A voucher or on your own. Which is cheaper Tour or Self-guided? How direction affects price

30.10.202127.05.2017

As the vacation time approaches, many people have a lot of questions that relate not only to the immediate preparation for the trip, but also to the most favorable organization of the rest. In the article we will try to figure out how it is cheaper to travel: on your own or through a travel agency? So, we carefully analyze all the nuances and little things.

Benefits of self-organized travel

The advantages of independent travel are very significant. Judge for yourself:

Freedom of choice. First, you decide when to go, which means that there is an option to purchase tickets for the days that fit. Secondly, with this method of travel, the tourist decides for himself how long he will rest. The route is also independently compiled, it can be changed at any time. Thirdly, there is absolute freedom in choosing a place to live. It is not necessary to stay at the hotel. The list of accommodation options is huge, everyone can find the best option for themselves, for example, a hostel, a camping, an apartment.
Saving. Agree, an important component that is defining for many. Many believe that a self-organized tour is more expensive than a trip arranged by a travel agent. This is true, but only if you buy tickets for a regular flight, which is always more expensive than a charter.

If you're lucky, you can save on cheap charter flights too. It is difficult to "catch" such inexpensive tickets, but it is still worth trying, because if the tour is not fully sold, tickets are sold much cheaper.

You can save money by staying in a hostel or apartment, where prices are much lower than in conventional hotels.

You can also achieve significant savings through self-catering, because all hostels can boast of having their own kitchen. Those who are not eager to indulge in cooking on vacation can find an inexpensive café. This option will in any case be cheaper than the restaurant, which is prescribed by the travel agency's voucher.

Independence is exactly what many people lack. There is no need to focus on the excursion group, wait for someone and visit only the planned places. It is much more interesting to get together and independently go to comprehend the unknown.

A self-organized trip to another country is a real breathtaking adventure that begins from the moment you step on a plane or enter a train car.

Disadvantages of independent travel

Going on an independent tour, it is important to remember that this method also has its drawbacks.

A responsibility. Organizing an independent trip is troublesome, because all the preparation worries will fall on your shoulders. You need to take care of the search for housing, buying tickets, taking out insurance, drawing up a route in advance. All this takes a lot of time and effort.

To make the trip comfortable, you will need to study a lot of information, because it is important to think over every detail. Operators will help citizens traveling through a travel agency in solving problems. If the trip is organized independently, then you will have to solve all the issues yourself.

For maximum protection from unforeseen situations and overlaps, you should take care of the most complete medical insurance in advance, as well as carefully read the basic laws and requirements of the country to which you plan to travel.

Lack of transfer. You will have to comprehend all the secrets of the transport system of another country without anyone's help. Not always for a tourist, everything in this matter can be understood immediately.
The language barrier. When organizing an independent trip, it is important to know at least a few of the most common expressions and phrases in English. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to explain. \
Limited access to attractions. When choosing a route, it should be borne in mind that there are places where single tourists are not allowed. Some museums or National parks you can only get in as part of an organized group.

Why is a vacation organized by a travel agency good?

The so-called package tours have many advantages that can significantly make the life of travelers easier, for example:

All unforeseen problems that may arise during the trip are solved by the travel agency. To resolve issues related to air travel, accommodation, transport, service personnel, it is enough to contact a representative of the travel agency.
At the airport, tourists will definitely be met and taken to the desired hotel... Thus, the question of how to get to the desired place is decided by itself.
Package tours include all kinds of excursions and entertainment. The traveler can choose at will what he wants to visit. Tickets for such tours are more expensive than purchased locally, but they are safe and will be conducted by a Russian-speaking guide.
Going on vacation through a travel agency, it is not at all necessary to know the language of the country you are going to visit. The hotel staff and guides will speak your language, which is very convenient.
You can save on the flight, because the cost of charter flights is much lower than regular ones. In addition, there is almost always an opportunity to purchase a hot tour, which means that you can count on quick registration and an attractive price.

Disadvantages of package tours

However, not everything is as smooth as it might seem at first glance. And package tours have their downsides to be aware of.

The tourist pays exactly the amount indicated in the invoice. There is no way to carefully read what exactly the money is being charged for.
At first glance, it may seem that travel agencies offer a lot of options for recreation in all directions. In fact, this is an illusion, the choice is not so great. Travel agencies use charter flights, which are organized according to the most common directions.
As for the tour dates, they are always set in advance. Therefore, the tourist has to adjust to the dates offered by the operator.
Dates of charter flights are not fixed, but are tour-oriented. The exact date of departure will be known 2-3 days before the flight. The inconvenience is also associated with frequent transfers, cancellations and movements in the schedule of charter flights.
Only those hotels with which the agency has an agreement are offered for accommodation. The situation is similar with meals, which will be organized only in the cafe or restaurant provided by the tour operator.
You need to tune in in advance that all services are organized for a whole group of tourists. Don't expect everyone in your group to be well-mannered and organized. Situations can be very different, you need to come to terms with this in advance.
The trip, organized by the travel agency, shows only the façade of the country, its most popular routes and famous landmarks that can only be seen briefly. But you can count on an interesting and complete story of a Russian-speaking guide.

Choose what is closer to your understanding of good rest... We wish you a pleasant trip!

It is believed that traveling through travel agencies is expensive and inconvenient. In fact, this is not always the case. We decided to study this issue in detail and find out what to look for when buying a tour.

Travel agency and tour operator

When choosing where to buy a ticket - from a tour operator or a travel agency, it is important to understand the difference between them. A tour operator is an organization whose tasks are to think over and organize a tour: its specialists negotiate with hotels, select a transfer, calculate the route and program. Whereas a travel agency or travel agency is an intermediary between tour operators and a client, who, as a rule, sells tours of different tour operators, receiving their commission for this. Recently, travel agencies often act as consultants, supplying tourists with all the necessary information in different directions. The most important role for both the tour operator and the travel agency is played by the manager who communicates directly with the client - often it is him, and not the company, that people trust their rest. It should be borne in mind that a number of tour operators do not work with tourists directly, preferring to develop their agent network. Therefore, often under the banner with the name of a famous tour operator, there is actually a travel agency that operates on a franchise. Each Russian tour operator has its own individual number in the Unified Federal Register of Tour Operators - it can always be viewed in the corresponding section on the Rostourism website (russiatourism.ru/operators). He must always be specified in the contract. If you are concerned that the travel agency is offering you an overpriced tour, you can call the tour operator's office that will arrange the trip and check the cost there. It should be the same as what the agency tells you.

Why take a tour

It always makes sense to book package tours (which may include flights, accommodation, meals, transfers, excursions and / or treatment, as well as medical insurance) to popular, mass destinations. In Europe, these include, among others, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, Croatia and Spain, in Asia - Thailand, Vietnam, India and Sri Lanka. Actually, the benefit of the package tour offered by the agency does not depend on the direction, but on the volume of booking, thanks to which hotels make concessions and offer special prices and conditions. This applies, in particular, to group transfers and flight programs - blocks of seats on both charter and regular flights. In this case, the costs are divided among a large number of people and become low in relation to those incurred by an individual tourist. In addition, tour operators and travel agencies have a well-established process for processing all documents in these areas, which means that you do not have to waste extra time. Finally, it is the travel agency that will save you in case the vacation turns up unexpectedly - here you can find last-minute offers at very attractive prices.

Do it yourself

If you do not want to spend your vacation on the beach, but love to travel on your own, at your own pace and according to your own program, then excursion package tours are clearly not for you. Although sometimes they can come in handy, because the cost of a package with a flight and rest in an inexpensive hotel can be lower than the price of a ticket on a regular flight (separate charter tickets are not sold so often). In addition, some companies offer direct charters to destinations that cannot be reached directly from Russia. The most convenient way to catch profitable flights is by subscribing to updates on the destinations you are interested in on such specialized sites as aviasales.ru, expressavia.ru, momondo.ru or skyscanner.ru, as well as on yandex.avia and google.flights. The availability of rooms in hotels and prices should be viewed on the websites booking.com or expedia.ru, prices for rented apartments - on airbnb.ru, for hostels - hostels.com. The more difficult and longer your route is, the more likely it is that it will be more profitable and convenient to organize such a trip yourself. After all, only you know how much time you need to spend on exploring the city, and how much - on vacation or shopping, what you can save on, and what, on the contrary, requires additional investments.

Visa issue

Travel companies often act as assistants in the paperwork for obtaining visas, saving clients from filling out a questionnaire, and in some cases from visiting consular departments of embassies. Yes, in this case you will have to pay more, but you will save time. And if you are going to go, say, to Japan, you cannot do without contacting a travel agency. The fact is that in order to obtain a visa to this country, you need an original invitation from a company that will act as a guarantor for you. Hotels and hostels, as a rule, do not make such invitations, and the only way to get one is to contact one of the accredited tour operators. Previously, in a travel agency it was possible to order a Schengen visa, but since September 2015, you can get a Schengen visa only after you have submitted your fingerprints. This must be done in person at one of the visa centers. The good news is that the prints are stored in the system for five years - during this time you do not need to come to the visa center in person.

Cancellation of a voucher

When buying a tour even from a trusted company, you should pay attention to those places in the contract that are spelled out in small print. The most important of them is the clause on the cancellation of an already confirmed voucher. In case of cancellation of the trip, the tour operator has the right to demand from the travel agency (and therefore from you) reimbursement of expenses already incurred by it, which, depending on the date of departure and the moment when the cancellation occurs, can be up to 100% of the cost of the ticket. In the contract it is spelled out something like this: “The client is informed by the Travel Agency that the actual costs incurred by the Tour Operator for the booked tourist product can be roughly: 25 or more days before the start of the tour - 10%, from 25 to 16 days - 50%, from 15 to 5 days - 75%, less than 5 working days before the start of the tour - 100% of the cost of the booked tourist product. " Often, the contract specifies separately the terms of cancellation of "special" tours, for example, New Year's, Christmas or those that include visits to certain attractions. It's a good idea to get yourself travel cancellation insurance to help you get your money back on the tour. In this case, you need to have all the contracts and receipts on hand.

Departure transfer

The next issue, which may not be spelled out in the contract, is the specifics of charter flights. Many tourists, when booking a tour, believe that the declared departure time and the airline are some kind of constant, while the contract indicates in small print that the flight can be rescheduled. Suppose that initially the departure was scheduled at 8:00 from Domodedovo by UTair, and when issuing documents 2-3 days before departure, it turns out that the tourist will fly at 3:00 (that is, five hours earlier) or at 17:00 (that is, nine hours later) from Sheremetyevo by Orenburg Airlines. The transfer of flights is permissible within a day, and the fact that a person loses half a day does not formally solve anything, because the night paid for by the voucher, he will in any case spend at the hotel. At the same time, charter tickets included in the tour package are difficult to return or exchange - and this is one of the reasons for their low cost.

Hotel replacement

There may be one more tricky clause in the agreement. It sounds like this: "The tour operator (host) has the right to one-way replacement of the hotel." This is a common practice: it happens that a hotel is closed for renovation or is overcrowded. Here, something else is important - the above line must be followed by another: “Replacement is made only for a hotel of the same or a higher category. Replacement by a hotel of a lower category is not allowed. " If it is not there, you risk getting a two-star hotel instead of a five-star hotel. And even the court will not help - after all, you yourself signed an agreement, which states the possibility of such a replacement.

When to buy a tour

If this summer you are planning to go on vacation to such popular among mass tourists countries as Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, Montenegro or Croatia, tickets should be booked from February, and best of all - in March or April. Starting from May, prices in these directions traditionally increase by 30-40%, and tours to Montenegro become twice as expensive. For those who want to relax in the winter on the Alpine ski resort or meet New Year and Christmas in one of the European capitals, it is worth visiting a travel agency no later than October – November. India and the countries of Southeast Asia traditionally go on vacation in November-December, so it is best to buy tickets there starting in September.

At the last moment

If you do not need to prepare for a vacation in advance and beg for a vacation from the boss for specific dates, you can try to catch a hot tour or a special offer. It is best to search for them on the sites tury.ru, sletat.ru and tourdom.ru. When an agency is experiencing problems with the sale of tour packages, it is often ready to sell it even at half the price, so as not to remain in the red. For example, right after the May holidays, you can find a budget tour to almost any country in the world. Also, prices significantly (by 20-30%) decrease at the very end of August - from the 25th to the 31st. This can be explained by the fact that planes are filled on flights to Russia, and not from it. In previous years, many special offers for tours appeared on the market at the end of the January holidays, but now, due to a decrease in demand and a reduction in flight programs of Russian airlines, their number has significantly decreased. In addition, there are destinations where prices for tours are approximately the same at any time of the year - these are bus trips, sightseeing trips across Europe and places deprived of a massive Russian tourist, for example, Japan, countries in Africa and South America.

Is it true that traveling through a travel agency is several times more expensive than traveling alone? Is it always booking. com, agoda and other online services provide prices lower than tour operators? Are travel agencies necessary and is it profitable to use their services? What do travel agency managers know that cannot be found on the Internet? Who usually travels "on their own" and why?

I will try to answer the questions of interest and, as usual, dispel some myths. And also I will try to identify the winner in the duel between SELF-TRAVEL AGENT and TRAVEL AGENT-PROFESSIONAL.

Since I am a travel agent, they expect me to start persuading all potential tourists without hesitation to run to a travel agency and buy a tour and scold all "independent travelers". But I will not do this. And that's why.

There are a number of objective arguments both in favor of organized tourism and in favor of vacationers from the # self_travelant category.
There are certain categories of tourists who are categorically not suitable for package tours, as well as those to whom I would not recommend an independent vacation even at gunpoint.
Each tourist destination must be considered separately. Certain directions are simply "sharpened" for a tour operator's product, and an independent trip there will be much more expensive, and it will not bring pleasure.

Who is there?

Let's start with the main thing: who are all these people who help in organizing vacations and other trips?

Tourism managers or travel agents are, as a rule, people with special education, who know not only geography, but also the peculiarities of organizing recreation in a particular country, who have studied the hotel base of most popular tourist destinations and have experience of their own travel.

For example, our company can boast of a personal acquaintance with resorts, hotels and excursion routes in more than 30 countries (thirty!). Tourism managers know how to use all known booking systems. All of them are specialists who have attended many seminars and trainings and inspected all those hotels that are ready to offer you, visited all the resorts where you want to go.

An experienced travel assistant (a fashionable word nowadays), as a rule, will not only help in choosing the direction of rest that suits you, but will also tell you how to make the trip not only the most comfortable, but also profitable. For example, he will advise you to change the departure date if he sees that the cost of the trip during the selected period is unreasonably high. Will tell you how to get to the hotel by public transport, if you do not want to pay for the transfer, will advise on visa issues and help in processing documents for obtaining visas. Will help to make an excursion program.

Who's there?

To travel on your own, you also need to have certain qualities.

So, if you know how to use booking systems, speak a foreign language, are not afraid to take risks associated with various unforeseen situations, do not protect the boundaries of your comfort zone, then VELKAM is in the SAM_SEBE_TURAGENT group. And one more thing: you must have free time. As one of our independent tourists, whom we help from time to time with advice, says, it takes her 2-3 hours to organize the route every day for three to four weeks.

As a rule, independent tourists include easy-going young people or experienced tourists who know what they want, who can easily navigate the place, those who are ready to sacrifice comfort, often buying cheap tickets with several transfers on the Internet. Here we also include those who do not like to get attached to groups, calmly drive a car in a foreign country, get tired of the presence of a guide nearby, prefer to read about everything on their own in guidebooks and not depend on anyone in making the decision "to be or not to be." Organized tourism is not suitable for those who are used to changing their place of deployment every day, not bothering about where to live, not at all tied to comfort and wanting to explore the country deeper, moving in the direction "wherever they look."

Where is cheaper

"Travel agencies are more expensive!" - you say. “Not always,” I will answer.

Example 1. If we take the most popular mass tourism destinations - such as Turkey, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and even Thailand and sightseeing tours in Europe - don't even try to argue here.

Tour operators take in colossal volumes. Hence the more favorable rates for hotels, transport and air travel. Prices for charter flights will also be lower due to the organization of charter flights and the purchase of seats in large blocks in advance. And not only to the resorts of the Turkish Riviera, but also in almost any direction where the charter program is built.

I do not exclude that if a tourist wants to go on his own, he will still find a ticket cheaper, but I am 120% sure that this flight will be with a transfer, or even with two, while the charter companies provide exactly the possibility of a DIRECT flight. Therefore, it would be incorrect to compare the cost of a flight in these two cases, since they are not comparable either in terms of comfort level or in the length of time spent on the road.

Example 2... Many argue that in India, Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Indonesia, in most European countries, accommodation will be cheaper if you travel on your own. I won't argue here. I will only make a remark: it will really be cheaper if you choose a hostel, guest house, private apartment as your place of residence, or simply rent an apartment.

But if we return to the coordinate system of hotel accommodation, then the travel agent will definitely not lose, and possibly win.

Precisely because travel agencies do not work with hostels, guest houses and other private accommodation options, the opinion that booking.com is always ready to offer more profitable options has become stronger. Moreover, the policy of many large companies provides for the revision of tariffs for hotels and / or services in the event that a similar product is found at a lower price. And these are not empty words (# self-tested).

Try to combine

Well, and a few more examples both in favor and against independent travel. This will help you navigate which option is right for you.

The tourists decided to go to the UAE. They bought a tour to a very expensive hotel on booking.com 3 months before the trip, they also bought tickets in advance ... But they forgot to open a visa ...
The tourist checked all the options that we offered him with booking.com. Our offers were more profitable. But the tourist was determined to travel on his own and found a hotel that seemed cheaper to him. But after paying, it turned out that breakfast was not included in the price.
The tourist bought tickets on the website of the airline from Bishkek to Canada in transit through Europe. Transit passengers do not need a visa in such cases. But there were two transit points. And in this case, a visa must be opened. And the tourist found out about this when, 2 days before departure, she received a call from the airline to clarify whether she had an appropriate visa. She had to pay $ 500 extra to buy new tickets.
Last winter we were unable to help a large group of friends rent a villa in Phuket. Our options were more expensive than those offered by airbnb.com.
Somehow we sent the guys to excursion tour to Italy. A lot of excursions, every day - new town, everything is very intense. On about the third day they called us and began to ask us to "detach from the group." They were tired of following the schedule, they were late everywhere and everywhere, and, in general, they were not interested in excursions either. They "just wanted to go to Europe."

Summing up, I will say: you can still many and tediously describe all the ways of travel, you can give a thousand and one arguments in favor of travel agencies, but it would be foolish to deny the fact that travel "on its own" has a place to be and is the only possible way of rest for a certain category of people ... We are all different, and, getting ready for a trip, we always draw ourselves pictures of a happy and serene pastime in the circle of close and pleasant people. And everyone draws pictures of the perfect vacation with their own colors. The main thing is that the picture remains bright, memorable and positive!

Hello friends! Today I will tell you how to buy it yourself cheap tour online, compare prices for all tour operators and get the best option without getting up from your chair. Read, apply, and may an inexpensive vacation come with you!

In many cases, traveling on a tour can be cheaper than traveling on your own. It happens that tickets alone for the price come out as a ready-made package with a round-trip flight and accommodation. This especially applies to popular tourist countries, where there are many charter flights - Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam, the Black Sea coast of Russia, Bulgaria, Montenegro.

Anya on Railay Beach in Krabi (Thailand)

For example, for the two of us to fly to Thailand on our own from Siberia on a short trip for two weeks will cost at least 70,000 rubles, most of which will go to tickets (and even then, not direct). For relaxation, it will be more convenient and profitable to buy a ready-made tour immediately. After all, the tour operator redeems charter air tickets and places in hotels in advance, and a lot at once, so it comes out cheaper. Not to mention last-minute tours, when the seats on the planes are not sold out, and the tour can be very cheap.

Let's now look at several ways to buy a tour cheap.

How to buy a cheap tour: ways to save money

1. Search and buy a tour online

It is gratifying that now it is no longer necessary to go to travel agencies of the city in search of the optimal and inexpensive tour, all information is available without leaving home - online. In addition, buying online is often cheaper than buying in the office, because the agency bears the costs of renting premises, salaries for managers, and consumables.

It is especially convenient to buy online last-minute tours, because places on them tend to end very quickly. Until you reach the office, there will be nothing left, and so I saw-decided-paid-flew to rest.

Prices for tours abroad change very quickly and depend on exchange rates - another argument to buy quickly, because the ruble is falling every now and then. All information on vouchers on the sites indicated by me is always up-to-date.

2. Pros of buying tours online:

Cheaper than in the office, or the same price.
Fast: no need to go to the other end of the city or go to the nearest, but not verified agency, the purchase process takes place from any place convenient for you.
Reliable: more than 120 verified tour operators, and payment is made only using secure protocols.
You choose everything yourself (and some travel agents may advise exactly the hotel or tour operator where they have a higher commission, and not where you will be best for rest).
Reviews of hotels and destinations, as well as photos, will help you decide which vacation spot to choose.
Convenient price calendar, you can choose the date with the lowest price.
All tours are available from your smartphone on the way to work or home, on your computer at home or at work: see and choose where and when it is convenient.
All documents at once: we pay by credit card and all vouchers, air tickets and other documents are immediately sent to the mail. We exclude the notorious human factor when the manager can forget something.
The tour can be bought in installments.
If you need a visa, the support service will tell you what documents are needed, and within the Moscow Ring Road the courier will pick up the documents and bring ready-made visas for free.
Online consultants will help you make the right choice, support works around the clock.
The service department will help you at any time to resolve all issues, if something went wrong.
Bonus programs, promotions, discounts.

3. Search all tour operators

Search engines look for options and compare prices across 120+ tour operators at once, so that no tour escapes your attention. All this works on the principle of the air ticket search engines you know well. When choosing a voucher, I recommend that you look at all three services at once, so certainly don't miss anything.

4. Search for adjacent dates

It's good if you can move the beginning or end of your vacation by a few days - often this can save you a lot. The low price calendar will help you to understand which dates the tour is cheapest for.
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Tour to Thailand at the price of the flight, the price is indicated for two

What is better and how is it more profitable - to travel by yourself or to trust a travel agency? This is not an idle question. The most important thing may depend on this - our impression, our memory of the vacation. Let's try to figure it out. Each option has pros and cons.

Advantages of the agency.

The main advantage of the agency is the ability to kill three birds with one stone. Air tickets, hotel, transfer. Everything is presented on a silver platter. In our personal voucher. And if we are lucky with a professional manager, then we will spend a little time choosing a hotel.
Insurance and visa, if necessary, the agency will also help to make.
At the airport we will be met by a Russian-speaking guide. The hotel will also have a guide to whom you can contact during your vacation with any questions you may have: from a blown out light bulb in your room to currency exchange.
There will be no headache about excursions. Choose what you want, the main thing is to keep within the budget. The guide, most likely, will also be Russian, and with a lot of useful information.
During the rest, apart from thank you and hello, you can not say a word in a foreign language.
We will most likely have a rest with our compatriots. Tour operators on popular destinations prefer to work with the same hotels for years and book them to the maximum (though for some this is a dubious plus).
You can take at least two suitcases with you without fear of overweight, and change your outfits three times every day.

Now about the cons of the agency.

There are also enough pitfalls when buying from a travel agency.

Voucher. It is not a fact that having bought a tour in April, we will fly to the warm sea in July. Even if we bought it on July 10, on the 12th we can hear in the news that the tour operator or air carrier is declaring itself bankrupt. And this means that instead of the planned walks on the snow-white sand, walking begins in agony (VIM-avia - in 2017, Transaero in 2015, and about 2014, when it really seemed that all travel agencies were lousy and did not want to remember).
For objectivity's sake, I will give an example from personal experience: when my family and I did not fly to Tunisia for good reasons, the travel agency returned us most of the money spent.
Charter. Of course, it is cheaper than regular flights, but not safer. Which of the flying charters has not faced a flight delay, or even a transfer of ten hours. (According to Russian laws, charter flights can be postponed for up to 10 hours. If the airline delays departure longer, the law "On Protection of Consumer Rights" comes into force). Here's a case from your life: somehow I was hopelessly late for a charter. I got to the airport only because it was impossible to turn around in a traffic jam. Imagine my joy when I learned that the departure was delayed for three hours. Even in Duty Free I did it.
Excursions. Tour operator excursions are always unreasonably overpriced. “On the street” they are several times cheaper. A professional guide, safety, clear organization - this, of course, costs money, but I would like it to be cheaper. The excursion group is 35-40 people, and in order to hear the guide you have to work with your elbows sometimes.
Rest with compatriots. Everything is ambiguous here. Someone craves communication in their native language, someone wants to be alone. Although from a meeting at a hotel with a "Russian tagil" no one is safe, and then everyone wants loneliness. But if we talk about my personal experience, then we, Russians, with rare exceptions, are very comfortable neighbors for rest.
Unfreedom. This is the main disadvantage of the travel agency. It just seems like there is a choice. In fact, the travel agency dictates tough conditions: you fly there, you live there, you have breakfast at such and such a time, etc. And no one cares that you dreamed of falling asleep to the sound of waves, and not to the screams of a disco. There is complete lack of freedom behind the seemingly enormous choice. If you do not want like everyone else - goodbye. This is the main slogan of the travel industry.

The advantages of independent recreation.

If the advantages of the trip are material, then the advantages of independent rest are rather emotional.

Freedom of choice is the main advantage of the independent traveler. He is free to do whatever he wants. Fly anywhere. Not to Pattaya, as you were programmed in a travel agency, but to Koh Samui. Before that, spend a couple of wonderful days in Bangkok. And return home through Singapore. Fly when and how much you want. Not on Wednesday evening, when the boss has a jubilee, but on Friday at 10 am, having slept and rested.
Savings (not always and not in everything, of course). But if you know: then you can save money.
The opportunity to get completely different impressions of the country to which you have traveled. It is one thing to get on a bus carefully driven by the tour operator at the airport, and quite another to take a metro ride to the bus station, change to a regular bus and get to the chosen hotel. And this is already a small adventure.
You can and not stay in the hotel. Rent one (2, 3) bedroom apartment on the coast on airbnb.ru and live like a local for two weeks. Have breakfast at home on your own balcony, and have lunch and dinner in different cozy restaurants, every day in a new one. (If you want to save money on souvenirs for your family, you can have dinner at home.)
Food is also, by the way, a separate impression. It is one thing to have a buffet in a hotel, and a completely different thing to meze in a Cypriot tavern. And there, and there - the goal is achieved: hunger is satisfied. But you will remember the tavern for a long time. And what was for dinner at the hotel, you will forget the next day.

You start getting positive emotions long before boarding the plane. Planning a route, finding accommodation, choosing places of interest are challenging, but extremely interesting tasks. The anticipation of a trip is like waiting for the New Year with gifts in childhood.
Possibility to diversify your vacation. You can lie on the sand for a whole vacation in Rimini and return home like a chocolate hare, or, what is much more interesting, take a ride around Italy, see 5-6 cities and flop the rest of the days in the Adriatic Sea.

Cons of independent recreation.

There are also enough of them on an independent trip.

The main disadvantage is that you are responsible for yourself. You have to foresee everything. We even have the right to file a lawsuit against a travel agency with which an agreement has been concluded for improper fulfillment of its obligations. But if you did not register your luggage online and "got" at the airport for money, then only you are to blame. And if you missed the last train because you looked at last year's schedule, then you are also to blame. Etc.
On regular flights, you need to be careful with your luggage. Most likely, you will have to leave at home a couple of evening dresses and related accessories, which we take "just in case." Suddenly it gets colder or wants to go somewhere in the evening. Or throw out 5-6 extra pounds or pay 5-6 thousand rubles, which are by no means superfluous.
The rest of the disadvantages follow from point 1. Transfer, insurance, visas. And also housing, communication with the local population, food. Anything can become a fat minus. Or a funny smiley if you do it right. Better let it be a smiley, otherwise it turns out a terrible ending.

So which is more profitable?

When making the final choice - an independent vacation or a voucher, you still need to take into account several factors.

Direction. If you want to have an all-inclusive vacation in Egypt, then, of course, contact a travel agency. If you think about Greece, then both are good options. Sit down and consider what is more profitable. Going to Barcelona - the most suitable destination for an independent trip.
Purpose of the trip. The simplest example is Turkey. One thing beach vacation in Antalya. But a trip to the city of contrasts, Istanbul, is completely different. In the first case - a travel agency, no options. But it is better to go to Istanbul yourself, and not depend on the whims of the tour operator.
Resting-place. Ten days without getting out in Hainan or a two-week trip: Beijing – Shanghai – Hong Kong – Hainan. In all cases, the choice is obvious. The more movements are planned, the more freedom is needed. You can also admire the world from the window of the tour bus, but from the rented car the world looks a little different.
Price. If you get a vacation in Cyprus in a five-star hotel for ten days at the price of a flight: Moscow - Loutraki - Moscow, then it's a sin not to take advantage of such an offer (another plus of the travel agency is a hot offer).
And the most important factor is human. If you are lazy or scared to go on your own vacation, then the choice is obvious: a voucher. Trust the professionals and they will do everything for you. Even a private tour around the globe.

It is not the first year that we have been traveling both independently and with the help of travel agencies. And we also advise our readers: before each trip, first weigh the pros and cons, and then decide for yourself how it is more profitable.

Here are some (optional, but interesting) recommendations for solving: