Traveling Europe in a group rocks and we’re here to tell you why! With group travel, you’re not alone but have the freedom to explore Europe independently – so if your mates can’t be bothered to come along, you don’t have to brave it alone. Plus, you’ll have the added bonus of meeting different people from all over the world and make new mates!
Group travel takes the stress out of sorting everything, like knowing where the best places to eat in Rome are or how to book that train in French. You’ll be taken away from the touristy hot spots and see sights you couldn’t have discovered alone!
But we’ll let the blog do the talking, here’s six reasons why Europe group travel rocks:
BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
Traveling within a group, particularly those that are age-specific, means you’ll usually come across like-minded, social and outgoing people. In every group you’ll have the Party Animals, the Social Surfers, the Chillers, the weird guy*, the couples…this is starting to sound like an Attenborough transcript. You’re pretty much guaranteed to meet friends for life.
PASSIONATE TOUR GUIDES
Your tour guide, trip manager, possessor of one of the best jobs in the world, whatever you want to call them, genuinely care about each individual on the trip. Their knowledge is often unrivaled, even when compared to locals. Forget trawling through Urbanspoon for hours looking for somewhere for a quick bite and have faith in your trusty guide; he or she will know.
EUROPE IS YOUR OYSTER
The world (or Europe in this instance) is your oyster. But if you don’t know how to eat the Oyster, you’ll come unstuck (stick with me here). Planned by Travel Experts, group tours can take you to every corner of the continent, and lots of secret spots you’d never have reached on your own. It’s tempting to think that group travel means you’ll miss out on those authentic experiences when, actually, the opposite is often true.
TIME TO YOURSELF
You’ll have an itinerary, though this doesn’t mean you’ll have no free time to yourself. Don’t feel obliged to take part in the optional activities if you don’t want to. Just make sure you are awake and ready to go when you venture out in the bus to your next stunning location, the rest is up to you.
LOVE, ACTUALLY
If I had a dollar for every time I heard a couple say that they met on a group tour in Europe, I would have some quite serious wealth by now. OK $3, but that’s more than nothing. With average group sizes between 18 and 50, your odds are looking pretty short.
NO WORRIES, MATE
In my view, one of the more underrated things in life is peace of mind. While some nomadic explorers have popularised traveling without an itinerary/map/backpack/trousers, it can be a relief to have a plan. With accommodation and transfers organised for every leg of the journey, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that you’ll have a roof over your head each night. Let others take care of the travel jargon and Ts&Cs while you’re out in your own little care-free world, soaking up everything Europe has to offer.
*If you can’t tell who the weird guy is…it’s you.