mytravelbugbite

We traveled India with Bohemian tours after finding a deal on Groupon. Everyone else we met there also booked it this way. I could find relatively few reviews about the tour company so didn’t really know what to expect especially with this being my first experience of a fully guided tour.

On reflection, and despite my trepidation prior to travelling, the tour was a mostly positive experience. There were a few drawbacks to this way of traveling but they were not so large I did not enjoy myself.

One of my biggest issues is that I relish the planning of a trip. Mapping out costs, researching the best places to visit or stay at, getting tips from other people’s blogs- these are all things that excite me as much as the holiday itself so having that taken away from me was a little frustrating. On the positive side though, we did see places that I may not have found if left to my own devices (Kubhulgarh Fort for example).

Having to go at the groups pace was also not ideal. We were either rushing through places or hanging around waiting for other people to catch up.

Being such a large group is something that really frightened me. I’m the sort of person who scoffs at tourists following their guide around like sheep normally, and now this was me. It made me feel quite uncomfortable at times. However, it is a good way to meet people, and as an introvert that isn’t always the easiest. It also worked very well for us due to our own travel group- myself, Fraser and his mum. It allowed us to spend time together without Fraser having to feel like he was leaving one of us out, we could just go and spend time with other people in the group, and we were lucky as they were all very nice.

Being on a group tour definitely helps with the travel between places and getting into monuments, not to mention you don’t get completely lost when someone is showing you round.

A personal benefit also was that I had been admitted to hospital a week before flying to India, it was touch or go as to whether I’d make it there at all. Having the tour, and especially the guides, gave me a safety net in case it had all gone wrong whilst I was out there.

In conclusion, I would consider taking a fully guided tour again (although not for every trip). I think they work well if you are going away to a completely new area with a different culture, or if going away with more people than just a couple. I would recommend Bohemian Tours- Holi Tour to anyone as we had such a great time and will take away many memories for life.