We previously wrote about our number one tip before booking a tour: call the tour operator. This follow up gives you five great questions to ask on that phone call.
- How many years have you been in business? I am not one to say you should not travel with a company that has not been in business five or more years. But you at least should ask follow up questions if the company is new to be more certain your money is not going to disappear.
- Have you run a tour in this location before? Let’s say you are interested in a biking tour in Italy. It would be great to know whether the company has run the tour before or whether it is the first time. Again, a first-time tour does not rule it out. In fact, sometimes it can be more fun. But if you are one to avoid all surprises, I’d suggest picking a tour location the company has run before.
- Who are the guides on this tour? Honestly, most guides for most adventure travel companies are great people. But it is a world of difference to hear “Our local guide Giovanni will be guiding this tour” or “Our company owner Allan is guiding this tour” versus “Our newest guide John will be taking care of you”.
- Who else has already booked the tour? This is a great question as tour groups can vary considerably. One group might have all couples and the next year the same tour might have all singles. Don’t expect everyone to be just like you but you also don’t want to be the fish out of water in the group. In fact, if you are flexible in your interests, you can ask a tour company to recommend a tour for you based on group demographics.
- What ability level do I need to be to do this tour? This is the ultimate question and is another way of asking what many of you really want to know: Am I good enough to do this tour? But it is also true some of our gung ho active travelers are actually looking to find tours that are more challenging. It is crucial to get on the right tour so you feel neither pushed nor slowed down.
Interested in one of our tours? Leave a message on this post and I’ll contact you to set up a time for a phone call!