Small group tours, without the tour bus and the flag

Small group touring is the fastest-growing thing I book — and the one people are most skeptical about. Usually they're picturing a fifty-seat bus and a 6am start. That's not what this is, and it's worth two minutes to explain why.

Why book a tour when you could just go?

Some destinations reward independence. Others quietly punish it. Morocco, Egypt, Vietnam, the Balkans, much of East Africa, Japan outside the main corridor. In all of these, the gap between a well-run tour and a self-planned trip isn't comfort. It's access. A good operator gets you into places at hours the public can't, with someone who can explain what you're looking at.

There's also the simple arithmetic of effort. A two-week independent trip through several countries is thirty or forty separate bookings, each one a chance to get something wrong at a border or a train station. On a tour that's one booking, and someone else's problem to solve. Chad and I live on the road full-time, so I have opinions about logistics that most people are lucky enough never to need. A good operator absorbs all of it.

What does "small group" actually mean?

It's an unregulated phrase and operators stretch it hard. Some sell "small group" at thirty-eight people. What I look for:

• A real cap — typically twelve to twenty-four, stated as a maximum rather than an average, and enforced.
• Vehicles that match the group — a minibus for sixteen, not a fifty-seater with two thirds of it empty.
• Guides who are employed, not subcontracted per-day — it's the single clearest predictor of quality.
• Genuine free time — a schedule with gaps in it, not eleven hours of programming a day.
• Honest inclusion lists — where the "optional excursions" are the actual highlights, the headline price is fiction.
• No mandatory shopping stops. Still more common than it should be.

Traveling solo?

Small group touring is the best value in travel if you're traveling alone, and it's the category where the single supplement does the most damage. Some operators waive it entirely on certain departures, some offer a room-share match, and some charge you eighty percent extra for the privilege of a room to yourself. I know which is which, and I'll steer you toward departures where you aren't paying a penalty for being one person.

The kinds of tour I book

• Cultural and historical — Egypt, Greece, Italy, Peru, Japan.
• Walking and active — with a genuine difficulty rating, so "moderate" means something.
• Wildlife and safari — where the vehicle, the camp, and the guide matter more than the country.
• Rail journeys — a category that's quietly excellent and consistently underbooked.
• Land packages either side of a cruise — often the best way to see a place your ship only gives you nine hours in.

How much ground should you cover?

This is where a second opinion earns its keep. Most people book a first tour that's one country too ambitious, come home exhausted, and conclude they don't like touring. Fourteen days across four countries reads well on a brochure and is exhausting. A slower itinerary you love beats a longer one you survive, every time — so I'll flag it if what you've picked has too many hotel changes in it.