How to Read a Tour Itinerary Like an Operator

Tour itineraries share a vocabulary, and once you know it you can predict a day from the wording alone. The phrases below come up on almost every operator's site.

"Orientation walk"

A short walk with the leader pointing out the bus stop, an ATM and a good restaurant. It is not a guided tour of the city. If a city gets only an orientation walk, sightseeing is on your own time and budget.

"Free time to explore"

Nothing is scheduled and nothing is included. Count these hours across the trip: on some 10-day tours a third of the daylight hours are free time you could have arranged yourself.

"Optional"

Paid on the ground, usually in cash, often the highlight of the day. If everyone on the tour does the optional activity, it is effectively part of the price. Ask the operator for the list of optionals and their prices before booking.

"Travel day" or "Journey to..."

A day spent mostly in a vehicle. Check the distance: 'Journey to Cusco' from Puno is about 6 hours by road. Two travel days in a 7-day trip leaves five days of actual sightseeing.

"Standard" vs "comfortable" vs "upgraded" accommodation

Operators use their own tiers and they are not comparable between companies. Ask for the hotel names from a recent departure. Most operators will give them if you ask directly.

"Local guide" vs "tour leader"

The tour leader travels with you and handles logistics. Local guides join for a site visit and leave. A trip can have a great leader and still give you a weak guide at the one site you cared about.

"Meals: B, L, D"

Count the letters. Fourteen days with breakfast only means about 28 meals to buy. In Iceland or Japan that is a significant line in the budget; in Vietnam it is not.

What to do with this

Print the itinerary and mark each day: how many hours guided, how many free, how many in transit, how many meals included. Two tours with the same headline price can differ by days of real content once you do this.