Keep in mind that most tour companies do not offer pickups at hotels. Normally a meeting point and time will be stated on your voucher. Meeting points may not be close to your hotel but at a central location closer to the venue or the area you will be visiting in the tour. Meeting points tend to be at a metro stop or local café, so be sure to get acquainted with the points of interest of your destination and be sure to know where you meeting point is the day before. Utilize Google maps on your phone the night before and figure out the best way to get there.

Please allow yourself enough time to arrive at the meeting point at least half an hour prior to the tours departure time. The area will be busy with other tours meeting at the same place, look for someone with an umbrella or clipboard and show them your voucher, if they are not with your tour company they can point out someone who is.

Arrive early at your meeting point, in high season everywhere will be busy, with numerous tours meeting at the same location. Make sure you have enough time to find your tour group and are not in a rush.

Most tours will include a headset be sure you check yours right away to make sure it is working. If your headset is not working approach your tour guide to get it replaced. If you are on a hop-on, hop-off tour, approach the bus driver for a new headset before the tour starts.

Be sure to dress comfortably and accordingly based on the weather and the type of tour you are taking. If your tour is visiting religious sites, keep in mind women may need to cover up in order to enter.

Most sightseeing tours include a lot of walking and in some cases, climbing, make sure you are wearing appropriate, comfortable footwear.

Make sure to bring a bottle of water with you to stay hydrated, especially during the summer.

Pack lightly, bring only what is necessary for your day of sightseeing. There will be a lot of walking and you will be moving around a lot, so you don’t want to be carrying a heavy purse around. A light backpack or bag packed with water and your essentials is a good idea. Be sure to carry your bags in front of you, in case of pickpockets.

Pay attention to your tour guide, keep a close distance to him or her, this will make it easier to ask questions and see the most important landmarks.

Keep in mind you are in an area of the world that is totally different from what you are used to. Enjoy this unique experience and take in the incredible sights and surroundings of where you are.

Two tour guides are normally assigned to each group, a driver and a guide. Your guide will be the most informed person on the tour subject and spend most of the time talking with everyone about related subjects regarding the area being visited. A tour featuring a separate guide will be more structured with the guide walking around with you and providing information about the area you are visiting.

These smaller tours tend to be for a smaller group of people where the guide serves as both your driver and your guide. Their responsibility is the car; they will drop you off at a spot and set up a place to meet you after parking the vehicle. The knowledge and information provided on these tours can vary greatly. Some driver/guides will have the entire tour planned out with local music to play and other driver/guides will talk in general about the area and answer your questions. Other driver/guides may provide very little information and focus more on giving little tidbits of information about what is coming up next and pointing out highlights on special places to stop at by yourself.

A local guide does not travel around to different cities, they normally meet you at the set meeting point and lead the tour providing information on the area you are visiting. Some of these local guides may be booked in conjunction with a tour to a specific place (city/attraction). Normally they will meet you at the point where the bus drops you off, they will lead the tour taking you to visit the attraction and then lead you back to your form of transportation. These guides may work in conjunction with a specific attraction; they may also be city guides with a contract with the tour company you booked with.

Many tour guides specialize in the type of tour you are taking. For example: Historian, Art, Gourmet.

On a large bus tour the main focus is on showing you the monuments from afar and offering some picture opportunities. A live guide will talk about the history, points of interest, etc. Sometime a headset is offered to listen to a pre-recorded tape to match the areas you are passing by. These tours tend to be the most impersonal, but are the most economical with a large amount of `Fellow Travelers.

A small group tour normally consists of 5 – 22 people and is offered in minivan and minibus. An excursion normally has either a driver/guide or a driver plus guide or a driver with a local guide at the main attraction. These tours are more personal and a lot less stressful than coach tours. The driver/guide makes a concerted effort to connect with passengers and answers more questions.

A smaller version of Small Group tours. It is important to read the fine lines, as some small group tours are sometimes small enough to equal a semi private. On these tours, the chance is quite high that you will get a driver/guide.

This type of tour is the most expensive and flexible and normally includes a driver/guide only. There may not be as much information on history or a running dialogue offered in this tour as there is in others. However the tour will be catered to your needs with more time flexibility available at stops and the option to stop somewhere else.

Please note: A small group and semi private tours also offer more flexibility but you will need to discuss and agree with fellow passengers.

These tours involve a lot of walking either with a small or large group. They meet at a specific location where the guide is waiting and depending upon the size of the tour headsets may be provided so you are able to hear the commentary. Some walking tours include transportation. This is a more intimate tour providing more photo opportunities.

Skip the line tickets allow you to skip the long lines entering attractions. These are becoming very popular. Make sure to read the description as some skip the line tours are just for skipping the line for the entrance and then you are on your own. Many tours including a guide tend to be Skip the Line as the tour companies make pre-arrangements as a schedule needs to be followed.

A Hop-on, Hop-off tour is provided by a big companies usually on board a double-decker bus with different circuits covering the city highlights. These tours are sold in time periods of 24/48/72 hours however circuits do not run for 24 hours, a tour normally operates until 6:00-7:00pm. Your voucher includes a ticket that will be time stamped, a map of the route and the stops covered by the bus along with a headset. Once on board you plug in your headset and listen to the recording on the area being visited. If you come to an area that you wish to explore, you get off the bus, visit the area and come back to the same spot to be picked back up or to a designated stop closest to where you are located. Some tickets offer discounts to attractions and restaurants.

Please note: These tours are economical and are a great way to get aquatinted with the city on the day of your arrival and a great way to get from attraction to attraction. These are not personal tours.

Companies will offer two or more tours for a discounted price, ex: one in the morning and another in the afternoon. We do not recommend these types of tours as they can be very tiring, unless you are looking to pack in a lot in a short space of time.

These passes provide entrance to attractions and in some cases include a headset to listen to the pre-recorded tapes with information on where you are visiting.

A rental is the ability to rent a bike, a segway, etc by the hour or day.