What is cheaper tour or independent travel. Independent vacation or package? "Savages" and gentlemen

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Which is better: an organized tour or independent travel? Sooner or later, everyone asks this question. Some people prefer organized tours, others like independent trips. I'll tell you about my own experience. I had to go both on independent trips and organized through travel agencies. And in fact, and in another case, there were pros and cons.

Pros and cons of an organized tour

The main advantage here, in my opinion, is the ease of travel arrangements. Collected everything Required documents, paid money to a travel agency - and after a while a voucher was issued, visas were issued (if a trip abroad), tickets were bought. You can go. However, this plus is covered by many possible cons.

Plane or train tickets can be bought at a very inconvenient time and, if there are several airports in the city, at the most inconvenient of them. Instead of a regular scheduled flight, you can get a charter flight, and then how lucky - sometimes it will be an old plane with very unfriendly flight attendants and a crowded cabin.

So, I live relatively close to the Moscow Sheremetyevo airport. And getting to Domodedovo or Vnukovo can be very problematic. Besides charter flights often fly out early in the morning, you have to leave the house late at night, not getting enough sleep. Insofar as public transport at this time he does not go, and leaving a personal car in the parking lot at the airport means paying extra money, you have to order a taxi or ask your family and friends for a lift.

Often in organized tours you can pay extra for a hotel, for more money you can get a worse room. Not to mention the fact that you can be provided with an inconvenient hotel in terms of location and service.

Another disadvantage can be your fellow travelers. Unfortunately, not all tourists behave politely, they are ready to listen carefully to the guide and not be late for the bus. So, when I went to Spain - in and, then on the way back I cursed everything: the passengers demanded a movie. Not only was the sound quite loud, but the level of the films was also low. Because of this, the impressions of the trip were somewhat blurred.

In addition, organized tours are often time limited. This is especially true for tours around Europe, when in a few days you visit several cities, or even countries. As a result, there is practically no time left for independent walks.

On the other hand, it may turn out that you are lucky with the hotel, and with the guide, and with fellow travelers. I fondly remember the trip this summer, everything was organized almost flawlessly.

If you choose last minute tours, then the cheapness of the trip may recoup all the possible disadvantages, which, however, may not be.

It is also necessary to keep in mind that there are places where you can only get in as part of an organized group and accompanied by a guide. For example, in National parks , some museums.

Pros and cons of independent travel

Independent travel offers much more freedom than organized tours. You yourself find tickets, hotels. Now, with the development of the Internet, it has become easy. I usually use a search engine Aviasales, through which you can pick up and book flights and hotels, rent a car.

The network has a huge amount of information on cities and countries, both on special travel sites and in travel blogs, various travel guides are sold in stores, and you can download them from the Internet to your tablet. Well, then whoever likes it: someone needs to plan the entire route in advance, someone prefers to navigate on the spot.

Perhaps, the only drawback(if we are talking about a trip abroad), obtaining a visa can become: sometimes queues line up at the embassies almost at night. However, recently this happens less and less often, many embassies and consulates organize special visa centers, where you can call in advance and sign up for certain time... There are also special services that do it on their own.

For some, in independent travel, knowing a poor knowledge of a foreign language may be an obstacle. However, if you approach this issue creatively, then the language barrier is completely surmountable.

♦ These tips can be used not only in China:

In general, it seems to me that with the development of the Internet, the proportion of independent travel is increasing. In most cases, they turn out to be, moreover, very budgetary and affordable for almost everyone.

I prefer solo travel unless the tour's convenience outweighs its likely disadvantages. However, the cost of the tour can often be cheaper than traveling on your own. I talked about this in the article.

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Where is it cheaper to go on a tour, and where is it to book a vacation yourself? On what dates can you get a ticket cheaper than a round-trip flight? And why are tours not mainstream for a long time?

It is very difficult to dissuade a person. If once we took a certain statement for the truth, then try to encroach on this fact with a portion of healthy argumentation. For example, if one day we decided that the independent selection of travel with booking air tickets and hotel rooms separately is much more profitable than buying tour, then everything - write it was gone. More precisely, our finances will be lost, which could be used more efficiently.

Since Russia owns only one sea shore on which you can warm yourself - the Black Sea, the time for swimming is limited to only three months. Only in July, August and September, and partly in June, the Black Sea warms up to a comfortable temperature for a good beach holiday. Yes, and our southern resorts not rubber and often “please” with unpredictable weather. Therefore, “our man” always seeks to warm up somewhere, preferably away from home. And certainly - for a reasonable price.

Package tours have been around and have been popular for many years, especially beach vacation... Regulated by the market economy, they have undergone many changes during their existence - in pricing policy, trends, the degree of reliability of tour operators. And during this time, they were overgrown with many myths. Here are a few of the most important ones to stop believing in if you want to get some rest.

Myth 1 (the most important!)

Tours are always more expensive than independent travel

In fact, the benefit of buying in one way or another - by a voucher or by self-booking - depends on the direction. If you want to go to Tunisia for "all inclusive", then naturally you better choose a full-fledged tour package. If you wish to visit wineries in French Provence, then it is better to organize such a trip yourself.

However, you should not limit the range of package tours only to Bulgaria, Greece and other sales leaders in the summer. Often on the tour you can very profitably fly to Spain, stay at sandy beach Costa del Maresme and visit Barcelona every day, which is half an hour's drive from the resort.

It happens that at the turn of the seasons or for a sudden promotion, you can buy a tour to Thailand - most often, for the most popular resorts- to Pattaya, Bangkok and Phuket island - cheaper than a flight. For example, you can fly to Phuket by Qatar Airlines with a change in Doha. Here, the advantage will be the quality of the airlines - comfortable seats, good food, TV, and a minus - flight up to 18 hours. In early June, the price of a flight with transfers costs 26,000 rubles, with a direct Aeroflot flight - 28,000 rubles (10 hours on the way), and you can buy the whole tour with a direct charter flight, 10 nights stay, transfer, insurance and breakfast at a hotel for 25,000 per person (based on double occupancy). An example is the 3-star Tuana M Narina Hotel in Patong.It is not even necessary to live in the chosen hotel - on the spot you can move to any other place (only for the transfer you will have to return to the hotel).

Myth 2

Tours are boring for seniors too

Any tour can always be customized for yourself. For example, go to Ayia Napa, rent a car and drive around the island. No rights? Sign up for any excursion or meet the locals, and they will arrange for you a tour of the territories that you cannot even imagine. And in the evening, have fun at discos, meet tourists from all over the world, practice English.

Pensioners sit in the hotel and go down to the beach. You can arrange any adventure for yourself, and no guide will limit you in this. In addition, the price of the tour in the overwhelming majority of cases is a really decisive factor. Even if the entire hotel is filled with oldies, this does not prevent you from getting out to adventure every day. And it doesn't matter what your friends think if you flew really cheap and safe.

Myth 3

No guarantees!

Many people believe that in the process of buying a tour and during the holiday itself, you go through many intermediaries, which means that no one is responsible if something goes wrong. In fact, everything is different.

For example, a travel agency that works with several tour operators on the same terms, although it is an intermediary, takes responsibility for organizing your vacation. You are guaranteed a visa, as there is an agreement with the consulates. If you have any problems at the airport, immediately contact the representatives of the tour operators on the spot and solve them. If you are late for your flight, help you find and buy the most cheap ticket on the next flight and contact the hotel with a delay warning. Moreover, if you are not satisfied with the hotel, you must be relocated to another hotel of a similar category. In independent travel agencies, he even helps to write a claim against the tour operator and demand a refund! To request assistance in organizing the service or compensation for losses, you can always contact your travel agent by direct phone or email.

However, there is always the possibility that the tour operator (not the travel agency) will go bankrupt, and then you will lose everything. To avoid such risks, contact only trusted tour operators that are registered in the public register of tour operators.

When buying a plane ticket and booking a hotel room, either the airline or the hotelier is directly responsible for each item. The hotel is unlikely to close, and airlines rarely go bankrupt. If a scheduled flight is canceled, you must be transferred to another flight or refunded for the ticket price. And the hotels are afraid negative reviews and do their best to make you happy with your vacation. In addition, they care very much about those customers who book rooms directly.

Why is it so cheap?

Often overlooked by tourists profitable tours because they don't believe they really are that cheap. Expect surcharges and other fees and don't even try to purchase this tour. Well, who will believe that after May holidays could you fly to Greece for 7 nights and half board for 18 thousand rubles for two for the whole tour? In fact, there is always a rational explanation for such cheapness.

Tour operators redeem tickets for regular and charter flights to popular destinations in advance, planning the entire season. That is, they have every right to significantly reduce ticket prices if they were not sold out before departure. There are no last minute deals on self-purchased scheduled flights. If the plane is not full, any seat will be sold at a pre-fixed price. But there may be airline stocks that need to be closely monitored.

In addition, tour operators often arrange promotions for certain destinations with discounts of up to 50-60% - when there is an urgent need to sell tours to this resort according to the internal plan of the tour guide. Typically, such a promotion lasts no more than 3 days - it is convenient to follow the offers on the social networks of the travel agency you trust, and do not miss the advantageous offer.

It is also always advantageous to travel immediately after the holidays - when Russian tourists return from vacation, and the resorts are empty, and the planes do not fill up. For example, towards the end of the January or May holidays. And also with a return date that coincides with the start of the holidays - for example, in the last week of April with a return on May 1.

As for the aforementioned Greece - the offer was so cheap (up to 70% discount!), Since the departure was planned in 5-7 days after the purchase. During this time, you would not have had time to apply for a visa. But if you already have a “Schengen”, you can always go to European resorts on very hot tickets - buying a tour a few days before the departure date.

There is also a system called “ Early booking”. With it, you can save up to 40% on buying a tour to a certain hotel (most often very popular). The main principle is the redemption of the tour or its partial payment with arrival during the peak period (summer or New Year), but always in advance - several months in advance. It is important for hoteliers to know how many tourists will check in to them, and it is convenient to get money as early as possible.

When traveling alone, it is always advantageous to redeem a plane ticket six months in advance, or rather, at least 29 weeks before the departure date. In addition, promotions are often arranged in European countries, especially if you are flying for only 2-3 nights. And there is no point in buying a tour.

So what are the pros and cons?

And a few more points for comparison and making the right decision for this summer:

Vacation tour

Fast, easy: no need to look for anything yourself

Permanent Russian-speaking support of your travel agent

Visa support

The ability to fly on hot deals

The tour includes everything you need: flight (choice of charter or regular), hotel accommodation, meals, transfer, insurance, support of a Russian-speaking guide

Individual support of a travel agent at the stage of tour selection - great experience, knowledge of hotels and tourist reviews, advise or dissuade

The tour operator can go broke and you will not be refunded

It is not profitable to buy a tour for unpopular destinations

Charter flights with poor meals and uncomfortable seats are often used

The travel agency is obliged to provide you free of chargevisa support... This service is required for self-registration of a visa. As a rule, documents for a tour - voucher, insurance and air tickets - are sent to the tourist a few days before departure. When applying for a visa, the travel agency advises you on what documents will be required to apply for a visa, and also send a full package of documents confirming that you have booked a tour.

Self-guided tours:

Absolute freedom in organizing your vacation is happiness for introverts!

If you plan your vacation in advance, you can buy plane tickets up to 29 weeks before departure for much cheaper (according to Skyscanner).

Independence from other group members (in transfer or on excursions)

Many airline and hotel websites are in English

There is no transfer and insurance

Good fluency required English language, sometimes not only English (for example, in China, English is not spoken at all most of population)

In total, it is always cheaper to buy a tour for popular destinations, especially a hot deal. And this cheapness often covers all the possible disadvantages of a package trip. And for some, even the search itself is already the beginning of a vacation adventure - many are even ready to overpay, but to organize their vacation completely independently! Remember all the pros and cons that we told you about in this article, and make the right decision! 😉

The share of Russians who independently organize their own tourist trips abroad, while it is small. According to various estimates, it is 10-13% of the tourist flow. Despite the growing market for self-travel, more hotel and ticket booking systems are emerging, competing more with each other than with package travel sellers. Adherents of an organized visiting tourism among Russians it is still much more. However, underestimate the segment's growth prospects independent travel not worth it. In order to stay afloat, many Russian travel companies will have to not only increase offline sales, but also offer a gentleman's set of "savage": hotel reservations, air tickets and excursion programs... The losers will have to leave.

"Savages" and gentlemen

The online travel market grew by 33% in 2013 compared to 2012. According to statistics from online travel agencies Biletix, the total volume of the tourist segment of chain trade amounted to $ 8.3 billion in 2013. Of these, 57% fell on the sale of air tickets, 29% - on the sale of hotels, 10% - on Railway tickets and only 4% - for the online sale of ready-made tour packages. It would seem that the aggressive segment of self-tourism has incredible prospects in Russia. However, things are not so simple. As it turned out, self-tourism, it is not only troublesome, but also expensive.

Independent tourists are usually understood as those who plan their travel itinerary, book hotel accommodation, flights, transfers or a car, as well as obtain visas and medical insurance. “There is an opinion that people become independent tourists because they want to save money. This is not entirely true. The majority of Russians, who organize their own tourist trips, do so because of the absence or small number of package offers for countries that are unpopular with mass tourists, ”says Andrey Borodin, founder and general manager service OnlineTur. ru... It should also be borne in mind that the separate booking of all segments of the future travel to popular destinations, according to the expert's estimates, costs an average of 30% more. At the same time, the price at which self-tourists make reservations includes a commission for booking systems, no less than that which is included for travel agencies in the cost of package tours. In this case, saving is not at all about independent travel.

According to Borodin, the growth of independent tourism is primarily due to the fact that our tourists strive to conquer more and more new destinations. If we are talking about holidays in popular countries such as Turkey, Egypt, Thailand, then it is more profitable to buy package tours to these countries. This is what the majority of Russian "organized tourists" do - first of all, families with children, adherents of the "all-inclusive" system, people who want to save their time on booking certain services and get a full service for their money and save money.

According to Borodin, the operators "suffered" the most. domestic tourism- after all, it is not so difficult for a Russian to book a hotel in his homeland and he does not need a tour package. Only niche tour operators operating in such countries as France, Italy, England, Portugal felt the competition from independent tourists in the outbound market. To a lesser extent - Spain and Greece.

Preference Map

The conclusions made by Andrey Borodin are confirmed in practice by other participants in the tourism market. So, Alexandra Vyal, the owner of the travel agency Barceloner, decided to help our compatriots save money at the stage of travel planning. She came up with and created in practice an interesting tool for testing the estimated cost of a future trip.

“We have compiled a special map, highlighting the most popular tourist destinations in different colors on it, to which Russian travelers cheaper to go on your own or with a tour. Everything is very simple and clear, ”says Vyal. According to her, the development team has identified six types of countries for potential travelers.

Source: Barceloner.com

The countries of the first type, where it is much cheaper to travel on their own than on a tour, include Cambodia, China, Singapore, Germany, Luxembourg, Ireland and Switzerland. The difference between the cost of a tour package or paid tickets and the hotel here can range from 45% (Cambodia, Singapore) to 70% (China, Switzerland, Ireland).

A trip to countries of the second type: Italy, Lithuania, Slovakia, Thailand, the Philippines on a voucher will be about 10-20% more expensive than a savage.

The cost of a trip to Finland, Montenegro, the Czech Republic, the Maldives or Israel is the same for both a self-tourist and a “packer”.

It is worth buying a tour to Turkey, Croatia, Latvia, the United Arab Emirates, it will be 15-25% cheaper than an independent trip.

It is much more profitable to travel as part of a travel group to Malaysia, the savings are 65%, to Greece - 60%, Sweden and Tunisia - 30%.

But it is easier to go to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nepal or Serbia on your own, because ordinary tour operators do not have such tours.

“Spain is a separate country. According to our calculations, by going on a trip on your own, you will save 10-20% of your money. Despite the fact that this destination is very popular among tour operators (you can easily find dozens of tours different duration to any wallet), ”says Alexandra Vyal.

A tribute to tradition

According to Irina Tyurina, the press secretary of the Russian Union of Travel Industry (PCT), although the bankruptcy of tour operators has spurred the general public's interest in organizing travel independently - many think that it is safer and cheaper. However, this is not always the case. “Traveling independently or through a travel agency is everyone's personal business. There will always be people who sew for themselves, but this does not prevent them from buying ready-made clothes. Everyone knows how to cook, but at the same time they willingly visit restaurants, ”says Irina Tyurina and gives several arguments in favor of traditional tours.

According to Tyurina, not all resorts fly regular flights, and it is not so easy to buy tickets for a charter: they are sold only on a leftover basis, and whether or not it remains is a question. “A hotel in the booking system is not a fact that it is cheaper. Because, as experience shows, many, for example, do not notice that the price is shown without breakfast. Or they do not pay attention to the conditions of cancellation of the reservation, and they can be very harsh. In addition, the picture showing the hotel on the Internet can be very different from reality, ”continues the PCT representative.

And the most important argument, according to Tyurina, is that an independent tourist must understand that he takes all responsibility for organizing the tour, and if something happens, he will be left to himself. “In 2010, after the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, which interrupted flights over Europe for a long time, there was a trend opposite to independent tourism,” the expert sums up. - Independent tourists found themselves face to face with a force majeure situation that no one could have foreseen in advance. Tourists traveling on tour packages were looked after by their agents: they provided hotel rooms at their own expense, organized others possible ways movement and so on. This trend intensified when an Italian company went bankrupt in August 2012. Wind jet... The tourists realized that they have to pay for independence, and as a result, the tour package turns out to be cheaper. " And this, according to Tyurina, is the main reason for the opposite trend: some of the tourists who have gone on their own voyage return to travel agencies. Global Business Travel Association, having surveyed several thousand business tourists from all over the world, states: 35% of respondents return to traditional travel schemes, because they do not know who to turn to for a solution to any unforeseen travel problem.

Jump into the net

“Traditional travel agencies shouldn't be afraid of online sales growth. As world experience shows, a significant part of consumers will remain faithful to the traditional scheme: buying a tour in an offline office. For some time more our tourist will go online, but the sale of tour packages will significantly slow down due to mental characteristics and other reasons, "- said Sergey Agafonov, CEO of the management company "Last-minute voucher shops" speaking at a special section of the largest Russian tourism summit - MITT, organized with the support of the PCT.

According to Agafonov, even in such a developed market as the United States, network sales have no advantage. Rather, there is a steady equality here: 50% of sales are online and 50% are offline. This is the largest indicator of network sales in the world. At the same time, 80% of Americans travel around the country and only 20% go abroad. The vast majority of them do not have language problems while traveling.

“In Europe, the business model is different. The share of online sales to offline is only 30% to 70%. A large share of "real" sales is due to the fact that a European tourist who is picky about the service, coming on vacation, wants the representatives of the host side to speak the same language with him, "Agafonov said.

“The mentality of Russians is pushing them to 'need to talk'. They need attention and communication. People can study the offers of companies on the websites for weeks, but they often come to buy a tour in a regular office. That is, they use the Internet for informational purposes only. Such clients are welcome guests for any travel agency. They know what they want and come to the office to make the final choice and buy a ticket, ”says the head of IHL.

In his opinion, Russia is nevertheless closer to the European than the American version. Now sales of tour packages in Runet account for only 5-7% of the total. Online will not win in the near future, although the share of online bookings will grow every year.

Reason for communication

According to Agafonov, the use of convenient online services will allow agencies to retain clients. “If you do not limit it to offline only, the client will remain and will be loyal. Even if a tiny number of transactions go through the website of a tour operator or agency, it is very important that the agent declares this service. It is in trend and gives the client additional opportunities, ”Agafonov believes. In his opinion, it is very important to use the power of the Internet for the benefit of online business. Including the possibilities of new media, social networks, which tourists themselves use every year more and more actively to search for information and reviews about trips. Today the share of such tourists has reached 70%.

“In its development, the tourism market today must rely on technological advantages, the development of online booking services. Most likely, it is these advantages that will become the main factor for travel companies to achieve leadership positions in their industry in the coming years, ”says Borodin.

Comparison according to OnlineTur.ru data

Photo:pixabay.com

Hello friends! Today I will tell you how to buy it yourself cheap tour online, compare prices for all tour operators and get the best option without getting up from your chair. Read, apply, and may an inexpensive vacation come with you!

In many cases, traveling on a tour can be cheaper than traveling on your own. It happens that tickets alone for the price come out as a ready-made package with a round-trip flight and accommodation. This is especially true for popular tourist countries where there are many charter flights - Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam, Black Sea coast Russia, Bulgaria, Montenegro.

Anya on Railay Beach in Krabi (Thailand)

For example, for the two of us to fly to Thailand on our own from Siberia on a short trip for two weeks will cost at least 70,000 rubles, most of which will go to tickets (and even then, not direct). For recreation, it will be more convenient and profitable to buy a ready-made tour immediately. After all, the tour operator redeems in advance charter flights and there is a lot of space in hotels at once, so it comes out cheaper. Not to mention last-minute tours, when the seats on the planes are not sold out, and the tour can be very cheap.

Let's now look at several ways to buy a tour cheap.

How to buy a cheap tour: ways to save money

1. Search and buy a tour online

It is gratifying that now it is no longer necessary to go to travel agencies of the city in search of the optimal and inexpensive tour, all information is available without leaving home - online. In addition, buying online is often cheaper than buying in the office, because the agency bears the costs of renting premises, salaries for managers, and consumables.

It is especially convenient to buy online last-minute tours, because places on them tend to end very quickly. Until you reach the office, there will be nothing left, and so I saw-decided-paid-flew to rest.

Prices for tours abroad change very quickly and depend on exchange rates - another argument to buy quickly, because the ruble is falling every now and then. All information on vouchers on the sites indicated by me is always up-to-date.

2. Pros of buying tours online:

• Cheaper than in the office, or the same price.
• Fast: no need to go to the other end of the city or go to the nearest, but not verified agency, the purchase process takes place from any place convenient for you.
• Reliable: more than 120 verified tour operators, and payment is made only using secure protocols.
• You choose everything yourself (and some travel agents may advise exactly the hotel or tour operator where they have a higher commission, and not where you will be best for rest).
• Reviews of hotels and destinations, as well as photos, will help you decide which vacation spot to choose.
• Convenient price calendar, you can choose the date with the lowest price.
• All tours are available from your smartphone on the way to work or home, on your computer at home or at work: see and choose where and when it is convenient.
• All documents at once: we pay by credit card and all vouchers, air tickets and other documents are immediately sent to the mail. We exclude the notorious human factor, when a manager can forget something.
• The tour can be bought in installments.
• If you need a visa, the support service will tell you what documents are needed, and within the Moscow Ring Road the courier will pick up the documents and bring ready-made visas for free.
• Online consultants will help you make the right choice, support works around the clock.
• The service department will help you at any time to resolve all issues, if something went wrong.
• Bonus programs, promotions, discounts.

3. Search all tour operators

Search engines look for options and compare prices across 120+ tour operators at once, so that no tour escapes your attention. All this works on the principle of the air ticket search engines you know well. When choosing a voucher, I recommend that you look at all three services at once, so certainly don't miss anything.

4. Search for adjacent dates

It's good if you can move the beginning or end of your vacation by a few days - often this can save you a lot. The calendar will help you to understand which dates the tour is cheapest for. low prices.
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Tour to Thailand at the price of the flight, the price is indicated for two

Perhaps all modern travelers can be roughly divided into two categories - those who go to unknown destinations with the help of travel companies and those who organize their trip from and to on their own.

Recently, there are more and more people traveling without intermediaries - both in the world and in Russia in particular. It is obvious that independent tourism has become widespread thanks to the development of the Internet and electronic technologies, which do not require, say, even personal presence when buying air tickets.

The maximum simplification of paperwork, hotel reservations, purchase of tickets for all kinds of transport allowed people to expand the boundaries of choice. And if earlier a person had to go to a travel agency in order to find out absolutely all questions about the upcoming trip, now we just need to enter any request into the search line on the Internet and get an exhaustive amount of information.

Interestingly, according to some sources, employees of a number of travel companies are already talking about the fact that their business is on the verge of extinction... Of course, travel companies will not be able to completely disappear - lazy, rich and elderly people will always crave the caring "hand" of a tour operator, but the problems with "passenger traffic" are increasingly beginning to be felt by companies. After all, they are mostly turned away by young people - they are not afraid of anything and know perfectly well how to find cheap air tickets, how to book the most suitable hotel rooms, how to apply for a visa and how to see the maximum of attractions with a minimum of financial costs.

In this material, we will not debunk the unnecessaryness of travel agents and praise independent travelers, if only because in the first and second cases there are both obvious advantages and disadvantages that are not so noticeable at first glance.

Here we will talk about how to travel cheaper - through a travel agency or by yourself, to which country it is better to go through a tour operator, and which country you can go to "on your own", and also consider, by way of example, how to organize a trip on your own according to a similar offer from a travel agency, what time it will cost - what will be its advantages and disadvantages.

To begin with, the choice of organizing the upcoming trip depends on a number of circumstances and factors. These include primarily travel dates, choice of dates and days for the flight or relocation, financial capabilities of tourists, direction - that is, the country they have chosen for vacation, as well as personal wishes for the level of the hotel, its location, and so on.

As practice shows, travel companies are usually approached by people who do not want or do not have enough time to independently organize a trip, citizens who have problems with a foreign language and need constant guidance from a guide, as well as those who are "greedy" for hot tours, that is vouchers that can be bought, roughly speaking, one day before departure at a super-low price.

On their own, people who speak English fluently travel to foreign countries, who know how to independently organize the best leisure time and conditions for staying in a foreign country, who are not afraid of buying air tickets on their own, solving visa issues, and so on, as well as those who do not want to rest according to the pattern set by the travel agency.

Now let's look at the example of specific countries, where it is still easier for our fellow citizens to travel through travel companies, and where it is more profitable to travel on their own.

All statistics show that the most popular tourist destinations for Russians are Turkey, Egypt, Greece, China, Thailand, India and Spain. The sample of these countries is naturally supplemented from year to year by others, but even among those given here it is clear that mostly in demand European states, or the countries of Southeast Asia... Neither Latin and North America, nor Australia, nor Middle and South Africa in this top you will not find.

The craving for Europe among our compatriots is most often explained by the proximity of the countries, their rich history and richness of sights smoothly interspersed with a favorable Mediterranean climate. As for Asia, Russians are most often attracted there by the thirst to get acquainted with the exotic, to expand spiritual knowledge, and also attracted by the cheapness of Asian life. However, first things first.

Where is the best place to go with the voucher?

To begin with, let's take such popular destinations from Russians as Turkey and Egypt. As a rule, these countries attract compatriots by their territorial proximity to Russia, resorts with access to the sea, warm climate and developed tourist infrastructure. Both countries, due to their popularity, are in good standing with Russian travel companies. That is why it is easy to spend a week in Egyptian Hurghada or Turkish Antalya with the help of a tour operator for 14-16 thousand rubles, with a flight, compulsory meals and all-inclusive drinks, in at least a 4-star hotel with a swimming pool and a water park on site.

Otherwise, the choice is up to the tourists themselves - to stay at the hotel for all 7 days, relaxing and basking in the sun, or to combine passive rest with active sightseeing trips for an additional price. For example, at the hotel itself, you can easily take an excursion and go on a real safari or to the ancient mysterious pyramids.

As practice shows, it is better and cheaper to travel to the countries in question by a voucher. Self drive for only one round-trip tickets will cost the traveler the price of the entire tour from the tour operator. And if you add accommodation, food and entertainment to this, then you will need to overpay at least twice.

Of course, if you really want to, you can go to Turkey or Egypt on your own. However, if you choose exactly a beach vacation, then it makes sense to overpay for it, using an individual search for hotels and good conditions in them - practically none.

It is known that such destinations as Thailand, China and India have also recently been widely developed by travel companies and, accordingly, by the flows of Russian citizens. At first glance, these countries are also easier, safer and more appropriate to visit on the tours offered by the operators. However, it immediately becomes apparent that to fly, say, to sunny Thailand is several times more expensive than to plunge into warm seas Turkey.

Usually, offers of travel agencies for holidays in Southeast Asia for two are full of amounts almost reaching 100 thousand rubles for a week's rest, and there is definitely no question of any all-inclusive. Sometimes, of course, companies throw away unsold vouchers and Internet surfers eager to travel get a discount trip for 30-40 thousand, which, you will agree, is much cheaper than 100, but still more expensive than Turkish baklava.

Which countries are cheaper to travel to on their own?

And here tour operators are replaced by free travelers, those who are meticulously ready to tell you that it is best to travel around Asia yourself.

Firstly, it is important to understand that such resorts in Thailand as Pattaya and Phuket (the most popular among tour operators and, accordingly, tourists) are becoming prohibitively expensive every year, not without the help of our compatriots. Secondly, even in these, which have become expensive places in Thailand, independent wanderers find budget options and food and accommodation, rather than what the operators offer.

For example, in the "kingdom of smiles" it is not necessary to rent a 4-star hotel with free breakfast at the fabulous price of a travel agency. When you search on your own, you can easily find hotels or guest houses on the same Booking at two or even three times cheaper, with conditions practically no different from a 4-star hotel.

As for air travel, if you plan your trip in advance, say, three months in advance, you can buy the cheapest tickets, and sometimes even direct ones. Sometimes independent travelers manage to grab round-trip tickets for $ 500-550. And if we add rental housing here, on average 500-600 rubles per room per day in a decent guest house, and daily meals for the same amount, then housing plus food will cost a maximum of 8 thousand rubles for one person or 12-15 thousand for two.

At the same time, you will not be constrained by the schedule set by the travel agency, you will be free to change the location in accordance with your preferences and budget, and you will also be able to easily travel around the country's memorable places without resorting to the help of guides and groups loitering behind him. To implement the last point, it will be enough to arm yourself with a map of the area and a smile, even knowledge of the English language at a high level is not required from you.

If we talk about a trip to India on a tour, then it is definitely worth saying that the benefit of such a trip will consist only in the fact that the organizer, in a sense, will be responsible for you - for the round-trip flight, check-in at the hotel and what -that food. For the rest, you need to know that rest in countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and, say, Vietnam is best planned on your own, since factors such as accommodation, food and hotel location are, first of all, a priority to determine on the spot. , and secondly, all this in the local market will cost you several times cheaper than the tour operator will offer.

Thus, in many respects, it will be cheaper and more interesting to visit the countries of Southeast Asia on their own. Even in spite of the fact that the flight to this land, far from central Russia, takes a lot of time and costs an order of magnitude more expensive than the road to a clean and civilized Europe.

What about Europe?

As for Europe, then opinions on how it is more profitable to travel - by yourself or through a travel agency in each case are ambiguous. In fact, one cannot generalize about European countries that they are all equally expensive, for example, as about Asian countries, we confidently assure that all these states are approximately equally cheap.

The paradox of Europe is often that it is quite cheap to fly there from Moscow or St. Petersburg, but in the Schengen area itself, everything is not so accessible to our tourists. For example, many travelers - it doesn't matter on a tour or on their own who traveled to Paris on their own - note the high cost of the French capital, the inability to idly drink coffee in the morning in coffee houses and allow themselves to have lunch and dinner at a cafe every day. About Norway and Denmark, in general, one can hear only exclamations about incredible prices for everything, and not at all stories about fjords.

However, our tourist still does not bypass old Europe, despite all its pretentiousness and high cost. There are also corners here, which from year to year attract streams of Russians. For instance, Spain, Bulgaria or Czech Republic.

Traveling to these countries in most cases will be cheaper if you plan on your own. If only you want to visit one of the designated countries, and not several in a week on a bus tour.

For instance, in Czech Karlovy Vary tourist voucher on average, you can go for 1000-1500 euros for 7 days, this amount includes the flight, as well as accommodation in a 4-star hotel with daily breakfasts.

If you organize the trip yourself, then there is a chance to cut costs in half, that is, for 500-500 euros. All you need to do this is a plane directly to the capital of the Czech Republic - Prague for an average of 120 euros for both tickets, from where you then need to go on your own to Karlovy Vary for about 50-60 euros one way, to a hotel booked in advance of your choice for 240 euro for 7 days.

As for countries such as Spain, Italy, France or Greece, it is possible to travel there slightly, but it is still cheaper to travel on your own. Among the advantages of such a vacation there will be absolute freedom of movement and plans, among the disadvantages - the complete organization of the trip - from self-registration of visas to finding the best and inexpensive hotel in an unfamiliar country.

By the way, it's time to tell you about all the delights of independent and mediated travel. After all, in the end, a tourist must clearly see the difference between the first and the second, in order to choose for himself the most optimal plan for spending a vacation or another segment of his life in a foreign country.

First, let's take a look at the points. advantages of traveling abroad through tour operators:

• Minimum time spent on planning and organizing the upcoming trip, purchasing a full package of services in a short time.
• Directly at the time of rest, you do not need to worry about hotel reservations, meals and sightseeing.
• Any questions will be answered by the tour operator or his representative on the tour.
• If you do not speak English, it doesn’t matter, the tour will be organized using Russian-speaking guides, hotels will greet you with a speech in your native language, you will hardly have to communicate in broken English.
• Organized excursions will take place in a schedule and speed set by the guides, tourists will have no time to think about anything superfluous. All decisions for travelers will be made even at the moment when they will pay for the trip to a travel agency in their home country.

As you can see, the trip through travel company may be pleasant to those who are not ready to deal with some everyday problems while on vacation, as well as to those who like a clear, set schedule. In addition, the services of the tour operator will be gladly used by people employed in ordinary life, wealthy compatriots and other categories of people who, for some reason, do not want to plan their vacation on their own.

However, let's also see what are the advantages of individual travelers:

• The ability to adjust the travel route, both before the start of the trip, and during the trip itself.
• The ability to independently choose the most suitable level of hotel, food, transportation.
• The chance to purchase air tickets in advance at a discounted low cost and the ability to shift the date of departure or arrival, as well as an independent tourist, is always entitled to return a ticket if necessary, paying the minimum fine to the airline. For example, it is a priori impossible to refuse a travel agency voucher without tangible damage to the wallet.
• A free traveler is completely left to himself, so he can consider the sights as much as he wants, change the route at will, return to the places he likes or more intensively explore new ones. You can only dream of such freedom in organized tours.
• Self-organization of travel with a careful approach will often cost an order of magnitude cheaper than a tourist trip.
• In addition, drawing up a travel plan individually, a tourist, as a rule, truly penetrates the culture of an unknown country, broadens his horizons, lives his journey from the very beginning to the very end consciously, independently, freely.

Usually, young people who do not have money for organized tours and have no desire to follow some kind of guide, to be limited in actions and aspirations, go on trips on their own. Also, individual trips are a priority for people who have been abroad more than once and "gorged" organized tours eager for real adventure.

Among independent tourists, you can also find middle-aged, even elderly people. As a rule, these are people who have not lost interest in life, striving to more fully familiarize themselves with the local flavor of the countries they are going to, as well as understanding the value of their time and the fact that no one can organize a good trip for them better than themselves.

In principle, to choose which way is better or cheaper to go to distant countries- everyone's personal business. Because for some people, the thought of organizing a trip abroad on their own will seem like a nightmare, while for others they will open a "second wind" and incredibly inspire.

Finally, I want to give you an example of how you can organize your trip cheaper than using the services of a travel agency, even taking into account the fact that you are planning the purchase of tickets and the entire trip in a short time.

We will choose sunny and distant Thailand as our destination. A voucher for famous island Phuket, so beloved by Russian tourists, is sold for two by the first travel agency in the search for 76,737 rubles. This price includes air flight, 4-star hotel accommodation for 6 nights from May 9 to 15, free breakfast, insurance and transfer.

But let's see what price this trip will cost us if we organize it ourselves. Turning to the first low-cost airline that came across (sites selling air tickets with discounts, cheaper than the airlines themselves), it turns out that flying from St. 29 643 rubles for one... That is, two tickets will cost 59,286 rubles, including fuel surcharges.

We go to booking and find desired hotel 4 stars. The price for a superior double room with taxes included and breakfast is EUR 168 for 6 nights. We translate them into rubles at the current exchange rate and get 8370 rubles.

To summarize - tickets plus accommodation without a voucher on their own will cost us 67 656 rubles.

That is with an independent organization, you can save up to 10 thousand rubles! For some, of course, this is not money, but for some categories of citizens this difference will seem tangible. In addition, it can be significantly increased if, say, you stay not in a designated hotel, but in a guest house with the same pleasant and cozy rooms, but without breakfast included in the price. It is quite easy to find a decent guest house in Phuket with accommodation per day for 600 rubles for two, which will be half the price of a hotel.

However, even on an independent journey, not everything is as cloudless as it might seem. Naturally, saving sometimes requires some sacrifice, for example, time... Unfortunately, I have no data on what kind of flight the travel agency offers to Thailand from Russia - direct or with transfers. But more often they try to organize such tours with direct transfers. In the meantime, with independent planning, usually the cheapness of tickets is formed due to the fact that you fly with transfers, perhaps even with different airlines.

In our example, you can contemplate this. The flight to Phuket will be with two transfers and on average it will take 20 hours to travel in both directions. As you can see, you'll have to sacrifice a few hours of restful sleep in order to save on travel costs. Therefore, choosing the best way to go on vacation is, I repeat, everyone's personal business.

Do not forget that when organizing a trip on your own, a lot depends on how early you started planning your trip, as a rule, the earlier you bought tickets, the cheaper they are. In our example, the deadlines are really quite tight, and the dates are not the best in terms of cost, so the difference in price between the tour operator's offer and an independent trip may not seem too noticeable. But even with such an organization, it is obvious, which means that it will be cheaper to go to Thailand on your own than through a company.

Summing up, I would like to say that naturally there is no consensus on how best to travel around the world. Every person has his own needs, his own comfort zone and his own financial capabilities. As for how it will be cheaper to travel abroad, I think that within the framework of the article I was able to show you that there are certain trends, based on which you can plan your trip and know which country is better to go on your own, and which one through a tour operator ...