My thoughts on group tours / shore excursions

I'll admit, I'm the type of traveler that likes to "freestyle" my vacations, while packing in as many activities as possible.  (Unless you count my 2-month study abroad trip to Europe when I was in college,) I've never been on a multi-day, all-inclusive group tour.

However, I have been on several guided group tours.  I have found that joining a 1-day tour group can save time and money if:

1. The location is not accessible by public transit or walking.
2. I'm on a tight schedule (i.e. cruise ship port).
3. I'm super interested in learning the history of the area and I don't think my guide book will cover it

If you've never been on a guided group tour, I've included a video from my Ephesus, Turkey visit including footage of our amazing tour guide, "Bill."  "Bill" really knew his stuff.  I took this tour during my Mediterranean cruise, when the boat docked in the port of Izmir. Just to be clear, this was not an official cruise ship excursion, our group was formed prior to the cruise on the discussion forums of CruiseCritic.com.  Carolyn (a fellow cruiser) was our unofficial leader and organizer of this tour.  She setup everything with the tour company and got us organized and ready to meet our tour guide on schedule.  The tour company and tour guide was fully aware we were on a cruise stop.  Tour Guide "Bill" managed our time efficiently so that we could see everything on our agenda and get us back to the port on time.

Here's a list of a few day tours I have enjoyed:

• Ephesus, Turkey
• Chichen Itza, Mexico
• Victoria, British Columbia
• City Tour of Frankfurt, Germany
• Corcovado and hiking Tijuca National Forest, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil