Why You Should Consider a Guided Tour
Last month, our family of four traveled to Costa Rica with Adventures by Disney. Adventures by Disney provides premium guided group vacations tailored for families. Truthfully, I never thought I’d ever take a fully guided vacation. I’ve always prided myself in being an independent traveler, so I entered into it with some reservations. I’m here to tell you that there are no reservations to be had. It was absolutely, positively the best vacation we’ve taken as a family.
In this post I’ll tell you why we chose Costa Rica and why
we decided to travel with Adventures by Disney.
In the following posts, I’ll do a more traditional trip report so you
can see what a trip to Costa Rica with Adventures by Disney looks like and all the little extras that made the trip so special.
So…why Costa Rica? Our
youngest, Clara, turned five this past summer and our oldest, Easton, is
seven. Chris and I figured it was time to get their first passport stamp. We discussed several destinations and ultimately landed on Costa Rica for
several reasons: cost, short duration of the flights, minimal time change, the
general ease of traveling in the country, and Costa Rica is a beautiful country
with amazing food and wonderful people.
We then had to decide between an independent trip or guided
family tour. Costa Rica is relatively
small, about the size of the state of West Virginia, but it has a lot of
biodiversity. It is also a mountainous
country with various micro-climates and we wanted to see as much as we feasibly
could in one week. This meant that we would
be on the move and needed a way to get from point A to point B. The major tourist areas of Costa Rica are
relatively easy to navigate, which makes independent travel popular. I wouldn't recommend driving in San Jose
proper, but the airport is outside the city and you can easily rent a car and
drive to the locations we visited, as well as other parts of the country. While the official language is Spanish, many
Costa Ricans in the tourist-heavy areas speak English. I am fluent in Spanish, so if we found
ourselves off the beaten path, we could still communicate. I am also a planner to the max, so I don’t
mind taking the time to research and plan the small details of a trip. See here if you’re interested in a custom itinerary for Costa Rica.
While we felt confident we could do an independent trip, a
few things had us considering an escorted adventure. For one, we would be traveling during the
rainy season. We knew we wanted to raft
and zip line. Depending on the weather
conditions, either of these could be cancelled with little notice. When you travel with a reputable tour
company, the try to reschedule your activities in the
event of a cancellation. It’s not
uncommon for whitewater rafting during the rainy season to be cancelled because of the water
levels. If we booked on our own, we
probably wouldn’t be able to rework our itinerary on short notice. Travel during the rainy season also gave me a
little bit of pause about driving on our own.
It rains almost daily during the rainy season. It doesn’t rain for very long, but when it
does, it comes down very suddenly in an epic downpour. My risk tolerance when I’m traveling with my
kids is significantly lower than when I am on my own.
The most important factor in choosing a guided tour is that
we wanted the kids to learn something on this trip. I didn’t want our trip to only be sightseeing
and adventure. I know from experience
that my kids learn better when someone else is teaching them. I knew that an experienced guide would be
able to engage the kids in fun ways that I couldn’t. That settled it. Now we had to find the right tour company for
the trip.
Since getting into the travel business, I have had the
opportunity to meet with representatives from various tour companies that have itineraries
all over the world that cater specifically to families. Dream Vacations has excellent relationships
with some of the best tour companies in the business and I knew I could trust
any of our preferred suppliers.
Ultimately, we chose Adventures by Disney. Our decision to go with Adventures by Disney
was itinerary driven. With our kids
being so young, we needed adventure-lite and we didn’t want to be
over-scheduled. Most Adventures by Disney
itineraries are busy and this one was no exception. I love action-packed vacations, but I know my
kids can’t handle as much as I can. This
particular itinerary wasn’t as busy in comparison to some of the other
itineraries I looked at from other touring companies and our kids met the
minimum age for all the activities.
So we put down our deposit and anxiously awaited an entire
year before we embarked on our adventure.
The trip was worth the wait. It
was fantastic and we would absolutely travel with Adventures by Disney again. However, there are other great touring
companies that offer a comparable experience at similar pricing. There are also touring companies that price
higher and offer a higher level of service and more luxurious accommodations,
if it is in your budget. If you feel like Adventures by Disney is out of
budget, don’t give up on family touring.
There are many wonderful options that don’t come with the Disney price
tag. Location is also a consideration. While Adventures by Disney has over thirty
different trips to choose from on over six different continents, they may not
offer your bucket list trip.
If you are considering taking a guided tour, contact me to
go over your options. You don’t pay any
more to book through a travel advisor.
You get expert recommendations and booking help for free! So what are
you waiting for? Where do you want to go
on your next adventure?
Amanda is the owner of Travel Adventures by Amanda, powered by Dream Vacations, specializing in cruises, tours, treks, and custom independent travel adventures for individuals, families, and groups. For help planning your next adventure, contact Amanda at (901) 901-800-6091 or abiggerstaff@dreamvacations.com.
Amanda is the owner of Travel Adventures by Amanda, powered by Dream Vacations, specializing in cruises, tours, treks, and custom independent travel adventures for individuals, families, and groups. For help planning your next adventure, contact Amanda at (901) 901-800-6091 or abiggerstaff@dreamvacations.com.
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