If you are used to traveling in larger groups, it is time to consider an alternative type of travel; a private tour with a guide. With a private guide you can customize the type of tour you like including it’s duration, route, mode of transport, and pace among other options.
Consider this well-known image: a man with a flag or a sign in his raised hand leads a string of camera toting tourists. This is one way to see a city. However, your experience may be quite different if you hire a private guide. Traveling through streets and parks, museums and galleries with a private guide has numerous advantages. What are the main advantages?
1. Immersion into local colour
A private guide is not a non-resident specialist, who knows only the basic information about attractions, but rather a person who lives in the city/region where he gives tours. This means he will provide information and details that you cannot find in guidebooks and tourist placards. For example; he would suggest fun activities for a rainy day, safe nightclubs and unique locations for great photography.
You can find many interesting things away from the main streets
During a personalized trip you can easily imagine yourself being a local resident: visiting a “private only” cafe, stopping by a small shop that only locals know of or riding a public bus. Immersion like this immediately gives you a sense of comfort and a deeper appreciation of a city.
2. No crowds
A tour is customized to your interest. You may not necessarily travel alone – perhaps you want to bring your family or friends. Five or six people is certainly more manageable compared to a group of 30 or 40 individuals – all with different interests. A larger group is often difficult to maintain – someone is thoughtfully listening to the guide or someone wants to sit down on a bench and simply relax. And then there are those who want to see as much as possible who may conflict with those who want a more relaxed pace. Such “disagreements” on personal tours are more easily managed.
In such a crowd you may not hear the guide
3. Considering your interests
Are you passionate about a particular historical period? You will be shown the buildings from those times; stories will be provided to bring that period ‘to life’. Do you enjoy tasting local cuisine? You will be introduced to some authentic places. Are you a health professional? You will be told about outstanding doctors of the city and shown famous hospitals. Are you a soldier? You’ll be asked to make a ‘forced march’ on fortifications from ancient times to the present.
Whatever your interests, https://pg.world/ can match you with the appropriate tour. Even a panoramic city tour or a walk “in the footsteps of celebrities” can be customized by a private guide to suit your interests. The main thing is to inform him about your preferences prior to beginning your tour.
Would you like to ring the bell? No problem!
4. Suitable conditions
Choosing individual guide services gives you flexibility such as:
• start time and duration;
• route (at your request, the route can be altered as needed);
• route stops for a rest or taking photographs;
• speed of the trip, from easy to a brisk pace;
• format of the event, academic story, quiz, adventure, etc.;
• mode of transportation, on foot, by car, boat, horse-drawn transport, etc.
A segway tour will leave an unforgettable impression
A personal tour is recommended for any age. The elderly won’t be exhausted (the pace of the tour can be adjusted as needed). Kids will also not be bored, as the guide will make the tour interesting and fun.
5. Million details
When you are one-to-one with the guide, no one can prevent you from asking questions or clarifying details. You will be given thoughtful and informative answers. You will absorb the rich heritage, whether it is architectural elements, national costume motifs or rare plant species.
Panoramic views and architectural highlights are better appreciated when you are not looking over the shoulders of others. Times spent alone or with family or friends at these places are the most memorable for experiencing the full beauty and grandeur of these famous attractions. In addition to quaint courtyards and tiny cafes, these “atmospheric” places are not designed to be visited by crowds of tourists.
A large group of tourists would hardly fit in this coffee-house
Only after wandering the alleys, squares and museums without others, will you feel the spirit of the city. You will not be distracted by sidebar conversations and noisy crowds. You will stop when you want to; you won’t be rushed.
This is what a personal tour is supposed to be about, an opportunity to live at your own pace and enjoy what happens in the moment!
Lovely read and very true 🙂 i have learnt so much and met some amazing people on my travels, so i would definitely recommend personal trips
Thanks for sharing these insights Alexey – I’ve done both tours with a private guide and the larger tours with groups. Both can be interesting – although I definitely prefer the smaller groups and more personalized tours.
Amazing Write-up dave! Me too like personal trips more than public trip because in private we can choose our own destination and activities, and a trip date that works for you.