Comparing Trips

Introduction

We know that it is difficult for travellers to compare one trip to another. There is often a dazzling array of choices with many different durations, prices and inclusions. Some tour companies will divulge every aspect of their itineraries while others may be less forthcoming.

What follows are a few items we believe you should consider when comparing two trips.

Getting ready to Compare

Before you begin your comparison, you need to decide on some broad criteria for your trip.

- total budget for the trip;
- style of the trip;
- duration of the trip; and,
- sites you want to see.

Remember, that in order to allow accurate comparison of different trips, the styles of each trip must be identical. It's not useful nor accurate to compare pricing of a backpacker camping trip to one which uses 5-star hotels. Of course the backpacker trip will be less expensive, but if you don't like camping then comparing these two trips is a waste of time.

The duration of each trip should also be the same, but if not, you can calculate the relative cost per day to allow comparison.

If one of the trips doesn't fit into your budget, you must either discard it or change your budget. Always keep in mind that there will be other costs in addition to the basic price of the tour and you need to be able to fund those within your budget. Sometimes, to take the trip you want, you may have to wait another year until your budget catches up.

Finally, ensure that each trip being compared includes all the sites that you want to see.

Now, select two or three products that meet all of these criteria and start your comparison.

Remember, total cost is important, but the value you receive for every travel dollar spent is much more important.

Duration

Don't book trips that are either too long or too short. If you are going half-way around the world, try to stay long enough so that you take advantage of the lengthy and costly plane trip, but don't stay so long that you get fatigued with the travel experience. If you are seeing more than one country, try to give each country a minimum of about one week so you have time to get a feel for the difference in lifestyle of the local inhabitants. Ensure you have enough free time in the itinerary and that every day is not chuck full of activities.

Always consider the style of the trip and the destination before deciding how long you should be away. A trip to North Korea should be shorter than one to France. A participatory camping trip should be shorter than one using 5-star hotels. We have seen every type of tour and traveller, and it is our opinion that you should always keep international group tours to less than 28 days.

Accommodation

When comparing trips with similar accommodation styles, look for hidden differences that will add or subtract value. Start with getting the names and location of every hotel being used in the trip. Take time to look at the website of each one. Find out where the hotels are located. You want to be central so you can use your free time without having to resort to lengthy walks or extra transport costs. Find out whether the tour designers and/or leaders have actually been to the hotel before, especially if the hotels being used on the trip are a major part of the trip cost. You can estimate this by looking at the cost of a single supplement. If this is almost half of the 'per person cost of the trip', then hotels are the major component and should be significantly better than those in the tours where the single supplement is less. Beware of inexpensive single supplements. The hotels may be poor or the cost of transport may be inflated. Check with the tour company to determine this.

Remember that a month-long trip can seem awfully long if you decide after the first few days that you hate the style of hotels the company is using and you have to stay in them for another three weeks.

Cruises

If your trip contains a multi-day cruise, i.e. one where you sleep on the boat overnight, ask for details about the boat. Is it new or old? If old, has it been recently refurbished? Are there non-smoking cabins? Is there a balcony in your cabin? If not, can you open the windows? If there are suites on the boat, does your trip include accommodation in one of the suites? Is your boat one of the most highly-rated boats on this sector? Are all meals included. Are the furnishings new? Take a look at the website for the boat and examine the details carefully.

Transport

Look for differences in the transport being used to move the group from place to place. Are the buses, boats and vans private or will you be sharing with other groups or even local residents (or even chickens)? If not private, are they scheduled to depart and arrive at specific times in line with your needs or will you have to adjust your itinerary to fit their schedules?

Are the airlines reliable and safe? Are flights frequent enough so that if you miss one, you can get on the next one? Don't rely on flights that are infrequently scheduled and/or frequently cancelled, since the flights will always be fully booked and if you miss one, you won't get on the next one. This may result in a long drive and a delayed itinerary. And this in turn will cause you to miss parts of the planned trip.

Carefully evaluate the segments of your tour that may be long road trips. Are the durations of the drives accurate? Are the roads good? Is traffic likely to be a major headache? It is always preferable to take short flights rather than long drives. This gives you much more time to enjoy the destinations.

Calculate the number of flights being used during your itinerary and estimate the cost of these. You will now be able to calculate the cost savings that should result for a trip that uses long drives rather than short flights. 

Talk to recent travellers

Reading testimonials is a good idea, but it's even better to ask each trip supplier to put you in contact with someone who has recently completed their trip and spend some time asking these people questions that will ensure you are aware of everything that may be of importance to you.

Group Size and Character

Try to keep your group size to more than eight and less than sixteen. Outside these limits the group dynamics change considerably.

Check with the tour company to find out what types of travellers they usually get on their trips. If possible, find out what type of travellers will be on the exact trip you are considering. Like-minded travellers make good companions.

Smoking

Make sure that the tour company uses non-smoking hotels and transport.

Language

Ensure that the guides and tour leaders that you will be travelling with speak your language and that the group will all be speakers of the same language. Don't book tours where the travellers are mixed, such as English and German on the same tour, since the guides and tour leader will tend to give explanations in both languages, first in one then the other, in order to cater to everyone on the tour. This is an extraordinary time-waster and something which can be very irritating as the trip goes on.

Meals

Carefully examine the meals which are to be included on your trip. Find out from the tour company why they include the meals that they do and what restaurants they tend to use. Then look them up. For example, in a country like Mali or Bangladesh it is important that all meals be provided since good local restaurants may be difficult to find, but in a country like Chile or Laos, you'll want to be able to find your own local places every so often. Consider the cost of meals as well. Inexpensive countries tend to offer a lot of good choices at reasonable cost, so the tour company should not be including too many meals in these countries.

If you are a vegetarian, be sure to inquire about the availability of appropriate food in those places where meals are included.

Extra costs

Watch out for extra costs. Ask the tour company to provide you with their best estimate of everything you will have to pay that is not included in the cost of the tour. Is there a local payment? Are there optional activities that require additional payments. Are all flights included? Are departure taxes included? Do you have to get your own visas and are they extra? Are airline fuel surcharges included? Is water provided daily?

Tips

Tips are a significant expense on any international trip. Ensure you know how tips for guides, drivers, boat operators, luggage handlers and so on will be handled. On a long group tour, the leader should handle all tips to avoid having the clients putting their hands in their pocket all day, every day and also to avoid the constant irritation of determining and finding the appropriate amounts.

Pleasant Surprises

Some tour companies do not mention all details of their trip in the published itinerary, preferring instead to introduce some planned "surprises" along the way. These may include occasional "free" drinks, special transportation arrangements, extra site visits and so on. When comparing two types of trips that look similar, consider the philosophy of "surprises" for the two companies. If one has offered pleasant unexpected "treats" during their previous trips, it's likely they will continue this practice. The best way to determine this is to talk to someone who has previously done the trip. Ask the tour company to put you in touch with them.

 

Now Compare

There are many other considerations, however the ones shown above are the most important. Ask a lot of questions before booking a trip.

Now, take all the items into consideration and where there are differences, assess the relative cost of each to arrive at the best value tour for you.

Above all, make sure you are evaluating apples and apples. If you need help, seek the advice of someone you trust who is well-travelled,  an impartial observer and who is familiar with your personal preferences and lifestyle.

If you need more information or assistance, please call us.