Guided tours

i would like to arrive at a destination spend a couple of days exploring then move on under our own steam somewhere else. However neither me or my husband are keen on driving on the 'wrong' side of the road so if we didn't take tours we'd see very little. Last year we flew to Prague then had a 7 day bus tour. 2 nights in Prague, Vienna and Budapest. We enjoyed this because we were't herded about too much. A morning tour with lots of information then left to own devices for the rest of the day.

We thought this was the best of both worlds. Someone else getting us from A to B but plenty of free time. What we don't like is tours where you are all herded into the same restaurant and forced into polite conversation with people we don't know and may have nothing in common with. Inevitably as well there will be much nicer seating areas with lovely views but reserved for individual travellers rather than tour groups whose custom they already have.

Sorry for such a long winded explanation. Basically ...when we choose tours which mainly stick to B and B with an interesting morning tour leaving us free to eat lunch and dinner where we like we do best. Trial and error really.

It depends. I like gallery tours where the guide takes the group to see say ten of the most important exhibits.

Recently, I went on a very interesting NT tour of Hardman House in Liverpool, the home and workplace of photographer Edward Chambre Hardman. Each floor was conducted by a different and knowledgeable guide. Recommended.

I also enjoy audio tours. Sometimes, I have mixed feeling about whether I am being told how to interpret the art but I do end up learning a lot more than I might otherwise have done had I just looked.

On the whole I like to explore alone but its often very useful talking to the guides/guards stationed in each room of a gallery. In my experience, they really enjoy sharing their knowledge about the exhibits.

National Trust guides have often been primed to tell one story only, and that the one that the NT thinks is most interesting. Which isn't necessarily the one of interest to the visitor.

My interests include the Arts and Craft movement and we visited one NT property, where they mentioned in passing that one wing had been designed and built by Walter Brierley, when I asked for further information they had none, they only wanted to tell visitors about an eccentric family living in the house in the early 1900s, which really did not interest me.

However I struck lucky because I also have an interest in embroidery and needlework, and I spoke to a guide, who by chance shared my interest and she told and showed me so much. Again little about this in the guide book or anywhere else on site.

It depends on the place but usually we prefer to go round by ourselves. In some of the National Trust guides get a bit carried away and go on a bit. They are there to answer questions which is great but sometimes they follow you around and it's a bit annoying. My DH will listen for hours but I get a bit bored.

We tend to mix and match. Many places I research and we wander or use a local taxi, in Florence and Rome for the first time knowledgeable and interesting guides were worth their weight in gold.

If guided tours are not your thing there are so many other options. If you have internet connection see what information is available on your phone or tablet or buy a guide book for more detailed information about a place and plan your own tour around your particular interest areas.

For more general info pick up a brochure from your hotel, BnB or tourist information office; look for information about self guided walking tours or 'hop on hop off' buses that will cover most of the main attractions. Ask locals for recommendations and their own favourite places. Book a taxi for a day or half day to take you to places not easily accessible by public transport. Or just go for a wander at your own pace and stop for a coffee or food when you feel like it; you may not see all the official attractions but you will have had your own personal adventure.

there weren't any half day tours where we were, Apricity

ps I did abandon part of one tour which didn't seem so interesting and found a nice café and joined the tour later! My legs needed a break.

sorry, the guides were extremely interesting, knowledgeable and full of anecdotes

overthehill we used to 'do our own thing', hire a car, arm ourselves with a guide book and any information we could find, but now we're older we tend to book a couple of tours if away for a week.

However, the last two we went on were exhausting - but the guides were brilliant and it was all extremely interesting, knowledgeable and full of anecdotes. We probably learned more and saw more than we would have done doing our own thing.

It was worth the exhaustion now I look back on them!

Apricity my goodness you've certainty rapped me over the knuckles for expressing an opinion...duly reprimanded!!

I will happily accept a guided tour, but I prefer a good guide book. People's interests in an art gallery, historic home etc etc are so various and their background knowledge is so variable that such a tour, inevitable skates over everything, with too much detail for some and too little for others.

With a good guide book, you can home into the things you are really interested in and if there are good room monitors or information staff you can ask all the quetsions you want about what interests you and get good answers.

Me again. Just to say that when visiting a town for the weekend, to see the sights and get away for a bit, we always try and go on a tour as soon as we get there. By bus if possible. That way you get an idea of the layout of the town and can pick the things you want to go back and visit in detail - you don't lose time out of your short weekend wandering about, only to find out when you got home that you missed something really cool!

I enjoy them. It's fascinating when bits of a puzzle start to fit together when you do lots of tours in different places. You can ask questions, and you see more than if you took yourself round with a guide book.

The questions that some people ask are also interesting. Many people seem to have a very good knowledge of the history.

You can also do tours which include a stopover in a bar or café to try a local speciality. Most tours take an hour and a half - I find I can't take in any more after that time. 90 mins is the maximum for visiting museums and galleries, too.

Guides can be very different, too. Some drone on, others ask questions and answer questions and involve the group, especially children, some are enthusiastic, others will struggle to answer questions.

If you don't enjoy guided tours why go on them? Do your homework beforehand and select short tours that really interest you rather than suggesting tours be changed to meet your expectations. Why spoil it for others? No one forces you to go on guided tours.

Alima its the Prado, my favourite of all the galleries I have ever been to. Didn't do it on a guided tour though, think I prefer to do galleries in my own time and focusing on the things I want to see rather than what someone else wants to show me. I stayed in there all day whereas I would feel I had had enough after a couple of hours in other galleries.

I've only done a couple of group guided tours which were good but we prefer it when we have the luxury of our own personal guide who can adapt to what interests us. I have wondered about booking a group tour to some of the far away places on our bucket list so would be interested to know what others think of those.

We did a day excursion to Seville in September, it was just a precursor to going there for a week next year. Normally we don't do guided tours, we made an exception when we were in Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, a little bit wary in those countries. Personally I don't switch off and have enjoyed all the tours I've done.

I usually enjoy them, so many interesting facts which would have escaped me otherwise. Never had an issue with achey legs, does it happen when you’re shopping too? What’s the name of that wonderful gallery in Madrid? Wasn’t until we had a guided tour round there that I realised there is a point to art. (Don’t have a creative bone in my body).

I love them because I probably wouldn't notice half of it otherwise. Always makes legs ache standing around though!

I like them - I always learn something new. As long as I can wander off afterwards and poke around by myself, I'm fine.