Tips for Surviving a Fast Paced Tour
I recently gave you my reasons why you should do your first adventure to Europe with a travel company, and if you read it then you need to know how to survive it. Regardless of having these tips or not, it is an amazing experience. BUT I think it would’ve been smoother the first few days of the tour had I known these tips.
As I mentioned in that blog, it will be a memorable experience, but the lack of sleep and fast paced feel may leave you restless. Here are three tips to help you enjoy your trip even more:
Don't be late. If the tour guide says you are leaving at a certain time, you better get your ass out the door on time. They will humiliate you or even worse, leave you behind. Trust me. I saw this happen numerous times on our tour where people had to sing horrible songs to the whole bus and others that were left behind at hotels. Remember you can sleep on the bus or train. You don’t want to be left trying to figure out how to get to the next city to meet up with your tour group.
Sleep in comfort. Depending on your tour you will be commuting a lot, so bring what you need to be comfortable sleeping on a bus/train/plane. I would suggest a pillow (the blowup ones for around your neck are great and compact), an eye mask (so you can nap even when the sun is out), and a blanket (if it is a hot country you are in, you best believe the air conditioning will be turned on).
Ask your guide questions. They literally spend months learning everything they can about the cities/countries you will be visiting. They will be able to answer almost all your questions and help you map out your days activities for your “free time”. They will know if it's possible to see everything on your list or not, and they will even show you things you that are better than what you found on Pinterest.
