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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, including Iceland, Italy and Spain.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 Last Minute Deals which run year round and offers savings of up to 15% off the normal retail price.
Over 250 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 along eith 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 enjoy significant savings 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
77
No. of Departures
2,006
Avg. Trip Length
9 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$563
Accommodation
3.5 - 4 Star
Budget
Premium
Trip Styles
Coach Tours
No. of Trips
338
No. of Departures
7,344
Avg. Trip Length
11 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$560
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
We cannot say enough good things about our tour. PJ the coach driver was amazing. Highly recommended this tour. Dublin pub tour. Thanks ever so much for a wonderful trip, from the Canadian Gals, Dee and Denise.
I cannot say enough good things about the CIE Ireland Pub Tour July 16-22, 2025. The tour was well organized and executed, the accommodations and food were great in all the locations and the excursions were fun. The amount of bus travel time, planned excursion time and free time was well balanced. We weren't too rushed or overscheduled. But what read more stood out the most was our fabulous tour guide and driver, PJ. He really made the tour enjoyable and fun. PJ is entertaining, funny and very knowledgeable about all things Irish. He incorporated a uniquely Irish tradition of the National Hurling Finals which really immersed us in the Irish culture. PJ went above and beyond to ensure that our tour was flawless and that we all enjoyed ourselves. Hats off to CIE and PJ for a great vacation that will go down in the memory books for me. I highly recommend this tour.
If you’re looking for a great experience look no further than Global Journeys. Could not fault our experience. From the time of booking till we landed on Australian shores again,fabulous! Rachael McSorley our Travel Advisor looked after us so well. We were kept up to date evert step of the way. And CIE Classic Irish tour was all we hoped and more!
CIE are a great tourist organisation. All costs were in the price quoted , no added extras like some tourist organisations. The tour covered big and small venues, cities and towns whilst the places used for accommodation were of great value. I would recommend CIE.
Loved every minute of the trip. Sam our driver was amazing. Jaquie our guide was fabulous. Couldn't recommend them any more. Would do it again in a heartbeat. A must do trip to add to your bucket list.
Stunning scenery in the wilds of Scotland, with some logistical challenges. 3
Scottish Isles & Glens
Norm, VIC, Australia, Aug 2023
This was an excellent itinerary to see the stunning landscapes that Scotland offers. Isle of Skye, Glencoe and Orkney were standout locations, The trip also had a liberal dose of castles and stately homes, both functioning and derelict. The tour guide provided an immense amount of history and perspective, to bring locations alive with their significance. read more Overall a very worthwhile experience.
On the downside, the tour company, CIE, chose to deliver our 'welcome pack' to the first hotel, rather than to our home. This appears to be their practice for Australians. This was in the least inconvenient as it meant we would not have the benefit of the provided backpacks for our outward journey. All other participants, who were from the USA, had their packs delivered to their homes. The impact was exacerbated by the packs not being there when we arrived, so we were without backpacks, name-tags, maps etc for the whole trip. It was only after pestering our guide that we finally received our packs on the very last day of the trip.
Our other concern was that the the quality of some of the hotels was below our expectations, with cramped rooms and bathrooms lacking power outlets etc, This is understandable in small remote towns, but the worst examples were actually in Glasgow and Inverness. We shared those hotels with other tour companies, such as Trafalgar, so we were not alone in the experience. The multiple tour groups also made meals, especially breakfast, a bit of a bunfight and far exceeded lift capabilities. We chose to walk up 5 flights at one stage, Would we do it again? Probably not with CIE. Their offices are in Ireland and USA and they appear to be not well geared for Australian participation.
On the downside, the tour company, CIE, chose to deliver our 'welcome pack' to the first hotel, rather than to our home. This appears to be their practice for Australians. This was in the least inconvenient as it meant we would not have the benefit of the provided backpacks for our outward journey. All other participants, who were from the USA, had their packs delivered to their homes. The impact was exacerbated by the packs not being there when we arrived, so we were without backpacks, name-tags, maps etc for the whole trip. It was only after pestering our guide that we finally received our packs on the very last day of the trip.
Our other concern was that the the quality of some of the hotels was below our expectations, with cramped rooms and bathrooms lacking power outlets etc, This is understandable in small remote towns, but the worst examples were actually in Glasgow and Inverness. We shared those hotels with other tour companies, such as Trafalgar, so we were not alone in the experience. The multiple tour groups also made meals, especially breakfast, a bit of a bunfight and far exceeded lift capabilities. We chose to walk up 5 flights at one stage, Would we do it again? Probably not with CIE. Their offices are in Ireland and USA and they appear to be not well geared for Australian participation.
4.6
Very informative tour around Portugal 0
Best of Portugal
Fredrick and Liesl, WA , Australia, Jun 2026
Enjoyed the 10 day tour around some interesting cities in Portugal. Our tour director Rui had tremendous knowledge of the places we visited and all the local guides too were well informed. Rui was kind and treated us to the many flavours of Portugal, more than any other tour director had done and this was our 7 th tour with Trafalgar. All the hotel read more accommodation was 4 star, with wonderful selections of breakfast. Only one hotel hadn’t done a clean of the bathtub which was disgusting. Although our Australian contact Hannah, did a great job, and although she advised the Trafalgar team, in plenty of time prior to departure of my change of dietary needs, I was embarrassed at the welcome dinner when I was counted as a special diet.
It was such a great trip. Thanks to the excellent service from the tour director (Craig Hill) and the coach driver (George). Appreciated the stories and insights provided by the local guides. As well, enjoyed the friendly and fun travel companions on the coach bus. Overall, a memorable trip with laughter, memories and great company!
Wonderful Trafalgar tour in Japan 0
Splendours of Japan with Hiroshima
David & Helen , QLD, Australia, May 2026
A big thank you to Global Journeys and Tracey for organising our Trafalgar tour in Japan. The tour was excellent. It fully met our expectations in every regard. Tracey was fantastic, especially rebooking our flights after one leg of our return journey was cancelled due to the Middle East conflict.
Some of the hotels were certainly not as good as we thought they should be. There were several extra excursions and this were done during the day. I think they should be at night and use the day to show the people around. We were also dropped off at the city centre and given 2-3 to shop when we should have been taken to see sights. It was disappointing.
Good geographic coverage but some disappointments. 0
Best of France
Sandra, VIC, Australia, May 2026
This is a whirlwind tour, designed to allow you to get around France in 2 weeks. The guide was not the best. The hotels were good but not always well located. The included dinners served i edible rubber chicken, with the exception of the wonderful farewell dinner in Paris. This tour has many optional tours that are costly. If this is Trafalgur's new read more business model I will in future prefer Globus which offers more inclusions and a transparent offering.
Absolutely no complaints with our fabulous Trafalgar 14-day tour of Ireland. Staying two nights at each accommodation stop provided added comfort to what was still a busy schedule. Grace at Global Journeys her expertly made our bookings, was always readily available, and I recommend this travel company.
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