First Impressions of Going on a Group Tour

I had pencilled in a holiday at the end of June/beginning of July, last year in October. There had been various conversations about where I would go, and who I’d be going with. But I don’t understand what’s the point of ‘making plans’ when nothing goes according to plan anyway. It was a weird feeling, as for the first time ever, I didn’t feel that I was bound by any destination. I didn’t have to go to America, or India to visit ‘family’ or friends. I didn’t have to go to Australia or other domestic spots, just to ‘have a break’. The world was (and still is) my oyster, and I could literally aim a dart at the map, and go wherever it landed.

I decided, let’s try and see which destination would be the most economical and started planning out a trip to every single continent, yes Antarctic too. I have always been fascinated with South America, but somehow thought, that it just wasn’t going to happen this year. Nonetheless, I planned anyway. Macchu Picchu has always been on my travel bucket list, but I knew this year wasn’t the year I was going to get there.

I started exploring the option of visiting Argentina. I knew I had to go to the Iguassu Falls. I talked to a colleague, who’s from Brazil, and had extensively travelled through South America. Until that point, I didn’t realise just how vast Argentina is. His first question to me was, how am I planning on getting around the country, to which I simply answered – flights. He took one look and said, that’s probably the most expensive way to travel around South America. Buses or driving is the best, but on average the shortest bus trip could take 4 hours, and the longest roughly 20 hours.

IGUASSU FALLS, BRAZIL
COPYRIGHT: @MILGOS (INSTAGRAM)

In fact driving from Buenos Aires to the Iguassu Falls could take almost half a day, if not more. I slowly felt my trip to Argentina taking a turn and possibly getting knocked out as there was no way I would get enough leave to go all the way there and to really see the country. I decided to cut out cities, and settled for Salta, Mendoza and Patagonia. The logistics still remained a big issue.

This is when I decided to take a look at the route that group tours did, and plan the trip myself. I landed on the G Adventures – Iguassu and Beyond trip quite quickly, and skimmed through the itinerary and realising that, that was the perfect itinerary for me. It touched upon the cities/activities that I wanted to do, and seemed to be a relatively ‘easy’ tour.

G ADVENTURES GROUP TOUR

PHOTO CREDIT: RIA MEHTA

Whilst, I do prefer travelling by myself, and by that I mean, either with friends or family, I have a new found love for group tours. Especially, if you plan on going to countries, where getting around is hard, or there is a language barrier, or for that matter, you don’t feel confident that you will be safe travelling by yourself, group tours are perfect for this.

Have you been on a group tour? What was your experience like?

Until next time,

MiliG