Independent travel allows you to go at your own pace, enabling you to get to know the local culture more and create more enriching experiences in one particular area.
I hesitate to use the word “authenticity” because I believe that every moment is authentic because you are experiencing it. What I am talking about here is cultural travel, a connection with the day to day living of a destination that might be harder to make on a tour.
While you can usually find a guided tour that can fit in with your travel plans, there is still a limit to where you can go and what you can do.
Guided tours are always going to be more expensive because you are paying for someone else to do the planning for you. Although, sometimes small group trips work out to be a cheaper option.
You hop on a guided tour for 2 months around Europe, you’ve paid all your money, you are super excited and then by day 3 you realize you have nothing in common with the 28 other people on the bus.