FIND PRIVATE TOUR GUIDE

A high skilled guide can be the difference between a vacation to remember or forget. The very best are gifted at educating and engaging you at the same time and can open doors you didn’t know existed.

• Check with a professional organization. 

Most major cities have guide associations whose members must undergo rigorous training on topics like municipal history and local attractions, then pass a series of tests before earning their certification. The World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations maintains a list of member organizations. Reach out to one of these and ask for the names of their best guides.

•  Ask a concierge.

 According to Kenneth Abisror, the head concierge at Mandarin Oriental New York, the concierge at any luxury hotel will be well connected in the guide industry and can offer high-caliber names, some of whom speak multiple languages and have different areas of expertise. Most people don’t realize that you don’t have to be a guest to tap them for help. “Any experienced concierge at an upscale hotel will treat you as a potential future guest and likely help you,” Abisror says.

•  Consult somone you've hired before.

Joshua Bush, the CEO of the Avenue Two Travel agency, says that the international guide community is close-knit and members regularly refer clients to one another. If you’re going to Budapest, for instance, the guide you used in Prague likely has an excellent colleague to connect you to.

•  Call a translation school .

 Many instructors and interpreters double as tour guides or work with guides who need translation services for their clients. Berlitz  has offices in more than 500 locations in more than 70 countries.

•  Interview them ahead of time.

 Price doesn’t always indicate quality some of the best providers are expensive, but plenty of operators overcharge for run of the mill service. Request the itinerary and then ask what makes the tour unique. If the guide doesn’t offer creative options now, he or she won’t during your tour.

•  Enlist the help of an agent.

 Any great travel adviser will have long-standing relationships with reputable guides they can vouch for. See our selection of the world’s best specialists .