Independent vs Guided Tours Part 3 - Extended Travel

In the previous posts, I have outlined the basics of what guided tour travel entails as well as gave a sample itinerary to show what all is included for a basic style trip. Before I decided to make this trip a round the world style adventure, I was looking at stringing together multiple tours in Asia rather than doing it on my own. After much reassurance from friends and researching the differences, I decided to go it on my own, and as a result can travel longer on the same budget. But how much longer? I still have all the researched information that I did this past summer when looking at tours while bored at work. The following is a basic summary of the tours that I was looking at, and their costs. All prices are including similar sight seeing and provided food like the Egypt and Jordan trip illustrated in the previous post. Tours: Intrepid Tours Beijing to Bali - 87 days - $6300 - China through Indonesia on a very similar itinerary to the planned trip. Intrepid Tours Mumbai to Kolkata - 36 days - $1935 - Jumping around India on a very similar itinerary Intrepid Tours Nepal Encompassed - 20 days - $1390 - Including an Everest view trek, much further away from base camp, otherwise similar itinerary Airfare: Dayton to Mumbai, Kolkata to Kathmandu, Kathmandu to Beijing, Denpassar to Tokyo, Osaka to Tokyo, Tokyo to Dayton - $3000 from Kayak. Extras: On top of the tours, I was also looking at doing 1 month in Japan alone and extra time in Bali at the end of the Beijing to Bali trip. Those costs would be the same for independent travel, and are neglected in this case. I should note that this only includes the basic levels of accommodation, transportation, some sight seeing, and minimal food. The cost is already at $12,420 for ~150 days. When you add in $15/day for sight seeing, $10/day for food, and similar visa and pre-trip costs as my planned itinerary, the cost is easily over $18,000 or $120/day. That is over $40/day higher than what you would pay on your own, at a minimum all inclusive. After seeing this, it is a fairly easy decision to throw off the fears of travel if you can stay 50% longer for the same cost. For those on a time limitation or require other needs, a tour might be worth the extra premium however and should be evaluated for your own scenario. The exception to the guided tour mark-up is short trips purchased while you are already at your destination. One example that I have researched is Halong Bay in Vietnam. While it is easy to get to Halong Bay on your own, you can get 3 day packages from Hanoi, with transportation, all food, activities, and sleeping on a traditional junket boat, for similar prices to what you would pay on your own without the hassle of booking it all independently. Similarly tours to Chitwan and Pokhara in Nepal can be purchased in Kathmandu with many included perks for prices not much more expensive than standard rates. So for me, I will leave guided tours alone unless I want to travel to areas of the world that are more difficult to travel on your own or are limited on time. The regions in South America and Asia I intend to visit have dedicated transit routes and are very popular backpacker trails, so tours are almost unnecessary. But don't be surprised if you see me on a few sub-week long tours that I randomly picked along the way for cheap either.