest, you need to know that holidays in countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and, say, Vietnam are best planned independently, since such factors as housing, food and hotel location are, firstly, a priority to determine on the spot , and secondly, all this in the local market will cost you several times cheaper than what the tour operator will offer.

Thus, in many respects, the countries of Southeast Asia will be cheaper and more interesting to visit on your own. Even though the flight to this far from central Russia edge takes a lot of time and costs an order of magnitude more expensive than the road to a clean and civilized Europe.

What about Europe?

As for Europe, opinions on whether it is more profitable to travel on your own or through a travel agency are in each case ambiguous. In fact, it is impossible to generalize about European countries that they are all equally expensive, for example, as about Asian countries, we confidently assure that all these countries are approximately equally cheap.

The paradox of Europe is often that it is quite cheap to fly there from Moscow or St. Petersburg, but in the Schengen territory itself everything is not so accessible to our tourists.

Let’s say that many travelers, whether on a tour or on their own, who went to Paris, note the high cost of the French capital, the impossibility of idly drinking coffee in the morning in coffee shops and affording lunch and dinner in cafes every day. About Norway and Denmark, in general, you only hear exclamations about incredible prices for everything, and not at all stories about the fjords. However, our tourist still does not ignore old Europe, despite all its pretentiousness and high cost. There are also corners here that attract streams of Russians year after year. For example,

Spain, Bulgaria or Czech Republic. Traveling to these countries in most cases will be cheaper if. independent planning

Unless you want to visit one of the designated countries, and not several in a week on a bus tour. On average, you can go to Czech Karlovy Vary with a tourist package for 1000-1500 euros for 7 days, this amount includes flights, as well as accommodation in a 4-star hotel with daily breakfast.

If you organize the trip yourself, then there is a chance to cut costs in half, that is, for 500-500 euros. All that is required for this is a plane directly to the capital of the Czech Republic - Prague for an average of 120 euros for both tickets, from where you then need to go on your own to Karlovy Vary for about 50-60 euros one way, to a booked hotel of your choice for 240 euros for 7 days.

As for countries such as Spain, Italy, France or Greece, it may be slightly, but still cheaper to travel independently. Among the advantages of such a vacation will be absolute freedom in movement and plans, among the disadvantages is the complete organization of the trip - from independently obtaining visas to finding the best and inexpensive hotel in an unfamiliar country.

By the way, it’s time to tell you about all the delights of independent and organized travel by intermediaries. After all, in the end, a tourist must clearly see the difference between the first and second in order to choose for himself the most optimal plan for spending a vacation or another part of his life in a foreign country.

First, let's look at the points advantages of traveling abroad through tour operators:

Minimum time spent on planning and organizing the upcoming trip, purchasing a full package of services in a short time.
Directly at the time of your vacation, you will not need to worry about booking a hotel, meals or visiting attractions.
The tour operator or his representative on the tour will answer any questions.
If you don’t speak English, it doesn’t matter, the tour will be organized using Russian-speaking guides, the hotels will greet you with a speech in native language, you won’t have to communicate in broken English.
Organized excursions will take place in a schedule and speed set by the guides; tourists will have no time to think about anything unnecessary. All decisions for travelers will be made at the moment when they pay for the trip with a travel agency in their home country.

As you can see, the trip through travel company It may be pleasant for those who are not ready to deal with some everyday problems during their vacation, as well as for those who like a clear routine set by someone. In addition, those employed in people, wealthy compatriots and other categories of people who, for some reason, do not want to plan their own vacation.

However, let's also see What are the advantages of individual travelers:

The ability to adjust the travel route, both before the trip and during the trip itself.
The ability to independently choose the most suitable level of hotel, food, and modes of transportation for yourself.
The chance to purchase air tickets in advance at a discounted low price and the ability to change the date of departure or arrival, as well as an independent tourist always has the right, if necessary, to return the ticket by paying the airline a minimal fine. For example, it is a priori impossible to refuse a travel agency tour without significant damage to your wallet.
A free traveler is completely left to his own devices, so he can look at the sights as much as he likes, change the route at will, return to places he likes, or explore new ones more intensively. One can only dream of such freedom in organized tours.
Organizing your own trip with a careful approach will often cost an order of magnitude cheaper than a tourist trip.
In addition, by making a travel plan individually, a tourist, as a rule, truly penetrates into the culture of an unknown country, expands his horizons, lives his journey from the very beginning to the very end consciously, independently, freely.

Usually young people go on trips on their own, do not have money for organized tours and do not want to follow some kind of guide, to be limited in their actions and aspirations. Also, individual trips are a priority for people who have been abroad more than once and have had their fill of organized tours and are hungry for real adventure.

Among independent tourists You can also meet middle-aged, even elderly people. As a rule, these are people who have not lost interest in life, who strive to become more fully acquainted with the local flavor of the countries they are traveling to, and who also understand the value of their time and the fact that no one can organize a good trip for them better than themselves.

In principle, choosing which way is better or cheaper to travel to distant countries is a personal matter for everyone. Because for some people the thoughts of independent organization trips abroad will seem like a nightmare, while for others they will open a “second wind” and be incredibly inspired.

Finally, I would like to give you an example of how you can organize your trip cheaper than using the services of a travel agency, even taking into account the fact that you are planning the purchase of tickets and the entire trip in a short time.

We will choose sunny and distant Thailand as our destination. A trip to famous island Phuket, so beloved by Russian tourists, is sold for two by the first travel agency that came up in the search for 76,737 rubles. This price includes airfare, accommodation in a 4-star hotel for 6 nights from May 9 to 15, free breakfast, insurance and transfer.

But let's see how much this trip will cost us if we organize it independently. Turning to the first low-cost airline you come across (sites selling air tickets with discounts, cheaper than airlines directly), it turns out that flying from St. Petersburg to Phuket and back between there on May 9 and back on the 15th will cost 29,643 rubles per person. That is, two tickets will cost 59,286 rubles, including fuel surcharges.

We go to booking and find the right hotel 4 stars. The price for a double superior room with taxes and breakfast included is 168 euros for 6 nights. We convert them into rubles at the current rate and get 8370 rubles.

To summarize, tickets plus accommodation without a voucher on our own will cost us 67,656 rubles.

That is If you organize it yourself, you can save up to 10 thousand rubles! For some, of course, this is not money, but for some categories of citizens such a difference will seem noticeable. In addition, it can be significantly increased if, say, you stay not in a designated hotel, but in a guest house with the same pleasant and cozy rooms, but without breakfast included in the price. It’s quite easy to find a decent guest house in Phuket with overnight accommodation for 600 rubles for two, which will ultimately be half the price of a hotel.

However, even when traveling on your own, not everything is as rosy as it might seem. Naturally, saving sometimes requires some sacrifices, for example, time. Unfortunately, I do not have information about what kind of flight the travel agency offers to Thailand from Russia - is it direct or with transfers. But most often they try to organize such tours with direct travel. Meanwhile, when planning on your own, tickets are usually cheaper due to the fact that you fly with transfers, perhaps even on different airlines.

In our example you can see this. The flight to Phuket will have two transfers and on average will take 20 hours in both directions. As you can see, you will have to sacrifice several hours of restful sleep in order to save on travel. Therefore, choosing the best way to go on vacation is, I repeat, a personal matter for everyone.

Don’t forget that when organizing a trip on your own, a lot depends on how far in advance you started planning your trip; as a rule, the earlier the tickets are purchased, the cheaper they are. In our example, the deadlines are really quite tight, and the dates chosen are not the best in terms of cost, so the difference in price between the tour operator’s offer and an independent trip may not seem too noticeable. But even with such an organization it is obvious, which means that

In any case, traveling to Thailand on your own will be cheaper than going through a company.

To summarize, I would like to say that naturally there is no consensus on how best to travel around the world. Each person has his own needs, his own comfort zone and his own financial capabilities. As for how cheaper it will be to travel abroad, I think that within the framework of the article I was able to show you that there are certain trends based on which you can plan your trip and know which country is better to go to on your own, and which through a tour operator .