Planning a perfect trip involves making a lot of choices. There is a big question for many people: Private tour vs group tour? Which one is better?

The individual journey: Depth and freedom

A private tour is run exclusively for you, your own families or friends with no other strangers. You will benefit from the following advantages.

1. Customized for travelers

The itinerary can be customized to meet your specific interests/ wishes. For example, you can choose your favorite hotels, sightseeing spots, the tour length, mode of transportation that is appropriate for your budget.

Private tour allows you to look back upon as time and money well spent.

Customize your trip

2. Vacation with friends/ family

Another advantage of taking a private tour is that you have the close relationship with the fellow travelers. They can be your own family, your extended family or your invited friends. Hence, you don’t have to worry about vacationing with strangers if you don’t want to.

Family tours

3. You set dates/times

You can also choose to stay in one destination longer and another shorter. You don’t have to depend on going along with the group. Additionally, you can make your vacation as short as you want, or extend it as long as you wish.

If you are fit and active or just walk faster than average, or get bored easily with long tour guide narrations, you may find yourself chafing at the bit to get a move on with a group tour. However, going faster isn’t possible unless you go private.

Likewise, if you have a disability, walk slower, eat slower, sleep later, or are just not feeling well, keeping up with a group can feel like an ordeal. You may also want to linger by a beautiful waterfall, take more photos, or find out more about a particular sight. Tough luck on a group tour! The fixed schedule is all there is.

4. Private assistant

Private guide and driver escort you through the whole tour. All private transfers during the tour are offered, including airport/train station transfer, hotel-attractions round trip transfer.

Private tours are particularly suitable for those who need some extra assistance, such as the elderly, people with disabilities or families with small children.        

5. Time is yours

Travel at your own pace that flexibly fits your travel style. The time is your own and your guide is there to respond to your requests and adapt to your interests and needs.

6. Cost 

As for the minus point of tailor-made tours, these do traditionally cost much more money. However, you cannot waste money on things you don’t expect to do or see when planning a holiday. If you don’t want to stay in a luxury resort, you don’t have to. That’s more money for you to take part in the range of activities that you do want, making a more meaningful vacation for you to remember for a lifetime.

The individual trip is particularly recommended for people who have a fairly high budget.

What is the estimated budget for a tailor-made private trip to Vietnam

7. Personalized Service

Your interests might be in natural sights, to the exclusion of historic ones. Or you might like to try more Vietnamese food… but not the over-spicy types. You may want help with your luggage, extra toilet stops or a guide who will keep up with you on a bike or the weather doesn’t suit the planned activities on the day, or today, you feel tired and would like to get up later… only a private tour can help to accommodate all of your personal interests.

8. Less shopping detours

Commission-earning shop stops are the bane of Vietnam group tours. If you want to avoid yet another factory outlet and pressure-sale souvenir aisle, take a private tour and you don’t have to waste hours in shops and wait for other people in the group.

Traveling in a group: cheaper, new people but touristy and less flexibility

Group tours are normally more reasonable, mostly with the classic highlights only. Let’s see more details as follows: 

1. Reasonable price

The most obvious merit to book a group tour is the price. Typically, a group tour comes at a lower price since you share the tour with other tourists.

2. Meeting the new people

The plus point to choose a group tour is that this type of tour offers the chance to make acquaintance with new people, in some cases, from all over the globe.

However, you may encounter with an inappropriate companion that might ruin your trip.

3. Fixed dates and itinerary

The group tours have fixed departure dates and itineraries that can’t be changed. You normally aren’t allowed much leeway in terms of the tour you take when you sign up for a group tour. This type of tours is supposed to have the pre-fixed departure and return dates with little to no flexibility. The itineraries are also commonly set well in advance and are not available to be altered by vacationers.

4. Fixed transportation

Another demerit of group travel is fixed transportation. This usually means a large tour bus that makes pre-planned stops and may even lead to you missing out on certain locations and sites.

5. Touristy places

Group tours usually escort travelers to the major sightseeing spots which are assumed to be touristy and commercialized. For those who are in search of the authentic experience or adventurous trails, you may not find yourself fully immersed in the culture of a region by participating in a large group tour.

6. Less flexibility

On a group tour, if you are not feeling well and would like to get up later or would like to spend more time to take a picture at a stop, it is impossible.

You must just plow on ahead, or get left behind and miss out on what you paid for.

To conclude, it depends on your budget and your preference to choose private or group tour. Obviously, it should be clear that you get better value for money with a private tour. You may not very rich, you are deserved to be carefully taken care of. You have to work very hard every day, you are deserved to have a completely comfortable and relaxing trip.

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