When you decide to go somewhere on vacations
the first question you are faced with
is how to organize your trip. At least,
you need tickets and accommodation. However,
if you are going abroad, the situation
becomes more complicated. You will need
visa, foreign passport and a little bit
of information about a country you are
coming to. The citizens, living and traveling
inside European Union borders are in better
position. They are free to visit any EU
country without any additional document
and visas. But let’s imagine you
have chosen a country where you need visa.
Well, now it’s time to make some
preparations for your trip. At first,
whether you trust organizing your trip
to a travel agency, or organize it by
your own. If you choose the first variant:
Advantages
1) Convenience. You don’t have
to besiege embassy and wait in long queues.
You don’t need to worry about buying
tickets and booking hotels.
2) Price. Sometimes travel agencies have
special agreements with hotels and the
price becomes cheaper. The same thing
can be said about avia and train tickets.
3) Comfort in the country of destination
– you are mostly provided with transfer
to hotel and the representative of the
agency can solve any of your problems.
4) Your vacation is organized. You have
a choice of excursions; you’ll be
shown the best shops and the most interesting
attractions.
Disadvantages
1) Unfortunately, not all the agencies
can be relied on, some of them disappear
with the client’s money.
2) Some people don’t like to be
limited - by excursions, by return tickets
or by the necessity of staying in the
hotel they’ve chosen.
3) It’s not always cheap –
often the excursions, offered by the agency
representatives are more expensive than
in other places in the city.
If you choose the second variant, you
should be prepared to some problems, but
of course, this variant has its light
sides too.
Advantages
1) You are free to choose there and when
to go. You are free to change you hotel
of your return ticket.
2) You are most likely to see the places,
not shown to usual tourists.
3) It’s a kind of challenge. Can’t
imagine your holyday without risk and
adrenaline? So, this variant is for you!
4) You can seek and find a cheaper variant
and not just accept what the agency offers.
Disadvantages
1) Once again – risk. You are not
quite safe when traveling alone in the
foreign country. Nowadays you are not
quite safe anywhere, but still…
2) It causes some problems in the stage
of organization – getting a visa
can be a trouble. Interview, invitation
and a lot of documents – all this
can be inevitable. So, prepare to waste
some time and nerves.
Anyway, the choice is yours.
This article was posted on November
14, 2005
