Prefacing this to acknowledge everyone is different and wants different things from their travel experiences. However, having done 3 RS tours with independent travel tacked on the front and back ends (most recently in 2024) and having just completed an independent 20 day trip, I tried to compare our very specific experiences to see whether there was a clear winner. I was surprised by how different factors favored each approach and am curious about experiences of others who have traveled both ways recently.
Transportation: we chose to travel by train, supplementing this with day tours or private guides/drivers to out of the way locations. Winner: RS tours. Huge time savings with door to door transportation. No extra time necessary to walk to and from train stations, wait for trains, etc.
Hotels: We chose small centrally located hotels or B&Bs as well as one larger centrally located hotel. Mid range places with excellent reviews. Winner: independent travel. Our rooms were consistently updated, roomy, extremely comfortable. We experienced little extras like a plate of fresh fruit and pastries waiting for us. Breakfasts were excellent, as were the staff. These hotels all met the “small centrally located hotel” criteria for RS hotels, but were hands down nicer, more comfortable and welcoming environments in which to relax with a comfy robe and cup of tea at the end of a busy day of sightseeing.
Guides: we hired private guides for city walking tours and several excursions, and took a few small group day tours. Winner (by a nose): RS tours. I’ve found the local guides on RS tours to be consistently excellent. All of our private guides were excellent, but I found 2 of the small group tours somewhat disappointing.
Cost: Winner: independent travel. For about the same price as a RS tour we stayed in nicer hotels and ate in nicer restaurants. Our costs would have been much lower than an RS tour had we chosen to stay and eat in places comparable to the tours.
Flexibility: This is a tough one and kind of a draw. We chose the specific locations and activities we wanted, and if we were at a museum or on a hike we didn’t have to leave sooner than we’d have liked to in order to stay with the group. We mixed in 3 and 4 night stays with a few 2 night stays and a 4 night stay mid trip gave us more time to relax. However. RS Tours are more able to pivot to accommodate bad weather or crowds (sometimes changing the order of the daily schedule or easily substituting an alternative activity). We were forced to book excursions in advance, so when we had a bad weather day we couldn’t shift those excursions to a different day. On the whole we were more flexible but there were a couple of times we were stuck (and probably would have been less so had we chosen to drive rather than travel by train).
Food: independent travel. We had a number of excellent meals and didn’t pay more overall than we would have on an RS tour. We’ve often had very good meals on tour, but we had excellent meals on our own.
Overall experience in a group vs traveling as a couple: A conclusive “it depends.” We’ve had amazing RS tour mates who enhanced our trip — several of whom have become great friends we see as often as we are able. However our 3rd tour group never gelled, and spending so much time with them probably detracted a tiny bit from our overall experience. On 2 of our 3 RS tours one person got sick and then many more came down with the same thing— so much time spent together on the bus and at meals. Traveling independently, even with train travel, we both stayed healthy throughout the trip and after. Luck of the draw?
What’s your experience comparing recent travel?