Do you prefer a package tour or making your trip?

I have been to Laos a few times, I had no problem finding a tour with walk-in. Usually, if needed, you can find a tour one day and leave following morning with a pick up from your hotel I use a lot of cheap hotels where they may not have a tour desk but the desk staff can point you in the right direction to book tours nearby.

I do a lot of exploring by walking! Good exercise and low cost!

In the "old days" before the internet, I used Lonely Planet TG's. Nowadays you can do a lot of free planning using your computer. I don't, but I do notice people wandering around playing with their phones overseas following various prompts. (Hope they don't wander into traffic or walk into telephone poles concentrating on a little screen. )

I think you can get by without purchasing expensive tours ahead of time. When I choose a hotel overseas I pick one in an area where there is cheap transportation, things to do during the evening areas, restaurants to walk to, etc.

The internet is a marvelous invention. Lots of free information! If needed, you can even do Google type searches for travel agencies offering tours in major cities you visit.

Good luck.

[ Edit: Edited on 11 May 2023, 12:58 GMT by karazyal ]

Quoting karazyal

...
I do a lot of exploring by walking! Good exercise and low cost!
...

Likewise. When walking around the streets you see a lot more of life, notice lots of small things that give a better impression as to what life is ... stuff you'll largely miss wizzing past in a taxi or auto.

Can be a bit of a struggle at times e.g. recently in India I was walking/hobbling 10+ miles a day with a damaged Achilles Tendon and Indian cities (at least in the North) are not very "pedestrian friendly". One one occasion towards the end of the day I arrived at an archaeological site and the site director pulls at my shirt and asked what was up - as (as usual) it had large areas/lines of white (salt). I happened to know the daily mileage as I recorded the track on my phone because my camera is unreliable geotagging photos take with GPS and I can then put the track into Lightroom and tag the un-geolocated photos from the track.

Ian

I think package deals will offer only a narrow experience as opposed to making your own plan/lack of plan. You can always look up the best options on the Internet and then keep it flexible. This will be more fun imo

Personally, I want a package tour, especially now that I have a baby. I like the trip to be less hassle so I can enjoy and spend quality time with my family rather than worrying about transport, booking, and anything else.