Organized Tours for Youths
Guided Tour Companies Cater Towards Budget Travelers
Tour companies geared for 18 to 35s make traveling the world a realistic goal for those on a tight budget.
For most people finding their way around a foreign country, especially one in which utilizes a language that they are not familiar with, it is quite the challenge. On organized tours which use English-speaking tour guides, travelers are able to travel with ease. Most often, though, these organized tours come with a hefty price tag.
There are, however, a few budget tour companies, catering to those who would like to travel the world without draining their bank accounts. Most budget tour companies cater towards students and the under-30 crowd, but most do allow older travelers to with the exception of families with children.
Budget Expeditions
A subsidiary of Tucan Travel, a tour operator which organizes mainly South American, Central American and Antarctica-based trips, Budget Expeditions focuses on, like most budget tour organizations, the 18 to 35 bracket. Featuring trips to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and South America, they have a very wide variety of tours offered.
One of the many perks about booking a tour through Budget Expeditions, is that they often have specials (currently, they’re offering 25% off East and Southern African trips between March 1 and June 30), as well as early booking discounts, group discounts, student discounts and they are currently accepting the Canadian dollar at par with the U.S. dollar. And, even if some of the bonus discounts don’t apply to your trip, many of the tours will cost you less than $100 US/CAD per day.
Contiki
Similar to Budget Expeditions, Contiki offers guided tours for 18 to 35-year-olds. Although they offer less tours than some other companies, they do have a great reputation. They’re website also allows you to read testimonials and see pictures from real travelers, giving you an idea what to expect if you choose to tour with them. Contiki tours take place in Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand. As well, they do own two resorts, one in Bali and one on Mykonos, a Greek island.
What is unique to Contiki, is that they offer a few different types of tours. Although they are all geared towards the budget traveler, they cater towards those who wouldn’t mind saving a few more dollars by camping for most of their trip with their camping-style trips. They also offer budget-style trips which stay in lower-class hotels and hostels, as well as superior-style trips, offering travelers higher-class, tourist-grade hotels.
What’s Included?
Most guided tours do offer more amenities than touring on your own. Both Budget Expeditions and Contiki do provide some meals, but not all. Each individual trip differs when it comes to meals provided, and the information on which meals exactly, is offered in the tour descriptions on their websites and in their brochures.
When it comes to transportation, both tour companies provide motor coaches, on which, the group travels from city to city as a group, allowing you time to meet and familiarize yourself with fellow travelers. Some travel, however, is also done on trains and ferries, depending on the transfer location. As well, most tour groups allow single travelers to be paired up with other single travelers, saving you money when it comes to paying the single supplement.
