Last September my boyfriend and I went on our first ever tour with Intrepid Travel to Morocco. We chose to do this instead of planning it all on our own because we had only travelled to a few European cities together and felt that Morocco was very much out of our comfort zone. On top of this, we managed to get a pretty decent discount through Joe’s mum who works for a travel company, so it was an easy decision to make!
PROS
- All the planning was done for us. There were loads of tours to choose from so we made a list of the things we definitely wanted to do in Morocco and then picked the tour which included all (or most) of these!
- We went off the beaten track! I didn’t expect this from our tour but as our guide was local, he showed us local restaurants, got us to sample local delicacies, and took us places that we hadn’t heard of when we did our research beforehand.
- Constant support. Before the trip, we had the support of the tour company, who helped us plan our trip and made it as easy as possible. During the trip, we had our wonderful guide who was happy to answer any questions we had about the coutnry, people, language, religion, food, literally anything!
- You’re not alone. Most people book onto tours because they want to travel somewhere but don’t have a friend to go with. Tours are great as you meet like-minded individuals who also have a passion for travel!
- Budgeting is easier. Although the overall cost of a tour can be a turn off for some, budgeting whilst on the tour is much easier as travel, accommodations, and often meals are already paid for within the cost of the trip.
- You have a full and engaging itinerary! Tours may feel like a rush sometimes but you can’t deny that you end up seeing so much in a short space of time. They are often great to get a sample of each place, so you can come back for longer in the future if you want to!
CONS
- They can be expensive. We were lucky and had a bit of discount, but any tour you go on there’s going to be extra fees for the cost of having a tour guide and extra activities thrown in.
- They can be rushed – there were certainly times on our tour of Morocco when I would’ve loved to stay and soak it all up for an extra day or even just a few more hours.
- Less flexibility. It’s great having someone else plan the whole trip for you but sometimes it might be nicer to have the flexibility to stay longer in a place or skip another. One instance on our trip was when everyone got a bit sick – it would’ve been good to have a full day to recover and then get back to our jam-packed itinerary.
- You might not get along with your group. We absolutely loved our group, and I think this is because we specifically chose an 18-30 group so we were all a similar age and had similar interests. Try to be open minded – at the end of the day you’re all there to experience something amazing.
- No/little alone time. With your full schedule or if you’re sharing dorms with other tour members, you might feel like you just want some alone time. This is why I’d recommend a relatively short tour, say 1-2 weeks, so you don’t get overwhelmed by it.
- There can be very long travel days. This definitely depends on your style of travel – we spent most days on our minibus for a few hours at a time and while that might not be for everyone, I actually enojyed it as we all chatted, listened to music, and looked at the beautiful scenery as we drove through the country.
Overall our experience with Intrepid was incredible and I would 100% go on an organised tour again, but only if it was somewhere I was a bit nervous of travelling to and organising alone, and as long as it wasn’t too expensive or too long. Check out Intrepid for their amazing tours and offers!
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