Home >
Compare Tour & Adventure Operators
> Cosmos vs Costsaver
Cosmos vs Costsaver
Compare the travel styles, pricing, destinations and popularity of Cosmos and Costsaver.The Low Down
A lot of our clients aren't too fussed about their accommodation (as long as it's clean and comfortable) and are more interested in the destination. Over 1,200 past client reviews with an average 4.5 out 5 star rating, is impressive. Why? Great value and interesting itineraries. Part of the Globus Family, there are further great discounts to be had.Accommodation is 3 to 3/12 star, but a lot of our clients are pleasantly surprised at the quality. Hotels are often located out of the city centre, so prepare your trip budget to allow for transfers or taxis if you want to explore the cities on your own. Allow extra funds for some meals and excursions not included in more premium inclusive itineraries. Like our past clients, we feel very comfortable recommending Cosmos.
CostSaver is Trafalgar's affordable range of coach tours. Comparable to Cosmos in price and quality, their focus has always been on Europe and the UK, but have more recently launched a range of new itineraries in the US, Canada and South America. If you are looking for an affordable touring option, then CostSaver is a great option, and if you've travelled with any of its sister brands like AAT Kings, Trafalgar or Insight Vacations further savings are available.The price for that affordability - while all the must-see sights are included, there are lot of optional excursions which can add up quickly if you choose to do them all. If that's likely, perhaps a more inclusive Operator like Trafalgar or Insight is best. However if you like the freedom to explore on your own, and are after a relaxing and hassle-free holiday, then Costsaver is a great option.
Stats
No. of Trips
185
No. of Departures
1,651
Avg. Trip Length
14 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$435
Accommodation
3 - 3.5 Star
Budget
Affordable
Trip Styles
Coach Tours
No. of Trips
94
No. of Departures
1,307
Avg. Trip Length
12 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$325
Accommodation
3 - 4 Star
Budget
Affordable
Trip Styles
Coach Tours
In Their Own Words
We asked the travel companies themselves why you should travel with them
At Cosmos, we like to think of ourselves as experts in ‘thrillology’ – the art of bringing you an experience, time and time again. With over 50 years of ‘wow’ under our belts and no sign of slowing down, we know how to curate value touring holidays that you’ll never forget; creating the experiences you’ve always dreamed of and showing you the ones, you never thought of. Our job is to take care of the planning and logistics, so that all you have to focus on is living your dreams!
We know lasting travel memories don’t have to cost the earth. Our value tours cover all the essentials, while providing you the building blocks to tailor your dream holiday. We plan and include all the essentials – your quality transport, accommodation, sightseeing, many meals and the very best Travel Directors, leaving you the time to tailor your trip your way.
As an active founder and supporter of the TreadRight Foundation, you’ll travel confidently knowing we support the protection and conservation of the places we visit. We tread far, but always tread lightly. Having won the 5 star gold award for highest travel satisfaction, from the independent review provider FEEFO, you can be assured you’ll get an unbeatable holiday at an unbeatable price. Value is in our blood, and thanks to our Ready To Go Rate, you’ll be confident that when you book, the price you see is the best it’ll be. Travel the world without a hassle in the world.
Recent Reviews
4.5
Cosmos Norwegian Fjords tour 8 August 2026 0
Norwegian Fjords
John and Christina , VIC, Australia, Aug 2026
This Cosmos tour was most enjoyable. The Tour guide and bus driver both ensured the tour went smoothly. The hotels and provided meals were of a high standard. The pace of the tour was reasonable considering the distances covered each day. Norway itself is a most interesting country and our tour guide gave us a lot of information as we toured each day. read more Tourists need to prepare for changeable weather throughout the tour. Norway has a 25% GST so things are very expensive and that is another thing you need to prepare for.
Oslo is a city for tourists and we recommend 2 or 3 days would be worthwhile prior to the tour. The towns and scenery visited was good throughout the trip but became exceptional from Bergen onwards. One challenge in touring in Norway is the short tourist season through summer results in the large ships disgorging huge tourist numbers into small Fjord towns. This is one advantage of coach touring as this problem can to some degree be avoided, but it probably should be expected. It can be a problem in Flam. Another strange problem is that despite Norway's absurd wealth, and despite the fact that they make a lot of money from tourism, they have very few public toilet facilities. This to some degree determines where the tour buses must go. To me it seems a lack of respect for tourists.
Oslo is a city for tourists and we recommend 2 or 3 days would be worthwhile prior to the tour. The towns and scenery visited was good throughout the trip but became exceptional from Bergen onwards. One challenge in touring in Norway is the short tourist season through summer results in the large ships disgorging huge tourist numbers into small Fjord towns. This is one advantage of coach touring as this problem can to some degree be avoided, but it probably should be expected. It can be a problem in Flam. Another strange problem is that despite Norway's absurd wealth, and despite the fact that they make a lot of money from tourism, they have very few public toilet facilities. This to some degree determines where the tour buses must go. To me it seems a lack of respect for tourists.
I really enjoyed this tour and what made it great was 2 nights in each city. I also loved that it was not a jam packed itinerary each day so there was plenty of free time to explore. The tour director was very knowledgeable and the hotels very comfortable. The first hotel in Toronto was perfectly located and had all the amenities except for a laundry read more which was a little disappointing as I had already travelled prior to joining the tour. I would have liked breakfast included but thats a small thing. I would travel with Cosmos again.
Alaska and Canada 0
Western Canada by Rail with Alaska Cruise
Julie and Mindy, QLD, Australia, Jul 2026
Great trip - thanks Kayla. Little disappointed wirh Air Canada business class, very squeezy, but everything including coach, tour guide, Rocky Mountaineer, Holland America were all great. Hotels fine, free time good, Cosmos 3 stars.
An Epic Tour ! 0
Canadian Masterpiece with Rocky Mountaineer & Alaska Cruise
Sherilyn, NSW, Australia, Jul 2026
This tour " Canadian Masterpiece with Rocky Mountaineer and Alaskan Cruise" with Cosmos through Global Journeys was truly wonderful . The itinerary was perfect and well paced and the tour director was fantastic. Every destination was full of stunning scenery whether it was from the Rocky mountaineer train , from the coach, on a gondola or chairlift, read more in the resort towns, from a look out , from a boat or a cruise ship , from a raft or from a helicopter and even from an ice explorer on a glacier and from a suspension bridge! This scenery included snow capped picturesque mountains, magnificent glaciers, beautiful mirrored lakes, rivers, and bays, lush forests and waterfalls, spectacular gardens, beautiful valleys, sunsets and ocean as well as exciting wildlife such as bears, eagles, otters, seals, sea lions, elk, deer and whales. An epic trip ! Thank you.
Western Canada. Calgary Stampede. Inside passage and Alaska cruise 0
Western Canada with Inside Passage, Calgary Stampede & Alaska Cruise
Pamela, VIC, Australia, Jul 2026
Absolutely loved the Calgary Stampede. Tour was great and the Holland America cruise was wonderful as was everything else. Had a wonderful time.
4.4
The Costsaver tour was well priced and led by a humourous local Tour Guide who was full of knowledge. The coach was safely and expertly driven. Satisfactory hotel accommodation and food with well chosen cities and sights. No sales pressure to do the optional excursions which left plenty of free time to do your own thing. The whole tour was well organised. read more We would definitely use Global Journeys again as everything was handled with ease and payment timelines easy to meet.
Enjoyed my time on this tour....considering the heat and some places lacking AC or fans for the rooms. Had the most amazing tour guide...Joe...and bus driver...Kamil. These 2 made the adventure a pleasant one. My trip highlight was 100% the week spent in Ireland...lovely people, lovely food, lovely environment, amazing Guiness and Baileys on ice!!!
It was fabulous. Needed more time in Glasgow and Liverpool as we didn’t get to see much at all there.
Costsaver changes a bit disappointing 0
Panoramic Canadian Rockies
Mark and Janis, NSW, Australia, May 2026
We liked the more flexible nature of the Costsaver tour with options to join additional activities or arrange our own time. A couple of the hotels were disappointing and although not an inclusion many of the guests would have liked the hotel to be close enough to facilities to provide for breakfast. In Vancouver Island the hotel provided a breakfast read more room but we were not allowed to enter even to purchase a snack. Moving the hotel to Canmore when we were told we would stay in Banff was very disappointing we wouldn't have chosen this tour had we known at the time of booking. Bus and tour guide were very good. The new app for booking additional activities was always showing full when it wasnt. Needs work to be more dynamic.
Costsaver 15 Day Britain and Ireland tour 0
Britain and Ireland Experience
Paul and Patricia, SA, Australia, May 2026
Thanks to Tracy for looking after our booking with the Middle East conflict affecting the uncertainty of the tour. We had a great tour with only 20 people on our tour with plenty of room on the bus. The downside was having 20 on board some elected not to rotate with nothing being inforced. We had great commentary from our tour director Simmone of the read more history of the UK. Some of the optional tours were a bit expensive due to our dollar compared to the English pound and Euro. We had a record heat wave for May in the UK with only 2 days we had rain for half an hour on our optional walking tours which we accepted. The accommodation was good apart from Treacy's in Waterford being an Irish Pub. A couple of hotel meals were an inconvenience due to the hotels booking out dinners and the the hotels being out of town was not acceptable and treated as such. More time in Dublin would have been nice as we only had time to go to the Guiness factory with 8 of us doing the tour on our own which should have been part of the optional tours. If you want to see the UK Costsaver 15 day Britain and Ireland experience is worth considering.
Popular Trips
19 Days Vancouver to Vancouver
Operator: Cosmos
From
9,376pp
Save
535pp
