Traveling to a new city is always fun and exciting. Although doing you own exploration with the only aid of a tour book could be fun and adventurous, in big cities like Rome, Florence, Venice to name a few, having a local tour guide will make the experience truly memorable.

But how do you choose the perfect tour guide? According to  Romefile  here are some questions to consider when you’re choosing which guide to book with:

What do you want to see?

There’s a lot to see in Italy, and whatever your budget, no guide is going to be able to show you everything. You’ll also probably want to do, so think about which sites would most benefit from the company of an experienced guide.

How many people will be on the tour?

This really does make a difference. Smaller or even private groups allow you to interact much more with your guide, meaning that they’ll be able to take better care of you, and you’ll learn more.

What’s the guide’s background?

Gap year students just don’t have the experience it takes to run a good tour. Check that your guide has the appropriate qualifications for the specific theme of the walk. A guide will make the difference in you overall travel experience. As also stated by Nomadic Matt a  tour guide should be a local or at least a long-term resident, know the local language, have travel experience, and know life-saving techniques.

Licensing

Italy runs a somewhat controversial licensing system for its tour guides. The scheme, which requires all tour guides to carry licenses, has been criticized for being badly run and blocking potential new guides through unnecessary bureaucracy. It’s also been accused of contravening European law. However, it does exist, and licensing is one way of determining the potential quality of the guide. (But only one way: there are also good guides without the license, and bad guides who have it!)

At Italy Destination Services, we have years of experience in tour guiding and thanks to an extensive personal network of local tour guides we are able to satisfy any requests for any target group (family, seniors, active travelers) and any interests (culture, food, active). Click here for more information on our tour guides services.