A guide to choose between Private tours and Group tours

What are private tours?

What is private tours?

Private tours are usually tours which have their itinerary custom made to fit your schedule, time and convenience. These kinds of tours are usually arranged to include personalized itinerary like a personal tour guide, a private vehicle with a driver, as well as a chance to choose or pick any other thing concerning the tour process.

What are group tours?

What are group tours?

Group tours are the direct opposite of private tours. This means that, in group tours there are already scheduled itineraries that are open to the public for sign ups. In group tours, nothing is customized or personalized, and so certain laid down itinerary or programs are to be followed by anyone who decides to sign up for the tour.

Pros and Cons of Private Tours

Private Tour Pros

Complete Freedom and flexibility

Private tours afford you the opportunity to make decisions on what you want to do and when to do it. Since you do have options and flexibility, you do not need to follow what others are doing, you can do them with some level of flexibility and ease as well as make changes where you see fit or realize an anomaly.

Explore at your own pace

There is always a disparity in everything especially when it comes to human beings and their choices. This also reflects when people are on tour, as someone may take a longer period to do something that another might use exactly half the time used by the former to complete the same task. With private tours, you would surely enjoy this kind of luxury, so you can do things at your own pace and time without questions.

Pros of private tours

More exclusivity

Unlike group tours that may carry tourists with buses, private tours have exclusive private cars and personal drivers for the tourists’ convenience. This is usually the case even if you are on the tour with family and friends.

This treatment affords you more private and protected moments unlike group tours where everyone is exposed to one another without any private moments whatsoever.

Special care and assistance

Some people on tour might have the need for special care or assistance which can only be provided for on private tours.

These special care may arise from the fact that they are with children or members of their families that are unable to do certain things on their own, or better still might have special dietary needs that should be taken seriously.

With private tours, all these needs and special care will be taken care of because there are no other members of a large group that might cause any hindrance whatsoever, and so your guide will have the space to focus solely on you and your people.

Your own personal tap of local knowledge

Since there are no members from a large group, unlike with group tours, your guide will have the maximum time and space to attend to your questions about the tour and places you visit, hence giving you the chance to tap your own local knowledge.

Here, there wouldn’t be any form of distractions from your guide and so he or she should be able to attend to your questions and answer them accordingly.

Private Tour Cons

Cost (sometimes)

The comfort and convenience that come with private tours, coupled with the luxury and personal attention will definitely come at a good cost. The fact that you received that exclusive treatment on your tour alone shows how the cost involved is going to be.

As much as it is quite expensive most of the time, it is not always the case as it sometimes can be a bit economical, depending on the situation or circumstances.

Cons of private tours

Not a good option for meeting new people

Tourism is a very good avenue for meeting new people and making friends, especially from different cultures and races. Therefore if you’re looking forward to meeting new people, socializing and making new friends on your trip, a private tour is definitely the wrong choice, since you wouldn’t be exposed to any other person but maybe your friends or family.

Pros and Cons of Group Tours

Groups Tour Pros

Best for those on a tight budget

Obviously, if you are low on cash and on a budget while you still want to go for the trip, a group tour is the right choice for you. On this type of tour, resources are usually shared with others and so makes it very affordable.

Pros of group tours

You can meet new people along the way

The substantive benefit associated with group tours is that it is a very good avenue to meet new people since there are no restrictions as to the caliber of people going for the trip.

This makes it easier to meet people of different races, beliefs, cultural practices, creed, etc, hence making it possible to learn and explore new things as well.

Groups Tour Cons

You will have to follow a rigid schedule

While private tours focus on personal or individual satisfaction, group tours are keen on making sure that there is maximum satisfaction by all in order to achieve the collective good.

To be able to achieve this, there must therefore be adherence to some laid down processes, and it also comes with certain restrictions, unlike with private tours.

An example is that, if you decide not to adhere to the agreed time to move to a particular destination, you will definitely be left behind, as you cannot be the reason why someone who is ready is delayed.

Cons of group tours

Forced shopping or other activities

This is a tactical approach by some tour agencies and companies to reduce the cost of the tour participation fee. This affords them the opportunity to make their tour packages more affordable compared to their other competitors.

It usually involves making quick stops at shopping centers in the name of “shopping time”, just to give away time and offset the tour cost in general.

You will have to share transportation with other travelers

Once you book a group tour, you should be ready to put up with certain inconveniences like short stops within intervals, sharing seats with others, etc.

As the group tour begins, the bus may have to make stops to pick other people going on the trip with you.

Sometimes some people might be very late to arrive at the agreed location and so you wouldn’t have a choice than to wait for that person.

FAQs About Private Tours and Group Tours

Are group tours cheaper?

Ideally, group tours are cheaper than private tours but certain circumstances can also make private tours a bit better, for example, the cost of a group tour per person is often a fixed price no matter the number of people who buy the package at that given period however, the bigger the number of people on a private tour (family or friends), the cheaper it gets.

How do private tours work?

Private tours are usually customized and personalized just to meet your taste and requirements. You could contact the tour agency for a personalized itinerary or better still an already made itinerary could be modified to meet your scheduled activities and taste.

FAQs about private tours and group tours

Should I travel solo or with a group?

Traveling in a group comes with a whole lot of advantages like meeting new people, exploring new cultures and traditions, learning a lot from new people, and to top it all, group travel can be quite affordable compared to private travel.

In view of these reasons, it will be safe to conclude that traveling with a group has more to offer than traveling solo.

Why are private tours better?

With private tours, you get to relax and feel more comfortable while choosing what you want to do and when you want to do it.

Here, you also do not have to put any other person’s needs on the same scale as yours, because all your needs are paramount and would be taken care of at just a mention.

A and when you have any change of mind about where you want to go or when, there can be an immediate modification to your itinerary.

How to book a private tour with Asia Tour Advisor?

Visit our Asia Tour Advisor

Step 1: On the right upper side of the tour page, select: click “Book this tour”.

Step 2: You will be redirected to the “Tour Booking” page including 5 steps inside

Step 3: Fill in all fields with your details and click “Next” to complete all steps.

Once you have completed Step 5, you will see a message: “Thanks for your booking. We just want to inform you that we have received your request. One of our staff will look into it and then get back to you as soon as possible!“

You will receive a Receipt of Reservation instantaneously in your email. Please review details pertinent to your reservation, in your email, including tour departure date, time and location, number of room(s), price, and etc. If you see any incorrect information, you should reply to that email quickly so that we can give you a correct quote.

Tips: If your tour package includes airport pickup and/or drop-off, we strongly recommend you book your flights after you receive a confirmation email from us within one to two business days after you make your online booking. Thus, you can leave the flight information blank and provide it to us at a later time after we confirm your reservation. On the checkout page, you may choose different payment methods such as: credit card, wire transfer, Paypal, money order, or cash deposit. Please keep in mind we need to receive your deposit payment in order to confirm your booking. Our complete checkout process is security-enabled with SSL.

For further enquiries, contact us via

Website: asiatouradvisor.com

Location: 2nd floor, 69 Quan Thanh st, Ba Dinh dist, Hanoi, Vietnam

Phone: +84 948 144 144

Email: help@asiatouradvisor.com

How to book our personalized tours and chauffeur services with Asia Tour Advisor?

For further information about how to go about this booking, kindly contact us via any of the outlets and our customer service staff will attend to you. Thank you.

Conclusion

Both private and group tours have their advantages depending on how you look at it and your preferences. Depending on the type of traveler you are, whether you want to make new friends or you want to get exclusive treatment, you can choose anyone that best suits your travel needs.

Do well to let us know which one you choose in the comments below.

If you want to know more about our tour, please visit: https://www.asiatouradvisor.com/vietnam-tours/