We used to avail of the guided tour when we are abroad. But after computing the expenses, we realized that we have to learn how to roam by ourselves because a guided tour is exorbitant. Understandably a guided tour has an overhead expense that is charged to the account of the tourist.
I have never had a tour guide before, when traveling we always try to plan ahead of time where we want to go. To prepare we look up the destination where we want to go then follow the directions. We have gotten lost but turns out to be fun because that way we find new places we didn't know about.
I think it's understandable that a guided tour is expensive, after all we have a specialist with us showing us the best points of interest with detailed explanations. At the same time this is not to everyone, for several reasons. The obvious one is the price, it's more expensive and on top of that some people might prefer to be alone with their friends and family and not with a guide. Usually I prefer to travel without a guide and save my money for other activities.
I go for guided tours while in unknown areas and the deal is good or better still provided as part of the tour by operator. However I prefer them on day to day day basis if I am engaging them personally. I have visited couple of National Parks by Safari Services which are safe and and provide a better view of rare animals. I also remember the guided tour in Kashmir on daily basis provided by State Government on very reasonable rates.
Yes, if the rates are reasonable we can go for it for a particular tour, no question that guides can add a lot of value to some visits, but in some cases I can do well without them and I prefer to do that and be able to afford other things. It's all a matter of how much we can afford and what our priorities are for that trip.
Guided tours are quite expensive. When in Europe, make sure to check Free Tours (just google free tour *city you're interested in*). It's a tip-based city walking tour with locals. I already took these tours in Prague, Krakow and St. Petersburg and I can definitely recommend it!
A few times that we have been on holiday we have priced up the guided tours and also found that they aren't worth it. That isn't to say that they aren't any good, I'm sure they are but really you can do the exact same thing yourself with the help of a guide book for half the price. You aren't going to get to see and hear about everything like you would on a guided tour obviously but if you're concerned about saving money when going on holiday then the guided tour is certainly a luxury that you can afford to do without as some of the bigger tours can be quite expensive.
I agree that most guided tours are not worth what they charge but there are some destinations where you can't do without them. Like in Jungle safari they never allow you to go without guards and guides besides there are historical places with ancient stories which you might visit without guides but you fail to know the historical values of those places.
There are certain places that are worth having a tour guide for. However, things like museums and temples etc can be self toured. It is better to bargain or pre book in case of offers.
I agree that if you are given the option and you do want to go on a pre-guided tour, booking in advance is the better option than booking on the day. I found in the past that a lot of these tours rely on people just turning up and paying the full price rather than getting a cheaper pre-booked rate, but of course the main problem with that is that you may not know if and when you want to go on a tour in the first place and once you've booked, then you feel obliged to go whether you want to or not.
