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.