Though I have never personally taken a trip that has revolved entirely around a guided tour, I can pretty much assert, based on my own travel style and preferences, that one would not appeal to me. Hopefully, retired Marissa (whenever that may be) will still feel the same way.

I think my qualm with a fully-organized tour is the lack of individual liberty. I enjoy doing research about the places that I visit, and that often includes research for bookings such as transportation, accommodation, and dining. Sometimes, I enjoy booking an AirBnB versus a hotel because it may mean that I get the chance to interact with my host and learn something special about someone and even make a new friend – this is true especially if just renting a room versus the entire apartment or house.

However, I cannot deny the fact that taking some kind of tour is a helpful, enjoyable, and often times a unique way of exploring a new city or area. Here are some example of tours that I look into booking every time I venture to a new city:

Walking Tours – A walking tour is an excellent way to get your bearings when staying in a new city. For the most part, these tours will have their meeting point in the main square or in front of an iconic attraction, which already helps you in knowing how to roughly get from your accommodation to the main drag.

These tours cover the main sites and attractions of the city, usually in the span of about three hours. It has been my personal experience that the guide is typically a local, and apart from their scripted information that they are required to provide on the tour, they often times recount stories from their personal lives that may relate to the attraction about which they are speaking. While these tours may not go into museums, the guide’s explanation of said museum might help you decide for later on whether or not you consider a visit inside to be worth your time. In sum, walking tours are packed with information and truly help you to understand the history and culture of the city you are in.

Transit Tours – I do recognize that walking tours may not be suitable for everyone. Whenever I see a flaming red double-decker tour bus whizz through a city, I stop to think for a second about how it is providing an enjoyable tour experience for those who may find walking tours difficult, such as the elderly, parents with small children, non-ambulatory individuals, or people who are seeking protection from potentially oppressive weather conditions.

Apart from bus routes, many cities that have bodies of water running through them (eg. rivers or canals) will offer boat tours. I’ve had the pleasure of partaking in a riverboat cruise down the Danube River in Budapest, and sailing through the canals of Copenhagen and Gothenburg, and enjoyed myself each time.

The only downside of a transit-based tour is that you do not have the chance to stop in front of the attractions to take pictures because you are constantly moving, but I would encourage you to mark the locations so you can then revisit them on foot!

Food Tours – My absolute favorite kind of tour to go on! Not only do you get to stuff your face with delicious local cuisine, but you do it while learning more about the history of your location from a unique perspective. For example, you will learn that certain foods have become tradition because locals were forced to create dishes with only the ingredients to which they had access, particularly in times of war.

My best advice about a food tour would be to take one within 24 hours of your arrival into a new location, if possible. I say this because if you are unsure about what the local cuisine is, or you really want to know where you can find the best dishes without paying an up charged tourist price, then participating in a food tour will answer all of your questions. The sampling of smaller sized dishes gives you the ability to taste a bit of everything, and hopefully you will end up with a few local favorites! At the end of the tour, the guides will either provide you with a handout that lists some of their favorite spots in the city (some wills even break it down by category), or they will shout out some names of places for you to record on your phone.

Food tours will likely take you to a particular neighborhood of the city, typically outside of the central area, that is known for a special flare and delicious eats (eg. Vesterbrø in Copenhagen, Kazimierz in Kraków, and Triana in Seville). During your walk between restaurants, you will get to learn a little bit of information about the neighborhood you are touring.

Finally, food tours can also be food OR drink-specific! For example, if you are headed to Belgium or Switzerland, consider a chocolate tour in Brussels or Zurich. In Spain, be sure to sign up for a tapas tour, and I would absolutely recommend the beer tours I took in Munich and Copenhagen.

AirBnB Experiences – I decided to include these in here, because while they might not be your traditional tour, they are absolutely worth mentioning, especially for those who might not be so familiar. You might be familiar with AirBnB, the online platform that allows owners to rent out their properties, and vacationers to book said properties. Recently, AirBnB added an “Experiences” feature that allows travelers to book excursions directly through the person providing them, versus through a company or agency. The goal of AirBnB Experiences is to offer a unique adventure by immersing travelers directly in the local communities. Experiences can be group-based, but can be made private as well. Examples include cooking classes, photography sessions, paddle boarding the Fort Lauderdale canals with corgi puppies (I kid you not), dance lessons, or even cattle herding lessons with the Masaai people of Kenya – the possibilities are seemingly endless! I recently had an incredible experience in Viñales, Cuba that consisted of visits to tobacco and coffee plantations in the Viñales National Park, all on horseback!

I had the chance to meet some local farmers, watch how a cigar is made with tobacco leaves grown right on the plantation, and sample some freshly ground coffee with a side of sugarcane. It was absolutely a tour to remember, and I was so thankful for the chance to interact with the locals and learn more about working on the plantations in Viñales.

In all, I think that tours are such a valuable experience, no matter which kind you choose to take. I would, however, encourage you to make the most out of your trip by planning setting out on some adventures of your own! You never know what sorts of memories you will create, and sometimes, the experiences you remember the most are the ones that you do not plan.