While solo travel can be relatively safe if precautions are taken, group tours provide additional levels of safety. Being part of a tour group reduces your likelihood of being targeted by petty crime while providing you with secure accommodation every night.
Attracting more people can present additional complications. You should be aware of some dangers of group tour travel.
1. You Don’t Get Along With Your Group Members
One of the most complex decisions in planning a trip is choosing to travel alone or as part of a group. While this choice ultimately lies within your hands and depends on personal preferences, here are a few factors that might help you choose the most suitable option.
Group tour companies tend to wield greater leverage when negotiating discounted rates with vendors for group activities and arrangements; therefore, they often deal with reduced prices for their clients compared to making individual arrangements. Unfortunately, this may mean sacrificing to gain what is desired from your holiday experience.
Remember that you will spend much time together as part of a group, which could result in disagreements and arguments, particularly if personalities clash.
2. You Can’t Make Decisions
Undoubtedly, organized group tours can be stressful experiences. Furthermore, they limit travelers to a specific number of stops, leaving little freedom or flexibility to explore independently. You are limited in how long you can stay somewhere – while this might not always be detrimental if you prefer exploring on your own time, it may not be suitable for you.
Establish checkpoint locations like your hotel lobby or an iconic landmark where group members can meet if they become disoriented, such as your hotel lobby. Furthermore, ensure everyone on the trip carries contact info for someone back home should an emergency arises, and no one has that contact info before embarking. Otherwise, this could create a potentially hazardous situation.
3. You’re More Likely to Get Lost
Group tours tend to be structured around their participants, making it harder to venture off-track and experience something unique. You’re also limited by time constraints which could pose issues if you fall in love with a city and wish you could stay longer.
In case of getting lost while traveling on tour, you must stay put. Rescuers find it easier to locate stationary people. Use your knowledge and observations to formulate an escape route back to the group.
One option would be to travel with someone you trust and who can keep an eye out for you, while leaving a note with someone at home detailing where and when you plan on returning is also helpful.
4. You’re More Likely to Get Injured or Sick
Though the thought of getting injured or sick on a trip can be distressing, accidents happen inevitably, and travelers should plan for this eventuality by creating an emergency contact list to contact should something arise that requires their immediate attention.
If you’re traveling as part of a group tour, your guide should provide information regarding local medical care and a list of recommended hospitals and clinics. In addition, it would be prudent to carry a first aid kit containing medications in case of injuries or illnesses during travel.
Avoid eating street food or drinking tap water in countries with poor sanitation systems; instead, opt for bottled water to stay safe. Identifying at least two escape routes from your hotel during a fire is also wise.
5. You’re More Likely to Get Into an Argument
Group tours require you to spend excessive time around people you don’t get along with, which can often result in friction and arguments between tour members. To stay calm, avoid picking fights.
Arguments can arise for many reasons, from someone snoring in your bunk to being upset with the food provided; you could even disagree with a guide about something specific.
Due to spending so much time together on group trips, people may more easily form cliques. Unhealthy drama during this trip can ruin everyone’s experience; should this occur, discussions must be had immediately to find solutions or end ties altogether with those involved.
