I never considered myself an escorted tour kind of person. Until I took one. Like many Americans, I thought escorted tours were like the one depicted in that old movie, If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium. You know, you pile on and off sightseeing buses with 40 other tourists on a trip that crams so many countries into two weeks that you forget which city you're in. In this 40th anniversary year of the film’s release, that image remains in the public consciousness. But a 12-day escorted tour of Spain dispelled my misconceptions and taught me the advantages escorted tours can offer.

They can save you money. My tour included transportation, accommodations, museum admissions, and meals. I would have spent a lot more than the tour cost if I’d paid for those components separately. According the United States Tour Operators Association, escorted tours can save you as much as 40 percent.

They provide expertise. Our tour escort, an American writer and lecturer named Leon Liberman, had lived in Spain on and off for more than 40 years. He gave our group an insider’s view of the country we wouldn’t have seen on our own. In Barcelona, for example, in addition to taking us to the popular Picasso museum, Leon also introduced us to E&A Gispert, a nearby shop that's been selling nuts and dried fruits since 1851. We browsed the dark wooden shelves filled with jams and jellies and watched a man use an antique cast-iron contraption to roast nuts over an open fire. And instead of taking us to large dining rooms geared to hosting tour groups, Leon introduced us to inexpensive neighborhood restaurants, such as La Gran Tasca, where we dined on chicken cooked with gazpacho. After dinner, we did what the locals in Barcelona do — we strolled Rambla de Catalunya, a promenade where people sit in open-air cafes.

They save you hassle. Our trusty tour escort made sure we were where we needed to be when we needed to be there. When we arrived in Bilbao, there’d been a mix-up with our hotel rooms. If I’d been traveling alone, I’d have had to try to sort it out myself. On this tour, I relaxed in the lobby with a cup of tea while Leon spoke with the front desk clerk and sorted everything out.

They offer camaraderie. Our tour group was a congenial bunch that included an artist and his antique-dealer wife, an architect, and a retired couple who had been art teachers at a Chicago high school. Jim, a twenty-something writer and columnist, dispelled the notion that escorted tours are only for older people. He became our resident nightlife reporter, often heading out to investigate the local clubs as others of us were turning in.
We all exchanged ideas and at the end of the trip, phone numbers and e-mail addresses.

They offer insights into local culture. Our tour ended in Madrid, where, on our last night in Spain, we went to Las Carboneras, a flamenco club. After dinner, the lights dimmed, and the audience grew quiet. Guitarists and singers took their places on the small stage. As deep soulful guitar sounds filled the room, three women in long, form-fitting gowns took their seats on folding chairs in front of the musicians. They began to clap softly. One rose and slowly began to sway in time with the clapping. Suddenly, the rapid staccato cracks of her heels on the floor accented the music, and she began a sensuous, electrifying flamenco. The three women took turns dancing, each an expert in her own flamenco style, each dance less a performance than a spontaneous, organic celebration of the art. We left the club and strolled down quiet side streets near the Plaza Mayor to Yesterday-Just a Bar, owned by a husband-wife team of former flamenco dancers. As we sat in wicker chairs beneath ceiling fans, we reminisced about our 12-day odyssey. “What will you remember most?” we asked each other. “Seeing the 15th-century statue of the Weeping Magdalene at the Prado,” said one of the retired art teachers. “Strolling from bar to bar in Bilbao and eating pintxos (small snacks like tapas),” said the architect. I remembered the night we walked through the medieval town of Sos, King Ferdinand II’s birthplace as church bells echoed off the stone buildings. “Salud,” said someone, as we all lifted our glasses. Maybe I am an escorted tour kind of person after all. TOURING TIPS
• Read the brochure carefully. If it doesn’t say you'll actually visit that quaint monastery in the hills, you might just be driving by.
• Find out what’s included, especially when comparing prices. Some tours include meals; some don’t. On some tours you eat set meals as a group; on others you can choose the restaurant.
• Ask where the hotels are. A free afternoon won’t do you a lot of good if you’re stuck at the airport.
• Ask about guaranteed departures. Sometimes tour companies cancel certain tours if not enough people sign up; guaranteed departures take place regardless.
• Ask how many people are on the tour. My friend Peppy Krieger, who traveled much of the world on escorted tours had this advice: “Never travel in a group of more than 25. Typically a tour will have more women than men; you don’t want to be waiting in a long line at every rest stop.”