How Do You Determine Value in a Tour?

Editorial by Katharine A Lancy CTC, Swanton British Travel Service

The ultimate buying experience is getting the best quality for the lowest price. But if your focus is solely on the lowest price, you run the risk of making money more important to you than the experience of traveling. There’s a balance between the two, and here are some tips on how to achieve it.

The first question you should ask is whether a tour is escorted or independent. Independent tour components are pretty straightforward: airfare, hotel and transportation. But in escorted tours, prices are higher due to the hiring of a full-time guide and the cost of transportation – bus, car, Land Rover, camel – and a driver.

In short, you pay extra to have a more intense, well organized and well thought out itinerary that will give you the maximum exposure to a place.

However not all tours meet that ideal. If you look closely at many of them, they are routine, boring, poorly thought out and inflexible. So, when deciding among tours, you should compare at least three of four of them to insure that you’re getting a broad range of choices.

This article is intended as a general guide for a mid-priced motorcoach tour in Western Europe. Specialty tours that focus on in-depth experiences with highly qualified guides, small group size and trips way off the beaten path, will have a higher price point due to additional attention and services provided. A good rule of thumb is to double the per day rates for specialty tours, vs what you’d expect from mass market coach trips. 

Here’s how to compare them:

Calculate the daily cost of the trip by taking the total price and dividing it by the number of days. This will give you a starting point for comparing trips. Remember, if you’re traveling with another person, the real cost of your trip will be twice your own expenses.

But also keep in mind that the two of you will have considerable buying power: If each of you pays, say, $150 per night for a hotel room, the two of you are staying in a room that normally costs $300 per night

Examine the number of hotels the tour uses. A well-written itinerary will use very few hotels, and each will be used as a hub location. Generally, the higher the number of hotels, the poorer the quality of the tour. You’ll spend half your trip packing and unpacking!

Look for the hotel rating: 1 star (basic) to 5 star (deluxe). Does the quality of the hotels justify the tour price? Check out the availability of facilities that you require. For instance, make sure you’ll have a private bath if this is a necessity for you. But remember, the more exotic the location, the more flexible you need to be in your requirements. 

If a motor coach tour price is at least $100/person/day, it should provide a full-time guide/escort. If not, these are signs that you may not be getting your money’s worth: the tour operator uses “step-on” guides only in the cities; a member of your group or the driver takes over guide duties between major destinations; your tour leader lacks formal education in or extensive knowledge of the history and culture of the places you’re visiting.

How many meals are included? If the tour price is comparatively low and only breakfasts are included, you’re probably getting a fair deal. Just be sure that if dinners are included, you’re not being excessively charged.  

No matter where you travel worldwide, you can eat at any cost you choose. You don’t have to eat expensive meals in hotels when there are perfectly good moderately priced restaurants right down the street. Some hotels, however, give tour operators good financial incentives to include meals, and that is to your benefit.

Where are you staying when meals are not included? If, for example, you’re staying in the country, you might find yourself eating a la carte in the hotel because it's your only choice. If dinner is not included, the hotels you’re staying at should be located in areas where there are many restaurant choices.

Is your sightseeing all included? Obviously if it is not, you will have extra costs. Usually it’s included on escorted tours but not on independent tours. Know the costs when it's not included.

Identify the total number of "days at leisure." On an escorted tour, days at can be a waste of your money and simply profit for the tour operator. How much money is it costing him to give you such free time? All the money he'd pay a bus or car, driver and guide he can simply keep while you shop.

I love to shop, and I believe you should have the opportunity, but not at the expense of the tour. If your primary reason for travel is to shop, book an independent tour and save money!

How many visits does each tour make in a day? I don’t recommend sightseeing at breakneck speed for anyone, but a tour with one to two stops per day may be shortchanging you when three or four are possible at a comfortable rate. However, note that changing hotels every night makes one to two visits per day your only option.

Is your day of arrival a sightseeing day? Sleeping on arrival or having the day to do as you wish is again profit for the tour operator and maybe a loss for you.

Are your sightseeing venues a mixture of history, culture, nature, sports, etc.? A primary emphasis on just one of these gives you a specialty tour. Specialty tours generally focus on a narrow theme, although they usually provide a bit on related subjects as well.

Do your homework. It goes without saying that if you have no idea of the various facets of your trip, you can be sold a bill of goods. Learn about the costs, about the itinerary and about the country itself. Only then will you be spending your money wisely.

Interview your tour operator carefully. If he’s truly knowledgeable, he should be able to answer all your questions on the spot. Most companies are quite happy to offer references from past travelers – do not hesitate to contact these people. Chances are they will give you a really good idea of just what to expect from your trip.

Obviously no reference they give you is going to tell you the company is bad, but if a company can't provide a selection of references, there maybe something odd going on.

Review the items not included in your tour price. If they add significant amounts to the price, the tour is being misrepresented.

In summary if you’re being asked to pay more than $100/person/day for an escorted coach tour, you have the right to expect at least 3-star hotel rooms with private baths and breakfast, a full lineup of sightseeing with a guide, and transportation and a driver for every day of your tour. Anything less than that is either a tour of very poor quality or one that’s very overpriced.

Specialty tours, will by their very nature, generally be at least twice as much as the estimates quoted above. Nevertheless, the same general guidelines apply. Always compare with 3-4 other operators who offer similar packages and determine the value to make sure that you are comparing apples to apples.

But most of all, once the decision is made, relax and have fun!