Do you like tours?

Eileen posted about tours in Yorkshire: "I always find tours tend to hurry you along as they have to work to a timetable whereas we could spend as long as we wanted doing our own thing."
I agree totally and we rarely take tours unless it is the only alternative (wineries and craft breweries come to mind).
When we led tours of state parks, gardens, and nature areas we always told the folks that this was a conversation, not a lecture; ask questions and make comments; let's all pause and look at a bird, bug, or flower; and when we finished, we finished.
Do you take tours, and what do you like/dislike about them?

 

I like tours - as long as I can go back thru the route on my own again after it's done. Then again, the only tours I have been on have been garden tours, and somehow I don't think that's what you mean.

 

I had been on a few tours before and I totally agree with Frank that doing it at own pace is the best.

 

I'm single so a tour would be much safer for me.

 

Netty, I've been on a couple of garden tours that were more like a forced march with someone up front talking, but those of us in the middle and back of the group couldn't hear a thing. When we conduct tours (my husband and myself) I'm in the middle speaking in my "teacher's voice" that can be heard in the next county, and he's making sure no one is left behind. We also gauge the pace to the group. Girl Scouts whip through the tour in an hour; the local Senior Citizen club, much, much slower.
I generally dislike tours, but if it's the only way I can get into a historic site or a famous garden, I'll tour along!

 

Sometimes you have to take guided tours, like some old homes. If you don't like that you are sort of stuck. Some are self guided. You don't learn as much but you can go at your own pace. I went on a garden tour last Summer and we drove to each house at our leisure. Then the garden owner walked around with us. That was nice for we heard what and how they did it and could ask questions along the way.

So when we were on our county garden tour my hubby and I took groups and walked along with most of them. I believe they all loved it. He took them one way and I took them the opposite way and sometimes our paths crossed along the way. We really got allot of compliments over how we handled the whole day. Some people came back later that day or the next day and gave themselves the tour. LOL It was very cute.

 

I think a tour is a great way to go if you don't know the area or the attractions available. THEN you can go again later and do it at your own pace. We went on a "bus tour" when we went to Niagra Falls a long time ago. We went here and there... to a winery, the Welland Canals and a candy factory and all were a fair distance from each other, We didn't know the area so it works well for us. The Welland canal was so interesting we went back with our children a few years later and had a splendid "homeschool" field trip that time.. For some people the Tour is more of a social issue than the places that are visited.

 

I have been on guided tours and agree with most comments that they are too fast and often you can't hear the guide. Unless I'm very interested in something, I will always chose a self-guided tour. I do enjoy the signs or plaques that many places have that describe in detail what you are looking at on the self guided tours though.

 

I love tours as much as I love exploring. I've always learned so much on tours when time and driving in new places were significant considerations. Seeing Dublin and as much as possible of the surrounding areas would not have been possible without wonderful self-guided and guided tours. (Sorry driving in Dublin and SanJuan were best left to skilled drivers not me) There is no way we could have driven to the Grand Canyon/Grand Coulée Dam and back to LasVegas without a tour in the time we had. Would not want to have missed that. Unfortunately limited vacation times and a desire to see as much of a location as possible makes me thankful for tours.

When we have the luxury of traipsing around freely it is wonderful. Unfortunately time and self exploration in the car usually limits us to the Pacific Northwest region of the USA and about a 600 mile radius.

 

Netty I am not so fond of tours so far. The only tour I and my hubby have gone on was a tour that was taking us up to a Ore mine to go inside on a little train.
But it was going to take a few hours to get up there. I hope I do not step on anyones toes but,.....we spent two hours on a bus being forced to listen to polka music before we got to our first stop. The reason for that was that our tour guide was the leader of a........can you guess. A POLKA band. I only enjoy polka music if I can dance to it. I would never do that to a tour group I was heading up.
So after our 2 hr. polka torturous ride. We stopped at a neat dude ranch and spent about 2 hrs there. I thought wow I love horses and they even had Australian Shepherd puppies to play with.
First we went for a stagecoach ride through some of the trails they have on their property. That was really fun. Then they served us a barbecue lunch which was really good. Except all the while that we were there they played.......Country Western music . I wish I would have brought ear plugs.
Soooo sorry for my music snobbery. I do enjoy classical, jazz, blues, and contemporary christian. My hubby had to drag me back on the bus when we were leaving for our next stop. I knew what the next hour or so was going to be like. MORE polka music.
By the time we got to the mine I was ready to pull out my hair. The Ore mine tour was spectacular. There was even a large waterfall inside the mine. I suppose when they where drilling for Ore they hit an underground water source. It became this neat looking waterfall.
But needless to say when the tour was over we needed to take the bus back home. I could have as I knew what we would be listening to all the way home.
I was never so happy to arrive home.

Jewell those tours you have been on sound like fun to me. I would love tours like that.