# Have you ever been on a group tour?



## SPfromQC (Jul 14, 2013)

If so what did you like about it? Dislike? Would you go again? And how much did you pay per day? And where did you go? Is it better with a local guide or American one?


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## Happyflowerlady (Jul 14, 2013)

The only group tour that I have ever been on was just a trip down into a deep cave that had a large lake at the end of the tour. The caverns were beautiful, and the tour guide did a great job explaining everything to us. When we reached the lake, they took us out in a row boat , and we got to see the huge fish that lived in the lake. They saw the light, and came right up to the boat to be fed. He explained that they had been planted there because there was no way that the fish could get to the lake otherwise, and that since it was dark there except when the boats came, the fish had become almost blind.
I really enjoyed the tour, and would certainly do something like that again.

What  I really would like is to go on one of the short cruise ship tours. Not very far, just maybe a three day tour. Even though you don't get to do a whole lot in that time, I think that it would be very sufficient for me, and it is a dream that I have had for some time now, but one that will probably only be a dream, not a reality.


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## Diwundrin (Jul 14, 2013)

Oh dear, do you have a week to spare?  I've got stories about group tours that can last for days.:biggrin-new:

So what's your preference?  They range from the hilarious to the disastrous.  

Only covered Australia, Canada, Alaska, day trip ones in the States, and a few in NZ where would you like to hear about? I like to write if you like to read.


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## Warrigal (Jul 14, 2013)

I've been on quite a few group tours in Australia and overseas.

Obviously in Australia the tour guides were Australian.
In Egypt we has a local guide and he was wonderful. He was very informed about Egyptian antiquity and he looked after us very well. The same could be said of our local guide in Turkey. He had spent some time in Australia and understood our history as well as his own. He also knew his ancient history very well. I couldn't fault either guide. The tour was with Insight Tours.

I just remembered that the Turkish guide made sure that all our toilet stops had access to western toilets and he ranked them with a star rating. We always had at least 3 stars.

I think it is probably better to have a local tour guide if you are interested in history. If you just want to have a fun time, a fellow countryman might be best.


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## Bee (Jul 14, 2013)

I wouldn't want to go on a group tour, I would feel I was being too organised and would much prefer to do own thing and find my own way around.


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## JustBonee (Jul 15, 2013)

I don't care for group tours, but some places require them.

... like when going through Mammoth Cave in Kentucky .. wouldn't want to try any National Cave solo!
... a bus tour through Belize ... definitely 'safety in numbers' 
....going thru museums of any sort - need someone explaining what I'm looking at!


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## TICA (Jul 15, 2013)

I've often thought about doing a group tour, but never seem to have the time.   I'm actually a real home body and traveled enough for work that I don't care if I ever get on a plane again!   I do know some people who have done bus tours for a 4 or 5 day stretch and loved it.   I might consider doing a bus tour.  I'd love to see Kentucky or New Hampshire - all about the big open spaces and might be nice to have someone else do the driving.


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## TICA (Jul 15, 2013)

Diwundrin said:


> Oh dear, do you have a week to spare?  I've got stories about group tours that can last for days.:biggrin-new:
> 
> So what's your preference?  They range from the hilarious to the disastrous.
> 
> Only covered Australia, Canada, Alaska, day trip ones in the States, and a few in NZ where would you like to hear about? I like to write if you like to read.



Spill the beans Buddy!   I'd love to hear your Canada stories - where did you go, what mode of transportation - Tell all....


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## SeaSparkle (Jul 15, 2013)

Diwundrin said:


> Oh dear, do you have a week to spare?  I've got stories about group tours that can last for days.:biggrin-new:
> 
> So what's your preference?  They range from the hilarious to the disastrous.
> 
> Only covered Australia, Canada, Alaska, day trip ones in the States, and a few in NZ where would you like to hear about? I like to write if you like to read.




I'd like to hear about your adventures in the States :sentimental:
Always love hearing what visitors get themselves into here~


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## Diwundrin (Jul 15, 2013)

States first, bit pressed for time this morning.

Day trip to Yosemite from San Fran.
It left at 5.30am!  I'm nocturnal by nature so that was a shock to the system to start with.  But fine, we're used to covering long distances.  We had a mixed Nationality group aboard, it was interesting chatting to the various travellers except for 2.  They were Norfolk Islanders, which is somewhat reluctantly and kind of, part of, and supported by, and it's population citizens of, Australia.  Some well intentioned soul pointed us out as fellow Australians but they said they weren't Australians, *they* were Norfolk Islanders! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





  I refrained from pointing out that my taxes were spent on keeping them from starvation but thought better of it in otherwise polite company.
They're descendants of the Bounty mutineers and consider themselves a species apart it seems.  But who cares, they talk funny anyway. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




We pulled in for a snack break at a biggish roadside cafe/food hall.  It was a massive place and we strolled in to decide what we'd have.  
Then a tidal wave hit us!  A fleet of 4 other buses (sorry, coaches) pulled up and a horde of Japanese tourists poured out of them like someone just knocked the top off an ant nest.  
They swarmed in and before we knew what hit us we found ourselves propelled back from the counter and pressed against the wall!
The Japanese may be polite in small company but enmasse they take on the proportions of charging Rhinos!

We couldn't get out.  We had zero chance of getting served.  Our driver was pacing up and down to get away but the majority of his passengers were caught in the stampede and none of us could do a thing about it.  Over around 20 minutes the crowd thinned, we could breath and see the counter again but by the time we got there all the food was long gone.  We settled for a tin of smoked nuts each from the grocery shelf and staggered back to the bus to recover from the trauma.  I've never seen the Japanese tourist in quite the same way since.  

Sorry, visitors have arrived..... to be continued.


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## Diwundrin (Jul 16, 2013)

..where was I?...

We eventually arrived at Yosemite already tired and hungry,  expecting to see what the tourists guides pictured but... there was a bit of  a drought on and it was high summer and the falls kind of just dribbled, and the ground was dust, the air shimmered and it all looked rather sad really.  siiiiigh.  Another of life's little disappointments.   At least we managed to get a nice meal, pre booked, in our own little section so we didn't have to fight for it.
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




We did the mad tourist photo thing anyway but the most memorable was the one I took from the coach when we were pulling into a lookout area.
There was mass of people there.  Yep.  The Japanese had beaten us to it.  The photo I took of one of America's great iconic places didn't have a single person in it who wasn't Japanese.   We could have been in Tokyo.
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




It was a very looooong trip back to SF, and our hotel was the last one on the drop off route.  The 'coach captain' wasn't anything wonderful, just said what he had to from a script he balanced on his lap as to where we were and what we were looking at.  I remember he managed to point out the San Andreas fault line through the hills when we were almost far enough past it not to be able to see it at all.  But when we were getting off the bus he said "you people are Australian?"
..."yes" we said smiling broadly.  "You eat that disgusting Vegemite stuff, how can you eat that?"   OHhhhh. :crushed: 
 It was a fitting end to a very 'ordinary' (OZ for disappointing)  day. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




But hey, at least I remember it.


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## Diwundrin (Jul 16, 2013)

Jillaroo and I live in towns along the Sydney-Brisbane Highway.  Well, some of it looks like a highway, much of it is still a two lane country road.  
We have a tremendous amount of traffic accidents and fatalities in this area, mainly tourist initiated.  The little towns and camping grounds are on the coast side of the Highway and they just pull out without seeming to realise that their little road has reached the highway.  One junction a few K.s north of me is a long dirt road from a camping area which meets the highway on a slight bend and the tourists come shooting out of it, sometimes straight under the wheels of the big interstate trucks.  It's carnage there in holiday times. Some now refer to it as Kamikaze Korner.   No amount of signage on the Highway helps, but no one seems to think that the signs should be on the dirt road where they're coming from! They won't do anything there because they have plans to upgrade that stretch, but it could take years and who knows how many more will be killed there while they get around to it? You have to wonder about the IQ of those in some of these Govt authorities.

I go to ground in holiday times.  Or go shopping around 5 or 6pm when the campers are pulled off for the night.  The trucks are enough to worry about, don't need the extra adrenalin rush due to lost tourists veering and backing up to missed turn-offs. We have plenty of tourists coaches too but thankfully they don't stop in our little towns, we are thankful for that small mercy.

But speaking of tourists, better get back on track.  Anyone still interested in group travel stories?  The Alaskan one was a revelation.


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## SeaSparkle (Jul 17, 2013)

OMG that was hilarious Diwundri!

Can't wait to read about your Canuke adventure


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## Archer (Aug 1, 2013)

We usually do day or half day tours from our destination...e,g; when we were in Darwin we did a day trip to the Territory Wildlife Park and another day we did a day tour to the Litchfield National Park.
As for tours from home, I'd like to try one but Lorraine isn't to sure just yet.
One day tour we did on Kangaroo Island was fantastic...we had been there before and thought we saw everything...WRONG! The guide/driver was great and we saw things we didn't know even existed. This is one major benefit of tours, they know what to see and do.
I'd like to do one from Adelaide to Tasmania (and return) but some of the prices are horrendous...let someone else do the driving and worrying about the traffic is my theory...


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## That Guy (Aug 2, 2013)

I enlisted in 1966 and we went to Vietnam.  Does that count???


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## TICA (Aug 3, 2013)

That Guy said:


> I enlisted in 1966 and we went to Vietnam.  Does that count???



It should count.  I'm truly hoping you have also had a vacation type of group tour that was fun and had nothing to do with war.  :goodjob:


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## That Guy (Aug 3, 2013)

TICA said:


> It should count.  I'm truly hoping you have also had a vacation type of group tour that was fun and had nothing to do with war.  :goodjob:



Thanks, TICA.  Not a big fan of groups or pretty much "organized" fun...


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