Group or solo travel?
It’s that time of the year again, when the Matta Fair rolls around, offering bargains galore on travel packages and airfares. How will you choose to travel this time?
MORE and more Malaysians are choosing to plan their own travel itinerary rather than go with the usual package tour. Which is better?
Picture this: A friend went to Myanmar on a self-planned holiday with some friends. Beautiful scenery. Vibrant culture. Interesting pagodas. However, her trip was spoiled by food poisoning which meant spending more time in toilets than sightseeing. In a package tour, this wouldn’t have happened, or at least, there would be some compensation.
Now, picture this: Another friend joined a package tour to South Korea. It turned out to be a terrible trip for her. Not that the country is bad – actually, it’s wonderful – but the tour was a series of temple visits and indulging in Korean food, both of which my friend did not particularly fancy. If she had travelled independently, she could have done as she liked.
So, which should we choose – independent travel or package tour? Check out the pros and cons to make a better decision for your next vacation.
Cost
Is independent travel really cheaper than a package tour? Many think so, but, it depends on several factors like the destination and itinerary.
For destinations with a lower cost of living than Malaysia (e.g. Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, China), it could be cheaper to travel independently than to take a package tour. For destinations with a higher cost of living (e.g. Australia, South Korea, Europe, the United States), it may be more economical to go with a package tour.
If your travel itinerary involves multiple locations, as opposed to staying in only one place, you may want to consider a package tour. This is especially true if you want to cram in as much as you can within a short time. However, if you just want to take it easy and go slow, do it on your own.
Generally, if you were to plan everything yourself, based exactly on what a package tours offers (i.e. itinerary, flight, accommodation and meals), it would cost more. This is simply due to economics of scale where tour companies command lower prices from suppliers (airlines, hotels, restaurants, transport companies and guides) by virtue of their customer volume and repeat businesses.
Of course, you can scout around for superdiscounted airfares and promotional rates in hotels. But to put them all together into a cohesive holiday plan (right time, right place and right price) is hard to do, especially with a multiple-location itinerary.
Some years back, my wife and I did a twoweek tour of Italy – covering Rome, Florence, Milan, Lake Como, Assisi, Venice, Sorrento and Capri – through a travel agency. It was much cheaper than doing it on our own. We even had a special live accordion on board our private gondola in Venice at no extra charge as we were on our honeymoon! That would have cost us a bomb if we had done it on our own.
However, independent travel can be cheaper because you spend only on what you want, not what is offered to you. Instead of, say, covering 10 sights as in a tour, you cover only four which you are interested in. Instead of eating in restaurants, you pack your own sandwiches. Instead of a guided explanation, you read a brochure’s short description. So, it depends on what you want to spend on and what is of value to you.
To know which is cheaper for a particular holiday, do your homework and work out the cost. Factor in the airfare, airport transfers, ground transport, accommodation, meals, and entrance fees. Add 20% to that amount. Now, compare that to the various package tours (with a similar itinerary) available in the market.
Convenience
Convenience and independent travel are mutually exclusive! To make a self-travel holiday work, you must do your research. Granted that the Internet and travel guidebooks have made this easier, you still need to put in many hours of reading and planning.
On average, I spend about 30-plus hours of research for a short trip (five days). That’s just the pre-trip work. When you finally get to your destination, you may encounter more inconvenient situations – language problems, getting lost, waiting for public transport, not knowing what food to order, or even getting food poisoning.
Some people thrive on these as they see it all as part of the adventure. Others, though, would prefer everything to be arranged for them, which means a package tour is the obvious choice. Which are you?
One thing inconvenient about group tours is that you are not free to move at your own pace. Somehow, in every group, there is always at least one person who is never punctual or always lagging behind.
Also, in order to cram in all the day’s activities, the itinerary could begin as early 7am or involve walking in the rain, neither of which I relish when I’m on holiday. If you go on a package tour, find out the details of the itinerary – what time each day begins, how much time is spent in the bus, how much time you get to spend at each location, and whatever else is important to you.
Sight-seeing
Given the same time-frame, you will cover fewer sights when you travel independently than when you’re on a package tour. The reason is transportation. For self-travel, you don’t have a private bus/van waiting to take you from one place to another. You’ll be spending time trying to catch the public transport and walking.
Another reason is logistics. The tour company works this out for you to maximise the number of sights in the minimum amount of time. Not having first-hand knowledge of your destination means you waste time travelling back and forth instead of doing a circuit. There is also the occasional let-down when you reach a place of interest, only to find that it’s closed or the queue is very long.
Take note that while tour itineraries state many places of interests, there is a difference between drive-by, photo-stop, and visit. Ask for details or you may get disappointed with just catching a glimpse of the monument from inside the bus.
An advantage of self-travel is you get to spend as much time as you want at places that interest you, rather than being hurried along. This is my favourite reason for travelling independently with my family. Whilst you get more information in a tour, I’m not particularly interested in historical facts.
So, it doesn’t matter to me that I miss out on who built that in which year. Nonetheless, certain sights warrant a guide, such as the Roman ruins. Without a guide, all you see are piles of rocks. But a good guide can bring all that to life.
Independent travel is also good for those with particular interests which are not covered in tours. You may have a special prefer- ence for music, so, make time to go to the theatre; or perhaps local culture in action is what you want, which calls for a visit to the local market; or you may be the type that just likes to wander around and let the next corner surprise you. Knowing what you want to do on your holiday is very important in deciding between independent travel and a package tour.
Language
The language barrier could be a big hindrance to self-travel. Imagine driving in Thailand where the road signs are only in Thai, or visiting the Sahara where Tuaregs only speak their local dialect, or ordering food when the menu is totally in Japanese.
Some travellers enjoy this challenge and don’t mind looking silly by doing charades in the middle of a busy street. If a destination receives many tourists, then it’s safe to say that you still can get by with English. But if it’s an off-the-track destination, like trekking through the mountain villages of Eastern Europe, you’ll need to improvise on sign language. If not, take a tour.
Food
When you’re on a tight budget, then food is an area where you can save a lot of money in self-travel. Spending €3 (RM15) on a sandwich can save you €15 from a restaurant meal (RM75). Or RM4 can get you a lovely bowl of pho from Hanoi’s street vendors.
Obviously, package tours can’t give you sandwiches or street food for meals, hence, having to factor in restaurant meals. It’s good to ask what type of food you’ll be eating on a tour. You don’t want to go all the way to Europe, only to find yourself having Chinese food every night (or maybe you do!).
Although self-travel means you get to pick what’s for dinner, it’s not always that straightforward especially when there’s a language problem.
Young kids
If you’re travelling with young kids, decide if package tours are suitable for them. Tours have rigid itineraries with fixed meals and people travelling together.
How well would your kids fit into that? Do you normally have a hard time getting them from point A to point B? Are they fussy eaters? Will they throw tantrums? Will the itinerary be boring for them?
If you’re a parent like me, you get the picture. Remember, it’s easier for adults to adjust and adapt to new environments than for young kids.
A compromise
You could combine independent travel and package tours. Book your own flights and hotels, and take a local tour when you reach your destination. Many hotels have a tour counter that offers day tours by local operators. These are often affordable and convenient as you can pick and choose what you want.
I would recommend this alternative, particularly when public transport and language are a problem to self-travel.
You can also search for day tours online by typing the name of your destination + day tours, e.g. “Seoul day tours”. Always check for travellers’ reviews. However, if you plan to take many day tours, then the total cost will work out to be more expensive than going on a package tour.
There are many other factors that can determine whether one should travel independently or join a package tour. The above list is not exhaustive.
The key is, before you go on your next holiday, know what you (and your family) want and plan from there.
After all, you worked hard, saved the money and took leave for that holiday, so why not plan it well?