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CIE Tours vs Trafalgar
Compare the travel styles, pricing, destinations and popularity of CIE Tours and Trafalgar.The Low Down
CIE Tours are specialists in guided coach tours through Britain and Ireland. With over 80 years of history the team at CIE certainly have the local ties and experience to deliver you a top notch touring experience through Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. They have recently dipped their toes into new regions within Europe (like Iceland and Italy) but for now Global Journeys only sell their trips on the mainland of the UK. CIE are relatively unknown in the Australasian market but are very popular in the rest of the world, so you're fellow travellers are likely to be from all around the world, but perhaps with more American's onboard than Antipodeans. With itineraries designed to be fully inclusive, putting your hand in your pocket for optional day trips and activities is not something you need to worry about.
Accommodation on each trips sits at the 3 to 3 1/2 star level, with breakfasts (along with many lunches and dinners) also included. There's a maximum group size of 44, but look out for selected departures on selected trips that are designed for small groups. Also keep a lookout for CIE's Tour of the Week Deal which runs year round and offers savings of up to 15% off the normal retail price.
Over 350 coach tours around the world, and one of our clients most popular Operators, Trafalgar is part of the Travel Corporation, which includes under its umbrella the sister brands of Insight Vacations, AAT Kings, Uniworld, Contiki & Costsaver. With a worldwide presence and local operations in Australasia for many years, you'll enjoy the company of many nationalities aboard your coach, including those from Downunder. Sitting between Insight and Costsaver, Trafalgar pride themselves in touring innovation, introducing 'Insider Experiences' (where you get to know and dine with the locals) and travel styles to suit those that prefer smaller groups or those that prefer a more leisurely itinerary.Look out for Trafalgar's Early-payment savings where you can save up to 10% on your trip as well as further savings if you are a past passenger on any of the aforementioned sister brands.
Stats
No. of Trips
61
No. of Departures
2,942
Avg. Trip Length
9 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$428
Accommodation
3.5 - 4 Star
Budget
Premium
Trip Styles Coach Tours
Regions Explored UK & Ireland
No. of Trips
408
No. of Departures
9,160
Avg. Trip Length
11 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$468
Accommodation
4 Star
Budget
Premium
In Their Own Words We asked the travel companies themselves why you should travel with them
When you travel with CIE Tours, you will get the warmest of welcomes and all the benefits of our 87 years of experience. The itineraries are locally crafted - we set our own high standards for delivering excellent holidays with state-of-the-art luxury coaches; the best hotels; carefully chosen authentic experiences and entertainment.
Our outstanding local tour directors are ready to share their knowledge, stories, passion for their home places - they are our greatest assets. Many of our tours spend 2 nights in each location, and our flexible itineraries include a great balance of escorted and free time. We include full breakfasts, most dinners and some evening entertainment. No one has to worry about paying for optional extras on the trip. It’s all included, no hidden extras.
We know how much these trips mean to you and we want to ensure that this is a trip you will treasure forever.
We are the world’s leading and most awarded travel brand spanning all 7 continents of the globe. From the iconic to the unexpected our guests connect to the real depth of the places we go. They will break bread with the locals at our exclusive Be My Guest experiences and unlock local secrets of our Travel Directors and Local Specialists. Everything is taken care of, so they travel with true ease and get the real thing without worrying about a thing.
We consider how we can positively impact the communities we engage with. Through our JoinTrafalgar initiatives powered by TreadRight, guests don’t just leave footprints on the ground, but leave a lasting legacy for the betterment of locals and the future of their communities.
It’s 72 years of destination experience and feedback from over 5 million happy guests that fuels our innovation to continually delivery simply the best holidays.
Recent Reviews
4.6
From beginning to end we had great service from Global Journeys and then from CIE tours. Our consultant was easy to deal with and highly professional and personable responding quickly to our questions, CIE were also excellent. Our guide Brian was simply wonderful throughout. Thank you so much.
The tour around the southern part of England was amazing. Highlights were Windsor Castle, Bath, Salisbury, Portsmouth and Canterbury Cathedral. Our guide Garth was very knowledgeable. I would definitely recommend CIE Tours.
Great trip, wonderful way of being introduced to Ireland. Special mention goes to Liam the driver/guide for very informative and friendly service and going above and beyond for retrieving a lost wallet of a fellow tour member, 5 stars!!!!
Pat our bus driver and tour director is amazing!!!! Our trip is not even complete and he has been very attentive and always concerned all are having a great time. He is so full of history informing all about the history of everything we are doing. Great singer to boot!!!
I thought the tour was exceptionally good. Michael (Mike) the driver was a very good guide and amusing.
The six days touring Ireland was fantastic. Mike Walsh was our tour director and driver. Made all on tour very welcome and was very informative. Meals were good and most accommodation was of a high standard. Plenty to see in such a short time. Recommend this tour if you want a quick snapshot of Ireland. Well done CIE Tours.
4.6
This is the 2nd time we have booked through Global Journeys and our contact Hannah has been wonderful! It is always great to get the same person to deal with again.
The tour with Trafalgar was our first time and we found the short tour to Devon & Cornwall to be exactly perfect. Our Tour director Hannah and bus driver Steph were absolutely the best ...read more to deal with and they looked after the whole bus load of 47 tourists really well. I wouldn’t hesitate to travel with Trafalgar again. There was a good mix of people from Australia, US, UK and NZ.
The tour with Trafalgar was our first time and we found the short tour to Devon & Cornwall to be exactly perfect. Our Tour director Hannah and bus driver Steph were absolutely the best ...read more to deal with and they looked after the whole bus load of 47 tourists really well. I wouldn’t hesitate to travel with Trafalgar again. There was a good mix of people from Australia, US, UK and NZ.
This tour was a Trafalgar tour and was the best tour we have been on. Trafalgar really know how to run a tour. Our Tour Director and Driver were faultless, both providing an excellent service. The Tour Director (Terry Blanchflower) needs a special mention. His attention to detail was first class. He provided us with each days activities the eve before ...read more and ensured that we all knew what was happening and when it was to occur. He made great recommendations for things to do when we had free time.
Ireland is a fascinating country to visit. The people are so friendly and welcoming. Everywhere we went we met locals who welcomed us with open arms. The social scene experienced at each of the Pubs we visited was nothing like what we see here in Australia. The history and scenery are both very interesting and well worth the effort to visit. The tour itself is a leisurely pace that allows enough time to relax and explore cities at an acceptable pace. I would definitely recommend this tour.
Ireland is a fascinating country to visit. The people are so friendly and welcoming. Everywhere we went we met locals who welcomed us with open arms. The social scene experienced at each of the Pubs we visited was nothing like what we see here in Australia. The history and scenery are both very interesting and well worth the effort to visit. The tour itself is a leisurely pace that allows enough time to relax and explore cities at an acceptable pace. I would definitely recommend this tour.
Well paced tour with Trafalgar with multiple 2 night stays. Our tour guide was energetic and knowledgeable and had a great passion for the two countries. The tour group were a great mix and added to the fun of the trip. Slovenia was an incredible surprise with the stunning Lake Bled and the capital of Ljubljana. The Plitvice Lakes in Croatia and its ...read more entire coast line is absolutely stunning. And for Games Of Thrones fans like ourselves Dubrovnik old town (aka Kings Landing) was the icing on the cake. It is our second overseas tour we have booked with Global Journeys and both times the attentiveness of their staff is much appreciated.
Oh my goodness I just got back from my first tour with Trafalgar exploring Portugal and saw so many wonderful things that I would not have gotten did it on my own. Our tour guide was so creative within the structured itinerary. For example she organised opportunities for people to speak one on one to vintners or to see an amazing bookstore. And the ...read more passion that she has about Portugal brought the history and culture to life. Having said all of this, without Jemma's wonderful guidance and support during the whole booking process, it would not have been possible. Jemma has such wonderful experience and made the whole process seamless. thanks for such am amazing holiday and can hardly wait until September for the Greek Islands.
Would absolutely recommend the Best of Italy tour. This was my first tour and although I knew it would be good, it exceeded my expectations. We were told it was a popular tour and considering the number of beautiful places you visit and the great accommodation where you stay, you can see why. From the great team including the professional TD and driver ...read more to the local specialists it was all so well organised. It was so much fun. Special thanks to Georgie for booking my tour with such ease and I look forward to booking another in the near future.
Great tour of Ireland and Northern Ireland that was aided by excellent weather (we expected rain every day but only got a few days). Our TD Emma was a local with a clear passion for her home and she provided good information and funny anecdotes through the ten days. The itinerary was mostly great, although we would've preferred to have stayed in Waterford ...read more instead of Kilkenny for our penultimate night (Waterford was larger and more interesting), especially when the last day involved basically travelling back towards Waterford to head to Dunbrody, which didn't seem logical.
The hotels were generally of a good standard with excellent location near the city centre, except for Galway which was a bit far (a 30-minute bus ride away). We did also notice that around half the hotels on the tour was changed from the ones listed from our original booking, including the one in Galway. Overall, we recommend this tour if your aim is to visit most of the country's top attractions (Giant's Causeway, Cliffs of Moher, etc.) in a comfortable way and want a taster of the two countries.
The hotels were generally of a good standard with excellent location near the city centre, except for Galway which was a bit far (a 30-minute bus ride away). We did also notice that around half the hotels on the tour was changed from the ones listed from our original booking, including the one in Galway. Overall, we recommend this tour if your aim is to visit most of the country's top attractions (Giant's Causeway, Cliffs of Moher, etc.) in a comfortable way and want a taster of the two countries.
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