Optional tours are additional tourist attractions that you can use when going on holiday. They strengthen the attractiveness of holiday trips due to the possibility of getting to know the town, region, monuments, interesting places and everything that a given town and region has to offer to tourists, but above all to the residents who use them every day. It is a kind of organised event thanks to which, for a fixed fee, you will get to know a given place and take advantage of all the attractions.

What are optional tours?

Optional tours are excursions organized in the place where we stay on holiday, to attractive tourist destinations, under the supervision of a guide. It is important to add that optional tours are extra paid. They are organised by the tour operator with whom we go on holiday, private tour guides or local tourist agencies. In most cases, in each situation, tourists use the same people who provide tourist services under different brands.

Where to buy optional tours?

You can usually buy optional tours from a resident who waits for tourists at the place of holiday, if you go with a travel agency. You can also buy optional tours on your own at a local travel agency dealing with excursions in the area. Or you can use the website odyseos.com, where you can find advertisements from local tour guides.

Another option for buying optional tours is to buy them on site before your holiday from the holiday organizer. This is also a type of booking a place on an organized tour when their number is limited.

Where to buy optional tours?

You can buy an optional excursion directly from the tour guide. All you need to do is to go to the tour guide portal odyseos.com and in the search field enter the city, region or country where you wish to find a tour guide. The advantage of buying directly from a tour guide is that you are supporting a local business. In many cases, Englishmen who live and work as tour guides in the country of your holiday.

The pros and cons of buying optional tours from a travel agent and from local organizers.

The plus side is that the resident usually shows up at the hotel himself, you don't have to go anywhere and look for local travel agents. He arrives on a certain day, at a certain time and presents the whole offer of optional tours. You can immediately buy a place on one of them, paying the appropriate amount.

You will always learn from the resident exactly where and at what time the organized means of transport will take you. Such purchase takes place quickly, efficiently and without problems.

The downside of optional tours purchased from a resident is definitely higher prices than what is offered by local tour guides or local travel agencies. This is directly influenced by the number of middlemen who collect their commission along the way. This includes the resident who ultimately sells the local tour guide service. However, legends about the amount of their commission can be greatly exaggerated.

Optional tours by a tour guide

Buy an optional tour by a local tour guide. You can count on considerable discounts compared to the prices of a resident or travel agency. This is undoubtedly tempting, but before you buy, it is best to find out exactly what is included in the price of the tour.

It also happens that you pay only for transport and guide service, and for admission to the selected object or possible meals you have to pay extra. When you add up all the fees, an optional trip bought from a local tour guide will certainly be cheaper than one bought in a travel agency.

As far as the basic travel insurance is concerned, it is valid regardless of who you take an optional excursion with. It covers you for the entire period of your stay abroad, regardless of where you buy the extra attraction - from a resident or local travel agent or from a local tour guide.

What should an optional excursion include?

Excursion usually includes transport by chosen means of transport, possible insurance (mainly extreme sports, which are not covered by the basic travel insurance) and care of a pilot or guide. Sometimes there is both a guide and a pilot, because the local tour guide does not speak your language, so he/she is translated by your tour leader.

What is included in the price of the optional excursion?

In addition, entrance fees to monuments, museums or other visited objects may already be included in the price of the optional tour. Sometimes some meals during the tour (lunch, snacks or dinner) are included in the price. In some countries, you can also ask for tips for the drivers transporting the tour from place to place. This is a voluntary donation to support the usually poorly paid local driver-operators.

Before buying an optional excursion, consider the written terms of the package tour (the benefits to be provided by the organiser). So that in the event of non-fulfilment of obligations or changes to the itinerary, you can claim compensation on the basis of such a document. This is why it is so important to know the foreign language in which the contract for the optional excursion you are going to buy will be written.

How much does an optional trip cost and what should I pay attention to?

What should I pay attention to when buying optional tours?

As always, in any shopping situation, your suspicions should be aroused by too low or too promotional prices of such an attraction. Of course, we are talking about local tour sellers here. Before buying, it is worth asking about everything thoroughly, and above all about what exactly the price includes.

Especially in countries with a different business culture, where the high cost of a trip is not a guarantee of the quality of service you will receive. Sometimes it may happen that you will see everything you wanted for little money. Unfortunately, it may also be the case that you will spend a lot of money without getting anything special in return and you will feel cheated.

When renting a car with a driver, it is worth asking the owner of the taxi if for a given amount of money he would not drive us around the area, stopping at every interesting place. Such a trip under the supervision of a local will turn out not only more interesting, but also sometimes cheaper than what is offered by a resident. And this in a very narrow and intimate group.

In addition, the taxi driver will show you the cheapest shops, the real (not prepared for tourists) places where the locals stock up. Places frequented only by locals. Places you won't see on a group tour. You just have to set the price before you make the transaction, so that it doesn't suddenly rise significantly at the end ; )

Where to buy optional tours?

On the other hand, when it comes to optional tours bought from a resident, you should be aware that on their route there will usually be some commercial stops (e.g. alcohol distillery, olive press, local market, jeweller, restaurant, carpet factory). You get there thanks to the discounts the guide receives from these traders, on the value of your purchases. Remember, no pub or cafe we are guided to is usually random.

It's not particularly harmful, because no one is going to force you to shop or eat, so it's worth the effort. That's how business is done, everywhere in the world. It's also worth noting that some tour operators require a minimum number of participants, so it does happen that optional tours where not enough participants sign up are cancelled.

Safety on optional tours

When it comes to safety, a coach of questionable efficiency can happen both on a tour with a travel agent and on a coach bought on the town. Both organisers are required to have the appropriate local licenses or to take out insurance policies. Slightly less risk will be faced by the resident, as usually the organiser themselves should check that the carrier has all the permits and guarantees.

A way to avoid disappointment is to check the offer and reviews of optional trips on the Internet. It is known that faster write people dissatisfied with the service than satisfied. However, you should always keep them in mind.

Even better source of information are certainly recommendations from friends or family who returned and used the optional tours.

Where to buy optional tours?

Excursions are not only trips to places attractive in terms of history or landscape. These may also be cruises on different ships, trips to the desert, or SUV photo safari.

A very common case are organized evenings, where you learn not only the culture of the country (dances, songs), but also very often the local cuisine with beverages.

Optional tours may also include a diving course, a canoe crossing, a balloon flight or a ride on a camel, or a knight competition. These are not only excursions to attractive places, where the guide tells the story of the place, company, region and country.

The only limitation is your wallet.

For those who are interested, helicopter tours are also organised, which often take place over the greatest attractions known in the world, such as the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, New York, Las Vegas at night. In turn, the offer of optional trips for children is usually trips to aqua parks, theme parks, zoos, aquariums or cruises on pirate ships.

Reviews of optional trips

We look forward to receiving your reviews and opinions on the various optional tours organised by the tour guides. Let us know, your feedback will greatly help others to make the right decision, tour guides promotion.