Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Adventuring Vagabond]

Any of you have ever take a guided tour to foreign countries? What did you hate and what did you love from the tour? I'm currently doing a research for my job interview next monday and i'm needed every help you could provide.

[acetech09]

I've had some good and bad guided tours in plenty of countries, nearly all of them involuntary.

The worst ones I've had were when the tours were rigorous and scripted. I was on a russian tour that was particularly awful, the guide persisted on staying and talking about locations that all the patrons were clearly not interested in.

The best were tours where the tours didn't feel like tours, but rather just walking the city with a friendly person that's wicked knowledgeable and can relate with everyone in the crowd. Catering to a wide range of interests, and making the tour fun for people who couldn't even remotely give a shit about architecture is what really made me happy.

Be super super super knowledgeable on things that don't even relate to your tour, spit it out in relevant ways, and bring extra sunscreen.

[i2amroy]

Yeah, the best tours are almost always the ones that seem more like you are just getting the opportunity to meet and talk with someone that is extra knowledgeable about the city. Though that said it is annoying when the tour is supposed to be about the history of something and somebody is making it all about the present. The proper balance is where you talk enough about stories and current things to be able to sneak the historical and other (less interesting for some) things in as well.

Stealing the architecture example, it's cool if the unique architecture fact gets tied in with a story as well. Maybe if you can find a story about why the king commissioned that building, or influenced that design, or something similar. That lets the guide tell a story (which holds the interest of those not interested in architecture) while still getting out the interesting facts about the architecture.

Also yeah, being knowledgeable about things that are only barely related to your tour at all, and on all of the little details and things that happened in the area that aren't things they tell you when you sign up are good things to know. Look new things up and learn the little details, since it's the little things that tend to make or break the tours that I've been on.

[Adventuring Vagabond]

Thank you! but i need more responses especially from people from first world countries! i'll tell you 'bout my interview when it's done!

[Flying Dice]

If you still need this:

What i2amroy said. I generally try to avoid tours because most of them are just excuses to drag you through tourist traps and charge out the nose for things you could have done and seen yourself given fifteen minutes with a search engine and maybe booking directly.

The good ones are:

1. Small groups (you and maybe 4-5 others at most, best if they're all of an age with you and you're collectively all strangers or friends, one or the other).

2. Basically just hanging out for a day/half-day/week/whatever with an interesting guide who has all sorts of interesting stories and tidbits to tell, both personal and historical. The sort who'll hang out in a pub with you and talk without being awkward.

3. Not overpriced.

4. Tying in with 2, tours that hit non-obvious destinations. If all they do is play connect-the-dots with local landmarks, you can do it better and cheaper yourself.