Homeless holidays: Insensitive or eye-opening?

(CNN) -- Adventure travel these days can mean anything from kayaking to mountain biking to photography safaris. Now, a Dutch company is going where few vacationers have gone with a controversial concept offered in some European cities.

For $430, tourists can live like vagrants on the streets of London, Paris, Brussels, Prague and Amsterdam -- ostensibly to make themselves stronger and more sociable. Critics say the "rough sleeper holidays" are unsafe and mock people who aren't homeless by choice (see full story).

When we asked readers what they think about the tours, most respondents found them insensitive and inappropriate. But a few thought the tours might give participants a first-hand look at what it's like to live on the streets.

Below is a sampling of comments we received. Thank you for your contributions, and be sure to Sound Off on our next topic!

Shawn Simmons, Seattle, Washington

I think that the "rough" tours are a good idea if there is a market for them.

There is no better way to know what you're talking about on any subject, than to do it. The extremity that truly homeless people experience won't be part of the tourists' version, but I think that tours of this kind will be a lot tougher than one can imagine without actually doing it.

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Justin Harvey, Salt Lake City, Utah

I think that it sounds fun and "adventurous." I don't think that I would ever do it, but for people who can't afford to stay at a five-star hotel and want to go cheap, I think it's a good idea. It's a personal choice, and if people want to do it, great! The company doing the tours should inform people of the risks before hand is the only concern.

D. Fontaine, New York City

I think that Rough Sleeper Holidays will make it harder for those who give to the homeless to distinguish between those truly needing assistance and those simply taking advantage of concerned citizens.

Colleen Anderson, Brooklyn, New York

These so-called "rough tours" are wannabe "reality TV" gimmicks. Give me a break! This is not only unsafe, but very degrading to the homeless, shelter workers -- and government funded programs, which try to get people off the streets. There are better ways for rich, adventurous types to spend a vacation and empathize with vagrants!

Mel Reno, Olathe, Kansas

Why not take the money that it would cost for these "tours" and use it to provide food, clothing, shelter or medical treatment for these less fortunate people? Let's help these people and not make a mockery of their unfortunate circumstance.

Brian Kingsley, Syracuse, New York

Very offensive. This is a direct hit to the homeless people that suffer daily -- and most not by choice.