Group Tours vs. Private Tours: Choosing the Best Travel Experience for Your Next Adventure
- Emma Hamrick
- Oct 5, 2024
- 7 min read
Updated: Mar 3
Have you ever visited a tourist destination, seen a massive tour group walk to the front of a line, and felt jealous? Or are you tired of following a schedule and itching to create your travel itinerary? As I’ve expanded my horizons into international travel over the past year, the dynamics of group and private travel guides took me by surprise. Having traveled with my family of six in a scrappy, DIY fashion for most of my life, organized travel was a mystery to me until my recent trips to Peru and Egypt. If you’ve been considering taking an organized group tour, or trying a more customized, private approach to travel, you’ve come to the right place. This blog will guide you through the pros and cons of group tours vs. private tours based on my recent experiences in Peru and Egypt.
Understanding the Basics: Group Tours vs. Private Tours
Organized Group Tours
I took my first organized group tour in May 2024 with Globus while traveling with my partner, his family, and their friend. His family has taken more than five trips with Globus and organized this trip about a year before traveling. Our 12 day trip to Peru was the “Peru Splendors + Peru’s Amazon” itinerary and included visits to the Amazon Rainforest, Lima, Cusco and Machu Picchu. We opted for a “Small Groups” adventure, which limited our group to 30 total travelers (Globus’ regular trips accommodate up to 60). I found the tour organization and itinerary compelling, but struggled with feeling overwhelmed at times.
The Pros and Cons of Organized Group Tours
Why Choose a Group Tour? Benefits of Stress-Free Travel
Convenience and Stress-Free Planning: Organized tours handle all the logistics including transportation, accommodation and entry fees. This removes the stress of planning and allows you to focus on enjoying your trip. In Peru, this was especially helpful during our visit to Machu Picchu where Globus organized our plane, train and bus, and entry tickets to the site and managed our complex luggage situation on our behalf. I honestly can’t imagine organizing this myself and felt at ease knowing this was taken care of.
Our worry-free trip to Machu Picchu was made much easier thanks to our group tour organized through Globus. Safety and Security: Traveling with a group provides an added layer of safety, especially in unfamiliar environments. Tour operators are familiar with the areas and can help navigate any potential safety concerns. In Peru, our tour guide noted that the Historic District of Lima wasn’t the safest, and therefore planned our visit during the early afternoon.
Social experience: Group tours offer the opportunity to meeting an interact with like-minded travelers. This can enhance the travel experience through shared adventures and new friendships. In Peru, I really connected with a retired military couple from Hawaii and think back fondly on our shared meals and experiences together.
Access to Exclusive Experiences: Organized tours often include unique activities and access to places that might be difficult to arrange independently. A highlight during our trip to Cusco was a musical performance and parade through the streets that we participated in, which is an experience that only Globus offers. Likewise, we were able to enter Machu Picchu twice, a privilege few tour companies or independent travelers experience due to the challenges in organizing the transportation required.
The Drawbacks of Group Travel: What You Should Consider
Lack of Flexibility: Group tours follow a fixed itinerary, leaving little room for spontaneous exploration or changes in plans. I struggled with this immensely when I fell ill in Lima and the Sacred Valley. Despite having the worst tummy troubles ever, our itinerary had us changing hotels almost every night, so I had to tough it out and jump on a train while worrying I might poop my pants at any moment.
Limited Personalization: Tours are designed to cater to a broad audience, which means they might not align perfectly with your specific interests or travel style. I love hiking and adventurous activity, but our time in the Amazon rainforest and Machu Picchu were designed to allow for people of most activity levels to enjoy the experience. There were also times where I would have enjoyed spending more time exploring areas, like the plaza in Cusco or Parque de Amore in Lima, but were forced to move on due to time constraints.
Enjoying a brief, but beautiful stop at El Parque del Amor while visiting Lima, Peru on a group tour with Globus. Higher Costs: Organized tours can be more expensive than independent travel due to the additional services and convenience. This might not suit a budget-conscious traveler who prefers to find their own deals. Our cost around $5,000 per person, plus the added costs of some meals, beverages, and international flights. I feel I could have probably saved around $2,000 had I DIY’ed the trip myself.
Potential for Group Conflicts: Traveling with a group of strangers can sometimes lead to personality clashes or disagreements, which can impact the overall enjoyment of the trip. We were lucky with our tour group consisting of agreeable people, but the pressure of always being “on time” and “on your best behavior” wore thin on me at some points. If you’re like me and enjoy some time in solitude without social pressure to be part of a group conversation, you may want to reconsider group travel.
Limited Personal Time with the Guide: I loved our guide during our Globus tour, but recognized that his primary focus was herding the 30 cats, I mean people, on our trip safely to the various destinations. He never really came out of his shell and I didn’t get the chance to connect with him on a personal level like I’d hoped.
Organized Meals: Many group tours included structured group dinners at pre-determined locations with set menus. I found this especially frustrating in Lima, a known culinary destination, where we were forced to dine at a Swiss café to eat chicken and fettuccini instead of having our own time to visit one of the four “50 Best Restaurants” in the city. Several of our meals were served buffet-style, which also isn’t my preference. As an aspiring foodie, this was one of the biggest disappointments for me on the trip.
Private Tours
During my October 2023 trip to Egypt with my dad, I custom planned my own itinerary by booking several private day tours from the same tour operator (Emo Tours) through TripAdvisor and Viatour. This action-packed four days in Egypt included day trip to Luxor and Alexandria, in addition to two days exploring Cairo. Despite having to be very hands on with the booking and planning ahead of the trip, I found the actual travel days to be inspiring and tailor to my requests.
The Pros and Cons of Private Travel
Personalized Attention: The Unique Perks of Private Tours
Customized Itinerary: Private tours offer the flexibility to create a personalized itinerary tailored to your interests and preferences. In Egypt, for example, we were able to skip stops to the bazaar that were included in the tour to opt for more time in the Egyptian Museum, and we were able to add in a visit to a jewelry store at our own discretion. These customizations might not have appealed to mass groups, but allowed us to check off boxes on our “must see” lists.
Exclusive Attention from Your Guide: With a private tour, you receive undivided attention from your guide, allowing for a deeper and more personalized experience. The one-on-one attention allowed my dad and I to put down our guard and ask the “stupid questions” that we might not have in a group setting. We also spent several meals with our guides which allowed us to get a better understanding of their personal lives. To this day, our driver in Luxor will WhatsApp me from time to time to ask how I’m doing. That kind of connection is difficult to achieve on larger tours. When I mentioned to one of our guides that I was disappointed in our photos from our first trip to the Great Pyramids, he went out of his way to take us to the premiere photo spots and captured as many photos as we wanted.
Visiting the Red Pyramid with our amazing Private Tour Guide Tigo in Egypt Flexible Scheduling: Private tours provide the freedom to adjust your schedules as you go, making it easier to accommodate spontaneous changes or extended visits at certain sites. In Egypt, we added on countless experiences in the moment including camel rides near the pyramids, entry into King Tut’s tomb, and climbs inside the Bent pyramid and the Great pyramid.
Enhanced Comfort and Privacy: Traveling privately means you won’t have to share transportation or accommodations with strangers, ensuring a more comfortable and intimate experience. We had unlimited access to water during our tours, along with private vehicles that allowed us to stretch out (and even nap). In Egypt, tourist motorbuses have been known targets for terrorist activity, so we felt more confident and safer in low profile vehicles on private tours. .
The Drawbacks of Private Travel: What You Should Consider
Higher Costs: Private tours tend to be more expensive than group tours due to the personalized service and exclusive experiences. Expect to pay around twice as much for private tours in major tourist countries like Italy, Greece, and France. However, for developing countries like Peru and Egypt, it is possible to construct your own private tours using TripAdvisor, Viatour, or other similar services.
Planning Responsibility: While private tours offer customization, they also require more input and decision-making from you. This can be time-consuming and requires clear communication of your preferences. I spent around 20 hours preparing for and planning our Egypt trip. There was also a level of anxiety involved in booking via third party services like TripAdvisor in foreign country due to language barriers and the “middle man” of the booking service. Thing worked out for the best which was great, but there was absolutely some calculated risk involved.
Just a fraction of the planning required on my end while coordinating private tours in Egypt.
Final Thoughts: Finding the Perfect Travel Experience for Your Style
Both private and group tours help manage logistics and planning that allow you to experience a new location in a way you may not have been able to achieve on your own. Group tours are more affordable and convenient, offering a structured itinerary, shared social experiences, and added safety but lack flexibility and personalization. Private tours, while more expensive, provide a customized itinerary, exclusive attention from the guide, and greater freedom to explore at your own pace.
It’s up to you to decide what works best for your budget and temperament. This decision may also vary based on your desired destination as managing logisitcs in foreign languages or obtaining admission to exclusive sites may require the assistance of a tour company our travel professional.
For me, having flexibility to make my own decisions in the moment and tailoring the itinerary to my interests are key to my enjoyment, so I'm hoping to pursue more private travel opportunities in the future. Have you had any experiences with group or private tours? Share in the comments!
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