I disagree. Packaged/guided tours admittedly have their pros and cons. If one has only limited time and would like to visit as many "tourist spots" as possible with the "hazard" of pre-planning and nevigating on one's own, packaged/guided tours are good choices. As I have also posted before, a good tour guide makes a lot of difference. A good tour guide will be able to explain the history, etc. and to answer questions about the various sites to be visited and cultural practices, etc. However, there is no guarantee on what kind of tour guide that one gets!