Have you been on a flight with a group tour before? You get a lot of them travelling into and from Hong Kong. I couldn't think of a worse way to travel, but that's just my opinion. If you're not familiar with the group tour concept, it basically takes all of the planning and decisions out of your vacation and puts you on a structured itinerary and schedule. You basically decide where you want to go (or which tour you want to be on) and the tour operator will tell you where to meet, how to travel, what to see etc. Then you follow someone around like a lemming throughout your travels. Vacation in a box.

Although group tours aren't really my cup of tea, I'm not saying that they're bad for everybody. One advantage on a group tour is that you get to meet all the other people on that tour and there are some specifically targeted at different age groups or demographics, so if you choose wisely, you have a good chance of getting a group of people that fit your profile to travel with, which can be fun. With this group of people, you won't be lonely since you will have your tour group and guide to interact with. Of course, there is a chance that there will be people on the tour that you dislike or don't get on with..

Another positive for the group tour is that the tour operators usually get good rates on hotels and transport and will pass on some of these discounts to you. If you're on a tight budget and want to see a lot in a short space of time, the group tour could be for you.

The downside of the group tour is that they are quite rigid in what you see, where you go and what you do. You can't really deviate from the itinerary that you signed up for because things have already been booked. I've found that group tours also like to take you to places where they get a cut of any sales that are made. I've ended up in diamond, pearl and jewellery shops, cheese factories, glass blowing shops etc, just because the tour operator gets 20% of everything you buy. Sneaky bastards..

Usually, in a group tour you also need to get up ridiculously early to set off for the days activities. I have to get up early for work and the last thing I really want to do is to do the same when I'm on vacation. The days are also jam packed, so most group tours are not very relaxing. You might even find you need a vacation to recover from your group tour vacation!

So what's the alternative? Plan your own holiday. One that gives you the freedom to change your mind once your there or stay that little bit longer in an area that you fall in love with. You might not be able to see everything in one trip but at least you'll have the time to take in the atmosphere and be able to explore areas that you just won't have the chance to see when you're on a group tour rushing from one place to another. Besides, you can always go back to places that you love!

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