Not every traveller would accept with pleasure an invitation to wander around the city for hours. There’s no sense in persuading or making him change his mind: there are also other tours to do instead of sightseeing ones.
Someone is happy to go to the mountains or to the sea, the other one will choose wine or sweets tasting, and the third one has his wedding at hand, so he can conveniently time the event to coincide with the trip. How to organize well different kinds of travel:
7 Types of tours and guidelines for organizing each of these
For some people taking rest means conquering mountain peaks. Somebody would not exchange the sun’s rays for a frosty wind, while others need only extreme. That is why travel companies offer customers different types of tours for every taste and budget.
What may prevent a private guide from doing the same and organizing for the traveller a wine-tasting excursion program in the best cellars of France or an outlets shopping instead of a usual tour?
7 Kinds of tours that you can offer the traveller
1. Traditional Excursion Tour
Dynamic, rich, full of new knowledge and experiences, this can be a hike on any route, regardless of the country or location, if you add to your narration some appropriate jokes, interesting facts and good mood. With 30-40 people under the guidance of one guide with a loudspeaker you really won´t be able to take a rest.
2. Mountain Skiing Tour
Why not accompany tourists who want to conquer mountain peaks? Especially if you have something to tell them about the exotic traditions of the local people, the history of a cliff, or how “on that hill” a famous movie was shot.
The main thing going by this route is to explore it inside and out so that customers feel secure and able to safely enjoy its beauty without fear of taking the wrong road.
3. Shopping Tour
Spending money wisely is also a great skill. That’s why the services of a person with information about the places of sales, product range and discounts are very much appreciated. Examine all the available commercial facilities of your or neighbouring regions, and make a route based on customer’s budget and requests.
4. Sport and Extreme Tour
If the traveller prefers some unusual pastime and its adrenaline rush instead of hiking, offer him conquering the desert or the depths of the sea, go windsurfing, kite surfing, or parachuting. The customer will be grateful to you if you save him from having to search for equipment rental centres or jumpmaster contact information. So get a list of useful addresses and simply accompany him, not forgetting to give him a good mood on the way!
5. Pilgrimage
If a person underreacts to all suggestions and comes to life only hearing the words “temple”, “Mecca” or “Islam”, you can organize a trip to the holy places, for example, in the Egyptian monastery of St. Catherine or religious monuments in Cairo. One small thing is missing: developing a route, helping to buy tickets, and exploring the attractions to be visited. This service performed by a private guide is rather of the exclusive services category and therefore has its respective price.
6. Gastronomic Tour
Such a trip would captivate people of all ages due to its interactive elements. Who would not want to try the traditional Camembert and Calvados in Normandy, to take part in the creation of homemade pasta in Florence, taste port wine in Portugal cellars, or cook delicious truffles in the Belgian Museum of chocolate?
In London, tourists can even pass a one-day course in a prestigious cooking school. Just in a few hours, they could learn to cook a stuffed leg of lamb and mint mousse, a port wine gravy and puff pastries with Chantilly cream.
7. Wedding Tour
What it will be, an exotic island, extreme climbing, wine resort, or mysterious Barcelona, is up to the bride and groom. The guide’s task is to organize everything, including the transfer of guests, limousine, cake and live music, as to make the couple recommend him many times as a true professional.
Be the vacation ever so cool in your dream, wherever this corner of paradise may be, and no matter how unrealistic plans may seem, believe those are achievable! Especially if it is made by a private guide, one of those who posted their portfolio at the Private Guides site. Do not be afraid to dream, and people of this creative professionals will help you to realize your plans!
Save on your trip with these resources
We use these aggregator companies to save time and money. They do the work for us by providing a list of options, prices, and reviews for anywhere we are travelling worldwide. Plus, we have personally had positive customer service experiences with all of them:
- Flights: we use Expedia for the best and cheapest flight options.
- Hotels: we use Booking.com as they consistently return the best rates and their reviews are from actual guests. However, for self-contained lodging, use VRBO
- Cars: we use RentalCars to find the best deals and dealer ratings.
- Private guides: we often hire private guides from Tours by Locals
- Travel Insurance: we start at InsureMyTrip as they are the best option to compare plans and find the right coverage for you.
Before you book the rest of your trip: Check out our travel resources page for more companies that we use when you travel.
We believe this list to be the best in each category. You can’t go wrong using them on your trip too.
What is your favourite type of tour? Will you use a private guide?
Photo Credits: All photos supplied by pg.world.
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Disclaimer: This article was written by Private Guide. Occasionally we share articles that match the editorial content but cover specific topics or areas with which we are less familiar. Compensation in the form of payment or product is often received, and these articles are identified as sponsored or collaborative efforts.
Nicholas Farnsworth
2 and 4 for me. I want the extreme.
Rhonda Albom
Skiing was always a favorite of my girls.
Amy Skaggs
Plenty of useful information here for my next travels.
Rhonda Albom
Enjoy your travels.
Thay Phím
I did guided tours before. They are great.
Rhonda Albom
Glad you had good experiences.
Rea T
The guide will establish how easy it is for the traveler to have what they want.
Rhonda Albom
Yes, and our guest author gave us lots of options to help the traveler.
Sara
Interesting post! I’d be most interested in the sports type of tour just because I’m very active, but the first type also appeals. I love the rich amount of history and narration you can get from a private/personal tour!
Rhonda Albom
I am also a big fan of learning the history of a place as we travel.
Noemi
I’m not a big fan of organized tours except if the place I’m going to visit is very historical. Other than that, I do prefer to go on my own. :p
Rhonda Albom
I find that tour guides often share interesting historical information even at sights that aren’t though of as historic sites.
Amila @Leisure and Me
It is really nice to read about tips on arranging each type of tours.Private guided tours are really exciting specially when we are in a destination which we don’t know much.We have experience with guides in historical places,but I always prefer to have a small group such as 5-10,so we can talk with the guide about doubts.I also like pilgrimage,specially we arrange such trips with parents when we are in Sri Lanka.And finally,shopping tours are my favourite! 🙂
Rhonda Albom
We also travel in a variety of ways, sometimes on tours, sometimes with guides, and often on our own. While I love walking and food tours, I have never been on a shopping tour. I have a teen that I am sure would love to go.