While you may be familiar with guided group tours and self-guided travel, what does a privately guided tour actually mean?  How is private guided travel different from a group tour? We’ll break it down, the way Pure Adventures defines it, so you can see why privately guided is the premier travel option for you, your family, or you and your small group of friends!

• With Pure Adventures privately guided tours, you get to choose the dates that you want to travel! Most guided group tour companies have set dates that you have to force into your schedule. With Pure Adventures trips, we have the flexibility to accommodate the dates that work best for you and your schedule!
• On our privately guided tours, you do not join an existing group. Your group is comprised of the people you have chosen to travel with. Whether that means you are a couple, a family, or a small group of friends, it’s all about you! This means that you don’t have to deal with that one random person in the group who is always complaining or late! Imagine a private bike tour through Cambodia’s UNESCO World Heritage sites – the difference is unparalleled.
• Pure Adventures guides take the time to get to know you and when possible, cater to your needs and interests “on the fly.” This results in the most customized and personalized experience possible! Guided group tours simply don’t have this capability. Itineraries are set and no deviations are possible.
• What about cost? Prices do go higher than self guided trips; of course. Surprisingly, you may get a better rate on a privately guided trip with Pure Adventures than you would joining another offer with a guided trip fixed departure. Why is this? We are booking dates for a fixed number of people and defined services; we don’t have to account for unsold space, unused resources, invested promotional costs, and more. Of course, it depends on how luxurious you want to be!  🙂

Which tours are available in this format?

Find your privately guided tour!

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First of all, remember it’s a good idea to get a teen’s input on what they’re looking for in a vacation. Since Pure Adventures tours are self-guided, we have a lot of leeway to customize the schedule to a traveler’s unique preferences. For active families, our multisport tours offer a great deal of variety and can be adjusted to include more of a favourite hobby: hiking, biking, horseback riding, kayaking, etc. This can be an excellent option if your teens enjoy a challenge and pushing for new achievements. Not all kids are sports junkies, obviously, so customizing a trip may be a matter of including a destination that interests them, adding special meals to the menu, or simply budgeting in unstructured time.

Whatever route you choose, travel at a young age can be life-changing. Here are our top picks for a memorable family vacation.

France Loire Royal Valley Cycling Tour

We recommend the Royal Valley cycling tour for its well-balanced characteristics. The cycling distances are approximately forty kilometres per day, a satisfying length that most occasional cyclists can handle. The terrain is flat to gently rolling, and enlivened by impressive castles. A duration of five nights and six days, and good pricing on mid-range lodging, make it easy to keep the budget manageable.

The tour begins in the town of Amboise. There the museum at Clos Lucé, where Leonardo Da Vinci spent the last years of his life, has a selection of engaging, interactive displays. Or book a kayak trip around Castle Chenonceau for a unique perspective on one of the region’s most beautiful chateaus. History can be a hard sell for kids, but you might get some traction by introducing them to the story of Joan of Arc, whose campaign is commemorated at spots throughout the Loire Valley. The Château de Blois, which this tour visits on Day Four, also has many tales of intrigue and assassination to fire the imagination.

Italy – Dolomites To Lake Garda Cycling Tour

Despite beginning in the impressive Dolomites mountain range, this is a relatively easy tour thanks to a route that runs mostly downhill along bike paths. Scenic small towns provide numerous points of interest, not to mention classic Italian cuisine highly appealing to adventurous foodies without being alienating to a fussy eater.

Day Two of the tour takes you past Lake Resia, where the eerie sight of a semi-submerged tower jutting from the water will fascinate visitors young and old. Cycling through medieval alleyways near beautiful Lake Garda is also an incredible sensory experience and a gift to any teen who hasn’t yet been exposed to Europe’s centuries of history.

Italy – Sicily Mt Etna & Aeolian Islands Hiking

If your young traveler has any interest in hiking, this is a very solid choice. Adventure seekers and budding naturalists will enjoy the bragging rights that come with climbing Mount Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe. Teens who appreciate novelty might also be intrigued to hear they’ll be shuttling between islands by hydrofoil. You can reassure them they’ll be seeing more than just pretty landscapes — hikes take you past steaming volcanic fumaroles and along the famous black beaches of the Island of Vulcano. Adults will probably be drawn to the Sicilian coffee and the ancient theatre of Taormina, which dates to the 3rd century BC.

Just be advised that the trails in this region isn’t easy, so everyone involved should be prepared for a physical challenge.

Italy – Sardinia Private Self Guided Bike Tour

Beaches! The Mediterranean waters are the big draw here, long sandy beaches complemented by high cliffs and Spanish watchtowers. You’ll visit tiny fishing villages, see pink flamingos gathered at ponds, and eat the freshest seafood possible. Some of the day’s rides are fairly challenging, but we can alter the itinerary for family looking to get ride distances down in favour of activities like enjoying gelato beachside.

Final Thoughts

Again, our approach to tourism allows for a high degree of personalization. With a few tweaks, one of our Vietnam tours could be a terrific all-ages cultural experience. The Croatia Bike & Kayak Tour might appeal to an athletically minded teen. We’ve also recently added two Ecuador/Galapagos tours to our roster of trips, sure to tempt to the animal lovers in your crew. Whatever the destination, if you’re curious about how to make a trip accessible and appealing just reach out with questions — call us at 800-960-2221, or email info@pure-adventures.com.

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For most, travels start off in Hanoi, the country’s capital. Here, despite the war that raged from 1955 to 1975, multiple cultures evade the traditional foods, dress, and architecture of the country. French colonialism’s ghost is evident in the architecture, though the traditional rickshaw rides, street vendors, and foods that make Vietnamese culture so unique have become the main features of the city. Hanoi is huge, hosting nearly 7.58 million people. But on the outskirts of the city, villages seem distinct from the modern and Western influences of Hanoi. Pagodas, temples, rice paddies, and traditional markets speckle the Duong river. Nearby Halong Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, offers visitors a chance to see unique land formations, many of which are uninhabited and untouched by humans. Being next to the sea also allows you a taste of locally prepared seafood dishes.

Hanoi is just one part of Vietnam and taking a trip to the city Hue is like visiting a completely different time and place. Hue was once the capital city of Vietnam and shows the reign of the Nguyen dynasty and the culturally rich history of Vietnam through its incredible architecture. This is in part due to the city’s policy against missionaries, which helped stave off the influence of the French on at least part of the country. The population of Hue is much less, averaging at a little over 350,000 residents, so the surrounding natural areas are quiet, isolated, and reflective.

“It grabs you and doesn’t let you go. Once you love it, you love it forever.”

Cultural artifacts are abundant in the region. Aside from the impressive mix of architecture, Hue hosts the imperial citadel, and surrounding villages hold graves, tombs, and other historical markers that give insights to the region. Combined with the beauty of the Perfume river, even just a walk is enough to encapsulate the beauty of the region. For those who are really after a spiritual spot, ending in My Son will leave you in a reign of temples dedicated to Shiva, only 25 of which survived the many bombings by China and the United States.

The people of the area want you to taste their food, to visit the sites that the world has forgotten, and to learn about them. Do this on your own, or do it with the help of a tour of the region, but make sure to take time for the beauty of this region of the world. Now is the time for the rest of the to fall in love with Vietnam for what it is and always has been and listen to its story with open ears.

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