Several years ago I visited New York City for a scheduled meeting. It was my first time downtown and I was very impressed. My wife and I stayed at a hotel that was located near Times Square, so that was a convenient location and it allowed us to get around easily.
One of the things we decided to do was get on one of those famous Double Decker Buses. The buses loaded in the Times Square area, so once again, it was convenient.
We purchased our tickets and boarded the bus with excitement! Evening was approaching and the massive electronic billboards were beginning to show their spectacular colors against the softening sky! Finally, we were going to see what the Big Apple was all about.
The very appealing thing about the tickets we purchase was that you could get off the bus at any of the stops that you wanted and visit the attractions at that stop. When you were ready to go somewhere else, you just had to wait a few minutes until another bus came along and it would take you to the next stop.
Today, these type of tickets are available all over the country, especially in the larger cities like Washington DC, Boston, Los Angeles… There is a convenience about these tickets which is also satisfying.
Even though the Hop-on / Hop-off Bus Tour was fun and convenient, it had a few major drawbacks. For starters if you are going alone of with one or two other people, tours like this are a great choice to consider. However, these tickets do not work very well for groups. Once you get past eight or ten people together, it is downright impossible to find room on a bus once you are ready to re-board after your first stop. Though this may not always be the choice, I cannot tell you the number of times people had to wait for the next bus to come along because ours was full.
Another huge disadvantage was the route of the tour. It was always the same. This can be a positive because you know the route for every bus. However, if the bus has twenty-four stops (which is common) and you want to get off at stop nineteen, you are stuck waiting until the bus makes it to your destination. Many of these routes are two hours long! So, unless you are a fan of waiting a long time for your stop, these tours are probably something you should avoid.
When it comes to taking tours of any type, there are choices we are faced with making. Should I take the packaged tour or should our group go with the customized one? How do you make the decision?
It all comes down to what is most important to you and your group? Does everyone like knowing exactly where you are going to arrive and at what time? If so, then a packaged or scheduled tour should work well for your group. However, you are stuck with the schedule and attractions you are handed. Even if you decide you want to do something different, you are stuck with what the tour says you can do.
Customized tours offer a great alternative. With this choice your group has the freedom to choose where you want to visit, what time you want to get there and how much time you want to spend at your destination. You can still keep to a strict schedule, and you should have a set itinerary for your tour. However, you get to make those choices! You are not locked in to what the company has predetermined for you.
Customized tours mean freedom! Freedom to make the choices you want to make. You can make arrangements to see three different attractions in the same day or more or less…you get to choose. With a packaged tour you are stuck with what you are given and it does not matter how much you want it changed or what people vote on!
Sometimes packaged tours can be a little lower in price. Because these companies run the same tours every day, they have their system tuned up and that is how they run it. Customized tours can cost more. But there is a freedom that customization gives you that is worth the extra cost.
Another difference is the equipment used in these tours. For argument sake, let’s use buses as the mode of transportation. When you choose packaged tours, the buses used are often ran for hours on end, day after day. These buses are made for this wear and tear in most cases, but the interiors often get worn down. Sometimes the buses look tired, or even abused! With customized tours, you get to use buses (normally) which are often better taken care of. This little fact can give you a higher degree of satisfaction with your touring experience.
In the end, it comes down to preference. Do you and your group enjoy the freedom with complete control over your tour or do you enjoy the convenience of having the planning completed for you? If you do not mind being confined to a company’s schedule, go with the packaged tour. If you enjoy having more control over what you do and when, choose the customized option.
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