How to buy a tour on your own without a travel agency. Advantages of organized tours. Advantages of self-guided tours

Friends, hello everyone!

There is nothing new about the idea of going somewhere on a trip during your vacation. And if before our horizons were limited "I'll make a suit and go to Yalta " or "Lyudochka, fly to Gaagry" , today we have the whole world in front of us at a glance.

The main thing is that your opportunities coincide with desires and variable requirements of Rostourism . As soon as all the dissonance between these components disappears, the question of how to buy a tour on your own without a travel agency to any country will be solved literally within an hour.

Well, if you don’t need to consult with your wife, father-in-law, friend, wife’s girlfriend, or weigh the pros and cons while taking a nap for another hour under the mournful background of a football match of the Russian national team with no matter what opponent.

But I still urge you to act more quickly! Especially when you consider that buying a tour abroad online is not only a cost-effective process, but also very exciting.

In part, I have already touched on this issue in the dedicated purchase of a tour to Turkey, and you already know about the choice of independent travel as a reproach to group trips. But this is my personal business, and in our country, according to the statements from the world tribunes of the leaders of the international community, democracy and each to his own spring.

Therefore, we will not talk about what I choose, I will discuss what choice we have.

In particular, in many small towns people are still in the old fashioned way. trust but verify and go to travel agencies to their trusted friends to buy this or that tour.

When I was still young, full of strength and youthful enthusiasm, I was looking for a ticket to the UAE for our family, I initially walked around several agencies and, making sure that they were selling something prohibitively expensive, sat down on the phone.

No, initially I went to a site that was popular at that time (something in the spirit of vacation.com) and chose desired tour by the number of days and nights, and then he wrote out the telephone numbers of those companies that sell this tour in Sevastopol.

My battle with the travel agency or how to get a discount

And here, for the first time, I discovered the abilities of a telephone huckster in myself. For the honor of being nominated as the agent to send me to Dubai, such giants fought as Coral Travel , Join Up And Atlantic tour .

The battle was banal. From their side, “take only from us,” and from my side, “I have a cheaper option.” In the end, the company won the bid. Join Up with whom I signed a contract.

But as you probably already know, a tour operator and a travel agency are two different things. Already in the process of signing, I found out that we were flying from a tour operator Tez Tour , and the cost of my tour after all these "mad discounts" from fellow fellow guides turned out to be the same as Tez Tour on their website for travel agencies.

That is, in theory, I could buy this very tour directly from the tour operator at the same price without two days of negotiations, threats, tears and impudent assurances "and my wife was offered $ 100 cheaper."

But here's the problem. Powerful corporations do not want to deal directly with buyers because it's a hassle for them. That is why they use such a filter as travel agencies, which do all the educational and explanatory work, as well as assist in obtaining visas, drink coffee and listen to your problems.

But that was way back in 2012. 7 years ago. What about today?

How tours and tours are bought in the 21st century

Today, to choose a tour, you do not need to run around the city, call travel agencies on the phone, watch the Internet for hours in search of reviews and recommendations.

Everything has already been stolen before us!

Giants plow in the arena today tourism business online services for the sale of travel packages directly from the tour operator. Have you heard of services? Travelata, Level Travel or Online tours.

These companies practically do not differ from each other in terms of prices and the choice depends on the convenience of working in it for you personally and, possibly, the design of the site itself. Although I recommend using at least two to make sure you find the best tour for you.

Well, from my observations, I think that the service Online tours better than others copes with the task of finding tours in Russia and, in particular, the Crimea.

The process of buying a tour is now no more difficult than paying for any service or product in an online store. In fact this is the online store that sells travel services. And teas for weight loss that didn’t lather everyone’s eyes, super razors on solar panels or products from the section "drink, do not be shy, master horse power."

Let's see what steps the online booking of a tourist package consists of.

Buying a ticket online - a step-by-step algorithm

Voice requests

So, first you need prepare for payment bank card set up internet access and at least roughly determine the criteria for selecting a tour:

what country or what type of holiday
will you go with the children or with the mother-in-law
how many days do you plan to relax
what are your personal requirements for hotels
are you ready to make compromises: night flight, distance to the beach, star rating, options for sharing your room)) etc.

We are looking for among the proposed options

Enter basic data: right direction, date of departure and the number of nights in the hotel, the number of tourists and the class of the hotel.
If you are interested in the selection, then proceed to its detailed study, if not, then using filters (star rating, distance to the beach, certain services, maximum price, rating) make a selection from the available options.
If you are still unhappy with the selection, then refer to the adjacent calendar or price chart to find better options.
Having sharpened your eyes on some options, open them in adjacent tabs and start exploring
View information about the hotel, its location on the map, photos of the territory and rooms, as well as real reviews of tourists who have been here
Do not miss the opportunity in some cases to choose the most convenient flight for you in time.
If everything suits you, then proceed to payment.
Enter your call sign, e-mail address and phone number, and on the next page fill in the passport details of the persons participating in your adventure.
Once you've checked everything, press the "Book" button before someone else does.
On the payment screen, you, as elsewhere, enter your card details and press the "Pay" button.

All! I congratulate you! You can go pack your bags.

Press the secret button

After a few minutes of waiting, if there are no hitches, you will receive a confirmation of payment and a link to your personal account by e-mail.

Hitches happen very rarely, and then mainly with booking last-minute tours, when last place may leave a second before you press the button "Book" .

2 days before travel You will also be emailed:

e-tickets for air travel
voucher for transfer to the hotel and direct accommodation in it
travel medical insurance

Why is it better to use online services?

When searching, you immediately have access to a database with more, in which more than 100 tour operators in real time. You can choose both the cheapest and the most optimal tour offer among several tour operators.
There are no extra charges compared to a travel agency, as the services Travelata, Level.Travel And Online tours earn on agency fees directly from the tour operator, depending on the number of sales.
Also, the services have a minimum number of employees, there are only a few offices in Moscow (where you can come if you feel insecure during the first purchase) and there are no bloated staffs and large deductions for their maintenance (in principle, like any Internet shop).
Remote purchase of a tour is much more convenient than exhausting trips around the city to the office and back.
Support service works 24/7
If you need a visa, then you will be given all the necessary information, and in Moscow they will even send a courier and help with registration.
For example, in a company travelata, after payment, the money is only blocked on the card and withdrawn after the operator calls and fills out the contract.

Charter flights

In the end, I must warn you about charter flights and unconditional faith in them.

Signing up for any tour, you should understand that it can cost less than a solo flight, because you will fly on a charter. A chartered flight —this is unpredictable!

My friends flew out of Turkey 1 day later (due to the fault of the airline) and had to pay extra for another day of living on their own. In addition, all tickets independent flight from Moscow to Simferopol (and in the season it's wow!) also down the drain.

Charter in the list of departures is always at the very end. Therefore, all receipts are sent to you 2 days before departure, or even a day before. Because the departure time can change like the trajectory of a tennis ball. Consider this and other nuances so that your trips are not spoiled from the start.

There are offers from different companies to pay extra for a fixed departure time. This is bought by parents with small children, for whom the time of departure is important.

But you must understand that the travel agency in no way, except for wishes, can influence the time of departure of the charter. It all depends on the schedule of the airport itself, in the priority list of which charter flights always in the backyard!

Tobish, if somewhere something and someone was delayed, then the efficiency and flight schedule will be restored precisely through charter flights, which dispatchers can move without any remorse.

Well, to pay for this service or not, it's your choice.

Travel more, more interesting, cheaper!

As you can see, today buying a tour to almost any country is not difficult. There would be a desire to go somewhere and money for the trip.

If you have any questions, then ask them in the comments or better look at the contribution QUESTIONS in the menu header of the service you have chosen.

After all, it is much more interesting and easier to make a choice with the whole family in front of the screen of your own monitor at home than to call back agents, surf the links and go to offices to leaf through colorful magazines and discuss the offers you have chosen.

Of course, if you like the communication procedure itself or you have been buying all tours from this particular agent or a certain tour operator for centuries, then continue like that. Today, on the impersonal Internet, it is very difficult to find a really worthwhile interlocutor with whom you can have a live meeting.

But if time is valuable to you, or you yourself do not know what you want and do not want to become a victim of persuasion in something against your will, then the Internet and online services are in your hands.

Until we meet again

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Perhaps all modern travelers can be conditionally divided into two categories - those who go to unknown destinations with the help of travel companies and those who organize their trip from and to on their own.

IN Lately there are more and more people traveling without intermediaries - both in the world and in Russia in particular. It's obvious that independent tourism gained its distribution due to the development of the Internet and electronic technologies that do not require, say, even a personal presence when buying air tickets.

The maximum simplification of paperwork, hotel reservations, and the purchase of tickets for all kinds of transport allowed people to expand the boundaries of choice. And if earlier a person had to go to a travel agency to find out absolutely all the questions about the upcoming trip, now we just need to enter any request into the search line on the Internet and get an exhaustive amount of information.

Interestingly, according to some data, employees of a number of travel companies are already talking about the fact that their business is on the verge of extinction. Of course, travel companies will not be able to completely disappear - lazy, rich and elderly people will always crave the caring "hand" of the tour operator, but the problems with the "passenger traffic" are increasingly and more clearly beginning to be felt by companies. After all, young people mostly turn away from them - they are not afraid of anything and know perfectly well how to find cheap air tickets, how to book the most suitable hotel rooms, how to get a visa and how to see the maximum sights at a minimum financial cost.

In this material, we will not debunk the uselessness of travel agents and praise independent travelers, if only because in the first and second cases there are both obvious pluses and minuses that are not so noticeable at first glance.

Here we’ll talk about how it’s cheaper to travel - through a travel agency or on your own, which country is better to go through a tour operator, and which one you can go “on your own”, and also look at an example - how to organize a trip on your own according to a similar travel agency offer, what time it will cost - what will be its advantages and disadvantages.

Let's start with the fact that the choice of organizing an upcoming trip depends on a number of circumstances and factors. These include primarily travel dates, choice of dates and days for a flight or move, financial opportunities for tourists, direction - that is, the country they have chosen for their vacation, as well as personal wishes for the level of the hotel, its location, and so on.

As practice shows, travel companies are usually contacted by people who do not want or do not have enough time to organize their trips on their own, citizens who have problems with foreign language and those in need of constant guide accompaniment, as well as those who are “greedy” for last-minute tours, that is, vouchers that can be bought, roughly speaking, a day before departure at a super-low price.

On their own to foreign countries, as a rule, people who speak English fluently, who can independently organize the best leisure for themselves and the conditions of stay in a foreign country, are not afraid self purchase air tickets, visa issues and so on, as well as those who do not want to rest according to the template given travel company.

And now let's look at the example of specific countries where it is still easier for our fellow citizens to travel through travel agencies, and where it is more profitable to travel on their own.

All statistics show that the most popular tourist destinations for Russians are Turkey, Egypt, Greece, China, Thailand, India and Spain. The sample of these countries is naturally supplemented from year to year by others, but even among those listed here it is clear that mostly in demand European states, or countries South-East Asia . neither Latin nor North America, neither Australia nor Middle and South Africa in this top you will not find.

The craving for Europe among our compatriots is most often explained by the proximity of countries, their rich history and saturation with sights smoothly interspersed with favorable mediterranean climate. As for Asia, Russians are most often attracted there by a thirst to get acquainted with the exotic, to expand spiritual knowledge, and also attracted by the cheapness of Asian life. However, first things first.

Where is the best place to travel?

To begin with, let's take such popular destinations among Russians as Turkey and Egypt. As a rule, these countries attract compatriots by their territorial proximity to Russia, resorts with access to the sea, warm climate and developed tourism infrastructure. Both countries, due to their popularity, are in good standing with Russian travel companies. That is why it is easy to spend a week in Egyptian Hurghada or Turkish Antalya with the help of a tour operator for 14-16 thousand rubles, with a flight, mandatory meals and all-inclusive drinks, in at least a 4-star hotel with a swimming pool and a water park on site.

Otherwise, the choice is up to the tourists themselves - to spend all 7 days in a hotel, relaxing and basking in the sun, or combine passive recreation with active trips to sights for an additional price. For example, at the very same hotel, you can easily take a tour and go on a real safari or to the ancient mysterious pyramids.

As practice shows, it is better and cheaper to go to the countries in question on a package tour. An independent trip on only round-trip tickets will cost the traveler the price of the entire tour from the tour operator. And if you add accommodation, food and entertainment to this, then you will need to overpay at least twice.

Of course, with a great desire to Turkey or Egypt, you can go on your own. However, if you choose beach holiday, then it makes no sense to overpay for it, using an individual search for hotels and good conditions they are practically non-existent.

It is known that such destinations as Thailand, China and India have also recently been widely developed by travel companies and, accordingly, by the flows of Russian citizens. At first glance, these countries are also easier, safer and more appropriate to visit on tours offered by operators. However, it immediately becomes clear that reach, say, sunny Thailand many times more expensive than diving into warm seas Turkey.

Usually, the offers of travel agencies for holidays in Southeast Asia for two are full of amounts almost reaching 100 thousand rubles for a weekly vacation, and there is definitely no question of any all inclusive. Sometimes, of course, companies do a “throw away” of unsold vouchers and Internet surfers, thirsty for wanderings, catch a discount trip for 30-40 thousand, which, you see, is noticeably cheaper than 100, but still more expensive than Turkish “baklava”.

Which countries are cheaper to travel on your own?

And here tour operators are replaced by free travelers, those who are meticulously ready to tell you that it is best to travel around Asia on your own.

Firstly, it is important to understand that such resorts in Thailand as Pattaya and Phuket (the most popular among tour operators and, accordingly, tourists) are becoming exorbitantly expensive every year, not without the help of our compatriots. Secondly, even in these, which have become expensive places in Thailand, independent travelers find budget options for both food and accommodation, rather than what the operators offer.

For example, in the "kingdom of smiles" it is not necessary to rent a 4-star hotel with free breakfast at the fabulous price of a travel agency. At independent search you can easily find hotels or guest houses on the same Booking at two or even three times cheaper, with conditions practically no different from a 4-star hotel.

As for air travel, if you plan your trip in advance, say, three months in advance, you can buy the cheapest tickets, and sometimes even direct ones. Sometimes independent travelers manages to grab round trip tickets for 500-550 dollars. And if we add here the rent of housing, an average of 500-600 rubles per room per day in a decent guest house, and daily meals for the same amount, then housing plus food will cost a maximum of 8 thousand rubles for one or 12-15 thousand for two.

At the same time, you will not be constrained by the schedule set by the travel company, you will be free to change the place of deployment in accordance with your preferences and budget, and you will also be able to easily travel around memorable places country without resorting to the help of guides and groups hanging around behind him. To implement the last point, it will be enough to arm yourself with a map of the area and a smile, even knowledge in English at a high level you will not be required.

If we talk about a trip to India on a tour, then it’s definitely worth saying here that the benefit of such a trip will consist only in the fact that the organizer will in some sense be responsible for you - for the round-trip flight, check-in at the hotel and what - something food. For the rest, you need to know that holidays in countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and, say, Vietnam are best planned on your own, since factors such as housing, food and hotel location, firstly, are more priority to determine on the spot , and secondly, all this in the conditions of the local market will cost you several times cheaper than the tour operator will offer.

Thus, in many respects, the countries of Southeast Asia will be cheaper and more interesting to visit on your own. Even despite the fact that the flight to this region far from central Russia takes a lot of time and costs an order of magnitude more expensive than the road to a clean and civilized Europe.

And what about Europe?

As for Europe, here opinions about how it is more profitable to travel - on your own or through a travel agency in each case are ambiguous. Actually, about European countries it cannot be generalized to say that they are all equally expensive, for example, as for Asian countries, we confidently assure that all these states are approximately equally cheap.

The paradox of Europe often lies in the fact that it is quite cheap to fly there from Moscow or St. Petersburg, but in the Schengen area itself, everything is not so accessible to our tourists. Let's say that many travelers - whether on a tour or on their own who traveled to Paris - note the high cost French capital, the inability to idly drink coffee in the mornings in coffee shops and allow yourself to have lunch and dinner in cafes every day. About Norway and Denmark, in general, only exclamations are heard about the incredible prices for everything, and not at all stories about the fjords.

However, our tourist still does not bypass old Europe, despite all its pretentiousness and high cost. There are also corners here that attract streams of Russians from year to year. For example, Spain, Bulgaria or Czech Republic.

Traveling to these countries in most cases will cost less independent planning. Unless you want to visit one of the designated countries and not several in a week on a bus tour.

For example, V Czech Karlovy Vary by tourist package on average, you can go for 1000-1500 euros for 7 days, this amount includes flights, as well as accommodation in a 4-star hotel with daily breakfasts.

If you organize a trip yourself, then there is a chance to cut costs by half, that is, for 500-500 euros. All that is required for this is a plane directly to the capital of the Czech Republic - Prague, for an average of 120 euros for both tickets, from where you then need to go on your own to Karlovy Vary for about 50-60 euros one way, to a booked hotel of your choice for 240 euro for 7 days.

As for countries such as Spain, Italy, France or Greece, it is possible that it is slightly, but still cheaper to travel on your own. Among the pluses in such a vacation there will be absolute freedom in movement and plans, among the minuses - a complete organization of the trip - starting from self-registration visas to finding the best and cheapest hotel in an unfamiliar country.

By the way, it's time to tell you about all the delights of independent and organized travel intermediaries. After all, in the end, a tourist must clearly see the difference between the first and second, in order to choose for himself the most optimal plan for spending a vacation or another segment of his life in a foreign country.

First, let's take a look at the points advantages of traveling abroad through tour operators:

The minimum time spent on the preparation and organization of the upcoming trip, the purchase of a full package of services in a short time.
Right at the moment of rest, you do not need to take care of booking a hotel, meals and visiting attractions.
Any questions will be answered by the tour operator or his representative on the tour.
If you do not speak English - it does not matter, the tour will be organized using Russian speaking guides, hotels will greet you with a speech at mother tongue, you will hardly have to communicate in broken English.
Organized excursions will take place in the order and speed set by the guides, there will be no time for tourists to think about anything superfluous. All decisions for travelers will be made at the moment when they pay for the trip in a travel agency in their home country.

As you can see, a trip through a travel company can be pleasant for those who are not ready to deal with some everyday problems during their vacation, as well as for those who love a clear, someone-set routine. In addition, people employed in everyday life, wealthy compatriots and other categories of people who, for some reason, do not want to plan their vacation on their own, will gladly use the services of a tour operator.

However, let's also see what are the advantages of solo travelers:

The ability to adjust the travel route, both before the start of the trip, and during the trip itself.
The ability to independently choose the most suitable level of hotel, food, transportation methods.
The chance to purchase tickets in advance at a discounted low cost and the ability to shift the date of departure or arrival, as well as an independent tourist, if necessary, always have the right to return a ticket by paying the airline a minimum fine. For example, it is a priori impossible to refuse a tour from a travel agency without tangible damage to the wallet.
A free traveler is completely on his own, so he can see the sights as much as he wants, change the route at will, return to the places he likes or study new ones more intensively. One can only dream of such freedom in organized tours.
Self-organization of travel with a careful approach will often cost an order of magnitude cheaper than a tourist trip.
In addition, when making a travel plan individually, a tourist, as a rule, truly penetrates the culture of an unknown country, expands his horizons, lives his journey from the very beginning to the very end consciously, independently, freely.

Usually young people go on trips on their own, who do not have money for organized tours and have no desire to follow some kind of guide, to be limited in their actions and aspirations. Also, individual trips are a priority for people who have been abroad more than once and "ate" organized tours, who are hungry for real adventures.

Among independent tourists you can meet middle-aged, even elderly people. As a rule, these are people who have not lost interest in life, striving to become more fully acquainted with the local flavor of the countries they go to, as well as understanding the value of their time and the fact that no one can organize a good trip for them better than themselves.

In principle, choosing how it is better or cheaper to go to distant countries is a personal matter for everyone. Because for some people the thought of independent organization traveling abroad will seem like a nightmare, while for others it will open up a “second wind” and incredibly inspire.

Finally, I want to give you an example of how you can organize your trip cheaper than using the services of a travel agency, even taking into account the fact that you are planning to buy tickets and the whole trip in a short time.

As a direction, we will choose sunny and distant Thailand. Voucher for famous island Phuket, so beloved by Russian tourists, is sold for two by the first travel agency that came across in the search for 76,737 rubles. This price includes airfare, accommodation in a 4-star hotel for 6 nights from May 9 to May 15, free breakfast, insurance and transfer.

But let's see what price this trip will cost us if we organize it ourselves. Turning to the first low-cost airline that came across (sites selling tickets with discounts, cheaper than the airlines themselves), it turns out that flying from St. 29 643 rubles for one. That is, two tickets will cost 59,286 rubles, including fuel surcharges.

We go to booking and find desired hotel 4 stars. The price for a double superior room with taxes included and breakfast is 168 euros for 6 nights. We convert them into rubles at the current exchange rate and get 8370 rubles.

To sum up - tickets plus accommodation without a ticket on their own will cost us 67,656 rubles.

That is with an independent organization, you can save up to 10 thousand rubles! For some, of course, this is not money, but for some categories of citizens, even such a difference will seem tangible. In addition, it can be significantly increased if, say, you stay not in the designated hotel, but in a guest house with the same pleasant and comfortable rooms, but without breakfast included in the price. It is quite easy to find a decent guest house in Phuket with accommodation per day for 600 rubles for two, which will be half the price of a hotel in the end.

However, in independent travel, not everything is as cloudless as it might seem. Naturally, saving sometimes requires some sacrifices, for example, time. Unfortunately, I have no data on what kind of flight the travel agency offers to Thailand from Russia - direct or with transfers. But most often they try to organize such tours with direct movements. In the meantime, when planning on your own, the cheapness of tickets is usually formed due to the fact that you fly with transfers, perhaps even with different airlines.

In our example, you can see this. The flight to Phuket will include two transfers and will take an average of 20 hours in both directions. As you can see, you will have to sacrifice a few hours of restful sleep in order to save on travel. Therefore, choosing the best way to go on vacation, I repeat, is a personal matter for everyone.

Do not forget that when organizing a trip on your own, a lot depends on how far in advance you started planning your trip, as a rule, the earlier tickets are bought, the cheaper they are. In our example, the terms are really quite short, and the dates chosen are not the best in terms of cost, so the difference in price between the tour operator’s offer and an independent trip may not seem too noticeable. But even with such an organization, it is obvious, which means that going to Thailand on your own will in any case be cheaper than through a company.

Summing up, I would like to say that naturally there is no single opinion on how best to travel around the world. Each person has his own needs, his own comfort zone and his own financial possibilities. As for how it will be cheaper to travel abroad, I think that within the framework of the article I managed to show you that there are certain trends based on which you can plan your trip and know which country is better to go on your own, and which through a tour operator .

Are you on luxury resort, in an all-inclusive hotel, enjoy the sea, the sun and a tropical cocktail. And you are so cool and good that you can’t even believe that there are still two weeks of vacation ahead. But then suddenly you are asked to look at the hotel manager. He reports simply amazing news: the travel agency did not pay for the hotel room and you have two options - pay yourself or spend the next night under a fence. Two hours later, it turns out that the flight home was also not paid. You understand that those 3,000 bucks that you paid off for a trip for your family ended up on the accounts of a bankrupt travel agency. And you will have to find another bag of money to get out of this mess.

"Vietnam up and down with a small child ... Well, you are monsters! Yes, I have tourists who are afraid to go to Turkey in a five-star hotel on all inclusive go on your own!". I received something like this comment from one blog reader. But really, where does this fear of doing something on your own come from? What makes people give money to intermediaries for something that is so interesting to do it yourself? Plan a trip, a real adventure - and instead of one resort town see the whole country!

Very soon we will go on a new journey of seven months. I planned it in just a few weeks. Everything is spelled out perfectly. For example, I know that on December 29 we will fly from Goa to Bangkok, and on March 20 - from Krabi to Kuala Lumpur, and then to the island of Java. Air tickets bought, hotels found. It is this precise planning and early booking allows you to save a lot of money. Now tell me how much would this cost? individual tour"to four countries and a dozen cities, ordered from a travel agency? A lot? A lot? So why are you paying a lot of money for a two-week vacation in which there is nothing to plan?

Three reasons to go on vacation without a travel agency:

You are sure that your tickets and hotel are exactly paid for, because you yourself bought a ticket from the airline and rented a room in a hotel room.
You may not be limited to standard and densely populated resorts, but instead of one city, see the whole country, or maybe even two or three.
By learning how to organize a small two-week trip, you have acquired skills that will last a lifetime, so next time you will not be afraid to go even around the world. Why not!?

Now I will teach you how to do everything yourself and absolutely free.

Choosing a vacation spot

If you just want to extend the summer and go to the sea no matter where, the main thing is inexpensive, then you can use the "Travel Map" service on the Aviasales website. This is how she looks.

You specify your data in the settings:

The city you want to fly from.
Holiday time: you can select exact dates, you can set a blurry filter, for example, "autumn", "October", etc.
Visa-free stay in the country, you need a visa or Schengen countries.
Length of stay - number of days.
Travel budget. Here you indicate the amount that you are willing to pay for a round-trip flight per person.

Then click search - and right on the map, see the options on the map where you can go. While searching for tickets on the map, I immediately recall my childhood, when I sat for hours with a globe and poked my finger at small islands in the hope that when I grow up, I will definitely go there.

Important clarification! If you do not live in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv or other major cities Russia or Ukraine, you may not see budget options flight. In this case, try to look for flights from neighboring metropolitan areas with large international airports. It will probably be much cheaper to fly from there.

How to buy a ticket online

In order to buy a ticket, it is not necessary to leave the house and look for a ticket office. Go to the website of the Aviasales ticket search engine and look for suitable option flight there. I have already written a very detailed search and purchase of air tickets. There are many screenshots, it explains what and how to do, so you can figure it out without difficulty.

If you are traveling within Asia, for example, from India to Thailand, then you do not need to know the websites of all Asian low-cost airlines by heart. It is enough to use the Makemytrip service, which finds the right flight and compares prices from all discounters and regular airlines. And in some countries there are such universal search engines that look not only for air, but also for train and bus tickets. For example, in India it is Cleartrip.

Of course, sometimes it is easier and cheaper to buy a ticket for a charter, which is ordered by tour operators. My friend, a very experienced girl, recently revealed to me terrible secret that you can buy such tickets directly from the tour operator, bypassing intermediaries in the face of small agencies that wind up their percentage on this. I don’t know at all how the situation is in Russia, I will give a couple of useful sites for my countrymen - Ukrainians. So, catch burning offers at Pegas, Joinup, Teztur. By the way, there are also tours to Egypt for 300-400 dollars for two a couple of days before departure. I saw it with my own eyes about a month ago.

How to book a hotel online

In order to reserve a hotel room, 10-15 years ago you had to look for phone numbers hotels, call them, find out prices. Now everything is very simple. You go to the Hotellook website and choose from hundreds of options that suits you personally. There will also be filters, just like on the flight search site.

You will be prompted to choose:

The price per night you are willing to pay.
Whether or not you need WiFi.
If you need a hotel with breakfast, also do not forget to check the box.
Swimming pool, fitness center, restaurant and laundry... Choose the items you want.
If you do not want to live in a hotel, but do not mind renting an apartment or house, check the box next to the appropriate type of accommodation.

Detailed step-by-step instruction. Feel free to read this post. There are many nuances.

Or maybe an apartment instead of a hotel?

Rent an apartment even for a couple of days unfamiliar city It can be not only more convenient, but also more profitable than a hotel. Judge for yourself if you are exotic country in Asia, then having a kitchen can be just a huge plus when traveling with children. No need to think about what to feed the child, because you can cook anything on your own.

An excellent service for booking apartments around the world is Airbnb. It is very comfortable. Enter the city, choose the price range within your budget and go ahead to look at the pictures. We are planning to rent a two-room apartment in Bangkok in NG for only 190 euros per week. And this is in a compound with a pool. Well, isn't it a fairy tale?

Just fill in the city in this form and choose the right apartment in any city in the world!

If you're not yet an Airbnb member, you can use our affiliate link and receive a free $15 coupon. to receive such a gift.

How to organize transfers from the airport to the hotel and back?

In many hotels, when booking a room, it is possible to order a transfer from the airport. For example, in our favorite in Bangkok, where we stay all the time, the transfer from and to the airport costs 2-3 times cheaper than a taxi, just a couple of dollars. But this is rather an exception to the rule. It is usually cheaper to take a taxi or take the airport bus to the city center. In most cities around the world, you can get from the airport in at least three ways: by bus, aeroexpress or taxi. Read the forums and decide which option is best for you. So score in Google: "How much does it cost to get from the airport to the center of Ho Chi Minh City", for example. There will be many answers.

If you want to plan everything in advance and not think about how to get to the hotel upon arrival, you can use the international airport transfer system. Fill in the form below with the city of arrival and destination and find out the cost and conditions of the trip.

How to organize self-guided tours?

Many tourists buy excursions along with tours in agencies. I want to upset and surprise you, but on the spot the same excursions are MUCH cheaper. For example, in Russian travel agencies in Moscow, an excursion to southern islands Nha Trang sell for $60 per person. On the spot in Russian travel agencies, it already costs $ 35. But if you buy this day trip on a boat with the Vietnamese, then pay only 7 bucks. Unexpected, right?! Yes, in expensive tour you will be given a free bottle of wine, and the food on the ship will be a little more extravagant. But think, is it worth $53 per person?

We organize all our excursions very simply. If the attraction is on land, we rent a scooter (I am writing about Asia now), stock up on a map and go to our destination. We buy entrance tickets on the spot, sometimes when we really, really want some interesting story we are hiring a guide. Believe me, such an independent trip is much cheaper than a purchased excursion, where you are taken on a bus along with two dozen compatriots. At any moment we can turn around and go to another place or, on the contrary, stay somewhere longer. And if you're tired, go home. By the way, if you don’t drive a scooter, you can rent a car for a couple of days and drive around the whole country on your own.

If the excursion is by sea, you can always try to find a boat for rent or, in extreme cases, buy an excursion from local agencies. Experience shows that Russian-speaking guides are usually more expensive.

Quite another matter - author's excursions. For example, the guide lives in Bangkok, Nha Trang or Hong Kong and is ready to show you such interesting places which are hidden from the eyes of ordinary tourists. This service has many thematic excursions: you can look at architecture all day long, plunge into the culinary world new country or go to visit unusual people. Also, excursions organized by a guide make sense if you have little time, but there is a desire to see as much as possible. For example, only one day in Bangkok. If you try to see everything on your own, then spend a lot of time moving from place to place, looking for attractions on the map. With a guide, this issue is solved quite simply. He himself knows how to see more in a short time and get to the right place faster.

Car rental abroad

If you do not drive a scooter, but do not want to depend on dishonest taxi drivers, then car rental is good way drive further and see more. It is best to use an international booking service that monitors the health of your cars, arranges accident insurance and allows you to take a car at one end of the country and return it at the other. For example, you rented a car at Bangkok airport and returned it at southern province Krabi.

Tatyana Solomatina

Package tour or independent travel?

Hello dear readers!

Tour or independent travel? Why do some people buy a package tour, while others organize the trip themselves? Is it worth bothering when there are a lot of agencies nearby? Friends go by themselves, probably it's more profitable? I would try, but what if I fail?

If you ask such questions, then this article is for you, read on, perhaps you will find the answers and the picture will become clearer.

In my opinion, minimal preparation is needed even if you buy a ready-made tour.

Of course, you can just come to the nearest agency, you will be offered a lot of options. But there are subtleties. I have nothing against friendly agents, but there is no guarantee that the hotel will suit you, that they will not sell what is beneficial to them, that the specialist will have a sincere desire to understand your needs, that he will want to look for a lower price or promotions for you, compare the possibility of a convenient departure, and much more. No one will give such guarantees, unless of course he is your close relative or friend.

Agents can be understood, their goal is to sell the tour, while spending a minimum of effort, and receive interest. They will not dig deep for you, so buy it. Not all of them are like that, of course, but they are common.

Which way to choose, pros and cons?

Buy a ready-made tour or go on your own?

To answer this question, let's look at what a package tour consists of. It includes flight, hotel, transfer to and from the place, insurance. Visas and excursions are usually paid separately. Suppose you have already decided on the country and hotel. It's time to look at the prices for package tours of the main tour operators specializing in the chosen destination. The cost is high, don't despair. Try to find out how much a solo trip will cost. To do this, find tickets, look at the cost of the hotel, find out the amount of transfer and insurance. Thus, you will reach the price of an "independent" tour. Then you only need to compare the two numbers.

A package tour is good because you don’t have to spend a lot of time preparing for the trip, during the rest the tour operator takes part of the responsibility for you (unforeseen circumstances have not been canceled), visa issues are resolved for you, if anything, there is someone to file a claim (although also controversial question).

But there are also disadvantages. Full dependence on the operator. With such a difficult situation in the country, this is an important minus. I had experience with the liquidation of the tour operator "Labyrinth". My family lost 190,000 rubles. Then the truth was paid compensation of 18,000 rubles. But agree, this is a drop in the ocean.

Friends go by themselves, probably it's more profitable?

Regarding the price, there is no definite answer. The question is debatable, sometimes a package tour is cheaper, sometimes more expensive than an independent one, a lot depends on the ability to buy cheap tickets, book a hotel at a profit. Tour operators benefit from the cost of flights and redeemed hotel rooms. However, if you have difficult route, with stops at different places, with a visit different countries, then it is cheaper to organize the rest yourself.

Of course, you can order an individual tour in the agency. But unfortunately, I could not find an agency that could organize such a tour inexpensively. Very few tour operators offer complex travel in principle, and there are no inexpensive offers at all. As a rule, such tours are designed for very wealthy clients. I am not one of them, so I cannot give you reliable information in this direction. I know only one agency that organizes such turnkey tours, and then from the words of close friends. This is Sodis. My friends went through them and were very satisfied (do not take it for advertising). The holiday was great, but the cost was biting.

I would try, but what if I fail?

Buy a tour from a local agency, and tickets yourself?

If you are not confident in your abilities, I advise you to partially entrust the development of the trip to the agency. It will be cheaper than an individual tour, but more expensive than organized by yourself.

In this case, you yourself study the approximate route, buy tickets and insurance. Next, dig on the Internet, find a local tourist agency and book a private tour with them. Their representatives take care of you at the airport upon arrival and accompany you until your departure. No need to think about hotels, transfers, entrance tickets. You will only relax and enjoy new places. Of course, for this, even from home, it is necessary to work out with the agency all the nuances of movement, accommodation and leisure. And the more meticulously you do it, the less problems there are.

Most often, tourists who are poorly prepared for the trip become ardent opponents of independent rest.

conclusions

So what to choose? Buy a ready-made tour or organize an independent trip? Everywhere has its pros and cons.

I travel both on my own and package tours. It all depends on the complexity of the destination route, country, type of holiday, family composition, financial capacity, and many other factors at the time of travel.

Which way of organizing a trip is right for you, only you can understand. In this article, I just tried to sort out the possible options a little, sort out some points. This is my personal experience and my personal vision of this issue. I will be glad if my thoughts will be useful.

P.S

Dear friends and guests of my blog!
This was my first article. Now, when six months have passed and more than 80 posts have been published, reading this material I understand how disparate information is, how hard the text is perceived. Of course, you can redo it, but I decided that I would write a new article, and I will leave this one as a memory. I ask you to be condescending, I wrote from the heart!

Tatyana Solomatina

Independent travel and independent tourism are not much different from organized holidays through travel companies.
Reasons why people choose independent rest, a lot of.
Some people like that the same vacation can be organized cheaper than through a travel company.
Others, that there is confidence that they will not be deceived, and if it is necessary to cancel the trip, the loss of small commissions will not cause disappointment. Agree that it is not reasonable to fly to a country in the midst of an epidemic or where it has become, and terrorist attacks have become more frequent, just because refusing a ticket is too expensive.
Thirdly, independent travel opens up the opportunity to see more in one vacation, experience completely different sensations and get real pleasure from independent rest.

The first independent trip is most often thought of in the next package holiday, when vacationers meet who are resting on their own.

What you should pay attention to when thinking about independent travel

Safety
Travel safety should always come first when choosing a country (holiday destination).
Buying travel insurance is a mandatory and important part of a self-guided tour. To buy insurance, you do not need to go anywhere, everything can be done via the Internet. Here you will find an article where, how and for what amount to buy travel insurance.
But if insurance is an opportunity to compensate for funds for medical care, then common sense is a chance to prevent insured and non-insured events.
In addition to preference choice safe country for traveling wild, it should be borne in mind that in any country there are local risk factors.
You should not tempt fate once again, walking at night through deserted streets, in a state of intoxication.
The city center and suburbs are two sides of the same coin. Outskirts and slums, it's not the best place to get acquainted with national customs.

Country selection
The choice of a country for a holiday is more about the type of holiday, whether it will be a beach holiday, sightseeing or with the possibility of both. I think that everything is simple here, and the choice depends only on you.

Accommodation
Finding a hotel or accommodation can seem like one of the hardest parts of planning. traveling on your own, but in fact, this issue is solved quite simply.
The closer to the city center and the higher the class of the hotel, the higher the price of accommodation. For an economical stay, you should look for a 3-star hotel or accommodation on the outskirts of the city.
The issue of accommodation is a matter of price and quality of service, and if you can save on this, then why not use it.
For this, there are special services that help you find and book a hotel room or apartment via the Internet.
Here you will find articles about services for finding hotels and booking accommodation:
- book a hotel in Booking;
- booking hotels in HotelLook;
- search for housing around the world.

In some cases, booking accommodation can be not only convenient and comfortable, but also cost-effective.
Read these articles and you will understand that finding and booking a hotel and apartment is not as difficult as it seems.

The language barrier
Knowledge of English will only help in English speaking countries, in other countries ordinary people he is known in the same way as in our country, with a C mark. Knowledge of English is no longer required when buying air tickets and booking a hotel, for this we use sites with support for the Russian language. But knowledge of the language may be required in the hotel itself, and independent travel is the best way to improve this knowledge. In other cases, everything can be solved using a notebook, a phrase book, on fingers and gestures.
Be sure to keep a notebook and a pen with you, because after the questions - How much? Or Quanta Costa? they will be very useful to you.
Believe me, there you will have a second wind, which will help you find mutual language and understanding with local population. And this is what will give you unforgettable impressions and memories of a savage vacation.

Visa
In most countries where tourists are loved and expected, a permit is not required, a visa is opened upon arrival, and some European countries allow you to stay on their territory without a visa for up to 72 hours.
The list of these countries may change and therefore for each country it is worth checking on the websites of these countries at the time of choosing a country for recreation.
But there are entry countries that require a visa. On the websites of consulates, embassies of these countries, or the closest to you visa application center, there is all necessary information, about the documents and fees that will be required when applying for a visa. Collect all documents and make an appointment if possible. In some cases, it is enough to have transport tickets, a passport, hotel reservations and insurance, but sometimes they ask for a certificate from work and call back to check.
In this article you will find information on how to get a Schengen yourself.

I also recommend using Google Maps where possible. Look in advance online at the streets, houses and sights, this will help you navigate the terrain and not get lost on walks in a little-known city.
This is what the Palace of Westminster and the Big Ben clock tower look like on a Google map.

How to start a self-guided tour

To feel confident in an independent tour abroad, try first independent rest Houses. Buy air tickets to Crimea and book a hotel, or choose any other resort in Krasnodar Territory or Abkhazia.
After that, plan an independent holiday in Bulgaria. Buy cheap flights to Burgas and book a hotel.
You can also advise to spend a few days in Prague, here you can compare prices for air tickets to Prague. In Prague, accommodation can be cheaper than a hotel room.
In Bulgaria and in the Czech Republic, they understand Russian, and this simplifies communication.
When you are familiar with independent trips, then it will be possible to safely plan an independent vacation in Greece, Italy, Spain or Thailand.
Independent tours to Turkey and Egypt, with rare exceptions, will be cost-effective, so it is better to go to these countries on vacation through a travel company.

Planning an independent vacation

You can plan an independent vacation in advance or fly out immediately after buying cheap air tickets. Here you will find an article about unplanned trips.
If you managed to buy cheap air tickets for a promotion or on the exchange of charter flights, then your vacation will be adjusted to the purchased air tickets. You just have to find a hotel or accommodation and book it, buy insurance and.

Planning your own holiday starts 2-3 months in advance, this allows you to find cheap flights in the direction where you would most like to go on vacation.
If you can’t decide on a place to stay, go to a travel company and ask what they can advise you. Once they've set up a tour for you, use their offer to plan a self-guided vacation.
According to the calendar low prices, find a day of cheap plane tickets, through the search for hotels, find out the cost of living, in general, take into account all the costs that will be associated with a vacation in the proposed hotel travel company. If the hotel has a choice of a boarding house, then the issue with food will be resolved, if not, then calculate the food based on how much is spent on food at home. Food in our country is the same, if not more expensive than in many countries. By calculating the approximate costs of an independent trip, and comparing them with the cost of the tour, you can decide how it will be more profitable to relax.
If an independent vacation suits you, then go ahead and buy air tickets and book a hotel or accommodation.

What are the advantages of solo travel:
- This is a completely different kind of recreation, which is perceived differently.
- The difference in the cost of traveling alone is not significant, but cheaper by 20-30% of similar tours.
- For you, every day becomes new, which is completely planned by you yourself, starting with breakfast and ending with the fact that you may already be in another hotel to spend the night. Traveling around the cities, you will always discover something new - previously unfamiliar.

The most difficult thing is to decide on the first independent trip, but you should do it at least once, and you will understand that independent travel is much more interesting than ready-made tours, and easier than it seems at first glance.

You can choose the direction where to go to rest on our website.