Why Thousands Of Hawaii Visitors Are Choosing Private Oahu Tours Over Shared Group Tours
The Pros & Cons Of Private vs. Group Tours
Traveling can do wonders for your mind and body. Science has proven that traveling can make you healthier, enhance your creativity, and boost your happiness. Traveling is also a great way to take care of your mental health as it lowers your risk of depression and keeps stress at bay.
However, your trip will only become memorable if you have a well-crafted itinerary in place. With the number of activities you can do in a specific destination, it’s vital that you have an itinerary to make the most out of your trip and budget accordingly.
When traveling, you’ll likely have to consider whether you’re going to pay for private and group tours. Paying for tours is one of the best ways to enjoy your trip, but choosing one can be tough. The latter is especially true if you have never gone for private or group tours in the past.
If you’re going to travel soon, this article will help you decide whether you should pay for private or group tours.

Table of Contents
Group Tours: Pros and Cons
Group tours are common in almost every location around the globe and are open to the public. In this section, we’ll discuss the pros and cons of group tours.
Pro: Lower Price
Not everyone travels with an unlimited budget. More often than not, you’ll have to save money for months before you can go on a trip. The longer the duration of your trip is, the more money you’ll have to save.
You won’t have to worry about breaking the bank when you pay for group tours as these are usually cheaper than private tours. This is because with group tours, more people will split the bill with you. Moreover, group tours are also cheaper because companies who facilitate the tour can provide services at a lower price.
If you’re looking forward to traveling with your friends or family but don’t want to spend years’ worth of savings, paying for group tours is the best way to go.
Pro: Meet New People
Traveling can provide countless benefits, but do you know that this can also become your platform to meet new people? Paying for group tours is a great way to find new friends because you’ll be mixed with other travelers. Traveling with different people enables you to create and experience a sense of togetherness, especially if you’re going to travel with them for weeks.
If you want your upcoming trip to be different, then you should book group tours as soon as possible. You’ll be surprised at the number of friends you can make when you pay for a group tour for your upcoming trip!
*Information continued below…*

Book Online Now
For 1-6 passengers. $60 per additional passenger thereafter.
*Gratuity for driver not included.
Choose Or Create Your Tour
Notice: Currently, we are not able to offer Sunset Beach and Laniakea Beach (Turtle Beach) as tour stops as commercial vehicles are not allowed in those areas. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Con: Fixed Dates and Itineraries
Traveling to a new destination is often a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but going on group tours can limit your ability to fully enjoy your trip. Group tours have fixed dates and itineraries, which means that you can’t stay longer in a location because you want to dine in more restaurants around the area or take more pictures nearby.
When you book for a group tour, expect that the itinerary — along with the information on how long you’re going to stay in a spot and what activities you can do — will be given to you before the start of the tour. This setup will leave little to no flexibility and prevent you from customizing your travel experience.
Con: Fixed Transportation
Since group tours involve a lot of people, expect that going on one will lead you to miss out on certain locations and sites. Group tours usually use large public transportations, like buses, which means that you won’t be able to visit sites that are only accessible when walking. The same is also true for destinations that are only accessible by medium or small-sized vehicles.
Con: Tourist-rich Experiences
Group tours will allow you to visit different sites in another city, state, or country, but keep in mind that these sites are often filled with tourists. When you join a group tour, expect that you’ll have to rub elbows with other tourists as these sites are popular worldwide.
Choosing to join a group tour will allow you to immerse yourself in a new destination, but your experience is often limited because you’ll witness the same things as every tourist.
Private Tours: Pros and Cons
Another way to enjoy a destination is by paying for a private tour. This kind of tour provides greater flexibility as you get to choose who to travel with and when to travel.
Pro: Easily Customizable
One of the biggest benefits you can experience when you go on a private tour is customization. Companies that provide private tours will often give you a list of the itinerary, but this is easily customizable. You can decide when to visit the spots mentioned in the itinerary, remove specific to-dos in the itinerary, or add destinations that you’ve gathered from your own research.
Do you want to try out different cuisines whenever you travel? Add a cooking class to your itinerary. Are you looking forward to hiking or trekking in the mountains on a weekend during your upcoming trip? Schedule the activity on your itinerary. Do you want to shop for local goods before heading home? Dedicate an entire day to a local farmers’ market during your trip.
When you choose to go on a private tour, your trip will be focused on your needs and wants, not from the consensus of individuals whom you never encountered in the past. Private tours basically give you the opportunity to decide where to visit during your trip and what kind of activities you are going to engage in when traveling.
Pro: You Set the Date and Time
Planning a trip can become a struggle because not everyone has the flexibility to travel whenever they want. Generally, you’ll have to carefully plan out the duration of your trip to avoid conflict between your work and other responsibilities you might have back home.
Another benefit of going on a private tour is having the ability to decide when you’re going to travel. Since you don’t have to wait for a huge group to travel, a private tour allows you to decide when you’re going to fly in and out of your home country and how long you’re going to stay in a specific location.
With a private tour, you can decide to stay shorter or longer on a specific spot, allowing you to make the most out of your trip. Do you want to stay longer than planned or leave immediately? Going on a private tour enables you to do any of these and more.
Pro: Safety is Guaranteed
Because of the outbreak of the COVID-19, caution is necessary when traveling. Ideally, you should lessen your contact with other people when spending time outdoors to lessen your risk of being infected or transmitting the disease.
Going on a private tour is a safer option compared to group tours because the former will require you to travel with people that you already know. With a private tour, you don’t have to mingle with other people when traveling, and you can choose to visit locations that aren’t crowded with tourists. This will ensure your safety and enjoyment during your trip.
Pro: Spend More Time With Friends and Family
You can always go on a trip with friends and family, but going on with a group of strangers can be awkward. This is especially true if you have kids around, as you’ll be looking over your shoulders all the time to make sure that they don’t bother other people during the trip.
When you go on a private tour, you won’t have to experience this kind of problem as you can have exclusivity when deciding who will travel with you. When you pay for a private tour, you can bring your closest friends and family along and not worry about their crazy antics or unexpected behaviors because everyone knows everyone. Traveling with your own social circle will ensure that your trip is stress-free and one for the books.
Pro: Private Transportation
Because a private tour will only involve very limited people, going on one will also give you access to private transportation. Instead of riding large buses or trains, you’ll have to ride in a minibus or private car when you go on a private tour. This will give you the opportunity to visit locations that aren’t accessible to large vehicles.
Pro: Special Assistance
Companies that provide private tours understand that every single person in the group is unique and will have different needs. These companies know that individuals paying for private tours are usually ones who want to spend time with their family, especially with their senior loved ones.
When you go on a private tour, you won’t have to worry about your senior loved one’s mobility or medical concerns because the service provider will meet these needs. You just have to let these companies know about your needs, and they’ll be happy to oblige.
Companies that cater to private groups have years of experience in dealing with clients who have different needs and will be very happy to cater to yours. The service provided in private tours is individualized and can be tailored-fit.
Cons: Cost (but there are hacks!)
The only drawback of private tours is the cost. Because only a limited number of people will join the tour, expect that you’ll have to pay more. However, this doesn’t mean that you have to break the bank just to enjoy a private tour with your friends and family; there are actually companies that offer discounts and promos, especially if you place a booking months before your trip.
Moreover, because private tours are highly customizable, you can create an itinerary to better suit your budget. Do you want to save money on accommodation? Cross off 5-star accommodations from your itinerary and choose to stay in local hostels or property rentals instead. Do you want to skip visiting a spot to save money? Go ahead and change your itinerary.
When you go on a private tour, you won’t have to acquire debts just to experience the trip of your dreams.
Look At the Bigger Picture
Both private and group tours are beneficial, but keep in mind that these aren’t flawless. Any kind of tour will also have some drawbacks, which is why you should look at the bigger picture and weigh the pros and cons of your option before choosing.
Aside from using the information in this article to make a decision, don’t forget to consider your travel goals and the location of your upcoming trip. Look into the logistics of your destination and what you would like to discover when traveling to help you decide.
If you’re interested to book a private Oahu tour, reach us at (808) 425-9896. You can benefit from our discounts and promos when you book an Oahu tour online today!
Book A Private Oahu Tour Today!
REVIEWS
“This tour is amazing. What a wonderful way to see Oahu!”
~ Mark Jones, Phoenix, AZ
“We did the Circle Island tour. When you see what you get it is a great value for your money. On the circle island tour our driver “Henry” was very knowledgeable and extremely funny, We loved it.”
~ Rianne I., Melbourne, AU
“Oahu Private Tours is the way to go. Oahu is beautiful. Having the ability to take your time where you want, take photos, and enjoy your time is great with a private tour—worth the entire price.”
~ Rick M, Montgomery, Alabama
“Would recommend the this private Oahu tour option. I’ve learned that I don’t like touring with strangers on a public tour. I prefer an intimate private tour. Our driver/guide was great! Nothing but praises all around.”
~ Debra Horton.
People Are Making Memories On Oahu
#Oahu