The Pros and Cons of Group Trips vs Solo Travel

Group Travel Pros – Convenience, Accessibility, and People

There are many reasons we love taking group tours when traveling.

The first, and perhaps most important reason is that it is convenient. Group tours (and some private tours, for that matter) are often on pre-made itineraries on fixed dates. It is mostly a one-stop-shop booking, with some optional excursions that can be added, which can really reduce the amount of planning you need overall.

Want to book that trip to Egypt and Jordan but don’t want to plan it out yourself and are flexible in where you go? There are group tours with existing itineraries that have you covered.

Second, they offer accessibility benefits, as some (but not necessarily all) group tours can explore parts of the world much more easily with a car/van/bus and a dedicated driver. This could be something as simple as a car being able to travel the same distance in a third of the time as a train, or that private vehicles can depart whenever they like- not at the mercy of local timetables. Or maybe there is no public transit to reach a certain location at all, and a car is the only option outright!

There are many remote parts of the world where having a vehicle can change the dynamic of a trip, and group travel most certainly broadens access to them in many respects.

Finally, there is the people element. When you go on a group tour, you are traveling with people, and I’ve made some lifelong friends on every single trip. In fact, my first trip abroad was on a group tour, primarily because I was not sure how I would feel about traveling solo. Being around people who are enjoying shared experiences can really enhance a trip at times and should not be overlooked.

• The above perks also apply to organized day tours as well. We love booking group day tours, particularly to visit nearby destinations that are not as easily accessible without a private vehicle.

Group Travel Cons – Price, Less Flexibility, and People

Of course, there are some downsides to group travel as well.

Up first, there is the price. Group trips, on average at least, typically cost a bit more per person than you would otherwise be paying for an equivalent solo trip. It is a bit of comparing apples-to-oranges here, we admit, as you are factoring the cost of a guide, driver, dedicated vehicle, perhaps premium experiences, etc. that you may not have when traveling on your own, but when it comes down to it, the cost for tours on a per-day basis typically comes in at a premium.

Then there is the flexibility concern. The itinerary is the itinerary. Short of a few optional extras being available for an additional fee, you’re getting on the bus when the itinerary says it’s time to go, you’re staying at the hotels the tour has selected, and you’re going to that experience (and leaving it) when the itinerary says it is time.

Now, many tours do bake in free time for you to do what you like, giving opportunities for more personal experiences within a structured itinerary. You may even be able to opt out of some structured tour details, insofar as you can make transportation work. But even on a high level, unless you’re going on a private, fully customized tour, group travel follows a premade itinerary and timetable that you agree to when you purchase it- not the other way around.

Finally, we return to the people element because it can be a negative as much as a positive. You may not like the people who are on your tour. There could even be one bad apple that spoils the bunch. I’ve been on group trips where I couldn’t stand other travelers, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it except bite my tongue and bide my time until the trip ended. That’s a very real risk, too!

• Many of the above points also apply to day tours as well; however, in being shorter, some of these downsides aren’t nearly as bad. If you have bothersome tour mates, you’re only forced to be with them for a few hours- not days or weeks.

Solo Travel Pros – Price, Flexibility, and Customization

You can probably look at the above pros and cons of group travel and see how we could flip most of them around and present them as arguments for (or, in the next section, against) solo travel. But let’s spell it out all the same!

Perhaps the three biggest perks for solo travel are all overlapping to some degree- you can control your itinerary and do what you want, when you want, and more than likely tailor it to the budget you have available.

Want to have three days in a destination instead of one? You can do that. Want an afternoon off where you just sit in a park and relax as opposed to rushing off to the next museum? You can do whatever you please! Want to save money in hostels and then ball out at a nice resort at the end? Yep, you can do that. Want to completely change your plans, cancel your next booking, hop on a train, and head in a completely different direction? You could do that in most cases, too!

Now, solo travel does run the risk of being overly planned and just as structured as a guided tour, albeit without the guide, but if that’s what you want, so be it- that’s the point!

Solo Travel Cons – Planning, Accessibility, and Lack of People (at Times)

That said, solo travel does have some downsides that you also likely could pick out from the group tour commentary above.

First, and perhaps most important, solo travel can be difficult. You typically have to plan travel around public transit timetables, secure admission tickets and experiences yourself (which could sell out), and do all the legwork to make your trip a reality. It can be quite time-consuming to book a trip, in all honesty.

For some destinations, accessibility concerns come into play, too. Just like how a group tour can open up more parts of the world by having your own dedicated group vehicle, if you cannot rent a personal vehicle yourself, you may find access to some locations just doesn’t make sense for your itinerary- be it for the time you have, travel logistics, or even tickets/permits being sold out!

Finally, solo travel can be lonely at times. Yes, odds are good there will be people around you most of the time, be it locals or other tourists. I’ve lost track of the number of friends I’ve made at hostels, hotels, bars, and restaurants that we ended up having a great time with here or there. But I also have a long list of experiences I had without anyone else as part of the moment, and at times that can feel like a bit of a downside (yes, even when traveling with a spouse)!

Are the perks and downsides of solo travel better than those of group travel? Well, it really depends, so to finish this one, let’s take a broader look at all the categories overall.

Which is Better? It Really Depends

Although we personally love solo travel, we wanted to write this article to showcase the very real pros and cons of solo vs. group travel. As you can tell from the breakouts above, both have perks and cons.

Are we against group travel after having a bad experience with people on a tour? No- that’s just a risk you take in traveling with strangers. I still have lifelong friends from other group trips that I never would’ve met had I gone solo. We also love group travel when we are short on time or to explore otherwise less accessible destinations on our own, too.

My group tour to Egypt and Jordan was a prime example of this because I had very limited time to travel (a short break between grad school semesters), and the tour’s structure let me travel at a pace I probably wouldn’t have been able to manage on my own. Elements like having a dedicated guide and driver on a fixed itinerary really do go a long way in certain circumstances. After a bit of research, it was a couple of clicks and the whole trip was booked, ready to go, and I went back to focusing on my studies.

Could I have done that trip on my own in the same amount of time? Absolutely not. In fact, on a DIY solo trip, I probably would’ve needed an extra week just to hit all the stops, because dealing with public transit schedules, available bookings, and the extra exhaustion of doing it all yourself would’ve made for a significantly different experience at such a fast pace.

So while I do personally favor solo travel more often than not, there are many, many cases where group travel simply makes sense- the above are just a few that I’ve personally experienced over the years.

But it all comes down to your personal travel style, what you want to see, and what your biggest pain points are when booking. And, if you are perhaps flush with cash and don’t really like being around other people, there is one more travel style we didn’t mention at all- private tours with customizable itineraries exist too! (And, yes, we have done many of those when group tours didn’t make sense for our customization needs.)

Suffice it to say, there is a travel style for everyone, so determine what works best for your specific case and book that trip!

Looking to book a private group tour? We personally love Contiki (under 35), G Adventures, and Intrepid!

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