Organized tour or independent travel? What is the cheapest way to travel: on your own or through a travel agency? What is better a tour or an independent trip

I remember before we argued a lot about what is better and cheaper: a trip on vacation on a voucher or on your own. Which is cheaper: a tour or on your own?
I’m even.
Now, after the massive bankruptcy of travel agencies this year, these conversations have subsided.

And this is understandable: there is a possibility of buying a tour on this tour not to fly away for "valid" reasons for the bankruptcy of the seller.
A seller who is simply an intermediary between the travel tool and you.
And the instrument is not complicated, and it is easy to learn how to use it - therefore, the rest organized independently is more flexible in relation to force majeure and can be easily rebuilt if something happens.

“But what about the price?” - asks an inquisitive dependent tourist, - after all, the voucher is cheaper than going alone!
You are mistaken, dear ...

I took calculation of the cost of rest in Dubai which was published on.
The cost calculation was taken by me at the Vinsky Forum:.

If you are interested in my review of the rest in Dubai, then here.

Family of 4 adults.
By the savages, on their own
Booked at the end of August.
Dubai from 03.11 to 14 nights. Departure from Emirates from Moscow.
Flights 16700 * 4 = 66800. The cost of one ticket was returned by miles from Tinkoff.
Insurance - one adult free of charge (TCS card),.
Residence :
7 nights - Doubletree by Hilton Dubai Jumeirah Beach, apartment 2 bedrooms with a kitchen (they still have there without a kitchen, but a little cheaper) - 75,000 (including taxes) booked through booking.
7 nights - Damac Maison Dubai Mall, 2 bedroom apartment - 74,000 with BH view, booked through airbnb.
Visas: 14000

On your own: 216.600 rubles for 4 people

At the tour operator(watched Biblio-Glubus) this tour on the same dates.
There, however, you cannot choose both hotels, but since they cost me the same, I looked at two options - Hilton for 14 nights and Damac for 14 nights.
Hilton is slightly cheaper than Damak

Tour package: from 500,000 rubles for 4 people

Conclusion: if you independently organize a vacation in Dubai, you can save money.
Moreover, the savings are decent - more than twice.
Here is the alignment.

Additionally to help:

Rent a Car

: choose where to pick up the car - at the airport or at the hotel.
Driving in Dubai is not difficult. The signs and interchanges are clear. The choice of cars is such that you can take either a small car on the machine or a jeep to travel around the area

Here they will help and prompt at first when preparing an independent vacation in Dubai

Finally, I want to say this:
if you know the value of money, that is, it comes to you as payment for your work, and does not fall into your pocket from the sky, then I am sure that you will easily master the tools self-organization your rest.
In fact, this is a trifling matter and takes a little time.
For example, you can organize your vacation at sea for yourself in 30 minutes of time spent using the Internet. I have provided links, and there is more than enough information on this site ...
In general, you decide how.

If you are traveling on your own, please like it (buttons below). If you prefer to rest on a package - share the link to this article in social networks with a hash tag#cheap tours

Travel expenses depend not only on the season, weather, significant events, etc. How much you spend on vacation also depends on the destination and on whether you buy a tour package or book your own hotel and air tickets. AiF.ru has compared prices for popular countries among our travelers and found out where it is more profitable to go on the tour, and where - "savage".

Turkey

The absolute leader in terms of the number of Russian tourists is Turkey. Last year, according to the local Ministry of Tourism, 4.5 million of our fellow citizens visited the republic's resorts.

Now a last minute ticket to Turkey can be taken for 26 thousand rubles, but to make the experiment fair, we compared (here and in other examples) the prices for travel in September - experts recommend buying tickets, tours, and booking hotels exactly three months before the trip.

A week in a four-star hotel in Marmaris will cost 69,400 rubles for two ( all inclusive, 150 meters to the beach, direct flight, transfer, insurance).

A hotel of the same category in the same resort will cost 36,100 rubles for self-booking. Plus air tickets for 17,350 rubles (34,700 rubles for two). Total - 70,800 rubles. Add to this two or three thousand for transfers and medical insurance. All the same, it turns out slightly more expensive than a voucher.

Greece

In Greece, all inclusive is not as widespread as in Turkey, but in local restaurants and taverns in Hellas, food is no worse than in hotels. Therefore, we chose tours (and hotels) with breakfast meals. A seven-day trip to Crete with accommodation in a two-star hotel costs 43,600 rubles for two. Hotel 400 meters from the beach.

A similar hotel with self-booking will cost 15,500 rubles. Flights from Moscow to Crete and back - 44272 rubles for two. In total - 60,772 rubles. It turns out that it is more profitable to buy a ticket to Greece.

Montenegro

By the way, you need a Schengen visa to travel to Greece. And if you do not have it, then these are additional costs. And you don't need a visa to Montenegro. The most cheap ticket to this country with a flight in September, which AiF.ru managed to find, is offered for 50,400 rubles for two. For this money - a week in a two-star hotel in Budva, no meals. The beach is 800 meters away.

Now let's look at self-booking accommodation. A week at the hotel - 10,340 rubles. Tickets from Moscow and back - 34196 rubles for two. Total - 44,536 rubles. Almost 6,000 rubles cheaper than the voucher.

Czech

It is also cheaper to travel to the Czech Republic on its own. A weekly trip with self-booking will cost 35,000 rubles for two. The price includes a flight on the Moscow-Prague-Moscow route (20680 rubles for two) and accommodation in a three-star hotel four kilometers from the center of the Czech capital (14370 rubles), as well as breakfast.

A voucher for the same dates and in a hotel of a similar category will cost at least 43,200 rubles. The difference is 8150 rubles.

France

A ticket to Paris costs 75,460 rubles for two - a direct flight, accommodation in a two-star hotel located 2 kilometers from the city center, plus breakfast.

And this is how the costs of organizing a trip to Paris look like - 28706 rubles for air tickets for two (14353 rubles for one) and 39583 rubles for staying in the same hotel as in the tour package. Total 68289 rubles. It is more profitable to travel to Paris on its own by more than seven thousand rubles.

Bulgaria

It is almost twice cheaper now to independently plan a vacation in Bulgaria - it will cost 23,768 rubles (17068 rubles for air tickets to Varna and back for two, and 7,700 rubles for seven nights in a two-star hotel).

But a ticket to the same resort can be bought for 40149 rubles for two.

Thailand

But air tickets to Thailand alone are more expensive than a ticket - 60,556 rubles for two, and even not direct, but with a transfer in Doha. Plus at least 6,500 rubles for a double room in a three-star hotel located in Pattaya. Total expenses of 67,056 rubles for two.

Vouchers to the same resort in similar hotels are currently offered at 50,300 rubles. In addition to direct flight this price includes transfer and medical insurance.

Spain

On a voucher in the Spanish resort of Costa Brava, you can relax for 56,500 rubles for two. For the money - a two-star hotel with good reviews, located 300 meters from the beach, but no food.

If you book on your own, the trip will cost 41,840 rubles, where 26,840 rubles are air tickets for two and 15,000 rubles - a weekly hotel stay.

What is better and how is it more profitable - to travel by yourself or to trust a travel agency? This is not an idle question. The most important thing may depend on this - our impression, our memory of the vacation. Let's try to figure it out. Each option has pros and cons.

Advantages of the agency.

The main advantage of the agency is the ability to kill three birds with one stone. Air tickets, hotel, transfer. Everything is presented on a silver platter. In our personal voucher. And if we are lucky with a professional manager, then we will spend a little time choosing a hotel.
Insurance and visa, if necessary, the agency will also help to do.
At the airport we will be met by a Russian-speaking guide. The hotel will also have a guide to whom you can contact during your vacation with any questions you may have: from a blown out light bulb in your room to currency exchange.
There will be no headache about excursions. Choose what you want, the main thing is to keep within the budget. The guide, most likely, will also be Russian, and with a lot of useful information.
During the rest, apart from thank you and hello, you can not say a word in a foreign language.
We will most likely have a rest with our compatriots. Tour operators on popular destinations prefer to work with the same hotels for years and book them to the maximum (though for some this is a dubious plus).
You can take at least two suitcases with you without fear of overweight, and change your outfits three times every day.

Now about the cons of the agency.

There are also enough pitfalls when buying from a travel agency.

Voucher. It is not a fact that having bought a tour in April, we will fly to the warm sea in July. Even if we bought it on July 10, on the 12th we can hear in the news that the tour operator or air carrier is declaring itself bankrupt. And this means that instead of the planned walks on the snow-white sand, walking begins in agony (VIM-avia - in 2017, Transaero in 2015, and about 2014, when it really seemed that all travel agencies were lousy and did not want to remember).
For objectivity's sake, I will give an example from personal experience: when my family and I did not fly to Tunisia for good reasons, the travel agency returned us most of the money spent.
Charter. Of course, it is cheaper than regular flights, but not safer. Which of the flying charters has not faced a flight delay, or even a transfer of ten hours. (According to Russian laws, charter flights can be postponed for up to 10 hours. If the airline delays departure longer, the law "On Protection of Consumer Rights" comes into force). Here's a case from your life: somehow I was hopelessly late for a charter. I got to the airport only because it was impossible to turn around in a traffic jam. Imagine my joy when I learned that the departure was delayed for three hours. Even in Duty Free managed.
Excursions. Tour operator excursions are always unreasonably overpriced. “On the street” they are several times cheaper. A professional guide, safety, clear organization - this, of course, costs money, but I would like it to be cheaper. The excursion group is 35-40 people, and in order to hear the guide you have to work with your elbows sometimes.
Rest with compatriots. Everything is ambiguous here. Someone craves communication in their native language, someone wants to be alone. Although from a meeting at a hotel with a "Russian tagil" no one is safe, and then everyone wants loneliness. But if we talk about my personal experience, then we, Russians, with rare exceptions, are very comfortable neighbors for rest.
Unfreedom. This is the main disadvantage of the travel agency. It just seems like there is a choice. In fact, the travel agency dictates tough conditions: you fly there, you live there, you have breakfast at such and such a time, etc. And no one cares that you dreamed of falling asleep to the sound of waves, and not to the screams of a disco. There is complete lack of freedom behind the seemingly enormous choice. If you do not want like everyone else - goodbye. This is the main slogan of the travel industry.

The advantages of independent recreation.

If the advantages of the trip are material, then the advantages of independent rest are rather emotional.

Freedom of choice is the main advantage of the independent traveler. He is free to do whatever he wants. Fly anywhere. Not to Pattaya, as you were programmed in a travel agency, but to Koh Samui. Before that, spend a couple of wonderful days in Bangkok. And return home through Singapore. Fly when and how much you want. Not on Wednesday evening, when the boss has a jubilee, but on Friday at 10 am, having slept and rested.
Savings (not always and not in everything, of course). But if you know: then you can save money.
An opportunity to get completely different impressions of the country you went to. It's one thing to get on the bus carefully driven by the tour operator at the airport, and quite another to take a metro ride to the bus station, change to regular bus and drive to the selected hotel. And this is already a small adventure.
You can and not stay in the hotel. Rent one (2, 3) room apartment on the coast on airbnb.ru and live two weeks like local... Have breakfast at home on your own balcony, and have lunch and dinner in different cozy restaurants, every day in a new one. (If you want to save money on souvenirs for your family, you can have dinner at home.)
Food is also, by the way, a separate impression. It's one thing - Buffet in a hotel, and completely different - meze in a Cypriot tavern. And there, and there - the goal is achieved: hunger is satisfied. But you will remember the tavern for a long time. And what was for dinner at the hotel, you will forget the next day.

You start getting positive emotions long before boarding the plane. Planning a route, finding accommodation, choosing places of interest are challenging, but extremely interesting tasks. The anticipation of a trip is like waiting for the New Year with gifts in childhood.
Possibility to diversify your vacation. You can lie on the sand for a whole vacation in Rimini and return home like a chocolate hare, or, what is much more interesting, take a ride around Italy, see 5-6 cities and flop in the Adriatic Sea for the remaining days.

Cons of independent recreation.

There are also enough of them on an independent trip.

The main disadvantage is that you are responsible for yourself. You have to foresee everything. We even have the right to file a lawsuit against a travel agency with which an agreement has been concluded for improper fulfillment of its obligations. But if you did not register your luggage online and "got" at the airport for money, then only you are to blame. And if you missed the last train because you looked at last year's schedule, then you are also to blame. Etc.
On the regular flights you need to be careful with your luggage. Most likely, you will have to leave at home a couple of evening dresses and related accessories, which we take "just in case." Suddenly it gets colder or wants to go somewhere in the evening. Or throw out 5-6 extra pounds or pay 5-6 thousand rubles, which are by no means superfluous.
The rest of the disadvantages follow from point 1. Transfer, insurance, visas. And also housing, communication with the local population, food. Anything can become a fat minus. Or a funny smiley if you do it right. Better let it be a smiley, otherwise it turns out a terrible ending.

So which is more profitable?

At the final choice - independent rest or a voucher, you still need to consider several factors.

Direction. If you want to have an all-inclusive vacation in Egypt, then, of course, contact a travel agency. If you think about Greece, then both are good options. Sit down and consider what is more profitable. Going to Barcelona - the most suitable destination for an independent trip.
Purpose of the trip. The simplest example is Turkey. One thing beach vacation in Antalya. But a trip to the city of contrasts, Istanbul, is completely different. In the first case - a travel agency, no options. But it is better to go to Istanbul yourself, and not depend on the whims of the tour operator.
Resting-place. Ten days without getting out in Hainan or a two-week trip: Beijing – Shanghai – Hong Kong – Hainan. In all cases, the choice is obvious. The more movements are planned, the more freedom is needed. You can admire the world and from the window sightseeing bus but the world looks a little different from a rented car.
Price. If you get a vacation in Cyprus in a five-star hotel for ten days at the price of a flight: Moscow - Loutraki - Moscow, then it's a sin not to take advantage of such an offer (another plus of the travel agency is a hot offer).
And the most important factor is human. If you are lazy or scared to go on your own vacation, then the choice is obvious: a voucher. Trust the professionals and they will do everything for you. Even individual tour around the globe.

It is not the first year that we have been traveling both independently and with the help of travel agencies. And we also advise our readers: before each trip, first weigh the pros and cons, and then decide for yourself how it is more profitable.

Here are some (optional, but interesting) recommendations for solving:

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.

V Lately there are more and more people traveling without intermediaries - both in the world and in Russia in particular. It's obvious that self-tourism became 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 way to foreign countries, as a rule, people go to foreign countries who speak English fluently, who know how to independently organize the best leisure time and conditions of stay 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 countries South-East Asia ... Neither Latin and North America, neither 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 for the tourists themselves - spend all 7 days at the hotel, relaxing and basking in the sun, or combine passive rest with active trips to the sights 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 there is practically no point in overpaying for it, using an individual search for hotels and good conditions in them.

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 travelers find budget options for both 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. At independent search 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 a travel agency, you will be free to change your location in accordance with your preferences and budget, and you will also be able to easily travel around memorable places countries without resorting to the help of guides and groups loitering after 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, about European countries it cannot be generalized to say that all of them are equally expensive, for example, as for 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, on average, you can go to Czech Karlovy Vary on a tourist ticket 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 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 own English language- 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 practically not 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, a trip through a travel company can be pleasant for those who are not ready to deal with everyday problems during their holidays, as well as for 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 into 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 who have "gorged" on 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 local flavor countries to which they go, as well as those who understand the value of their time and the fact that no one can organize a good trip for them better than themselves.

In principle, choosing which way is better or cheaper to go to distant countries is a private matter for everyone. 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 ticket to the famous island of 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 ...

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 vacations. 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 want 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 with Qatar airlines with a transfer in Doha. Here, the advantage will be the quality of the airlines - comfortable seats, good food, TV, and the disadvantage is the 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 hotels are afraid of 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?

Tourists often miss out on profitable tours because they do not believe that they are really 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 on popular destinations m 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 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

Often used charter flights with poor food and uncomfortable chairs

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 knowledge of English is required, sometimes not only English (for example, in China, English is spoken by a very small part of the 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! 😉