It is possible to independently choose the most. What is the best way to travel alone or on a tour? How to buy a cheap tour: ways to save money

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.

1. 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.
2. Insurance and visa, if necessary, the agency will also help to do.
3. 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 the room to currency exchange.
4. 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.
5. During the rest, apart from thank you and hello, you can not say a word in a foreign language.
6. 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).
7. You can take at least two suitcases with you, without fear of overweight, and change outfits three times every day.

Now about the cons of the agency.

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

1. A 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 dying and I didn't want to remember).
   For the sake of objectivity, 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.
2. Charter. Of course, it is cheaper than regular flights, but not safer. Who 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, then 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.
3. 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 cheaper. The excursion group is 35-40 people and in order to hear the guide you have to work with your elbows sometimes.
4. Rest with compatriots. Everything is ambiguous here. Someone thirsts for communication on native language, someone wants loneliness. 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.
5. 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.

Pros of independent recreation.

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

1. 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 in the morning, sleep and rested.
2. Savings (not always and not in everything, of course). But if you know: then you can save money.
3. An opportunity to get completely different impressions of the country you went to. It is one thing to get on a bus carefully driven by the tour operator at the airport, and quite another to take a metro ride to the bus station, change to a regular bus and get to the chosen hotel. And this is already a small adventure.
   You can and not stay in the hotel. Rent one (2, 3) bedroom apartment on the coast on airbnb.ru and live like a local for two weeks. 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 is one thing to have a buffet in a hotel, and completely different to a 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.

1. You start getting positive emotions long before boarding the plane. Planning a route, finding accommodation, choosing sights - these are challenging tasks, but extremely interesting. The anticipation of a trip is like waiting for the New Year with gifts in childhood.
2. 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 spend the rest of the days wandering in the Adriatic Sea.

Cons of independent recreation.

There are also enough of them on an independent trip.

1. 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.
2. On 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.
3. Other disadvantages arise from point 1. Transfer, insurance, visas. And also housing, communication with local population, nutrition. 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?

When making the final choice - an independent vacation or a voucher, you still need to take into account several factors.

1. 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 - for independent trip the most suitable direction.
2. 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.
3. 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 from the window sightseeing bus but the world looks a little different from a rented car.
4. 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).
5. And the most important factor is human. If you are lazy or scared to indulge in your own vacation, then the choice is obvious: a voucher. Trust the professionals and they will do everything for you. Even a private 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 is it more profitable.

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

Travel expenses depend not only on the season, weather, significant events, etc. How much you spend on vacation also depends on the destination and whether you buy a tour package or book your own hotel and air tickets. AiF.ru compared the prices for the countries popular with our travelers and found out where it is more profitable to go on a 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 common as in Turkey, but in local restaurants and the taverns of Hellas are fed no worse than in hotels. Therefore, we chose tours (and hotels) with breakfast meals. A trip to the island of Crete, for seven days 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 cheapest ticket to this country with a departure 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 three star hotel four kilometers from the center of the Czech capital (14370 rubles), as well as breakfasts.

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 6500 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 the 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.

Is it true that traveling through a travel agency is several times more expensive than traveling alone? Is it always booking. com, agoda and other online services provide prices lower than tour operators? Are travel agencies necessary and is it profitable to use their services? What do travel agency managers know that cannot be found on the Internet? Who usually travels "on their own" and why?

I will try to answer the questions of interest and, as usual, dispel some myths. And also I will try to identify the winner in the duel between SELF-TRAVEL AGENT and TRAVEL AGENT-PROFESSIONAL.

Since I am a travel agent, they expect me to start persuading all potential tourists without hesitation to run to a travel agency and buy a tour and scold all "independent travelers". But I will not do this. And that's why.

• There are a number of objective arguments both in favor of organized tourism and in favor of vacationers from the # self_travelant category.
• There are certain categories of tourists who are categorically not suitable for package tours, as well as those to whom I would not recommend an independent vacation even at gunpoint.
• Each tourist destination must be considered separately. Certain directions are simply "sharpened" for a tour operator's product, and an independent trip there will be much more expensive, and it will not bring pleasure.

Who is there?

Let's start with the main thing: who are all these people who help in organizing vacations and other trips?

Tourism managers or travel agents are, as a rule, people with special education, who know not only geography, but also the peculiarities of organizing recreation in a particular country, who have studied the hotel base of most popular tourist destinations and have experience of their own travel.

For example, our company can boast of a personal acquaintance with resorts, hotels and excursion routes in more than 30 countries (thirty!). Tourism managers know how to use all known booking systems. All of them are specialists who attended many seminars and trainings and inspected all those hotels that are ready to offer you, visited all the resorts where you want to go.

An experienced travel assistant (a fashionable word nowadays), as a rule, will not only help in choosing the direction of rest that suits you, but will also tell you how to make the trip not only the most comfortable, but also profitable. For example, he will advise you to change the departure date if he sees that the cost of the trip during the selected period is unreasonably high. Will tell you how to get to the hotel by public transport, if you do not want to pay for the transfer, will advise on visa issues and help in processing documents for obtaining visas. Will help to make an excursion program.

Who's there?

To travel on your own, you also need to have certain qualities.

So, if you know how to use booking systems, speak a foreign language, are not afraid to take risks associated with various unforeseen situations, do not protect the boundaries of your comfort zone, then VELKAM is in the SAM_SEBE_TURAGENT group. And one more thing: you must have free time. According to one of our independent tourists, whom we help from time to time with advice, it takes her 2-3 hours to organize the route every day for three to four weeks.

As a rule, independent tourists include easy-going young people or experienced tourists who know what they want, who can easily navigate the place, those who are ready to sacrifice comfort, often buying cheap tickets with several transfers on the Internet. Here we also include those who do not like to be attached to groups, calmly drive a car in a foreign country, get tired of the presence of a guide nearby, prefer to read about everything on their own in guidebooks and not depend on anyone in making the decision "to be or not to be." Organized tourism is not suitable for those who are used to changing their place of deployment every day, not bothering about where to live, are not at all tied to comfort and want to explore the country deeper, moving in the direction "wherever they look."

Where is cheaper

"Travel agencies are more expensive!" - you say. “Not always,” I will answer.

Example 1. If we take the most popular destinations mass tourism- such as Turkey, Egypt, UAE and even Thailand and sightseeing tours in Europe - don't even try to argue here.

Tour operators take in colossal volumes. Hence the more favorable rates for hotels, transport and air travel. Prices for charter flights will also be lower due to the organization of charter flights and the purchase of seats in large blocks in advance. And not only to the resorts of the Turkish Riviera, but also in almost any direction where the charter program is built.

I do not exclude that if a tourist wants to go on his own, he will still find a ticket cheaper, but I am 120% sure that this flight will be with a transfer, or even with two, while the charter companies provide the possibility of a DIRECT flight. Therefore, it would be incorrect to compare the cost of a flight in these two cases, since they are not comparable either in terms of comfort or in the length of time spent on the road.

Example 2... Many argue that in India, Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Indonesia, in most European countries, accommodation will be cheaper if you travel on your own. I won't argue here. I will only make a remark: it will really be cheaper if you choose a hostel, guest house, private apartment as your place of residence, or simply rent an apartment.

But if we return to the coordinate system of hotel accommodation, then the travel agent will definitely not lose, and possibly win.

It is precisely because travel agencies do not work with hostels, guest houses and other private accommodation options, and the opinion that booking.com is always ready to offer more profitable options has been strengthened. Moreover, the policies of many large companies provides for the revision of tariffs for hotels and / or services in the event that a similar product is found at a lower price. And these are not empty words (# self-tested).

Try to combine

Well, and a few more examples both in favor and against independent travel. This will help you navigate which option is right for you.

• The tourists decided to go to the UAE. They bought a tour to a very expensive hotel on booking.com 3 months before the trip, they also bought tickets in advance ... But they forgot to open a visa ...
• The tourist checked all the options that we offered him with booking.com. Our offers were more profitable. But the tourist was determined to travel on his own and found a hotel that seemed cheaper to him. But after payment, it turned out that breakfast was not included in the price.
• The tourist bought tickets on the website of the airline from Bishkek to Canada in transit through Europe. For transit passengers a visa is not required in such cases. But there were two transit points. And in this case, a visa must be opened. And the tourist found out about this when, 2 days before departure, she received a call from the airline to clarify whether she had an appropriate visa. She had to pay $ 500 extra to buy new tickets.
• Last winter we were unable to help a large group of friends rent a villa in Phuket. Our options were more expensive than those offered by airbnb.com.
• Somehow we sent the guys to excursion tour to Italy. A lot of excursions, every day - new town, everything is very intense. On about the third day they called us and began to ask us to "detach from the group." They were tired of following the schedule, they were late everywhere and everywhere, and, in general, they were not interested in excursions either. They "just wanted to go to Europe."

Summing up, I will say: you can still describe many and tediously all the ways of travel, you can give a thousand and one arguments in favor of travel agencies, but it would be foolish to deny the fact that travel "on its own" has a place to be and is the only one possible way rest for a certain category of people ... We are all different, and, getting ready for a trip, we always draw pictures of a happy and serene pastime in the circle of close and pleasant people. And everyone draws pictures of a perfect vacation with their own colors. The main thing is that the picture remains bright, memorable and positive!

Perhaps, all modern travelers can be roughly divided into two categories - those who go to unknown destinations with the help of travel agencies and those who organize their trip from and to on their own.

Recently, there are more and more people traveling without intermediaries - both in the world and in Russia in particular. It is obvious that independent tourism has become 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 in 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... Will surely completely disappear travel companies they will not be able - lazy, rich and elderly people will always yearn for the caring "hand" of the tour operator, but the problems with the "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 tickets for an air flight, 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, which country is better to go through a tour operator, and which one 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 a 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 own, people who are fluent in English, 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 themselves, resolving visa issues, and so on, as well as those who do not want to, travel to foreign countries. rest according to a given pattern 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 agencies, 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 can be seen that mainly European states are in demand, 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 close location of the countries, their rich history and a 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 on a 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 up to 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. An independent trip with 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 it makes sense to overpay for it, using an individual search for hotels and good conditions in them - practically none.

It is known that such destinations as Thailand, China and India have also recently been widely explored 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 a vacation in Southeast Asia for two are full of amounts almost reaching 100 thousand rubles for a week's vacation, and there is definitely no question of any all-inclusive. Sometimes, of course, companies throw 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 wanderers find budget options and 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 English 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, one cannot generalize about European countries that they are all equally expensive, for example, as about 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 - no matter on 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 example, 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 example, v Czech Karlovy Vary on tourist voucher on average, you can go 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 need to then go on your own to Karlovy Vary for about 50-60 euros one way, to a hotel booked in advance by you 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 for himself 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 your vacation, 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 does not matter, the tour will be organized using Russian-speaking guides, hotels will meet you with a speech in your native language, you will hardly 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 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 some everyday problems while on vacation, as well as 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 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, by paying the minimum penalty 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 look at the sights as much as he wants, change the route at will, return to the places he likes or explore new ones more intensively. 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 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 "gorged" organized tours eager for real adventure.

Among independent tourists you can also meet middle-aged, even elderly people. As a rule, these are people who have not lost interest in life, who strive to more fully familiarize themselves with the local flavor of the countries they are going to, as well as 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, to choose which way is better or cheaper to go to distant countries- everyone's personal business. 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 the desired 4-star hotel. The price for a superior double room with taxes and breakfast included is 168 euros 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 in the end.

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 in both directions. As you can see, you will have to sacrifice a few hours of restful sleep in order to save on travel. Therefore, choosing the best way to go on vacation, I repeat, is 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 going to Thailand on your own will in any case be cheaper than going 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, 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 ...

There are still few Russian tourists who organize their holidays abroad on their own. The percentage ratio of such travelers to the total flow of tourists is still equal to 15%, but at the same time, the figure is increasing every year.

Holidays organized by yourself

According to statistics, from 2014-2015, the number of travel companies decreased by almost 70%, from 2050 to 650. However, experts say that the bankruptcy epidemic has been left behind and in the near future travel companies will feel comfortable, since only the strongest players remain on the market. ...

Self-organized tourism is increasing due to the fact that Russian tourists they want to conquer non-standard and new places for recreation. At the same time, if we talk about places in popular resort countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, Greece, then it is more convenient to buy package tours here. This is exactly what most of our compatriots do, namely tourists with children and lovers of all-inclusive recreation.

But, during a holiday within the country, it is much easier for vacationers to book a hotel and tickets on their own.

Distribution of countries

For your convenience, we have made 6 groups of countries for recreation:

1. The first group includes countries where the rest of the savage is much more profitable than the tour. The difference in money can be up to 50%.

2. In the second group of countries, the benefit is up to 20%.

3. In the third group, the cost of the trip and independently organized recreation are the same.

4. The fourth group includes countries where package tours are 15% more profitable.

5. The fifth group includes countries in which it is 65% more profitable to vacation on package tours.

6. In the sixth group of the country, where you can travel only on your own.

We compare the benefits of an independent trip and a package tour

So, if you made the decision to run away to some exotic place, then you definitely need to deal with vacation planning yourself. But those who want to relax without unnecessary adventures and hassles can safely choose a tour on a voucher. Note that in both cases, you will need travel insurance when traveling abroad, which you can choose directly on our website using the price comparison calculator below.