With previous Europe travel we would at times rent a car to explore outside our base city.  While it was convenient to have our own vehicle it was also at times stressful.  At the same time we were not interested in going on day tours with several people.  No offense to anyone, but we did not have the best experiences at times and we were at the mercy of their schedule. A few years ago while in the south of France we tried something a little different.  Hence, us checking into private guided tours.  Yes, they are more expensive, but you get what you pay for just like anything else.  We look at it this way- we travel far, we spend a good amount of money getting there, we spend more on hotels and food but really the most important aspect is seeing what you came for! With private tours there are some advantages to the group tours and going out on your own:

9 Reasons for Guided Private Tours

Based on what you want to do in a day you can usually pick your start time and/or they will tell you what time is good so that you will complete your itinerary for the day.

Not only can you eat where you want but you also can order anything on the menu.  Large tours you usually are brought to a designated “tour” restaurant with a limited menu choice. A “tour restaurant” can be good, but food is cooked in large quantities, so it may not have give you the food experience you are expecting.

If you are a shopper and want to fit in some shopping while sightseeing- a private tour is for you! Large tours usually stop at the stores where they receive a commission and if you are like me I buy things just because… so I end up with items when I get home and wonder what was I thinking!

You can ask 100 questions of your tour guide.  He/she is used to it and would rather be talking then just driving you around, so engage with your tour guide.

You can hear everything your tour guide is saying.  Sometimes on a large tour you end up next to people talking and you miss some descriptions.  Done that been there- not fun.

Your transportation should be very comfortable.  You should have more room and not crowded.  A window view is more likely too.

If you want to stop at a restroom, no problem.  Sorry, but a tour bus is only going to make designated stops for you.

If for some terrible reason you or someone in your small party are not feeling well you can go back to your hotel.

You can learn a lot more then going on your own.  Who has time to read everything about each town and village you’re going to?? Plus the local guides give you information that you won’t find in tour books sometimes.

So those are just some of the reasons we love private tours.  Do yourself a favor look into it for your next trip if you are wanting to do a day trip, you might just like it! We have experienced them at several destinations: The Dolomites, Rome, Switzerland, England, Greece, South of France, Morocco and more! Each of our Private tours we went on were Fabulous!!

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