It’s the era of solo travel. We’re plagued with Instagram ads showing us happy images of people travelling, having a good time and making memories with new friends. Travel has become a lot more accessible with easy payment options, small advances to confirm a slot and flexible booking options. But just how good is the average tour organiser?
As a woman who travels solo, I have tried going along with organisers instead of doing the entire trip alone. This is for a variety of reasons - convenience, safety in a potentially risky destination and for the economics of it all. But I have to admit, I have had my fair share of bad experiences. And I felt other travellers can learn from my terrible mistakes which I’ve made even after travelling frequently for the past eight years or so. Bonus - some of the organisers to stay away from are listed below, if you stay till the end of the article. ;)
Here’s six things to do before you book:
1. Start small and then try trips for longer durations
It’s easy to fall for the cheerful pictures and reviews from past travellers on an organiser’s Instagram page. You’ll find lots of people claiming it to be the “trip of a lifetime” or “I made so many friends we’ve become family”. But before you commit to a long tour with an organiser, try to take a weekend trip with them, preferably in India or in your local region so you can understand how they go about organising a tour.
2. Get to know your tour organiser
In today’s hyper connected world you can get to know what people really think about an organiser. Of course bad reviews are typically by disgruntled travellers who were so upset they were motivated to rant on the internet about the organiser. However, it always helps to check Google Reviews, Instagram comments and google the tour organiser to see if there are any red flags you’re missing. Any organiser’s page will showcase the best of the experiences. But make sure you try to understand what the majority of travellers are saying. It’s also crucial to understand how long they’ve been in the business for - you don’t want to be the batch they experiment with a destination with.
3. Research research research!
Yes, this does seem to go against the entire point of a tour organiser, why bother putting in the effort to learn about a new destination and its local laws if you’re going with someone who is supposed to manage it all for you? But the truth is, unless you read up about a destination and make a rough framework of the places you’d like to visit, you won’t be able to tell if the itinerary being offered is worth it or not. So it always helps to read a renowned publication depending on your travel style and see if the organiser is offering you what you’re looking for. Otherwise, you’re going to come back with bad experiences, potentially.
4. Read the fine lines
You’ll find that most of the tour organisers today operate on Instagram and Whatsapp. They send you texts on the itinerary with open-ended information regarding cancellation policies. They don’t send you emails with itineraries, payment terms and cancellation terms with much detail. So always ensure you ask for an email with this information. But your checks shouldn’t stop there. Here’s a few things to also ask them about, as this information is likely to be missed in the itinerary:
-Check on the tour inclusions and exclusions and don’t hold back from seeking clarity on vague terms
-Check the terms of your connecting flights/ transport/ transfers that’s included. Often the connecting flights that are booked won’t allow check-in luggage for instance and you’ll be met with an unpleasant surprise at the airport.
-For international flights, make sure you enquire about the support they provide for Visas and other formalities. Most organisers these days don’t take ownership for Visas and flights as they know these are high risk areas.
-Check if they have a website and an address with contact details that appear legitimate. This helps to check if they have a proper, established business or if they can easily abscond without a trace.
-While interacting with them, see how patient and supportive they are. If they don’t seem knowledgeable about a place, the local way of life or able to provide you details about currency, optional activities and more, it’s best you rethink going on a trip with them as it could be a sign of inexperience.
-Check about which activities are a part of the tour and which ones are optional. Lately I’ve noticed there are too many organisers who make about 60 percent of the itinerary full of self-sponsored or optional activities. So the question remains - what are you paying for really?
5. Adventure activities and trekking
Adventure is the flavour of the season. Eager travellers are encouraged to “live in the moment” and are flooded with trends that talk about “money will come back but I’ll never travel to XYZ destination in my 20s again”. But while this may be true, it’s also true that you need a very experienced guide to help you have an incredible experience in high risk activities. Most organisers promise you adventure but send inexperienced people to guide you. These victims of wanderlust may not have done very many treks, know how to manage an emergency scenario or help you if you get stuck in a tough spot, whatever the activity. While you can’t escape signing a waiver that saves organisers from taking responsibility for a mishap, you can at least ensure that you travel with a guide who knows their stuff.
6. Sustainability
Why is this important? Because not only does it impact the planet, but you can tell a lot about the ethics of a tour organiser by the way they manage the trip. Do you find videos of people touching coral reefs on their page? Or riding animals that are obviously abused? Or locals that look unhappy and ill-treated? These are signs that the operator is only in for the money and lacks ethics and integrity. While these are small signs, I find it helpful in steering clear of shady tour operators.
As promised, here are some of the organisers to stay away from -
Appooppanthaadi - Based out of Kerala, they are one of the few tour companies that organise trips to Lakshadweep. What they don’t tell you is that Lakshadweep requires paperwork that doesn’t come through easily. For travellers from states other than Kerala, the documentation doesn’t come through. But they still take the money from you and refuse a refund. Extremely rude and unprofessional as well to deal with.
TripNaari - While they promise safety first for women and provide good options in terms of destinations, they send inexperienced tour guides, they lack on-ground knowledge of a destination and even make money off activities that are self-sponsored.
So there you have it, some of the things I’ve learnt from my bad experiences that hopefully make way for better ones. Have you had a bad experience with an organiser? Comment below so other travellers don’t fall prey!
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