Tour groups...are they crap or worth it?....

if you don%26#39;t have a clue? do you book your flight and land travel with them cause they%26#39;re cheaper or book it all on your own if you don%26#39;t know the country AT ALL! I%26#39;m a little scared not to?

Tour groups...are they crap or worth it?....

It all depends. Where do you want to go and what do you want to sea? Are you experienced traveling on your own? Do you like the convenience of having a guide and a planned itinerary? Finding English speakers is possible (maybe even likely) but not guaranteed. You can usually find English language material and assistance at the major tourist sights, particularly around Bangkok and Chiang Mai and the beaches.

In most of the tourist areas in Thailand it is certainly possible to travel on your own. I prefer independent travel. Having said that, it will require some effort. In Bangkok for example, being good with a map will help. One easy choice is to book your flight and hotel yourself, and then book day tours once you get to Thailand. Most hotels have a tour desk in the hotel, and it is usually easy to locate a travel agent if there is not a tour desk in your hotel. For a first time visitor, taking advantage of the day tours is probably a good idea.

A common itinerary for an independent traveler is a combination of Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and a beach resort (Phuket maybe). You can mange that trip on your own, particularly by booking some day tours.

In favor of a group tour is the convenience of not having to plan the whole trip yourself. On the other hand there may not be much room to customize your trip and do something that is not included.

If you feel more comfortable with a group tour, then follow through with that. It is certainly possible to take a more independent approach and do it on your own, also.

Tour groups...are they crap or worth it?....

Hi

depends upon what country and depends upon you

are you talking about a tour that includes air fare and hotels and excursions or just doing day tours once in thailand

I find tour groups are great if you are older,, afraid and want to be taken care of. for me they are boring. you are stuck with the same people the whole trip. and must abide by their schedule and what they have planned. they have set departure dates so you must accomadate to them and have no choice of what airline you fly.

they usually offer a good price but not cheaper than what you can do on your own with a little effort.

thailand is easy to book your own flights pick day and time you want then once on land so easy to find day tours and a plethora of things to do.

If you are scared book a short tour to help get your feet wet then come back on your own next time

thank you both for the info, I know the country, Thailand, but don%26#39;t really know where or if I can do the planning myself, especially where the language barrier is soooo much. I speak Spanish and mostly go to European cities, this one scares me a little.

Never been on a tour, as I like to do my own planning, but don%26#39;t feel so comfortable with this one.

Anymore advice is well appreciated, and I%26#39;ll continue to read this, of course, The prices do seem a little cheaper with the group, but may not be worth it. Are there any particular flight sights better than others dealing from US to Asia??? or just the norms???

Again any help is well appreciated?? it%26#39;s all very exciting, I%26#39;ll need to book for November in the next few weeks, I think?

Have a good one, enjoy all you guys stuff!!!

Sorry just read this again I speak Spanish and English obviously, and only have traveled to the countries speaking these.

If you like traveling independently, and have done so before, I see no reason not to do so in Thailand. Depending on how much time you have, 3-4 days in Bangkok, 2-3 days in Chiang Mai, then down south to a beach. If you have a little more time, you can arrange an overnight (or maybe 2 night) trip to another location, such as Chiang Rai. I suggest prebooking your hotel in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and the beach, but you can probably wait to arrange a side trip until you get to Thailand. If you like a slower pace, you can add a day or two.

In Bangkok, you will probably want to spend a day sightseeing in Bangkok. I particularly enjoy Ayudhaya. I suggest setting aside a day for that, but you can find a tour in Bangkok. I always suggest allowing a day for shopping and exploring, and maybe a second day if you have time. Other destinations such Kanchanaburi (sp?) and Khao Yai can be easily arranged in Bangkok.

If you want to go to Chiang Mai, the easiest option is flying but the train is also available. If you fly, you probably want to prebook your lights, particularly if you will use a low cost carrier like Air Asia. I have gotten decent fares on Thai after I have gotten to Bangkok. I also suggest arranging your Chiang Mai hotel in advance. You may chose to leave 2 or 3 days without a hotel and arrange a tour to a nearby area. I have been to Chiang Mai several times, but I do not know much about the surrounding area.

I think you will find it easy enough to arrange things in both cities. Most people who work in tourism industry will speak some English, or you can easily find somebody who does.

I have used hoteltravel.com, and I think asiarooms.com has been mentioned many times on this forum. In the south, Phuket is probably most poular. I would most like to visit Krabi, but never have.

Another oprion is to visit Siem Reap in Cambodia. You can fly there easily from Bangkok, and can probably arrange an overland trip if budget is more of an issue than time. Again, I have never done it but will someday.

I think you should do it independently... Of course, if you are leaving soon then it might be easier to do a tour, but if you have a few months to plan you should do it yourself. Thailand is so easy to navigate!

Buy a Lonely Planet Guide to start.... while you don%26#39;t use it as gospel, it is a good start to familiarise yourself with the logistics... also have a look at www.travelfish.org - a brilliant website purely on SE Asia... very easy to use!

You can look at my blogs also... I planned my trip by myself.. booking some stuff from home and the rest while over there.. www.travelblog.org/bloggers/reet

Hopefully this will give you a starting point to plan with!

Reet xx