Home >
Compare Tour & Adventure Operators
> Insight Vacations vs Trafalgar
Insight Vacations vs Trafalgar
Compare the travel styles, pricing, destinations and popularity of Insight Vacations and Trafalgar.The Low Down
Upmarket coach touring, with 4.5+ star accommodation, maximum group sizes of 40 on a full size coach and more leisurely paced touring itineraries. The pricing of Insight's trips tends to attract travellers in their 60's and 70's. If you're tall, then you should seriously consider Insight, as their coaches been reconfigured to allow up to twice as much legroom as on a standard coach. Insight have recently launched trips through South America, and expanded their range of Gold Luxury Vacations, where you can expect the ultimate in luxury and refinement.We find that the feedback we get back from past clients is sometimes a little critical, and we feel this is because of the very high standard some of our clients are expecting due to Insight's positioning in the market. On every multi-day journey, there will always be little annoyances, but as a whole package the team here definitely recommend Insight worthy of your consideration. If you've travelled with any of its sister brands like AAT Kings, Trafalgar or Uniworld further savings are available.
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
452
No. of Departures
3,440
Avg. Trip Length
12 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$648
Accommodation
4 - 4.5 Star
Budget
Premium
No. of Trips
348
No. of Departures
8,082
Avg. Trip Length
11 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$555
Accommodation
4 Star
Budget
Premium
In Their Own Words
We asked the travel companies themselves why you should travel with them
At Insight Vacations we have been creating magical travel experiences for over 40 years, showcasing the most outstanding destinations and curated experiences in Europe and North America.
Why are we different to any other operator? It’s our unique Insight experiences. It’s our authentic and varied dining options, it’s travelling in smaller groups on customised coaches with twice the legroom, it’s staying in the right hotels in the right location, all brought together seamlessly by our exceptional travel directors. In essence: All the sights, and the insights….up close and personal…in comfort and style.
Travel is such a joy and a personal passion for myself and every member of our team. We’re so proud of the quality, service and value we provide and invite you to try it for yourself. Talk to Global Journeys to find out more about travelling in style and booking your next holiday with Insight Vacations.
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
4.5
Britain and Ireland Discovery 0
Britain & Ireland Discovery
Debra and John, VIC, Australia, Jul 2026
We had an excellent tour director and driver. We specifically chose this tour because we wanted to go to the Orkney Islands and Isle of Skye. We were unable to achieve this due to weather conditions for the Orkneys and motor bike accident that closed the road to the Isle of Skye and cut short our stay there. We were disappointed with Insight’s compensation read more for these cancellations, which was a trip to a historical cemetery, which was originally a paid optional extra, that we had chosen not to do. The cost of including the Orkneys and Isle of Skye was a reasonable as part of our tour cost. We were of the view a number of additional optional paid experiences did not represent good value for money, in particular the dinners, with the exception of the Torphichen dinner. Accomodation was 4 star with the exception of the highlands in Scotland which we rated as 2.5.
This was our 3rd tour with Insight Vacations over the years and once again a very enjoyable tour with good travel companions from different countries. Global Journeys were our Travel booking consultants who always look after us with our bookings, they run a very efficient service, and we started using Global Journeys in 2017.
In Germany the range of read more accommodation never disappointed us, and we always rose to a good feed at breakfast that accommodated for many nationalities. Our tour companions were friendly, fun and great to be with, our tour guide was a delight she had a wonderful bright personality and energy. We loved the many villages we visited and the local tour guides. Weather was excellent and our favourite area was the Bavarian areas of Germany, Neuschwanstein Castle and surrounding area was a special place to see. A very enjoyable tour.
In Germany the range of read more accommodation never disappointed us, and we always rose to a good feed at breakfast that accommodated for many nationalities. Our tour companions were friendly, fun and great to be with, our tour guide was a delight she had a wonderful bright personality and energy. We loved the many villages we visited and the local tour guides. Weather was excellent and our favourite area was the Bavarian areas of Germany, Neuschwanstein Castle and surrounding area was a special place to see. A very enjoyable tour.
We had a wonderful time touring the seven Balkan countries. Our tour director Taib made this trip more enjoyable with his knowledge of the region, effortless planning to get us through all the border crossing without any hassle. The scenery throughout was amazing. A special mention to our driver for guiding us through the many countries we visited safely. read more His driving skill we really appreciated. The tour was well paced, and all the attractions were a once in a lifetime opportunity to visit.
A trip with plenty of variety 0
Country Roads of Scandinavia
Lesley and John, NSW, Australia, Jun 2026
We had a bit of everything Scandinavia has to offer. Pieter and Roland took us to the highlighted places but surprised us with a few spectacular extras that made the journey special.
This was a very good bus trip, and we particularly enjoyed travelling by ferry to the Orkney Islands. It is something not normally included in many Scotland trips. The sites there- Italian Chapel, Ring of Brogdar, Skara Brae and Skaile House were particularly interesting. Ethan Battison helped us tremendously in planning this trip and we highly recommend him.
4.6
I had a great trip, the hotels were all great but one. They seemed to be a 4 star . The food and choice of entertainment was amazing. Also the choice of towns was great. We covered a lot of France and points of interest in history. Our guide was the best I have had ever.
Great tour with a mix of city and safari. 0
Best of South Africa with Victoria Falls
I.L, VIC, Australia, Aug 2026
An excellent tour if you want to see more than just the wonderful National parks and safaris. We were very lucky and saw the BIG SIX and more on our Kruger safari, with St Lucia and CHOBE adding more to our list of wildlife sightings.
The cultural dinners and shows were entertaining and city and beach visits were relaxing and informative. There read more were some long driving days but we covered a lot of SA. Hotels were all top quality and TD Craig insured we were in our rooms with bags within 15 min of arrival.
Our group was small, only 11 travellers from US, UK, NZ and AU. We all became great friends and thoroughly enjoyed our travels. A big thank you to Hannah from GJ, for all her assistance with booking and follow up.
Tips…. Do the Victoria Falls extension, well worth the extra days. If you do book extra nights pre tour via Trafalgar, check directly with the hotel that they have received the booking. All the optionals were excellent. Cape Town optional - do the Peninsula trip, penguins were awesome. Not enough time in Cape Town would be great if Trafalgar added one more independent day there to the tour.
The cultural dinners and shows were entertaining and city and beach visits were relaxing and informative. There read more were some long driving days but we covered a lot of SA. Hotels were all top quality and TD Craig insured we were in our rooms with bags within 15 min of arrival.
Our group was small, only 11 travellers from US, UK, NZ and AU. We all became great friends and thoroughly enjoyed our travels. A big thank you to Hannah from GJ, for all her assistance with booking and follow up.
Tips…. Do the Victoria Falls extension, well worth the extra days. If you do book extra nights pre tour via Trafalgar, check directly with the hotel that they have received the booking. All the optionals were excellent. Cape Town optional - do the Peninsula trip, penguins were awesome. Not enough time in Cape Town would be great if Trafalgar added one more independent day there to the tour.
It was my first ever coach trip and I didn’t really know what to expect so I was open minded about it. I wasn’t disappointed, everything was very well organised. Hotels were good, chosen experiences were good value. Perhaps a little bit more could be included in the price though, I felt that optional ones heavily outweighed inclusions. Something to read more be mindful of when budgeting for the trip. One thing that left me puzzled though was constant badgering about tipping tour director and the driver. Surely Trafalgar is paying adequate salaries to their staff?
The trip is organised around drivers hours, coach drop off and parking. None of which help my experience of seeing Europe. The "sell" to buy optional experiences takes place at the slowest part of the trip when you drive all day to spend an hour of time at a location, and you realise that you spent all this money and won't see anything.
The travel read more director made a great sell, and he was great and everybody's best friend. He was just like my buddy that sells cars. A slick positive guy that everybody likes. I don't know what his kickback is on the sell, but he pulled in an additional $100 thousand on the options for the bus. If you opt out of the optional experiences, they drop you off at a random spot and need to find your way to a meeting spot. I bought the options.
The places we go are the places the bus is allowed, not really the highlights. The best parts of the trip were when I took off to do my own thing. The logistics can be difficult and that was what I thought we were paying the travel director for, not going to places where the bus can go and people stay together so they don't get lost.
The local specialists should show highlights and let us see what is there instead of holding us back and together so we don't get lost, explaining in great detail one piece of art, or a room. Because of this detail, I did not get to see all of the castle, palace, Vatican Museum, roman Colosseum, etc. Let us see all of the highlights.
Another example was, there is a path through the Roman ruins, but we don't go there to see them, instead we walk the other direction to walk in a dirty back alley, slowly so we can get picked up by the bus. I could have walked through the ruins and been back in time to catch the bus at the pace they move if I had been given an option.
I am there to see Europe, not find a convenient place for them to pick me up. The hotels are good, but away from the things you want to see when you have time in the evening. I would recommend this trip to people that want to sit on busses, get out for an hour to buy souvenirs, shop, eat and drink, and you can now say you have been there. It is not for people that actively want to see Europe. This is the 5th month long trip I have taken, and the one I saw the least and cost 3 times as much as the other trips.
The travel read more director made a great sell, and he was great and everybody's best friend. He was just like my buddy that sells cars. A slick positive guy that everybody likes. I don't know what his kickback is on the sell, but he pulled in an additional $100 thousand on the options for the bus. If you opt out of the optional experiences, they drop you off at a random spot and need to find your way to a meeting spot. I bought the options.
The places we go are the places the bus is allowed, not really the highlights. The best parts of the trip were when I took off to do my own thing. The logistics can be difficult and that was what I thought we were paying the travel director for, not going to places where the bus can go and people stay together so they don't get lost.
The local specialists should show highlights and let us see what is there instead of holding us back and together so we don't get lost, explaining in great detail one piece of art, or a room. Because of this detail, I did not get to see all of the castle, palace, Vatican Museum, roman Colosseum, etc. Let us see all of the highlights.
Another example was, there is a path through the Roman ruins, but we don't go there to see them, instead we walk the other direction to walk in a dirty back alley, slowly so we can get picked up by the bus. I could have walked through the ruins and been back in time to catch the bus at the pace they move if I had been given an option.
I am there to see Europe, not find a convenient place for them to pick me up. The hotels are good, but away from the things you want to see when you have time in the evening. I would recommend this trip to people that want to sit on busses, get out for an hour to buy souvenirs, shop, eat and drink, and you can now say you have been there. It is not for people that actively want to see Europe. This is the 5th month long trip I have taken, and the one I saw the least and cost 3 times as much as the other trips.
We travelled as an extended family of 13 and, overall, really enjoyed the tour. Days 3 and 4 involved very long hours on a bus, which made for some uncomfortable days. A few of the hotels were located away from main attractions. During our free time we often had to catch taxis to get where we wanted to go, which added extra cost and reduced the convenience. read more
A few of the included dinners at the hotels were also a little unusual, with combinations such as a pizza slice and tempura and other bits and bobs that didn't feel very authentic or particularly appealing. The included lunches - such as the sushi making and the Hida beef lunch were you cooked your own beef on individual burners - were AMAZING! We loved the tour overall. It was well organised, we saw some wonderful places, and it was a great way to experience Japan. PS Japan is extremely hot and humid in July!
A few of the included dinners at the hotels were also a little unusual, with combinations such as a pizza slice and tempura and other bits and bobs that didn't feel very authentic or particularly appealing. The included lunches - such as the sushi making and the Hida beef lunch were you cooked your own beef on individual burners - were AMAZING! We loved the tour overall. It was well organised, we saw some wonderful places, and it was a great way to experience Japan. PS Japan is extremely hot and humid in July!
Popular Trips
15 Days Madrid to Barcelona
Operator: Insight Vacations
From
7,606pp
Save
1,781pp
22 Days London to London
Operator: Insight Vacations
From
11,935pp
Save
2,602pp
16 Days Paris to Paris
Operator: Insight Vacations
From
8,678pp
Save
1,852pp
