Top 5: Travelling with a tour group

Some time ago I decided I needed a break. I went from high school to TAFE to university to another university and then to my job for the following six years. Basically I was exhausted. And yes, I felt like I needed to find myself too.

I proudly owned my own home, but I knew that it had prevented me from taking breaks or holidays. If I took time off work the mortgage would need to be paid. I spoke to my finance guy and we re-mortgaged the house. Many people told me that this was a stupid idea, but these people didn’t know how quickly I was sinking (emotionally sinking, I didn’t find myself in a pit of quicksand in Melbourne’s CBD).

My work was kind enough to give me three months off and I had a renter organised for my house. But now I had to organise my overseas trip and I was daunted. I knew I wanted to go to Europe and I knew I wanted to see as much as I could. So joining a tour group was my solution and it was one of the best experiences of my life (Thanks Topdeck!).

Here are my top five reasons it worked for me:

1. Scaredy cat: I was scared of travelling alone and no one would (funnily enough) give up 3 months of their normal lives and come with me. I knew there would be other solo travellers joining the group and I latched onto them with all my might.
2. New friends: Throughout the 3 tours I did in the three months, I made 40-something new friends and one of them moved in with me (Hey Megs!). These are people I never would have met if I hadn’t joined that tour and I’m still close with a bunch of them.
3. Busy bodies: There was always someone to do something with. Even obscure things. Need someone to go skydiving with you? (Thanks Whit!) Need someone to come and check out Oskar Schindler’s factory? (Thanks Bec!) Or need someone to take care of you when you’re sick? (Thanks Kara…and you were sicker than me!) The group is so big and so full of different people that you can always find a partner in crime.
4. Party animals…or not: Again, the group had such a variety of people that if I felt like partying I could easily join the others. But, there were definitely nights I was not in the mood and wanted to go home early and guess what? There were people calling it a night too, so the walk home wasn’t just me feeling sorry for myself.
5. New and improved you: I needed a time out and I needed a refresher. No one knew me on this trip, so I didn’t have to be uptight me or worried me. I could be carefree me and this excited me to no end. Little did I know that on this trip I would learn so much about who I was and who I wanted to be in the future. And it was seeing all these new places with all these new people that made all the difference.

If you’ve ever thought about joining a tour, give it a go! You will see and do so many things and meet so many wonderful people. What have you got to lose?

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