You’ve made a great first step by booking a private guide at your destination. You will certainly have a better experience and learn more than if you explored on your own. Here are five tips to make sure you get the most out of your experience.
Many visitors arrive by bus and just take pictures, but we had the benefit of a driver-guide who told us the current theories and pointed out key details both in and around the henge.
- Make sure you know which admission fees have been paid in advance, and which you are expected to pay for on arrival. Also check if you need to pay in cash, and try to have exact change if possible. Sometimes the guide has to go to a special window to purchase tickets, and that makes it faster and easier. You will also need to have cash for gratuities. Research the appropriate amount for drivers, guides, and driver/guides for your destination.
A private guide is a must at a very large site with minimal signage like Pompeii.
- Trust the guide to plan your time well. Often websites or brochures provide little description of of a private tour, because it’s customized to the client. Tell them in advance any special interests you have, or “must see’s,” but don’t instruct them too much on what you want to do and see. The point of hiring a private guide is to have their expertise and show you things the other tourists miss. Otherwise, you might as well just rent the headsets and follow around the rest of the crowds!
People must have wondered why our guide at the Tower of London was pointing out the large grassy area, while they were all crowding around one sign aross the walkway wearing their headsets.
If traveling with children, it is helpful to let the guide know at the time of booking their particular interests, and anything they have studied in school that may be relate to the destination.
Our guide talks about the Sistine Chapel, and points out key details to look for when inside, since we are not allowed to speak in there. It was nice to get some fresh air away from the crowds, too!
- Let your guide know what you need to make your experience more comfortable. Tell him/her if you need to walk at a slower pace, you missed or didn’t understand something they said, you need some water, you need to sit and rest. (Any serious mobility limitations should be disclosed before you book.) It’s your tour, and they want to make sure you are enjoying it.
When biking in Thailand, you can go at your pace, not the pace of the slowest person in a group tour. And stop where & when you want.
- Look for clues that you might be running behind, or the guide seems concerned or is trying to speed things up. Due to cultural differences, some guides might make subtle hints vs saying outright that you are behind schedule. In some cases, especially excursions where there are going to be several stops, they may have the pace scheduled to the minute, and you don’t want to miss something by dawdling early on. When you stop for a meal or in a gift shop, ask how much time you have before you order appetizers, an extra round etc.
We wrapped up souvenir shopping quickly in Stonehenge because our guide wanted to take us to a lesser known archeological site. We pulled off into a small unmarked parking area, and took a short hike up a hill, to find we had the place all to ourselves.
- Speaking of meals, invite your guide to be your guest if you stop to eat. If they decline, do not push them, as they may want some time alone, or need to tend to personal business. Also offer to treat them if you get drinks, ice cream, or other snacks along the way.
Our Tuscany tour included lunch at a winery with the tour guide, prepared by the winery owner’s mother-in-law! The main course was a ragu made from wild boar on the property. We gobbled it down too quickly to take a picture.
I have connections with some of the best guides around the world, who offer everything from short city orientation tours, to highly customized special interest tours, to exclusive behind the scenes experiences. To make your next trip the best it can be, send an email to suzette@suzettemacktravel.com.
I book my clients with a fantastic driver/guide on the Amalfi coast! (Do you really want to be on a bus or drive yourself?)
