What is your idea of a great trip?

Do you like to travel with others?

Do you enjoy group activities?

Do you like to have someone tell you what you are seeing?

Are you content to be taken from place to place with little or no time to wander on your own?

Do you like to have your history in short capsules?

Do you prefer to be taken to places to shop that have are fixed prices rather than shopping in local places where you need to bargain?

Do you like to have someone else take care of the details of a trip like choosing hotels and restaurants?

Do you like to choose foods from buffets where you can pick and choose want you want from western and local foods, the local foods spiciness toned down for the western palate?

Do you enjoy a trip that gives you a brief introduction to many places rather than giving you a longer experience of fewer places?

If so, group travel is for you.  You will likely enjoy tours put together by hundreds of companies.  Look at the itinerary and see if it covers what you want to do/see, check on how many people the tour takes at a time, and see what the transport and accommodations are.

Do you find that researching and planning a trip is part of the pleasure?

Do you prepare for a trip by reading not only guidebooks, but also history and fiction about your destination?

Do you like to do things on your own?

Do you like time to explore, wander, talk with locals even if you share very little language?

Do you like to shop in local markets, bargaining with locals and finding unusual items?

Do you like to explore places in depth?  Do you want more than just a walk-through of a site?

Do you like to try out new foods?

Do you like to choose your own hotels and restaurants?

Are you comfortable learning the public transportation system in a new city?

Do you like to go at your own pace?  Does it drive you crazy to wait for others or be hurried along?

If so, independent travel is for you.  This site can help you be a savvier independent traveler!

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