Why you should hire a guide that really knows the area

I recently was invited to visit a country I had never visited before, and I jumped at the opportunity to go. Having been on many international trips before, I was quite used to being met by a local guide who stuck with us the entire trip just as soon as we exited customs.

This time was quite different. No one was there and none of our contacts answered their cell phones for better than a half hour. Luckily, 12 journalists stranded outside an airport made for lively conversation so waiting wasn’t so bad.

Journalists waiting for a room

Our first motel stop was an experience. They clearly weren’t ready for our arrival and didn’t have enough rooms to accommodate everyone. A decision was made to share rooms, but they even went so far as to ask if we would mind sharing beds. That didn’t go over so well and a handful of the journalists left for a 45-minute ride to the next closest hotel. Rule  #1…Make sure your guide checks your accommodations before you arrive.

The following morning we awoke early to do some nature photography in a famous wildlife preserve. What we didn’t know was that they planned on us shooting from the water. So much for the big tripods we brought along.

Our guides had arranged a few flat-bottom punt boats with local teenage punters to push us around. A full busload of 30+ photographers boarded four boats and the local guides all boarded another. Only after we pushed off did we discover that none of these teenagers spoke English, and all our English speaking guides were off in another direction in their own boat.

Not only that, the punters were all best of friends and wanted to keep our four boats side by side so they could have a conversation. For three hours we did everything we could to push the other boats away from us so we could actually shoot photos, while all the punters did was see how close they could keep us together. Rule #2…Make sure your English speaking guide goes in the same boat you do. 

Naturally our boats had no life preservers and were probably overloaded with six to eight people in each. But even more challenging was keeping them afloat. After 15 minutes we discovered the purpose of the empty coffee cans in each boat. They were for bailing.

Keeping the boats apart was our major focus, next to keeping dry.

The thought of all those photographers going down with a hundred-thousand dollar’s worth of photo gear was too much to ponder. Rule #3…Make sure your guide realizes if you will be bringing expensive gear and you’d like to go home with the same in working order.

The following day was the crowning glory of the trip. We were headed to another preserve in search of a rare breed which could only be found in this park. Assured there were no more leaky boats in our future, our bus pulled into a lovely nature preserve that extended for a hundred acres around a blue, windswept lake.

Exiting the bus, we inquired of our guides which way we should start hiking to see the elusive breed we all wanted to see. “Hmmm, really don’t know what to tell you. Maybe half should go left and half go right” was the reply we really didn’t want to hear.

After hiking around some very scenic paths for three hours, none of the 30 of us saw a single species we were looking for. Hiking through the park, we discovered more breeding young people than four-legged varieties.  And the guides…oh yes, they stayed in the bus and played cards for three hours.  Rule #4…Don’t hire a guide who doesn’t understand (and care) about the purpose of your trip.

There were lots of birds on the lake, but we couldn't find any of the big ones we wanted

The kicker to the above story is that we later rendezvoused with another busload of photographers who had been on a similar quest but with another, more seasoned local guide. They went to the same park, the same day and saw 176 of these rare birds. We saw zero.

With two days left in town, I gave up on our group and ventured out to see the city on my own. After hiking all day, I decided I would take a ride back to the hotel in a taxi. Asking if the driver spoke English, he said “Sure. Hop in.”  I told him the name of my hotel, he nodded and we took off. After about a quarter mile, he stopped and pulled alongside another taxi.

After a few seconds, it was apparent that he had no idea where we were going. Thirty minutes and 10 stops later he finally found someone who understood where my hotel was located. Rule #5…Make sure your driver ‘really’ understands English before jumping into a cab.

With one day left on the trip and having learned all the above rules the hard way, I ventured out again, first asking my hotel bellman to find a taxi driver who actually spoke English. With that problem behind us, we had a great day discovering the city and being able to go everywhere I wanted. Heading back to the hotel to grab my bags, he finally took me to the airport and waited while I found change to pay his modest fee (plus large well-deserved tip).

Moral of this tale is to suggest you vet and hire a seasoned guide before you go off on a trip into a land where you can’t converse with the locals.  Don’t hesitate to ask lots of questions and make sure you are both on the same page – before you leave.

Three possibilities exist to hook up with a good person before you depart.

LocalGuiding.com  has seasoned guides available in a variety of countries and will bid for your business.

ToursByLocals.com has been connecting locals with travelers since 2008.

TouristLink.com is more of a social site, but they also have locals who are willing to help you navigate their cities.

Do you know of others?  Have you had a good guiding experience?  Share with your fellow readers in the comments below.