TRAVEL SERIES
Why I’ll Never Go On Another Tour
Two is enough
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I love planning my own trips — the full itinerary — researching where I want to go, how to get from point A to point B, and booking my accommodation.
Bus travel is my least favourite form of transport. I love trains! If there’s no train, I’ll hire a car or fly for greater distances.
I hate having to get up at a particular time. I enjoy the freedom of a sleep-in if I want to, or getting up early and setting off on an adventure if I feel so inclined.
I hate not being able to stay longer at places that interest me. Conversely, I’d be quite happy to take some destinations off the itinerary.
I love discovering places off the beaten path that no one has heard of. There’s little joy in visiting somewhere that millions of others have seen.
I hate crowds. I tend to shy away from tourist sites. And I never travel in peak season.
Tours are expensive! I’m a budget traveller so they’re out of my price range.
In a nutshell, tours are not for me.
I have done two tours in my life — one was a 10-day tour in Turkey. I loved Turkey — the tour, not so much. Some people on the bus really annoyed the shit outta me — Aussie know-it-alls. You know, they type of people who think they know it all but don’t. I’m a bit of a know-it-all too but I don’t give an unsolicited opinion on something I know nothing about.
The tour was cheap $839 twin-share but I had to share with two other girls in a room that was only designed for two single beds. And try getting three females in a bathroom to get on the bus for an early start! I did this tour in December 2014. The prices have skyrocketed since then.
The only other tour I’ve done was in North Korea where tours are mandatory. My son is a tour operator and spending time with him was the only reason I went on this tour — and he gave me a huge discount because I shared his room.
Sadly, I didn’t get to see much of him because he was up late at night and I was early to bed. I woke up early but he slept in till just before bus-leaving time. I was the oldest person on the tour — by far…
