Three years ago, my husband, Kjell, and I travelled to Central America to celebrate our anniversary. One morning we drove north to make a three-mile hike to what we’d read in a travel book was a spectacular waterfall.
Several kilometers from the head of the trail, our car hit a road filled with rocks. Kjell couldn’t get the car out of first gear without our heads hitting the ceiling. Never daunted by a challenge, he drove on. After fifteen kilometers of near jaw-breaking jostling, we arrived at a remote outpost with a few trail signs.
“Trail,” however, was a bit misleading. We climbed over ruts, around rocks, and dodged enormous mud puddles. Hot and tired, we trekked on, hoping that a glimpse of this waterfall would redeem all our time and energy. An hour and a half later, we stared blankly at a slightly above-the-ordinary waterfall. This is it? I wondered. Yep, that was it.
If only we’d had a reliable on-the-ground local expert to tell us where to go, or in this case, where not to go.
Whether you’re typically a go-it-alone traveler or someone who’s timid about travel, here are the top 10 reasons to travel with a guide.
Top 10 Reasons to Travel with a Guide
10. Guides know where to find the cleanest bathrooms.
9. Guides will help you avoid saying or doing something that could result in anything from scorn to prison time.
8. Guides do the driving and parking. Enough said.
7. Guides plan for and navigate the unexpected (and there can be many in travel), everything from roadblocks and train strikes to police checkpoints. Your guide has it covered.
6. Guides offer a warning when you are about to eat something that would likely mean you will spend your entire vacation in the bathroom.
5. Guides don’t rely on guidebooks but instead tap into their years of personal experience.
4. Guides know where you are going, how you will get there, what you should wear, when you will be eating—when you don’t.
3. Guides anticipate threats and know how to avoid them.
2. Guides save you wasted hours that would have been spent lost or staring at maps.
1. Guides are your key to unlocking the local culture.
Niteo Tour’s experienced and knowledgeable guides give you a carefree vacation that’s packed with personal attention and insights into local culture.
Spend less time planning and more time enjoying your vacation!
Has there ever been a time when you wished you’d had a guide?
Copyright © 2015 Niteo Tours.
