Group travel: Should you travel independently or book a tour?

This morning, March 15th, at the Travel Fest 2019 tourism promotion festival co-organized by Travellive Magazine and Aeon Mall, three guests – travel blogger and tourism lecturer Nguyen Hoang Bao, travel blogger Tung Nem, and PhD and tourism lecturer Nguyen Thu Thuy – shared their candid and relatable insights in the talk show "If You Want to Travel Far, Travel Together." The most discussed topic was whether to travel independently or book a tour through a travel agency.

Having started out as a group traveler, Nguyen Hoang Bao understands the benefits of having companions on each trip. He shared that: "Group travel provides the necessary support to achieve the goals of a particular trip."

Similarly, for a visual product production team like Tùng Nếm's, "each person in the team plays a specific role" such as photography, editing, and videography. At the same time, outside of work hours, members also spend time having fun and exploring together.

When discussing purchasing tours from travel companies, Ms. Nguyen Thu Thuy shared that travelers have the opportunity to "immerse themselves in the entire journey" because throughout the trip, especially when traveling abroad, if any unexpected problems arise, such as with public transportation or issues with meals and restaurant reservations, the tour company will assist passengers.

Furthermore, booking tours in advance with tour companies when traveling in large groups offers many economic benefits because, generally, traveling in a large group results in much better prices compared to traveling alone. In particular, Mr. Hoang Bao emphasized that for trips with colleagues (also known as incentive tours), purchasing tours from travel agencies will make the trip more organized and smoother.

However, the advantages of independent group travel cannot be denied. One of the most notable strengths is that travelers can be proactive in their travel and decide their own itinerary. In other words, instead of following a pre-planned schedule, travelers can rearrange and change it as they wish.

Furthermore, in the 4.0 era, with the increasing number of convenient applications and reliable travel information sources, finding information and travel options has become much easier. Especially if there is a leader in the group – someone who will organize and arrange the entire trip – purchasing tours through travel agencies becomes completely unnecessary.

Because of the different advantages offered by independent group travel and organized tours, the decision of which to choose largely depends on the needs and financial capabilities of the travelers, as well as the size of the group. For example, if traveling in a group of 15-20 people, booking a tour with a company will save time and ensure a more comfortable and well-organized trip. However, for a group of 2-3 members, independent travel allows travelers to be more proactive in choosing their own itinerary and arrange a trip that suits their budget better.

TRAVEL FEST 2019 - THE FIRST RETAIL TRAVEL FESTIVAL IN VIETNAM

- Free admission

- Location: Aeon Mall Square, Long Bien District, Hanoi

- Time: 9 AM - 10 PM on March 15, 16, and 17.

Contact: 024.3936.8349

The event was organized by Travellive Magazine in collaboration with Aeon Mall.

- Diamond Sponsor: TPBank

- Transportation sponsor: Vietnam Airlines

Hai Hien