People often ask what it takes to be a tour guide and assume it’s a never-ending frat party on wheels. Others wonder if the training is more like being a contestant on the Amazing Race. As a former tour guide based in Europe, Emma reveals, “It’s actually a cross between living in a real-life reality TV show without the cameras and Survivor.”
During her five weeks of tour guide training Emma admits there were no breaks or days off. “Its all day every day with the same drivers and guides on a bus traveling through all the countries and cities on the tour routes. You need to learn the history and geography of each country, then for each city know all the monuments, tours, best restaurants, bars, public transport, day trips, where the rest stops are and all about the accommodation.”
Ben Oliver, a former Busabout guide shares his take on the training trip juggernaut, “We blaze through cities in days, some in mere hours; at one point we covered five countries and seven cities in just four days.”
The tour guide management team sits up the back of the coach and spit rapid-fire questions at the trainee guides, which Emma said everyone dreaded. “At any moment you could be asked stuff like ‘How much does it cost to go up the Eiffel tower? How to you get to the Colosseum from the campground in Rome? What time does the last bus Venice?’” Emma said it’s like Top Gun for tour guides and that only the best made it through. “Some trainee guides were literally left at the youth hostel halfway though the training trip and others left in the middle of the night,” she said.
Ben gives us a rundown of what it takes to stand up the front of a coach and talk on the microphone, “City spiels, unaided and without notes, are expected to last 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the city. Anything less than 45 minutes for a city the size of Paris, Berlin and Rome would be considered a disaster! The spiel for the French Riviera can last up to an hour and a half as your 30-minute France country segues into your 50-minute French Riviera and ends with your 20-minute final approach to Nice.”
As if recalling centuries of Europe history isn’t enough, Ben says “some tests devised by our trainer’s border on sociopathic.” This is also one of Emma’s most memorable moments as a tour guide trainee too. “I remember being in Vienna, getting on the coach at 7am, and being told not to talk or make eye contact with the guides” she said. “After that we were instructed to close the blinds and get rid of any maps, guidebooks, phones then one by one we were called to the front, given a location and name and dropped off at the side of the road.”
Emma said it really was like real life survivor having to find her way to a new location in a city she had never been to. “At first I was freaking, then I was happy to be on my own for the first time in a month. Once I found the person and location I felt a high level of confidence and achievement. I know it’s so ridiculously hardcore but I understand why they test you.”
Another part of the tour guide training is being able to do a days work and then socialize with passengers. Emma says one of the days that she remembers most was in San Sebastian. “Most days we were up at 6am train all day then have to have a guide meeting at night to exchange notes that usually goes to 2am or later. We were all exhausted and just wanted to do the notes and go to sleep for a few hours but we had an 11.30pm call at a bar. We get there and find out we have to do a pub crawl and all have a three drink minimum. None of us wanted to do it. I mean no one.”
Again, Emma says she understands the thought process being it. “Look, it’s all part of the training. Management knows you will be out drinking with passengers and they want to make sure you can do it and get up the next morning and still be able to remember your facts, do your spiels, and get your passengers to the next location safely while having a great time.”
However, Ben says what a lot of guides thought at one point or another on the training trip, “Three [weeks] into a five week Blitzkrieg tour of Europe, covering 33 cities and eight countries…and I’m beginning to feel the strain. Like many around me, I’m wondering if it’s all worth it.”
So does Emma have any regrets? “No way! I loved being a tour guide. The only thing I would say is that if you are seriously thinking about giving it a go then you need to be prepared for the hardest slog of your life and be prepared for the most fun you will ever have.”
And for Ben? “There have been moments of heartache, doubt, adventure, hilarity, absurdity and embarrassment.” After the five weeks of training and standing 3454m above sea level, surrounded by snow ben has a realization, “without hesitation. It was so worth it.”
Parts of this article are courtesy of Crikey
