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The world’s worst tour guides
Six types of people you really don’t want leading your tour. Going on a bus tour somewhere? Well cross your fingers and hope the person leading it isn’t one of these characters… The swordsman
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South East Asia and the solo traveller problem
Going to South East Asia on your own? Be prepared to not do very much, then… In many respects, South East Asia is the independent traveller’s dream. It’s cheap by pretty much anyone’s standards,
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Group meals are rubbish
Going on a group tour? Then you’re better off doing your own thing in the evening… More than an hour after ordering, the woman to my right was still waiting for her pizza. The
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When is it reasonable to expect someone to speak English?
“Food, you have food?” I asked, breaking into a knife and fork shovel mime. “Sticky rice?” came the reply. “Fried noodle?” I tried. “Sticky rice. Soup” “OK, sticky rice, soup.” There was no real
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Travellers: Why I’m not going to add you as my Facebook friend
Backpacking was my thing for approximately four days. I quickly realised that I can’t deal with dorm rooms, while the twin horrors of camping and struggling to lie down inside a sweaty campervan give
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Terrible travel investments: Two day bus tour tickets
We can’t always be perfectly prepared when we arrive at our destination. Sometimes the diligent reading of the guide book can slip due to time and being-arsed restraints. You turn up not really knowing
Read More »Why private tours don’t work (for me)
One-on-one tour On the e-mail, the words I secretly dread appeared. “We can offer you a guide for three hours,” it said. My heart sank. In many ways, having a personal, one-on-one guided tour
Read More »Special interest holidays: Why would you want to do the same thing for a week?
Skiing holidays Summer is a wonderful time of year, if only because we’re spared the acres of newsprint spilled about skiing holidays. I may have got this all wrong, and skiing holidays may be
Read More »How to get media coverage for your hotel or tour – advice for independent operators
Ten tips for getting yourself noticed: PART ONE In recent times, I have come across a number of really interesting projects – be they unusual tours, genuinely excellent B&Bs or quirky experiences. And
Read More »Being local: An overrated attribute
Best tour guides A pattern struck me the other day, as I was thinking about what made a good tour guide. All the best ones I have encountered have had one thing in common
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