I took my kids on a group tour to Morocco. It changed my approach to traveling with them.

• I love planning trips and am an independent traveler who looked down on group tours.

• My perspective of group tours changed when I took one with my kids to Morocco.

• I quickly booked another group tour to India.

I've always been an independent traveler. I've traveled to five continents and over 90 countries, planning nearly every aspect of each trip on my own. For years, I was happy with having complete control over my trips and the flexibility to make changes on the fly.

Group tours never interested me much. I thought they were for people who found planning overwhelming and didn't want to do the research to make sure they created a trip that aligned with their interests.

Then, I accidentally found myself on a group tour, and my perspective changed.

I was an accidental participant in a group tour

In the winter of 2024, I had planned a bucket list trip to Egypt and Jordan for my family. I had booked a tailor-made trip with Intrepid Travel that I had to cancel suddenly when war broke out in the region. Suddenly, I was faced with seeing my long-awaited trip disappear. To ensure we had somewhere to go over the holidays, I switched gears and applied my payment to a family group tour of Morocco.

I wasn't sure what to expect. I wasn't used to ceding complete control over my trip to someone else, and I was alson't sure how my kids and I would tolerate spending more than a week with total strangers.

I was pleasantly surprised

After spending three fantastic days in Marrakesh alone, my kids and I hopped on a train to Casablanca to start our group tour. I was immediately relieved to find several kids around my kids' ages.

A couple of days in, I was hooked. I was astonished that this trip, which included an incredible night of glamping in the Saraha and hiking the Torda Gorge, took almost no effort on my part and came with built-in friends.

I enjoyed having other adults to talk to, something I often miss when traveling alone with my kids. It was also a nice change of pace for my kids to have someone else to play with, especially when they started getting on each other's nerves.

The trip changed my perspective on group travel

Not everything was perfect. Some of the hotels were farther out than I would have chosen, but they were all clean and safe. We just drove by a few places I would like to have stopped. Once or twice, I got stuck waiting for others to shop when I would have rather been exploring.

However, with a very busy schedule that sometimes makes planning trips difficult, I thought these trade-offs were worth it. After my first group trip, I also learned some lessons I could use to make future group trips better.

I booked another group trip for the following year

I quickly booked another group trip for the following year. This time, I booked a trip to India, a country I had always wanted to visit but found intimidating. I thought this was the perfect choice for my family's next group tour. After exploring Morocco with a local guide, I felt confident I could tackle India with the same kind of support and guidance.

I looked at several options but decided to book with Intrepid Travel again. I liked that their specialized family tours ensured that I would travel only with other families, so I didn't need to worry about my kids bothering other guests. The family tour to India I selected also included family-friendly activities like a Bollywood dance class and a traditional block-printing class in Jaipur that aren't included on typical tours geared toward adults. The family tour included more downtime than typical tours and no late-night activities.

My second group tour experience was even better

After taking one group tour, I knew how to improve my second experience.

Although one of my favorite things about group tours is not having to do all the planning, the second time around, I did a little more research about where we were going and deviated from the group a couple of times. One detour I took to India's famous Rat Temple was a highlight. This sacred temple is filled with thousands of well-cared-for rats believed to be reincarnations of people and gods, was a fascinating look into Hindu culture and the deep reverence many Indians have for all living creatures.

Another time, some other adults and I explored a small town alone. I was warmly invited into a Hindu ceremony in progress and quickly adorned with a bindi, a red dot between my eyes meant to open my third eye and help me see beyond the physical world. This was only possible because early on, the parents on the trip had decided to trade off watching each other's kids. I also researched restaurants I wanted to try and made suggestions when it made sense.

I had another great experience, and I'm already planning my next group tour.

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