In 1969, the comedy If it’s Tuesday, This Must be Belgium prodded fun at the American tourist, and the guided touring experience as a whole. This film was, partly, in response to the massive wave of coach buses that hit Europe all through the 1950s. Post-war American families saw an economic boom, and started to spend their money on seeing the world. But the formula hadn’t been quite perfected yet. In the film, our characters are on an 18-day, 9-country whirlwind tour, and the pace and shenanigans never slow down.

That’s really the opposite of what guided travel has developed into in the modern era. Gone are the days of hanging out bus windows to desperately snap photos as a monument passes by. These days, building guided tours are part science, and part art. Strategically planned, and artfully paced, guided touring has evolved into an entirely different travel experience.

Your Tour Manager is so much more than what you see in the “old days.” These guides are travel experts in every sense of the word, and bring a unique perspective to every tour they guide. We like to say that our Tour Managers are part tour guide, part concierge and part friend. You have the benefit of a highly trained expert (many of them have been a Tour Manager for over 20 years) right by your side every step of the way. They’re passionate travelers who draw on their own rich backgrounds to enhance your journey, and you can count on them for a bit of historical information, a restaurant suggestion, or even a good laugh.

Group guided travel can also build lifelong bonds between travelers that had never even met before their tour departed. The people on tour are all excited to see and explore, and to really dive into a new cultural experience. That means there is a ready-made bunch of new friends, and they already know they all have lot in common—everyone picked the same trip, after all. It’s not uncommon to see everyone at the end of a trip trading e-mail addresses and phone numbers, to share photos of the trip, catch up after they get home, and maintain friendships that can last into the years.

People can also mistake the word “guided” for the word “strictly planned,” and these days that can’t be further from the truth. Now, at every stop along the way, there is much more free time for that cup of tea, scoop of gelato, or glass or wine. Tours are expertly planned by Tour Designers that take the time to build in free time to relax and explore, so there is never a feeling of being rushed or herded from one stop to the next. This is your trip, after all, and you should be able to enjoy it how you want. Even when it comes to meals, you have your choices. Guided tours often include many meals, but they also build in enough time to try out that restaurant you read about online, or that street food cart you passed that smells so delicious.

Guided tours also make sure you always have tickets to get into that popular art exhibit or historical site. No longer do you have to wake up early and rush to stand in line before tickets to something you really wanted to see sells out. Or, sometimes, a guided tour can take you somewhere you never even knew you wanted to see, and surprise you with an experience that completely would have passed you by if you were traveling on your own.

Guided touring today is not the guided touring of the 60s. These are handcrafted tours, planned by industry experts who walk the streets and experience them. They perfectly balance tours between must-sees, cultural experiences, and plenty of free time. If you weren’t thinking of taking a guided tour, maybe you should start.

AAA Travel Consultants are highly experienced in guided tours. Contact one today if you're interested in exploring this fantastic method of travel.

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