The pros and cons of tours
Tours take you to some of the most exotic countries in the world, such as Uzbekistan.
The question of whether it is worth going on a guided tour is easily answered. It is worth it if you have enough money. Guided tours are not the cheapest way to travel.
Of course, ready-made group tours are not suitable for everyone, and tours have their pros and cons, which will be discussed in more detail below.
The author of this article has experience and knowledge of tours, both as a customer and as a guide. Of course, he also has a lot of experience in independent travel.
Text by Antti Helin
Who are tours suitable for?
Tours are suitable for active but comfortable travelers who want to experience a lot on their trip without having to put in the effort to experience it (i.e. adjust to being dragged along by local gossips in a foreign culture).
Even though you travel in a group, you don't have to be particularly sociable: you can be quiet, of course.
In fact, it seems that a fairly good mix of travelers is selected for tours: there are companions who keep the conversation going, and there are those who enjoy being listened to.
Many people like to travel in a group: they get to know new people at the same time. Of course, there are also people who shy away from the idea of traveling in a group. There is a suitable alternative for them too, the travel agency Faralong, where you can book a tour for just two people without paying extra for personal service.
The age range on cultural tours is usually quite high, around 50–60 years old. There are exceptions, of course, and couples in their 20s and 30s can usually also join.
The situation is different on guided hiking tours, where the age range is around 30–50 years old. You don't need to be in great shape on hiking tours either, you can usually get by with a good basic fitness. Especially on high mountains, it tends to be the case that those in good shape do the worst: they tend to walk too fast uphill.
The advantages of tours
The advantages of tours are clear. They are effortless. And they are exhilarating and educational. On tours, you experience a lot in a short period of time.
Effortlessness: An independent self-guided traveler has to take care of many things in an unfamiliar environment. This is not a problem with pre-packaged tours; you can forget about worries when you follow a group (okay, you still have to take care of your wallet).
I have noticed that the more you travel, the more you start to appreciate ease. Sitting in a cramped local bus among chickens loses its charm after the tenth time at the latest. At some point in life, you come to a point where you have enough stress in your everyday life and when you go on vacation, you can appreciate relaxation instead of adjustment.
Experiential: Tours usually go to the most exotic destinations in the world and the itinerary is packed with as many experiences as possible – sometimes to the point of exhaustion. You can see so much in a couple of weeks that many active tour participants joke that they need a lazy vacation after the trip.
Culture: On tours you learn a lot about the local culture thanks to knowledgeable guides. As a young backpacker, I learned less about the local culture in a month than I did on a week-long tour.
The downsides of tours
The downside of tours is of course the price. But of course you have to pay for quality. Tours have good transportation, good hotels and a Finnish tour leader and a local guide.
And if you look at the price more closely, you will notice that it is not that high after all. If you were to do the same trip independently, staying in good hotels and participating in several tours, the price would probably exceed the price paid for the tour.
Of course, the risk of traveling in a group is that you may be selected as a particularly annoying passenger whose behavior you cannot tolerate. However, in my own experience, this is rare – and if such a person does end up on the trip, it is the tour leader's job to entertain them.
At least I enjoy traveling on tours in new company, i.e. meeting new people and making friends.
The scheduling can also be considered a disadvantage. You spend the time at the attractions that the itinerary determines. As an independent traveler, you should decide your own schedule.
Ready-made schedules can be a problem, especially for keen photographers: the best attractions are usually visited during the day, which is the worst time to take photos. The best times for photos, i.e. early morning and early evening, are spent having breakfast, taking a shower at the hotel or having dinner.
With this in mind, some travel agencies organize special trips specifically for those interested in photography.
Another disadvantage of tours is that they require a certain minimum number of passengers to take place, for example a group of at least six people. If the minimum number is not reached, the trip will have to be canceled.
What is the benefit of a Finnish tour guide?
On tours run by Finnish travel agencies, a Finnish guide, called a tour leader, accompanies you. The tour leader's job is to make sure everything runs smoothly, and he or she also interprets and supplements the local guide's instructions.
So how important is it to have a Finnish tour leader? In my opinion, an expert Finnish guide is a great joy and benefit.
I occasionally do guided tours for the Mandala travel agency in the Himalayas. In my experience, a Finnish guide has quite a lot of added value - at least the clients seem to enjoy listening to my stories.
Firstly, understanding the local guide's English accent can take some getting used to, and secondly, a Finnish guide understands the local guide better than a local guide, which is interesting and fascinating from a tourist's perspective in the local culture.
While a local guide approaches their culture from a local perspective, a competent Finnish guide can view culture from somewhere in between: they understand both Finnish and local culture and can relate them to each other.
Example: In Nepal, a local guide may explain long passages about the intricacies of temples and Hinduism, while a Finnish tourist is still learning the basics. A Finnish guide can first summarize the essentials of the religion and then go into detail.
The difference is also in the type of tourists involved. If you are an active questioner, you can get a lot out of a local guide. But if you are not used to asking questions, a Finnish guide can usually answer many of the questions that a tourist might have without even asking them.
Experiences from Olympia Kaukomatkatoimisto tours
The Finnish “Rolls-Royce” of tour agencies is Olympia Kaukomatkatoimisto. Its prices are the most expensive, but the hotels are also the finest possible and the service is otherwise excellent.
For example, the Olympia travel guide is with the group from the beginning of the trip to Finland. He or she helps with filling out all the entry forms and other things.
At many other travel agencies, the Finnish guide may wait until you arrive at the destination.
Olympia is also one of the few travel agencies that announces in advance the name of the Finnish tour guide who will be accompanying you on the trip, meaning that Olympia makes it easiest to travel the world with one of your favorite guides on tours.
I haven’t been on Olympia’s trips myself, but I constantly hear great feedback about them. It also says a lot about the level that Olympia has many loyal customers who take several Olympia Kaukomatkatoimisto tours a year.
With Olympia, you can practically go anywhere in the world, for example, to Sudan.
Which one should you choose: Mandala or Aventura?
Here we hike on Mandala's trekking trip towards the highest point of the Annapurna Circuit, the Thorong La pass at an altitude of over 5400 meters.
Mandala and Aventura both specialize in trekking and nature trips, although there are also many cultural tours in the program. But these are at their best on trekking trips.
The more demanding the mountain hikes become, the more professional the guides on both Mandala and Aventura are. For example, the late mountaineer Samuli Mansikka served as Aventura's guide in Nepal.
On Mandala's trips, you can break your limits and climb to the top of mountains over 6000 meters high - without previous experience.
Mandala and Aventura are somewhat cheaper than Olympia. In practice, this is reflected in the hotels: they are high-quality, at least by local standards, but not the finest, unlike Olympia often.
I have experience with Mandala as a tour leader rather than a client. I occasionally work as a Mandala guide/tour leader in Bhutan and Nepal, when schedules allow (I should write an article about tours from a tour leader's perspective sometime).
As far as I understand, there is not much difference between Mandala and Aventura tours. You can pretty much choose a tour operator based on whose tour schedules suit you better. Unless, of course, you want to go on a tour guided by the author...
Both travel agencies are well represented in particular in Asia and South America, not forgetting Africa.
Experiences from Tema travel agency tours
TUI (formerly Finnmatkat) organizes tours under the Tema brand. On the Tema trip, I was a reporter on a tour of southern Thailand. The tour was excellent: the program was diverse and the guide was excellent, as were the accommodations.
Tema's prices should be reasonable. A young couple who were on the tour in question said that they went on the tour precisely because of the price: they calculated that organizing the same activities on their own would have been more expensive than the tour.
Albatros Travel's "Long Trips"
Albatros Travel has a fun idea to sell "Long Trips" in addition to the usual two-week tours, where you're on a trip for three weeks. Points for new thinking!
Ikaalinen Travel Agency and Ok-matkat tours to Europe
Ikaalinen Travel Agency also sells tours. The destinations are the nearby regions in the Baltics and elsewhere in Europe. The idea is fun: you don't always have to go to the other side of the world to enjoy traveling together and the services of a guide.
Another travel agency that organizes tours, especially to Europe, is Ok-matkat, which calls its tours programmatic city holidays. A particularly fun idea is the Herrasväen Cultural Tour, organized by Ok-matkat in its home country, where you will visit the home landscapes of Finnish Golden Age artists in Tuusula, Porvoo and Haiko Manor.
Other tour operators
Many other travel agencies also organize tours. Even Aurinkomatka, better known for beach holidays, has tours to places like India and Vietnam in its program.
Tours are also sold by Matkavekka, for example, especially to European destinations, but also to Asia.
Deals on tours
Tours tend to be expensive. However, this is not always the case. Some travel deals websites have really great deals on tours. The deals are so good that they will make your mouth drop open: with the deals, tours become cheaper than if you were to organize everything yourself.
Tell us more about your experiences with tours
Do you have any experiences with tours? What are the good and bad things about tours? Which travel agency have you been on and which travel agency do you think is the best? Where do you think it's worth going on a tour and where on your own?
Share your experiences in the comments section below and help other travelers plan their own trip.
