Tours can look great on paper, and all those photos of your bucket list destination can have you dreaming about a location for months, if not years. But what happens when your preferred holiday spot is at the top of a mountain, or deep in the jungle?

One of the questions we often get asked here at Two’s a Crowd is “how fit do I need to be to do this tour?”.

We get it, you don’t want to commit to a tour that is overly strenuous, and you don’t want to hold up your fellow passengers if you can’t keep up. But how do you benchmark yourself against others when you don’t know who they are or what’s expected of you?

The simple answer is, all tours are different.

Even tours to the same destination can be quite different, depending on the guide and the people on the tour. But there are some things to do that can help you decide whether a tour is right for you.

• Read and reread the full itinerary. If the itinerary includes a three-hour walking tour ask yourself whether you can manage – and would enjoy – walking for that long. There’s nothing worse than going on a tour that involves walking if you really don’t like or have trouble walking.

• Understand the landscape of the destination. A walking tour in Cusco or La Paz, which are both at high altitude and in mountainous regions, is very different to a walking tour of Dubrovnik, which is flat; similarly a walking tour of Rome or Venice is quite different to a walking tour through any of the Tuscan villages which, again, are generally very hilly.

• Search for any images of past tours by the company(ies) you’re thinking of travelling with. This will give you an indication of what to expect. Look at those on the tours as well as the scenery: How fit do they look? What is their general age? How are they dressed? All these things will help to give you an indication of how athletic or energetic past tours have been. It will also help you to visualise what you’ll be doing on the tour, what might be expected of guests on your potential tour.

• But be warned, images won’t tell you everything, so ask the tour operator. The tour operator should be able to tell you how far you might walk in a day, and what the environment is like. They’ll also be able to tell you the general makeup of their tour groups to give you some idea of the fitness level of those you’re likely to be travelling with.

• Within tour groups there are generally a range of fitness levels and interests. Some people like to walk far and wide, to trek as much as they can, but that doesn’t mean everyone on a tour has to follow. The itinerary will tell you what’s included and what is expected of you. Don’t feel that you need to keep up with the fittest in the group, and conversely, don’t feel that you have to be held back by the slowest in the group. Tours can often accommodate different interests and abilities.

• Be honest  – with yourself. Only you know how far you can actually walk and how agile you are. You’re probably less likely to enjoy a tour if you’re worried about how far you have to walk or how strenuous the day trips are.

• Be honest – with the company. We’ve had guests who have had mobility issues but who have travelled just fine through some challenging terrains. If we know ahead of time, we can work with you to see whether it’s the right tour for you and to help you get the most out of your holiday experience.

Want to know more about finding the right tour for you?

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