Upsides of planning for yourself?

I have been an independent traveler and self planned trips my entire life, but at my age now (mid 60s) I am considering tours for the first time, at least for places I have never before visited. On return trips to favorite haunts (Paris, London, etc) I need no help.

I also am no longer interested in doing, much less planning, complex multi country trips anymore. Our style of travel, for which I make no apologies, for the last decade has increasingly become more of a single country or a one or two city destination, stay in one hotel for most of the trip, and do day trips in the region. On a 3 week trip to France, we might now spend half the time in Paris, and maybe spend half the time elsewhere, like Provence, and again rely on just a couple of hotel changes, but do day trips.

As for your friends who relied on a travel agent for a first time trip to Japan, I think that makes a lot of sense for most people. I have been to Japan 6 times, and I feel very competent doing self planned travel there, but once you get to Japan you will find or soon realize that there are a ton of travel agencies there that you can visit (usually in major train stations) and you can add on day trips from either Tokyo or Kyoto, and you will come across far more options over there than you can find from home on the Internet. I guess my point is there really is no great reason to have every minute of a trip to Japan pre-booked, allow for some discovery.

What a great story and example. Certainly some people just have a location in mind (“I’ve always wanted to go to _______”), perhaps based on social media, books, movies. But they may not know what they really want out of that location or what the choices are, like which beach for your friends. Sadly, the TA may not even have traveled to that country or specific locations.

Definitely a self-planner here and I concur with your assessment. I really know where we are going in every sense and the “whys” of going somewhere are firmly in mind because of the research. Plus, I love the planning and even re-planning when needed. Sure, I see Instagram photos, friends Facebook posts about trips, and travel videos, but those are merely ideas that require a lot of study to determine if we will enjoy them.

I wonder what they do when, in the middle of a trip to a country where they don’t speak the language and haven’t done research, someone on a trip arranged by a TA encounters an unexpected circumstance like a transportation strike?

Hank, I agree that planning and learning are very enjoyable! I've only done one land tour and that was a RS tour with indpendent travel before and after. I also read everything I could get my hands on about places we would visit.

Another great thing about independent travel is that you get exactly what you want and as much time at a place as you want. I have done one river cruise and it was a bit frustratig for me to be limited in time and options after doing so much independent travel.

Some people just dont want to learn a whole new skillset for a vacation. I planned and traveled independently for years. I didnt consider it fun as much as a necessity, and I am good at it. Both the research and the logistics. But like Jojo Rabbit, with age and travel partners that dont plan and dont always agree, tours (RS and others) have been less stressful and more efficient

My spouse and I agree that RS tours hit our sweet spot for the level of activity and comfort. They really just give you an introduction to someplace you might never have been or considered, so you can come back on your own if you like it. f you look beneath the surface, you see that the tours (and the guidebooks) try to encourage those independent travel skills. Other tours with a more deluxe hand-holding, insulating experience, have much less appeal.

Quote:

" I've planned 15+ trips, many with complex logistics. In that process I've learned so much! I suppose one could see that learning as "work," but to me it's actually part of the fun, and makes me enjoy my trips all the more."

Yes, planning a trip is fun and your research helps you immensely in finding out what is on your itinarary.

Also, you save money in finding more affordable housing and local tours.

One more thing, as we have aged (we are in our late 70s) we now lean more toward a guided tour. There are some great tour deals out that and we have come to like Gate 1 Travel.

Some places are easier to plan for and do on your own. However, some places are definitely best done on a fully guided tour. Example, Egypt, Safari in East Africa, Peru (Cuzco and Machu Picchu), and Israel/Jordan.

Last year while in Europe for a month, I was able to experience both two weeks traveling independently with my husband and two weeks traveling solo with the RS Adriatic tour. First, I will comment that neither of these is a bad choice, and everyone has their favorite travel styles! Both of them were wonderful.

Having both within one trip really showed me how much I love the independent travel! I knew I liked it; I just didn’t know how much more I love it! As you mentioned, Hank, when I was preparing for the two weeks in England & Wales, I could mentally picture the wonderful places we were going to see after all of the trip research, tailor our activities to those that we love and stay the number of days we wanted in each location. As the trip was beginning, the independent portion of the trip was what I was most anticipating.

Something else I had never considered previously, but it certainly showed up as a contrast since photos are my main souvenir: On our own, I went to Wales’ stunning Bodnant Garden as it opened, and I strolled through the gorgeous gardens enjoying both the beauty and the serene quiet with rarely a person in view of me - still a very special memory! By contrast, when I traveled with the RS tour, I had to work to take photos without people in them. When I am traveling independently, I can stand at a location for ten minutes, if, needed, to get the perfect shot. That doesn’t work well if the tour group is moving on or all standing at the site.

Lest we give the impression it’s all rosy doing all of the planning ourself, I was up hours late last night waiting for the Italian ticket office to open the 1st of the month free Sunday tickets for Caserta’s huge palace & gardens. I checked back this morning, and they were all gone by mid-morning. There are times where it’s nice to just be handed a ticket by the Rick Steves tour guide! : )

One note: my local RS travel group consists of people who each enjoy a variety of travel styles. It’s a lot of fun to hear about others’ trips and how they traveled or where they are going. Our monthly meetings wouldn’t be nearly as fun if we all traveled exactly the same.

We have been planning our own trips for decades. And that is for several reasons. Firstly, I really enjoy the planning and research part. I read travel guidebooks, I am on several travel forums, and I do internet research, read travel blogs, etc. The other equally important reason is, as someone here just posted, we get what we want for our trip. It is our itinerary that I created to suit us. I choose the destinations, and I choose the number of nights, hotels, etc. What I have noticed with so many group tours is that most tours only spend 1 or 2 nights at a destination, including Rick's tours. That is not nearly enough for us. We love to spend 3, 4, or 5 nights in places, and sometimes 7 nights, such as Paris. We like to immerse ourselves in a place as much as possible. We have friends who are the opposite of us. They don't need to see many sites, and they don't need to immerse themselves in a place. They have taken tons of river cruises, and they enjoy visiting each place for only a day, and they want to be back on the ship by 4PM. I am not criticizing them but that is not us right now.

I also believe that by spending a few nights in a place you get to experience and appreciate the ambiance of that place. For example, if you only visit the Mezquita in Cordoba, yes, you walk away saying what an amazing mosque/cathedral. But you don't get the feel for what Cordoba is like and how lovely it is. The city is just as important to me as the historical/cultural/artistic site.

We also like the freedom of deciding each day what we want to see that day. Yeah, sometimes we have to book popular sites in advance, such as the Alhambra, but we don't need to do that with every site. And we like the freedom of deciding when we want to stop and relax in a cafe with a drink and people watch, and rest our feet. We prefer to choose our own restaurants to eat in.

And one thing I have noticed with group tours (I have perused some itineraries), is that the hotels are not always centrally located. We prefer to be centrally located so we can walk to most places.

My husband and I are in our mid-70's, and we plan to travel this way for as long as possible. When we think we are too old and don't have the energy to pack and unpack, drive, train, or bus to other places, then we might consider river cruises. Or spending a week in a city we love, such as Paris, Rome, or London, or others. And perhaps taking day tours outside of the cities.

Also want to add that we have other friends who want someone else to plan their trip for them because as Hank says, they "just want to hop on and enjoy the ride". One friend told me she wants someone else to carry her luggage, someone else to choose the restaurants, and choose the sites they will see. That works for them but it would never work for us.

Not being able to answer specific questions about a tour itinerary doesn't necessarily mean you don't know or care.

Before I select a tour, I read all the day to day information, and check other sources for the area. I also tend to have a number of future trips in the works, so details of one of them might not be top of mind.

That said, I don't look to know every detail about a destination. I guess I like to learn by being there.

Hank,
Another interesting question! For us, we generally plan our own trips. (Well, I do. DH is happy to let me do the work.) We have, however, taken guided tours, but in places where we can't read the street signs, or definitely don 't want to drive, or need an expert for the trip. This includes China (Beijing, Xian and Shanghai); Kenya (staying at game parks and being taken on photo drives in the am and later in the day); Egypt (Cairo, a seven day Nile cruise with seeing all the sights, flight to Abu Simbal); and Turkey (All the major areas and highly educated tour guide/teacher).
Three of these are some of our favorite all-time trips, which we wouldn't have felt comfortable doing on our own. The tours were a success!
Yet, for Europe, Mexico, Canada, Chile, and of course the US, we get the most out of these trips by doing it ourselves. I try to read about the complete history of a place, the current politics and culture, and the current customs. In looking for lodging I find out about the areas we are considering for a stay, and have fun planning our activities. It is especially satisfying to discover some lesser-known local activity/celebration/fair/theatrical or musical production/religious celebration/etc.
And we are more free to rearrange our days (mostly). Luckily, we are comfortable and competent enough to drive places, and comfortable using public transportion as well. Speaking French and Spanish has also been a big help.

Cruises...Have done four and enjoyed them all in their own way. Caribbean islands was my first, and fun for the experience. No need for a repeat of this type of cruise. Next was a short trip (4 days) to Baja California for the teen-age kids to have an experience. No need to repeat this either. The best ones were an Alaska cruise because the topography of the state is unusual to traverse and the standard Inside Passage cruises give you lots of education and accessibility. And a 4 day cruise (scientifically oriented) in Tierra del Fuego was a real treat (small ship, about 125-150 passengers). I highly recommend this cruise company!
Okay, probably more info than anyone wanted. But it is my deux centimes!
Thanks for the topic, Hank!

I am in my 70s and female. I like the fun of planning my own trips. I also don't have a $500 a day budget (airfare excluded). I need to book a bit off season or so far in advance that I get good hotel rates at centrally located hotels and reasonable airfare.

At the beginning of this month I spent 6 nights in Rome with airfare, hotel, airport transfers, and entry to the Colosseum and Vatican Museums. It cost me a total of $1500. I booked my hotel and bought my airline tickets 9 months in advance. It would have been way more expensive if I hadn't planned well.

I also like planning my own adventures. I like to get off the beaten path. On my trip to Japan in 2014, the best part of my trip was winding through the Japanese countryside by train, walking through a small canyon to a waterfall near Kofu with signs saying "watch out for bears", picking wonderfully delicious Fuji apples the size of grapefruit in an orchard in the Japanese Alps, "getting lost" in a back alley and ending up in a hole- in-the-wall in Kyoto with 3 tables where the lady prepared okonomiyaki right in front of me,
going to a shrine at the bottom of Mt Fuji, or finding a secluded Buddhist temple in the mountains. Not another
tourist in sight. In fact, I even managed to get a private viewing of a shrine that is rarely open to the public. You won't get those experiences through a travel agent. I chose the cities I wanted to stay in but the experiences weren't planned.

Why do some people need to use a tour company? Fear? Inexperience? Convenience? Price?

I have taken the occasional tour or week at some vacation spot and they weren't bad, but they weren't magical either. My last minute 10-day Portugal tour was $1600 with airfare, hotel, breakfast, most lunches, and most dinners included. There's no way I could have booked it on my own for less. Next time I will do it on my own though.

I plan our trips and for the most part enjoy the planning. I've been married for over 25 years, so when putting together an itinerary, I take into consideration what my husband would enjoy. He has zero interest in being involved with this. Prior to our last trip to Spain, he asked me what cities we would be going to, the only reason he asked was since his coworkers asked him and he wasn't able to answer. He tells me he likes to have no idea since then everything is a wonderful surprise that he feels will be spoiled if he already formed an impression prior to going. Some days I envy him.

My problem with group tours is the limited time most tours provide in any given location. However, if I were going somewhere that English is not spoken to the extent it is in European cities, I would prefer a tour. Even in Europe, the value of a tour is that they go to sights we would never have chosen to go, and some of those sights were quite memorable.

EDITED: Pros of Tour: efficient utilization of time to see a lot in a short period of time
I don't have to think about the logistics-tickets, transportation
go to places I wouldn't have chosen but that I really liked- Tirana, Torremolinos

a well-designed tour is planned by people with inside knowledge of the place and what previous tour
members liked and didn't like-our recent Globus small group tour of New Zealand and Australia did
an outstanding job with group meals(none were in the hotel) and I could never have done that as well as they
did

Pros of Independent: less expensive because we use free hotel stays
more time in places we really want to see-our first tour in Europe only had one afternoon in Florence,
which is my favorite city in Europe!
it's often difficult to find a reasonably-priced tour that includes all the places I want to see, such as
Orvieto, Bologna, and Ravenna, Yorkshire Dales

Health: contrary to the experiences of others on this forum, I have never caught any illnesses from other people on the 5 group tours I have taken. I got my only case of Covid when we were in London on our own. I do always take N95 masks with me nowmasks with me now.

You can only complain to yourself if something doesn’t go according to plan.
Assuming no tour, you can pick where you go, when you go, how long you stay, and where you stay.

I don’t think this has to “either or.” In fact, I would go so far as to say that someone who is only willing to consider one method of travel is limiting himself/herself unnecessarily.

Just because a person is on a tour doesn’t mean they can’t or don’t research where they are going. Some faulty logic there.

This year I will cruise solo and with friends. I’ll take a tour in Turkey and I’ll travel independently in the UK. Each mode of travel had a reason for that choice. Every trip will be well researched.

Let’s just be glad we can get out and explore the world however that may look at a given moment.

Just to be clear, these friends aren't on a tour, but rather had a USA travel agent pick an itinerary and book hotels, trains and some restaurants.

Don't want to come across as judging! Many enjoyable ways to do it. Just struck me that having no idea which coast of Japan you will beach on is high contrast to my usually clear understanding of exactly where I'll be and some unique aspects of given locations. I think that for me knowing some thing about a place largely arises organically from the trip planning process itself. When I'm just being taken somewhere and don't have to plan I do pick up some books and study up on destinations, but less so than when I'm in charge of creating my family's itineraries.

I like the comment above that if a self-planned trip is no fun you have no one to blame but yourself. Ain't that the truth. And also, family and others on the trip have no one to blame but me. There is actually some real pressure there! I don't think I would plan as much nor learn as much if I was only planning for myself.

My husband and I will be taking our first tour (one week in Peru) in a few weeks. We are also going to Poland for two weeks in July on a self planned trip. I am a bit fuzzy about all of the details for the Peru trip but can tell you exactly what we will be doing each day for the Poland trip. And the Peru trip is for half the time and is just a month away!

For me, planning is almost as much fun as the trip itself. I learn so much about where I am going and even if I don't end up going on the trip, I still have the knowledge base to draw upon later.

My husband has no interest in the planning aspects our our trips together, other than helping to pick a destination. When I travel with my friends, they gladly let me do 99% of the planning as they are still working full time and don't have the patience for it. I have even loosely planned a couple of vacations for friends per their request.

I'm too much of a control-freak to want to go on an organized, multi-day tour, but perhaps as I get older (mid-60's now), that might change. But for now, I am completely happy to plan my trips.

I love the high I get after the self- planned trip, the "I did it" blast of emotions. We returned a week ago from Belgium and the Netherlands. I'm still floating. ( Trip Report is coming....)

I know I spent more than two weeks of hours planning our two week trip. My husband knew which countries we were going to- that's about it. He also knows he has no right to complain, if he doesn't contribute input. The guide books and the itinerary had been spread out over the dining room table for weeks, so there was opportunity.

On a past Germany trip, as we were leaving Regensburg, my husband said he was getting tired of medieval towns. Where are we going next, he asked? Three days in Rothenburg, I replied. He made the best of it and actually enjoyed himself there.

For the recent Netherlands - Belgium trip, all he could complain about was the rain, for which I took no responsibility. And the only activities we actually missed out on were a few bike rides. Success!

I must say, the more trips that are in the rear view mirror, the more likely I am to travel independently. But even on the five guided tours that I have taken, I still did huge amounts of planning. It is just who I am. I do have more than a tad bit of "travel anxiety" and I compensate for that by being "over" prepared. It is just who I am. I have traveled a bunch of different ways: cruises, driving from Ohio to western states, beach vacations, cabin in the woods vacations, guided tours to Europe, independent trips to Europe and a hybrid trip to Iceland (travel company assisted, but independent on the ground). Each and every trip was uber planned. On a driving trip out west, I even calculated roughly where we would be when we needed to get gas. (I know, crazy!)

I have been watching you tube videos of people traveling in Japan. One guy didn't know what the pieces of paper tied up at a temple were and another guy didn't know what the brown stuff in the middle of his daifuku was. That is not my style!

So, no matter what type of trip I take, I will do too much research and plan too much.

But, it works out well that I travel with someone the exact opposite. His stress comes from too many options and too much information. He rides along on the back of my endless planning and we both have the best time!

But even on the five guided tours that I have taken, I still did huge
amounts of planning. It is just who I am.

I was going to write something similar. I've only been on one tour but we still spent months planning and researching. As has been said by others, the planning and anticipation is part of the fun. For us planning not only includes the research of what to see and how to get there, but reading fiction or watching movies filmed in locations we'll see. On recommendation from this Forum, I just finished Book 1 of the Bruno, Chief of Police series and not only did I enjoy it immensely but it gave me insight into the cultural identity of the region for another avenue of exploration while I'm there.

Vandabrud - "On a driving trip out west, I even calculated roughly where we would be when we needed to get gas. (I know, crazy!)"

Not at all!! I've done the same - some of those routes through the plains and West are sparsely populated and quite lonely!!!

I'm with you on the fun of planning and learning about what I am going to see including studying Shinto and other Asian religions, art, and symbols. Some of the fun of travel is seeing objects I've learned about in situ - and finding new discoveries that I wasn't prepared for by self-study.

If honest, I have to admit that the daily grind of solo travel in an unfamiliar area sometimes has me wondering, "Why do I do this to myself?" It's the transportation/transit - new city routes, different methods of paying for public transport, my lack of good direction sense, trying to follow that Apple map blue dot and going in circles - that begins to get me down despite significant up front preparation. I'm not interested yet in a fully escorted multi-day tour, but perhaps those days are coming.

I consider that a trip has three roughly equal parts: (1) planning, (2) the actual trip, and (3) the afterglow of editing pictures and assembling books. I enjoy all three.

Even if I am on a tour, I do a lot of planning and research. The main difference on a tour is that I don't have to worry about hotel and transportation logistics. What might I want to explore during free time? What is the local food like and where do I find it? Would it be worthwhile to arrange a pre or post-trip extension? I familiarize myself with maps of the places I will visit. I read about the history and culture, and I almost always learn at least some of the local language(s). (Confession: when I went to Egypt, Arabic stumped me. I learned to speak a bit, but I can't read a darned thing.)

To Hank's original question, I think it would be hard to find a travel agent who was experienced enough in travel in the specific area of interest that could plan a trip that wasn't based on general info they read on the computer. People get referred to the basic big bus tour companies, or booked into standard US business class hotels. It would be hard to find someone with the knowledge and experience of European rail travel that we see here on this forum. Travel advisors with more knowledge and skill would of course need to be paid more for that service. So at some level of comfort and expectations, you have to research and plan yourself if you want more out of a trip. Some people dont.

I have only used travel agents when booking for groups. Oh, and my husband used one for our pretty intense honeymoon to Africa, but the trip was quite involved and the planning energy was going towards the wedding.

We always plan our trips ourselves, but we also use the term "plan" loosely. Flights and accommodations are booked, and if needed, rental cars. Maybe some hard-to-get excursions or bookings. But we are pretty relaxed, experienced travelers.

We like the sense of discovery--both in the planning and the execution.

On the first European trip I planned, a friend commented that I should tip the travel agent who planned it.
I told her it was me.

Anyway, one of the things I like about planning my own is finding out all the places I can see and things I can do in the areas I visit.
When people ask me about my vacation plans, I can not only tell them I'm going to Italy, but that I'm looking forward to Ravenna and the mosaics there that date to the early 5th Century... or I'm going to England and excited about my side trip north from London to see York and York Minster and spending a few days in the seaside town of Whitby.
They ask how I find out about these things. I tell them that's part of the planning.
Some places I even resort to using google maps to "walk around town" using the little yellow person in street view.
When I visited Assisi, it seemed like I had been there before because I had "walked" certain streets and piazzas so many times on my computer.
It's all in the self-planning.

As Dad and I get older ( now 91 and 67), we are enjoying organized tours more. We do our own planning of the pre tour and aftertour days in terms of what we want to see and do. Am relieved to let others choose the hotels etc.

I love planning our trips myself. I get to know more about an area, do enough research that I know our lodging will be a good fit for us, and can filter out what sights we want to see vs what someone else thinks we should see. Planning for me is a lot of fun, and I cannot imagine leaving that to someone else. Also, if anything goes wrong, I only have myself to blame;)

We took our first European vacation as a family in 2022; I did most of the planning with input from the family and I enjoyed doing it. Since our “kids” are grown (22-24) now my husband and I returned to Europe last year and are going again later this year. Both of us are doing the planning.
I was astounded after we returned from our first trip in 2022 at the number of friends that were amazed that we had put together a European trip ourselves. Some of our close friends were intrigued and have indicated an interest of traveling with us in the future — (another topic maybe for later), but so many of our friends just could not comprehend traveling to a foreign country on their own and planning it themselves. Many said their major concern is fear of being in foreign country. Our philosophy is that being pleasant, attempting the language, using google translate as needed, be aware of your surroundings covers most of it…
There is an appeal to traveling with a tour, we just aren’t there yet and we spend a lot days “unscheduled” just wandering. I do think you know more about what you are going to do and see on a trip you have planned yourself.

It's a good thing that my husband and I love to plan our own trips because it would be absurd to try to tell a travel agent or tour operator the kind of things we like to see and do for our 5-week trips to Italy. Just two examples. Me: "Well, I really like to see third-rate early Renaissance art, preferably still in a church." Husband: "I want to go on a truffle hunt, but only if the dog is the same breed as our dog." There is a dozen or so things like this. Yeah, we would drive someone else crazy.

When I travel with my still working friend, we go on tours because I don't want to be responsible for her vacation.

Otherwise, I prefer to plan my own trips, because I do want to be responsible for my own vacation.

In the past , ie the 1970s to the mid-1990s, I used travel agents here in SF and in Germany. In Germany during the cold war days the travel agents were mainly in Hannover. From the late 1990s on, the Mrs. and I did the planning or she did that alone, or I did that alone, depending on where in Europe.

Could I see myself using the services of a travel agent nowadays? Only in Germany for river cruises, eg, that going through the Kiel Canal and in Berlin for a river cruise on the Oder, and traveling on the ferries on the Baltic.

Taking a break right now in Alberobello, Italy with a happy stomach & sore buns (bike seat). I just finished a wonderful meal after a 2-hr solo ebike ride in the countryside for gorgeous photos and overall enjoyment! And, I am sitting on my bed in my charming little trullo for an overnight looking up at the conical ceiling. I planned to explore the trulli neighborhoods this evening & tomorrow morning before breakfast when the day tourists are gone & it’s peaceful.

Yes, let me plan my trips! : )

When I travel with my still working friend, we go on tours because I
don't want to be responsible for her vacation.

I starting to understand that. We're meeting friends in Portugal in September and I'm already feeling the stress of having to share decision making with others. I'm not a fan of compromise when I'm spending a bundle on a trip, but my wife says I must play well with others.

Jean sounds awesome, enjoy!

I’ve been planning trips since 1964 when I planned the family trip to Hawaii. Currently planning Paris/Italy trip with wife, son and DIL. i enjoy the planning, especially with the ease of the internet. When my sister was a travel agent in the ‘70s I would get some help from her for some hotels and flights.

My one trip to Japan was with a tour - the only one I could find that spent all the time ( 2 weeks ) in Japan. I don’t know if I would self plan one there even though I am confident that I can get around on my own - I left the group twice for day trips on my own. Perhaps in 2-3 years, but I think it will be on a cruise.