Different strokes for different folks. Never a truer word spoke. Especially when talking about holiday tours and packages. Yes, they may comprise the two most popular forms of travelling seen today, but which ones is cooler (or, for the better word, “more appropriate”) for you?
DontFlyGo has a little delve into the world of consumer travel and pits package holiday tours against overland tours in a duel to the death.
Package Holiday Tours
Package holidays are a popular way of enjoying a holiday that thousands of people splash the cash on every year. Usually arranged by a travel agency, these types of trips usually have to comprise of more than two travel components.
According to 1992 Package Travel Regulations, a package deal should cover at least two out of three elements of a holiday (being transport and accommodation in most cases). These days it’s not uncommon to see most travel companies offering a package deal rather than selling individual contents of a tour as it seems beneficial for both parties of the transaction. In this way buyers can know first-hand what features are included in their break and also see the total cost of it before heading out.
Benefits: By discussing your itinerary and the total cost of your holiday before beginning your trip you can look forward to a stress free vacation and make the most out of it. Settling over a package deal alone saves you a lot of trouble of having to thoroughly plan your trip and negotiate with various concerning parties regarding your accommodation, entertainment and other activities. A plus if ever we’ve seen one!
Disadvantages: Getting a package deal causes you to miss out on those spontaneous activities that make a trip memorable. You have to stick with the tight schedule of your stay making it look less like a vacation and more like a paid business trip. Package deals do not favor personal preferences or have much flexibility either!
Overland Holiday Tours
Overland tours might include hopping buses, trains or trucks along with other vehicles to get to know a destination up close and personal. An engaging way to travel for tourists wishing to enhance their travel experience, overland tours give that feeling of being a true vagabond.
Benefits: As they are completely based on road travel, people get a more direct interaction with the environment, place, people and culture of a new destination, embracing that true traveler spirit. Reducing a carbon footprint in comparison to that package holiday staple of the airplane, overland tours can also be seen as a more eco-friendly way to travel.
Disadvantages: People who might find long road trips uncomfortable might find it an overland tour a nightmare. With no certainty over how smooth a trip is going to be – and with the added risk of unexpected breakdowns and environmental hazards along the way – a package holiday definitely looks that much more luxurious.
Making a comparison between travel options is always going to be a difficult task. Where package deals ensure you a hassle free and comfortable vacation, they can also be quite rigid and costly. For that reason alone, and the fact we’re an overland travel site, we pip for overland tours every time.
Not only do they give you a more detailed and enhanced travel experience but they also make for a cheaper more shoestring one as well!