For years, many of the big companies have been trying to get us to sell their group tours to South America. We have tried selling tours from a number of those companies, but without much success. An agent from one of those companies came by our office last week and I explained the difficulties we had in offering their tours. Among those problems were:
- it is almost impossible to modify the itineraries
- so many things like airport transfers and the most popular tours are optional add-ons at extra cost
- no hotel choices are possible
- one of their trips required a 14 hour transfer by bus
We can look at most group tours and put together a similar itinerary, but customized to suit your interests and your travel dates. In many cases, we can use group day tours, if you desire, to reduce your cost. You would still have airport transfers and guided tours and local contacts in each area, you just would not have a leader traveling everywhere with you, telling you when to be in the lobby for pickup, etc. The local agents would do that.
If you look at the itineraries from many of the group tour companies, you will see that many of them use the same hotels or lodges in each area. So those hotels will have buses fighting for space to handle the 20-40 + tourists that each one will carry each day.
Wouldn't you want a more "local" experience?
Wouldn't you want a more "local" experience?
Most Americans only want an itinerary for maybe 7-14 days, but many people from other countries have done itineraries of 3, 4 or 5 weeks that we have put together for them. (it seems that we have a reputation in Australia because we get a lot of requests for things like that from people wanting to visit 3-5 countries).
We realize that some people prefer to be with a group of other people for the whole trip so that they can make new friends (though sometimes they get annoyed by "problem" travelers in the group). And sometimes if you are with a group, you can get a special meal or unique part of a day tour included. But we know one operator that gets good rates for hotels and lodges, but that is because they are not in good locations. Another offers highly-acclaimed tours, but is now lending it's name to another series of tours that are operated by another company that does not offer the same amenities or attention to details.
So it is good to be aware of some of these behind-the-scenes details. If you really want to go with a group of other people on a multi-day tour, let us know and we will help you to find what will suit you best.
Or, if you already have a group of people who want to travel together, we can put together a group itinerary just for you, using the type of hotels you want to use and all of the services you would like to have included, including special meals or day tours. We have done that for family groups, school groups, affinity groups, cruise groups and incentive groups.
We realize that some people prefer to be with a group of other people for the whole trip so that they can make new friends (though sometimes they get annoyed by "problem" travelers in the group). And sometimes if you are with a group, you can get a special meal or unique part of a day tour included. But we know one operator that gets good rates for hotels and lodges, but that is because they are not in good locations. Another offers highly-acclaimed tours, but is now lending it's name to another series of tours that are operated by another company that does not offer the same amenities or attention to details.
So it is good to be aware of some of these behind-the-scenes details. If you really want to go with a group of other people on a multi-day tour, let us know and we will help you to find what will suit you best.
Or, if you already have a group of people who want to travel together, we can put together a group itinerary just for you, using the type of hotels you want to use and all of the services you would like to have included, including special meals or day tours. We have done that for family groups, school groups, affinity groups, cruise groups and incentive groups.
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