La Grande France Reviews
11 La Grande France reviews from past travelers that booked with Global Journeys.
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La Grande France, Lake Garda & Tuscany 6 Pam, NSW, Australia, Jun 2017
Many highlights on this combined tour; too many to nominate. France was wonderful and I especially liked the small medieval towns such as Sarlat La Caneda, Les Baux, Avignon and St Paul de Vence. I also enjoyed Cap Ferrat, Nimes, Nice and Cannes, and Provence in general too. What I enjoyed most about the Italian extension was the easy pace; not just read more the three and four night stays but the amount of free time. The highlight there was Lucca. Cinque Terre was lovely but I wasn't terribly impressed with Portofino and it was very disappointing that we spent literally 20 minutes in Santa Margherita due to the guide wanting to make sure we caught boats to the Abbey and Portofino because of possible weather changes.
If the itinerary appealed to me I'd travel again with Albatross and if the price was right I'd book again with Global Journeys. The accommodation was a bit mixed in quality and comfort, particularly for those of us travelling solo. In Couiza we stayed at an old chateau, which was charming, but it was not air-conditioned and it was uncomfortably hot, particularly in my room (and two others) on the top floor. Shutters had to be kept shut all day. Too often, hotels put single travellers in some of the worst rooms. We understand they can be small in Europe but while some rooms were nice, others were not.
The weather was warm and sunny and June is a good time to travel as the crowds are not yet at their peak. Fellow travellers are always a mixed bunch but people generally get along okay in all the tours I've been on, including this one.
If the itinerary appealed to me I'd travel again with Albatross and if the price was right I'd book again with Global Journeys. The accommodation was a bit mixed in quality and comfort, particularly for those of us travelling solo. In Couiza we stayed at an old chateau, which was charming, but it was not air-conditioned and it was uncomfortably hot, particularly in my room (and two others) on the top floor. Shutters had to be kept shut all day. Too often, hotels put single travellers in some of the worst rooms. We understand they can be small in Europe but while some rooms were nice, others were not.
The weather was warm and sunny and June is a good time to travel as the crowds are not yet at their peak. Fellow travellers are always a mixed bunch but people generally get along okay in all the tours I've been on, including this one.
Enjoyed Albatross 'La Grande France'. Tour was a bit tiring, on the go all the time with not much free time and getting to hotel late afternoon and spending too much time at lunch stops and some excursions. We did see a lot of different things which was interesting. Our tour guide was knowledgable and young. Hotels were good but a couple weren't in read more good locations, not near to towns so were a bit isolated, I see Albatross have changed some of these now so would be better. Would highly recommend Albatross tours and also Georgie at Global Journeys, had some very good savings from them.
Le Grande France 3 Lynne & Geoff, NSW, Australia, Sep 2016
We enjoyed our first tour through France and Northern Italy. The pace was busy however that said we definitely would not have visited so many amazing places if done independently. Our Tour Manager for France was an excellent, highly informative girl from the UK and we were very impressed with her knowledge of each destination and her organisation skills, read more she also went above and beyond for one injured passenger. The lunchtime breaks and independent excursion times were definitely not long enough considering the time we spent getting to them, one excursion was to the Villandry Gardens, my trip highlight, after driving for quite some time, the majority of people on the bus only wanted 1 hr at this most beautiful garden. I was quite gutted to be robbed of the extra time we were supposed to spend there.
The hotels in France were quite good except for our Salat hotel which was substandard and well outside the old town, we were shuttled back and forth. The northern Italy part of the trip was fabulous also, our hotels were good again except for the Best Western substandard hotel with a shuttle service back and forth again whilst visiting Lucca old town. Lake Garda was a highlight and having a few nights there, bliss. Our Tour Manager was funny and experienced, she kept us entertained whilst driving to our excursions. The meals on tour were great for both tours and again seeing hidden gems that you wouldn't normally visit memorable and definitely worth it. The main thing that we both learnt from our tour was to go and explore each town or place visited and get the whole experience. We would go with Albatross again based on the fabulous villages and sights we saw not just the normal "visited" highlights that every visitor sees and the longer stays offered in various towns.
The hotels in France were quite good except for our Salat hotel which was substandard and well outside the old town, we were shuttled back and forth. The northern Italy part of the trip was fabulous also, our hotels were good again except for the Best Western substandard hotel with a shuttle service back and forth again whilst visiting Lucca old town. Lake Garda was a highlight and having a few nights there, bliss. Our Tour Manager was funny and experienced, she kept us entertained whilst driving to our excursions. The meals on tour were great for both tours and again seeing hidden gems that you wouldn't normally visit memorable and definitely worth it. The main thing that we both learnt from our tour was to go and explore each town or place visited and get the whole experience. We would go with Albatross again based on the fabulous villages and sights we saw not just the normal "visited" highlights that every visitor sees and the longer stays offered in various towns.
France and Italy 4 David & Marian, NSW, Australia, Jun 2016
Early June was flooded out in Paris and surrounds, including the Loire Valley. Road closures unfortunately meant that we didn't get to see the chateaux we were looking forward to. We also missed out on river trips etc. Overall, France proved to be more interesting than Italy with more variety of places to visit. The hotels varied in their comfort, read more some very good, some not so good. The coach in France was better than the one in Italy in that it had fewer seats and more leg room. We feel that the brochure led us to expect more of this holiday than we experienced - everything seemed overstated. This would make us hesitate to use Albatross in the future. We nevertheless had a good time with good companions. The actual booking and communication by Global Journeys went without a hitch.
14 day Albatross tour of france 5 Greg Harrison, NSW, Australia, May 2016
We were on the first ever tour of this name and some things did not go to plan - like the bus was too long and wide for some of the country roads we went on - but that said the sights we saw were just amazing and it was the poor bus driver that had to navigate the roads not us. And for that we were truly thankful. The inclusions were fist class and read more the pace turned out to be full on but what an amazing tour. 14 days of action and some of the sights that you would not think much about prior to the tour turned out to be the very best of all. A great tour and one I'd recommend.
Wonderful tour enjoying the company of fellow Australians 3 Jennifer Storey, VIC, Australia, Sep 2015
Overall a wonderful tour enjoying the company of fellow Australians and New Zealanders - good idea having tours which cater for mostly Australians and keeping the numbers on tour low - 26 on this tour. While I enjoyed Provence for me the Italian hillside towns and Rome were the highlights - more wow factors!! Would like to see the Italian hotels that read more tours stay at, provide an area for tea/coffee making. I do not believe we should have to visit the hotel bar and pay for a tea/coffee. Making oneself a cup of tea/coffee at the return of a busy day on tour would be lovely, it provides hydration and is cultural for Australians to do this throughout their day, whether at home, work or on holidays.
Completely happy with the Albatross experience 2 John & Barbara Hooper, SA, Australia, Jun 2015
This was our second tour with Albatross and our first time booking with Global Journeys. We were completely happy with the Albatross experience and from past experience with other travel agents know that Georgie Walpole's attention to detail and rapid response to our questions could not have been surpassed. As a result, we thoroughly enjoyed the tour read more and returned home fit, well and happy. The tour leader, a woman from the UK, was fluent in French, was pleasant to us all, was well-organised , cheerful and liked by everyone--a pretty good effort! There were 23 of us, all Australians though that isn't crucial; we all got on well together so the atmosphere was always happy and harmonious. And of course the French countryside is lovely and the Loire valley, Sarlat and the Lascaux Caves were highlights. So, many thanks to Albatross and especially to Georgie. We just wish we had known about Global Journeys years ago! (Ed. Thanks John & Barbara!)
A little disapointing 2 Christine Galeano, Australia, Aug 2013
The Albatross Tour this time was a little disapointing. It started off well but as the tour progressed, the accomodation was not 4 star more like 3 star or less. The hotels were located in reasonable locations, but our accomodation in Autun was very ordinary. The hotel should have been located near Dijion. Our tour guide was just OK and when she got read more sick during our trip, we did not get a replacement. the poor driver had to do both. I do like the small group though and the guaranteed departures. We will think twice before taking another Albatross tour.
Tour itinerary was terrific 2 Margaret Di Nunzio, Australia, May 2013
What made this tour excellent was the guide Misko. He was so much more relaxed than other guides and even though everything ran smoothly, it just didn't have the stress factor of other tours. Misko's commentary was extremely interesting without being intrusive. The quality of the meals on tour were very poor, and the optional excursions did not represent read more value for money. The tour itinerary was terrific.
Our second tour with Albatross and again it was excellent 2 Allan & Suzanne Shepherd, Australia, Aug 2012
This was our second tour with Albatross Tours and again it was excellent. I cannot speak highly enough about every aspect of the itinerary. You get more than you pay for. As for Global Journeys, you took the pain out of organising our holiday. Nothing was too much trouble. I have already recommended Global Journeys to friends. Thank you for making organising read more travelling a much easier experience.
I really enjoyed this tour 3 Nardia Allison-Nichol, Australia, May 2012
We had a great group and a good tour director who was knowledgeable and who managed to keep things moving while still being flexible. The sites we explored were as stated in the brochure. Lascaux 11 was awesome as was Mont Saint Michel. I wish we could have stayed longer at both. My only slight negative would be the standard of accommodation. It was read more really 3 star not 'first class' as stated in the brochure. Given the cost of the tour I was expecting a slightly better standard of plumbing! However the locations were great and the food was excellent.
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