When you’re looking for a good tour guide, it’s helpful to recognize some key factors that determine the right “fit” for you. What makes a good tour guide? How do you know if you’ve found the right person to guide you through your places of interest? In this article, we’ll explore key factors that make a good tour guide so you can get the most out of your tour.
Finding the optimal travel guide is a critical piece of your overall travel satisfaction. For some reason, it’s also one of the most overlooked and underexplored components.
Although we’ll primarily take the perspective of tourists looking for the best tour guide, this information is also helpful for tour guides to review. Knowing what your prospective guests are looking for is always advised!
Great Tour Guides are Like Curling Champions
Guiding a tour is a lot like the Olympic sport of Curling. There’s quite a bit of strategy that goes into curling, and the effort is not only from the player that sends the rock (the sliding stones in curling).
A good tour guide is like the sweeper out in front of the rocks. If the sweeper is too far out front, their work will have little influence on the direction of the rock. If they’re too close, they risk bumping or pushing the rock outside it’s desired course.
Finding the correct balance and distance, where the rock is gently encouraged in a helpful direction without forcing it, is like the perfect tour guide.
For example, how much do they rush ahead and tell tourists what to see versus letting them wander and occasionally chime in with interesting facts? A good tour guide strikes the right balance between getting too pushy about what to see and when, versus too lax and essentially you have to lead yourself.
Flexible Tours
Having the flexibility to adapt to each group and having intimate knowledge of the tour destination is key for great tour guides. Their ability to recognize when flexibility is appropriate or not can make all the difference. On the volcano tour, when warning signs are brewing the tour guide sure ought to be firm in getting guests away to safety!
You may be thinking that sometimes, I want the tour guide to be very directive. If you don’t know the local language or are in utterly unfamiliar territory (think, touring through an exotic jungle rather than following the crowds during a heavily visited destination), you’ll want your tour guide to be very hands-on with providing direction.
Alternatively, when you’re visiting a destination that requires either a sense of quiet (e.g., an ancient monastery) or time (e.g., Old Faithful geyser), you’ll want a tour guide that doesn’t squelch out a lecture or require you to speed up beyond your desired pace.
In fairness, some aspects of tour guiding are not fully within the control of the tour guides themselves. Other factors that impact the speed of tours include mode of transportation (tour buses are at the whim of traffic conditions), weather, crowds, and expectations of the guide by the tour company that employs them.
Tips for Finding the Best Tour Guide
There are a few things you can do to help improve the chances of getting the best tour guides.
For example, read the reviews to find how directive versus non-directive they might be during their tours.
Also, consider the reasoning behind your desire to take a tour. What is the purpose of that particular tour for you? Education? Entertainment? Exploration? Recognizing the purpose of the tour itself will influence your view on your tour guide.
In other words, try to match the tour guide to the purpose of your tour. You’re more likely to find a good fit for what you’re looking for this way.
“Try to match the tour guide to the purpose of your tour. You’re more likely to find a good fit for what you’re looking for this way.”
-Psychology of Travel
Aside from core factors like being well informed about the destination, certain tour guide “extras” tend to go a long way for some people. These stylistic aspects include the use of humor, engaging with tourists (e.g., taking volunteers, asking interactive questions), having a unique personal history, inspiring further exploration, and those guides that simply let the experience speak for itself.
Check the online reviews, website, and call the tour company to get a sense of their “business personality” over the phone.
Do they present themselves as wild and wacky when you’re looking for straightforward? Do they seem low energy when you’re looking for an upbeat tour? Does the price match the services provided? What else can they tell you about the tour guide(s)?
By considering these factors ahead of time, it will allow you to do some research into finding the ideal tour guide for you.
Key Components for a Successful Tour (Guide)
In sum, a good tour guide is flexible to the needs of the tourists, knowledgeable about pertinent topics, shows excellent communication skills, and maintains a balance of being informative without being pushy.
Interestingly, what most people remember from a tour is the destination itself, what they learned, and how they felt. Tour guides take you to the destination, teach you what they know about it, and contribute to your emotional experience. Sounds like finding the optimal guide is a critical, though often overlooked, contribution to your overall travel satisfaction. Good luck!
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Happy Travels,
Dr. L
Founder, PsychologyOfTravel.com
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