When travelling on busses in small groups or on tours it is important to follow the below tips should you not want to be “that annoying Guy or Girl, Lady or Man on the tour bus”.

At the start of the day the tour guide will usually give a briefing about what’s on for the day. Don’t be talking to your mate all the way through the morning briefing and then ask “so what are we doing today”.  This is a sure-fire way to becoming “that Guy or Girl” before you have even driven down the road.

If the tour guide or bus driver says to be back at the bus at a certain time let say 2pm, he really does mean 2pm not 2:30pm or 2:45pm as this really puts a spanner in the days planning, you’re making every other passengers day worse as they will have less time to spend at the remaining landmarks and destinations to be seen that day or the entire tour.

 

Believe it or not, sometimes it is nice to be in nature and out of WIFI range

If you don’t understand what the guide says, don’t just yell out questions and disrupt his flow, try and remember what you didn’t understand and ask him when he stops talking or when the bus is pulled over rather than interrupting when he might be in the middle of a really cool story or an interesting piece of information.

Believe it or not, sometimes it is nice to be in nature and out of WIFI range, increasingly more and more these days customers are requesting WIFI in prehistoric world heritage areas. Unfortunately, places like Cradle Mountain in Tasmania, Uluru or Kakadu National Park do not offer WIFI nor should they.

These awesome locations and national treasures should be taken in and you shouldn’t be on your electronic devices unless taking that ever important selfie. Wait till you get back to your hostel and try meeting and talking to someone on your tour rather then freaking out if you can’t upload your photos straight away.

It’s important to charge your electronic devices such as phones and cameras before heading out on tour though in saying that sometimes batteries can run low so it’s not your privilege to charge devices on the tour bus. Sometimes if asked nicely most tour guides won’t mind you plugging in your USB charger and letting you get a quick charge so you don’t miss out on your happy snaps. This is providing a port is available.

Remember no one likes a hog, so be sure to share the charging port with fellow travellers should they need to as you are not the only person on the bus. This also goes for the front seat of the bus as well, make sure everyone gets a turn if they so desire.

Related article: Top 10 Best Guided Tours in Australia

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