Five Reasons To Hire a Local Guide This Summer

It’s been a long year, and we’re all itching to get away. It’s looking like most of us will still be traveling within our own borders this summer, searching out sights both familiar and beloved, and new and exciting.

Many of us who hire local guides when we travel internationally don’t consider doing the same thing in our own countries. But why not? Just because we’re traveling domestically doesn’t mean we don’t still have a ton to learn from the local experts in our own backyards! As Samantha Davis-Friedman writes in her latest article for TravelAge West, "The private tour marketplace is reminding American travelers that the U.S. is full of bucket list-worthy opportunities with no passport needed."

And with the pandemic not yet in our rear-views, booking a private tour makes a lot more sense than joining 30 others on a group bus or walking tour. We all have different travel styles, and some destinations and situations definitely call for different approaches. But if you’ve never hired a private guide in your own country, you owe it to yourself to try it. Whether you’re heading to a national park or historic city, you’ll be adding an extra special experience to your summer travels.

Five Reasons to Hire a Local Guide

1. You’re short on time. Sure we all wish we had endless vacation days to soak up that summer sun. But for the times you’ve only got a day or two in a place, a guide will make that time expand like magic. You’ll see more and learn more in a few hours than you would in several days of exploring on your own.

2. You want instant access to a local expert. Local guides can provide a crash course in whatever subject you’re interested in: art, history, food, architecture, photography, politics…their job is to know the answers to all your questions – and also the answers to all the things you never thought to ask in the first place! Explore New York, Boston, Charleston, San Francisco or any familiar city with a guide and you’ll soon be looking at it through an entirely different lens.

3. You like to make new friends. Your guide is more than a walking, talking Encyclopedia Britannica. They’re a lot of fun too! They live their lives in the city you’re visiting, and love to engage in conversation about what that’s like. With your local, private guide you’ll never feel like you’re “on tour” – you’ll feel like you’re spending time with a new friend. And with the limited social interactions most of us have experienced this past year, a new friend sounds awesome right about now.

4. You want to feel at home in a new city. Meeting up with a guide on your first day is a great way to start feeling comfortable in a new destination. You’ll get oriented on how to get around, learn about local foodie destinations and unique neighbourhoods beyond the tourist hot spots, plus get great recommendations and tips for how to spend the rest of your time there.

5. You dream of exclusive access to unique experiences. Do you like the idea of getting truly under the skin of a place and behind the scenes when you travel? Local guides have connections that run deep! Whether it’s meeting an up-and-coming chef, a local musician, a vintner, artist or sled dog racer in Alaska (yes, you can do this…!) local guides create intimate, customized tours where truly extraordinary things can happen.Those are just five of the reasons a local guide can make your trip more convenient, fun, safe, entertaining and memorable! Once you’ve taken a private tour in your own country, we’re sure you’ll be able to add more great reasons of your own.