Signing up for a touring vacation seems counterintuitive to the way most bargain hunters travel. You must stay in planned accommodation rather than searching for the best deal, and eat the same dishes as your fellow travelers rather than stumbling across out-of-the-way eateries. In short, most often you’ll find yourself sticking to the well-worn tourist path rather than exploring the beaten track. But touring vacations shouldn’t be dismissed entirely. In fact, if you want to explore the wilds of Australia’s Outback, remote corners of India, and the dangerous streets of the Middle East, tours are the only way to go.
Such tours showcase the best that these rarely explored areas have to offer. Guides are knowledgeable about the regions they visit, and their expertise will help you learn much more about your surrounds than the fear-mongering media reports.
Safety is perhaps the most important reason to sign up for one of these tours. All too often we hear stories of travelers who set off independently exploring, only to run into trouble. The guides know how to handle their regions’ hostile environments and locals. Tours don’t just offer safety in numbers; they also offer safety in experience.
Joining a tour is also a great way to meet like-minded travelers from around the globe. These tours typically attract tourists of all ages, and lifelong friendships are often forged.
Tours also make traveling much easier. There’s no waiting for public transport, no confusion about navigating from one place to the next, not even the stress of searching for parking spaces. Of course you sacrifice some flexibility for that ease, but if you want to see spots not serviced by traditional transport this drawback seems reasonable.
While you can pay through the nose for some tours, many companies target frugal travelers. Their tours will generally see you pitching tents or bunkering down in hostels rather than checking into five-star resorts. Meals are often not included in the tour price, as it is in more luxurious tours, although in some cases members contribute to the group’s food kitty. The flights to remote parts of the world can be pricy, but at least you’ll know there’s little more to spend once you arrive.
Companies like Dragoman Adventure Travel and Absolute Africa offer overland tours in their rugged rigs. These vehicles can happily travel off established roads and explore the paths less traveled. These aren’t like seniors’ cushy coach tours. You become part of the crew, pitching in to set up camp, collect firewood, shop for food, and cook it for your fellow travelers. And with the companies offering tours that last just a few weeks or several months, there’s bound to be one to suit your budget.
Such tours offer their charges a wealth of experiences. Activities are often physical. Why see the region as it passes your vehicle when you could discover it on horseback, on foot, or from a river raft? When you need to catch your breath you might find yourself taking cooking lessons from friendly residents, exploring a bushman village, or interacting with the local school students. These experiences are rarely afforded to the independent traveler and designed to create memories to last a lifetime.
While tours of holiday hotspots are often overpriced and uninspiring, group journeys can offer frugal travelers some unexpected pleasures. So why not see a little more of the world on an organized tour?
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If you'd like to connect with the locals, consider traveling through Uttarakhand's Kumaon and Garhwal regions are worth a visit. The area has small hill towns with marketplaces where you can by textiles and woolen items carefully crafted by neighborhood women, as well as homemade pickles and chutney.
If locals of a different kind pique your interest, you'll find them at India's remote parks. Some of the best include the Ranthambore Wildlife Sanctuary, Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, and Sariska and Jim Corbett National Parks.
Many travelers join a camel safari tour to explore these inaccessible areas, but a jeep is much quicker, and more comfortable. Of course you'll pay for those advantages, and the experience isn’t quite as unique, but if you have the cash to spare this is the better option for an extended journey.
The Indian landscape is unforgiving, so it's not advisable to go it alone. You could join an organized convoy if you enjoy traveling in a group, or hire a guide if you prefer a more intimate travel experience. You may be a confident driver, but the guides know the safest traveling routes and essential travel items. Hiring a guide allows you to linger a little longer at places of interest and skip through the boring bits without feeling tied to the schedule of a group, but you'll lose out on the social aspect.
Whatever style of jeep safari takes your fancy, a local tour company such as 
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The tours are a little expensive, with the short three-day option costing $600 AUS. However, with expeditions restricted to a maximum of 12 people, and five on the photography expeditions, you are guaranteed to receive a quality experience. This price also includes airport transfers, all meals and accommodation at the Hilltop Hotel and Blue Lagoon Resort.
WhaleSwim Adventures conducts tours between late July and the middle of October.
