There are so many options for group tours around the world that it feels nearly impossible to pick. To make sure you find one that suits what you want out of a group tour, follow these easy steps to narrow your options down:
Table of Contents
Where do you want to go?
It may seem obviously to start here, but figuring out where you want to is the first step to picking a group tour. Even if you don’t know which country or countries you want to visit, figuring out which part of the world, i.e. South America, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Northern Africa, is a step in the right direction. Take into consideration when you want to travel too since weather can have a massive impact on your experience. Remember that seasons are flipped in the southern hemisphere so going to Australia, for example, in July means you are going to be visiting during their winter.
What age group do you want to travel with?
Many tours have age limits to cater the experience to a certain demographics and their interests. While there are tours for ages 5-75, these will be less adventurous and more family friendly. When I was younger, I would concentrate on tours that only allow travelers under the age of 30 or 35. These tours naturally cater to a more youthful group of people who like a mix of physical adventure and nightlife, which might not appeal to older travelers.
While I still prefer these tours, my favorites tour companies are ones like Intro Travel where, while there is no official age limit, the general demographic leans on the younger side, but those who are young at heart in their late thirties or even forties are welcome to join.
If you’re not sure about the age group, you can always contact the tour company via chat or email and ask the specific demographic of the tour date you are interested in. Information like how many people already booked the tour, what is the age range of travelers, and the male to female ratio for that specific date will help you decide if it’s for you.
I’ve contacted tour companies before and decided not to do specific dates or even tour companies when I discover the groups are too large or I’d be one of the youngest travelers on the tour. This is also why I like to wait last minute to book tours. Even though prices will be slightly higher, most people book well in advance, so I am able to get a better picture of who will be on the tour.
You can also check if your chosen tour company allows you to change your tour date without a fee if you choose to book in advance and don’t like demographics of your group. This is especially a nice feature if you want to stick with a smaller group of 10-15 people, but later discover that the group is maxed out already at 30 travelers, which can be overwhelming.
What kind of comfort level?
Traveling is all about getting out of your comfort zone, but some things are just non-negotiable. It’s perfectly fine if you prefer to stay in better hotels and to avoid camping or overnight trains. There are trips for everyone’s desired comfort level.
Reading up on typical accommodations and filtering out options that don’t work for you is a great way to narrow down your choices. I personally love a night or two doing something out of my comfort zone like an overnight train or camping, but I couldn’t last a two week trip with just tent accommodations. Some travelers don’t mind bare bone and rustic accommodations, which gives you more options as well as cheaper options.
How many activities and meals are included?
This one is important to pay attention to. Some tour companies will include the majority of activities and attractions in the price quote, where others operate more à la carte and you pay for activities separately, which makes them appear cheaper when comparing tours. You have to pay attention when researching, otherwise your tour might cost you way more than you intended. Some people like this option since then they can choose not to do an activity and do their own thing that day without feeling the guilt of skipping out on an included activity.
This also applies to meals. Some companies will include significantly more meals in their itinerary, whereas others will have only one or two group meals included and you have to budget for the rest of your meals during the trip. I like when there is a good mix of included group meals, since you are in a position to try new foods at new restaurants where you might not have eaten otherwise, but still have the flexibility to try other places on your own.
How long is the tour?
Group tours vary in length, with some as short as a few days and others that last two months and everything in between. Depending on your time off, you might be limited to which tours you can do. Know that the longer the tour, the more in-depth experiences you’ll have. I recommend doing the longest tour your schedule will allow. So many of my favorite travel memories are from the end of trips when everyone has bonded and relaxed with each other and you start feeling at home in a foreign country.
Check out reviews!
While sometimes you might not be able to find a review for a particular trip itinerary, you should be able to at least find a review of the tour company. Always do your best to research other’s experiences with the tour company or trip in question. Tours are not cheap and you can save yourself a bad time, by doing due diligence and researching as much as possible.
Tour Companies
Now that you’ve asked yourself some key questions, here is where you can find some amazing group trips, applying your specific requirements to find the perfect tour.
Intro Travel
My favorite group tour company is Intro Travel. A UK-based tour company, Intro Travel has group trips all over the world and is constantly expanding their tour options. They are small enough to where you feel very well taken care of, yet large enough to where they have the infrastructure and experience to handle everything.
The tour guides are friendly, hands-on, and helpful, making them one of the highlights of traveling with Intro Travel. The itineraries include most listed activities, while also making enough time for free time in each location. Another cool feature is that all their trips are 100% carbon offset and they plant 10 trees for every trip booked!
As they are a UK-based tour company, the travelers are from all over the world with the majority being from the UK. I prefer this over the US-based companies, since they tend to only have fellow American travelers, and I feel having an international group makes travel more fun. While they cater to younger travelers under the age of 35, you’ll find a few travelers once in a while who are older.
Once you book your tour with Intro Travel, you can download the Intro app with all the information of your tour, including information on Before Your Trip, Arrival Info, During Your Trip, After Your Trip, About the Country, and FAQs. You’ll also be added to their private Facebook group where you can ask questions about your trip to fellow travelers both on your tour date or who have previously taken the same tour. It’s useful for connecting with new friends before the trip, and asking questions like, “what to pack” and questions about visas.
I traveled with Intro Travel to Vietnam and Cambodia last year, and it was hands-down one of the best trips of my entire life. I had one of the best days of my life on that trip too, seeing sunrise at Angkor Wat, grabbing lunch in town, going for a refreshing dip at the hotel pool, riding quads by the rice fields during golden hour, and singing karaoke and partying with my new friends until the early hours of the morning.
EF Ultimate Break
EF Ultimate Break is a tour company for college students and young professionals with an age range of 18-35. They are a huge, American-based company with over 120 tours around the world. I traveled with them when they were known as EF College Break to Japan and China, a tour they no longer offer unfortunately. It was my first group tour ever back in the day.
When you book a tour you are added to a private Facebook group only for your tour date so that you can meet your fellow travelers and make plans if you want to do something not included in the itinerary. Unfortunately, they don’t have as much free time as other tour companies (at least this was the case on my particular tour), with most days being jam packed with activities. Aside from the little free time, EF Ultimate Break is a wonderful tour company with unique accommodations and experiences– I got to stay in a Buddhist monastery one of the nights in Japan!
Contiki
Contiki is one of the most famous and oldest group tour companies that started in 1962 in New Zealand. It’s now expanded to over 350 tours in over 75 different countries. Just like EF Ultimate Break, Contiki only offers tours to those 18-35 years old. Because of this, they have a well known party reputation, but now offer cultural immersion tours that focus less on alcohol as well. Hey, I went to Arizona State University, which also has an infamous party school reputation, but I didn’t party in college. It’s all about what you make of the tour.
Because Contiki is so large and established, finding a tour date, accommodation level, trip duration, etc. that suits your needs is super easy. I’m hoping to make my next group trip with Contiki before I age out!
G Adventures
Another tour company that has been on my list for a long time is G Adventures. Established over 30 years ago, G Adventures offers an insane amount of tours all over the world, including Antarctica! What’s great about them is that they have so many tour options including ones for “18 to thirty-somethings”, family tours, active tours, wellness tours, hostel tours, local living tours, and classic tours.
They also offer National Geographic Journeys for those who want luxury, once-in-a-lifetime trips with unbelievable experiences in exotic locations. On the other end of the spectrum, G Adventures partnered up with Hostelworld to bring you Roamies, tours for the budget-conscious traveler. You’ll find tours from less than $200 to over $15k and trips as short as 3 days and as long as 65 days.
Tour Radar
Tour Radar is not a group tour company, per say, but a search engine that allows you to search for trips across multiple tour companies, including smaller and local companies. You can filter by trip style, destination, length, activity, etc. to find your perfect tour from a slew of tour companies. There you can read reviews from other travelers and find your perfect tour. It’s a useful tool to discover new tour companies and gives you the most flexibility since you are not limiting yourself to one company.
Everyone should experience a group tour at least once in their lives. If you want to find out why, then check out my other post! Whether you want to be able to relax and not have to plan anything or if you want to make new friends, group tours offer a unique approach to travel that can be just as if not more rewarding that traveling solo or with friends or family. If you do your research, you can find the perfect tour for yourself that will result in a lifelong memories.
