Europe is a stunning continent. With countries rich in culture, art, tradition, and culinary experience, it is a prime destination for anyone seeking an escape from the mundanity of his/her everyday life. However, while planning a trip, you are faced with the pressing question: planning your trip with one of the guided tours vs independent travel? Each has its advantages, but ultimately it is your preferences that determine what is best for you. If you are confused about which is best for you, read the comparison below to get a fair idea.
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Freedom
It goes without saying that a DIY trip or independent travel always allows you more freedom. Since you are the one who makes and fixes your schedule, you get to control every aspect of it. Therefore, you can adjust it according to your preferences, special conditions, etc. Planning a trip yourself also means that you get to decide which and how many places you visit. For example, you might be on a tight budget and cannot afford to visit pricier destinations, like The Louvre in Paris, but instead want to keep everything low-key. Or you might not be interested in seeing certain monuments, but they are nevertheless part of the tour package. Or you want to maximally benefit from your trip and see as many sites as possible. As it may be obvious, you will have to compromise if you are not in charge.
However, this also does not mean that a guided-tour strips you of all freedom of decision-making. Firstly, there are a plethora of guided tours that you can choose from, based on your preferences. Since there are tens of reputed formal groups functioning in the business, it is not impossible to find one that closely resembles your demands. Secondly, guided tours rarely take all day. In fact, you are with your group for the quarter to half of the day at most. You can innovate and decide what to do with the rest of your time!
Logistics
Traveling independently means that you are on your own and must take care of all logistics without guidance, from finding the flight tickets to booking the best hotels to finding the right commuting services such as train, bus, or car rental to pre-booking tickets to sites and monuments. Often, individuals, owing to a lack of local knowledge, fail to make the best decisions for themselves and get stuck in unfortunate circumstances. For example, one might not know that destinations like the Sagrada Familia and the Anne Frank House require reservations, makes special trips to the places, and get turned away! Such issues are non-existent when it comes to guided tours, for the company catering to you deals with all these matters timely and effectively. All you have to do is to enjoy.
However, it is not to say independently traveling is impossible. Not only is it doable, but for some people, this planning and catering to teeny-tiny details of traveling is also part of the fun. It is an exciting prospect for them and something they look forward to. So, if you are one such individual, you should not shy away from independently traveling.
Budgeting
There is no definite answer to this question because there are many different kinds of touring companies available. While some guided tours may be more expensive than others, focusing on pricier sites, featuring lavish hotels, etc., others are easier on the pocket.
If you are on a budget, you can allocate finances such that you skip expensive sites and focus on what really interests you. However, one thing that holds regardless is that all payments you make to them are made in advance. This entails that everything is covered and prepaid, including tickets to sites, hotels, etc. This is particularly helpful for individuals who struggle with budgeting and tend to overspend needlessly.
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Safety
There are good reasons to contend that traveling with tour guides is comparatively safer. Although crime rates in Europe are generally low, and you will have to be extremely unfortunate to run into violent crimes, petty offenses like pickpocketing are common. This is especially the case at popular, touristy destinations. Under such circumstances, traveling in packs is beneficial, as it wards off unwanted advances and attention. Plus, travel guides are also familiar with the local landscapes and know what neighborhoods to avoid.
Therefore, exploring cities with them is like taking preemptive measures. However, as mentioned above, crime rates are not extremely high in European countries and are therefore regarded as generally safe. So, there is no real threat if one researches and avoids shady areas.
Communication
Although European countries have an overall higher index of English-speaking citizens, you will nevertheless face problems traveling inland cities or villages. For example, if you are traveling in Malaga and are relying only on English, you will undoubtedly run into language barriers.
Under such circumstances, it helps to have someone who speaks the language by your side to simplify matters. If language is a major issue for you and you believe that you cannot navigate without aid, you might want to book trips with a tour guide. Elsewise, a DIY trip is just as good and has no other benefits in this domain.
Related: Learn a new language before you next vacation with Babbel.
General Conclusion
Both DIY trips and guided tours have their perks. Planning your own trip vs. tour company is an argument that has no objective answer. Typically speaking, if you are a first-time traveler who is unsure of how things unfold while one is visiting European cities and are afraid that you won’t be able to manage finances and logistics efficiently, you should go for a guided tour.
Doing so is not only convenient but also very insightful. If your ultimate goal is to break the shackles of travel groups, gaining experience by initially being a part of one is an excellent idea. It gives you the necessary exposure while keeping you in a safe space. On the other hand, if you are confident and determined to travel on your own, do not hesitate to do so! The world is yours, and nothing is stopping you from exploring the gorgeous destination that Europe is.
Don’t Want to Choose Between Guided Tours vs Independent Travel? Try the Hybrid Option!
What if there is no need to choose between guided tours vs independent travel? Alternatively, you can actually have the best of both worlds with personalized travel planning. This hybrid option allows you the freedom of travel independently so you get 100% freedom to decide where, when, and how you want to travel while the entire trip is fully personalized to fits your travel schedule and pretty much everything you have in mind can be customized from start to finish.
With personalized travel planning such as the one offers by MultiCityTrips, you get to embark on the travel journey independently while everything from the itinerary to all the logistics is planned and even booked for you by an experienced travel expert who has first-hand knowledge of destinations you will be travel to. Plus it includes all the support you might need before, during, and after your trip. If you are planning to visit multiple destinations and want to experience the best each city has to offer without the hassle of researching, planning, and booking you might find this option more suitable for your trip.
To learn more about travel planning options available at MultiCityTrips and how this option can help you get the best and the most out of your vacation while saving you time and money, check out our “Trip by Travel Experts“ page today.
Travel Resources for Planning an Independent Travel (DIY Trip)
Still would rather plan your own trip? There is nothing wrong with that. To make planning your own travel journey to Europe easier, we listed some of our favorites and recommended travel resources below. You can search and find the best flights, transportation options, hotels to stay in, tours/activities, and things you can do in each destination during your trip.
Flights:
Agoda: Search thousands of destinations around the world & quickly compare prices to find amazing deals on the best flights.
CheapOAir: You can find airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, and vacation packages all on one site!
Kiwi.com: What we like about Kiwi is the fact that they are able to create combinations of flight, train, and bus tickets and offer them in a single itinerary. Also, Kiwi has what they called “Nomad” which helps you find the best way of visiting multiple destinations, saving you time and money.
JetRadar: You can search and compare airfares from 726 airlines and dozens of travel agencies and systems.
Hotels:
Agoda: Agoda is one of the world’s largest online travel accommodation platforms with a network of over 2,000,000 vacation rentals and hotels worldwide.
Hotellook: They have more than 250,000 hotels in 205 countries, working with data from more than 10 online booking systems, such as Booking.com, Agoda.com, Hotels.com, Expedia, and others.
Transportations:
Airport Transfers: KiwiTaxi, Viator or GetTransfer ( offer both airport transfers & car rentals with a personal driver)
Train: EuroRail, Trainline or RailEurope
Bus: Flixbus: Very affordable (as low as $6) and convenient way to transfer between cities in Europe.
Car Rentals: AutoEurope, EconomyBookings, or GetTransfer (transfers & car rentals with a personal driver)
Bike Rental: BikesBooking (Bikes & scooter rentals)
Transportation Comparison: Omio (search, compare, and book tickets for buses, trains, and flights all in one site)
Tours & Activities:
TakeWalks (WalkofItaly): This is our favorite site for walking tours & day trips.
Tiqets: Great site for entrance tickets. It offers directly bookable, instantly available, and completely mobile tickets for museums, shows, and attractions all over the world.
Musement: They have good activities and tours in Italy and Spain, also many great day trips you can choose from.
GetYourGuide: A large number of tours, excursions, and other travel activities
Viator: The largest one. It has everything from tours, attractions, shore excursions, and private guides in over 2,700 destinations worldwide. It also has many transportations and transfers options and some unique experiences we didn’t find anywhere else.
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Need help planning a trip to Europe?
Want to plan a trip and visit multiple destinations in Europe but don’t know where to begin? If you find this type of trip planning to be too complicated to plan on your own, we’re here to help!
At MultiCityTrips, multi-destination travel and complicated itineraries such as a multi-city, multi-country trip to Europe are our specialties. Contact us today to learn more about how one of our experienced travel experts/destination specialists can personalize your multi-city trip and craft the best vacation package for you.
Don’t want to start from scratch and need some trip inspiration? Check out our marketplace for customizable pre-designed packages available right now for many amazing destinations.
To learn more about how our process of trip planning works in detail, please see our “How It Works” page or check out our video on “How to Plan a Multi-City Trip to Europe in 5 Easy Steps” here.
Have questions for us? Try our 24/7 live chat, call/text us at (888)223-2316, Schedule a FREE Call, or contact one of the travel experts/destination specialists at [email protected].
