Why you should hire a tour guide on your next trip away

People travel for the experience, for the excitement and for the education. While the first two reasons are quite easy to achieve on your own, the latter sometimes requires assistance. 

This is where a tour guide can help. Local guides are experts in their field and you’ll be pressed to find someone who knows more information on their given topic.

Guides who work for local tour companies are often required to have a university degree in history or a related field, so you’re guaranteed to have someone who really knows what they’re talking about showing you around, rather than any old Joe Bloggs off the street.

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Of course there are times when you are quite capable of discovering a destination on your own. However, avid travellers will know there are definitely moments when a guide makes everything so much easier. 

Most travellers have been in a situation where they’ve arrived at a destination that is so rich with history and culture, but they lack the time they need to truly explore it. This is often the case during flight stopovers or when visiting ports on cruises, the limited amount of time you are allowed in these destinations is far from what you need to truly investigate the entire area.

So what do you do? Hire a tour guide of course. You tell them how long you have, what your interests are and what you really want to see. They’ll take care of the rest. 

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If you choose the right personal guide, they should have no problem meeting you wherever you are. This works perfectly for cruise stopovers as there is no time wasted trying to locate your meeting spot.

When you meet with the tour guide they’ll make sure you only see the things you really want to see. No pottering around the shops or madly searching for the one tourist attraction everyone else is heading for. Instead you are taken directly where you want to be without all the fuss.

Speaking of tourist attractions, if you want to hit all of the big tourists spots around the city – tour guides are also the best way to get around this. They not only know the best times to visit popular spots, but they can also organise cheaper tickets and work around issues like construction or closed areas. 

Along with their wealth of knowledge, tour guides seem to have back stage passes to almost every major tourist attraction. They also take care of all the nitty gritty like booking tickets, avoiding peak hours and reserving great seats. 

If you’re not already convinced, remember they also do the driving, speak the language and know how to keep you safe. If you’re someone who prefers to sit back and enjoy your holiday handed to you on a silver platter then go ahead and book a few guides!