Cosmos Tour Reviews
The 1,999 Cosmos Tour reviews listed below are from past clients of Global Journeys that have travelled with Cosmos. Each review has been individually verified by our team.
The 1,999 Cosmos Tour reviews listed below are from past clients of Global Journeys that have travelled with Cosmos. Each review has been individually verified by our team.
A great trip to Spain 1
Narelle & Graeme Minett, NSW, Australia, Sep 2016
Our Cosmos tour of Spain was a great experience. We enjoyed the culture and the history of the country. Visiting locations of historical event we learned about in school was great. While in Pamplona we saw the parade of Giants which was a celebration of the formation of the town, an experience not able to be planned for. The local guides throughout read more our trip were knowledgeable and entertaining. Our Cosmos tour director was always friendly, helpful and quietly efficient. Our trip gave us a taste of Spain and an excellent base from which to plan future trips to the Iberian Peninsula. Yvonne, at Global Journeys, was friendly, handled all our bookings efficiently and was always available to help with any questions we might have had. (Ed. This trip has changed this season, so this review refers to a slightly different itinerary.)
Firstly let us say as usual the bookings Global Journeys did for us was excellent and trouble free, which is what we have become accustomed to. While the 13 day tour is sufficient in length we found the beginning in New Orleans disappointing as aside from a city tour no other tours were included. There were optional tours but as a group our tour guide read more Brenda left us to our own devices. Which can be off putting for people. Same with Orlando - we had 2 days there with little involvement from tour guide. Along our journey we ventured into Chattanooga only to find out everything was shut which was very disappointing, also numerous occasions wrong information was given. Overall we found the trip pleasant but it would have been greatly enhanced with a more involved tour guide.
Love travelling with Cosmos. Perhaps include Lake Bled as included or an optional excursion. Such a beautiful place shouldn't be missed.
Global Journeys handled my booking very well. The tour exceeded my expectations. It doesn't come better than that. Doris our tour guide was fantastic. She was very informative and approachable and the whole tour went like clockwork.
Stress-free Holiday Which Made For A Relaxing Holiday 3
Trans-American Adventure
Garry & Fatima Tyson, QLD, Australia, Aug 2016
Had a great time in the USA with the highlights being the boat ride out to the bottom of Niagara Falls and visiting the National Parks. Our 3rd booking with Global Journeys and will be back for a 4th, have never had any problems!
What an awesome trip, saw everything that I wanted to see and then some. Our tour guide Doris was great made everyone feel part of the tour family even those that were a bit challenging :) As a biscuit tin sampler of the US, I would highly recommend this tour to give you a glimpse of all the USA has to offer. The Cities, The National Parks, The History read more all fantastic. My only very minor gripe was that when on the road the site-seeing was a bit rushed at times mainly due to some food rest stops seeming to be in some odd places and overly long when there were clearly better equipped places with more facilities just down the road, Long food stops leaves less time for the site seeing stops. Overall though this tour was well worth the money, the accommodations were just fine it was well organised.
What an eye opener. The history, infrastructure and scenery. The people are very courteous, helpful and friendly, their public security is great. I can't recall the last time I when felt so secure. We walked the streets at night and felt quite at ease. In the bigger cities there was a strong presents of police. No graffiti and every where was clean read more and tidy. Our only draw backs were ordering meals and a minor issue single beds. Not all had menus in English. This was particularly hard when dealing with a food allergy. Despite a written Japanese notice restaurant staff were reluctant to clear the food content. This was not an issue when the guide was with us as she pushed the issue for us. Most accommodation is single beds with very few double beds available at establishments. Would I recommended this tour a big yes. Would I recommend Global Journeys, once again a big yes. The ladies at Global Journeys were very reactive to my request and pricing was good.
Great trip with a group of friendly, fun and like minded people. 4
Eastern Us & Canada Grand Vacation
Ann & Glenn, QLD, Australia, Aug 2016
Great time of year to travel, because we had not one day of rain. Our accommodation was excellent, especially since the tour was low cost.
Fantastic trip and value for money 5
Eastern Us & Canada Grand Vacation
Julie, SA, Australia, Aug 2016
We had a fabulous time on the Eastern US and Canada Grand Vacation - packed with history and fun things to do. The accommodation was excellent and the Tour Guide Jim Ryan and bus driver Don did a great job. He provided us with many options for things to do during the day and places to eat-Niagara Falls was my absolute highlight but also enjoyed Boston, read more Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa, Washington. The optional extra tour with the Amish and dinner was a real delight. The free time on our own to explore was appreciated as we have been on other companies tours and found it very annoying when taken to gift shops to fill in the day. Will definitely recommend Cosmos to others - a great value for money holiday!
I thoroughly enjoyed my fourth tour with Cosmos 2
Heart of the Canadian Rockies
Lesley, NSW, Australia, Aug 2016
I thoroughly enjoyed my fourth tour with Cosmos around the Canadian Rockies. Our tour guide, Sibylle, was very knowledgeable as well as personable. One of the highlights was spending longer in the most scenic areas which meant that the pace was slower and gave us more time to explore. My fellow travellers were from Australia, England, US, New Zealand read more and India and were all very friendly. The hotels were very good and well placed for easy access to food.
This tour travels a large distance in a short time, you see lots of sights. Hotels and tours were good and our guide was excellent.
East Coast USA & Canada Escapades! 8
Eastern Us & Canada Grand Vacation
Jacqueline Simoni, NSW, Australia, Aug 2016
My booking on the East Coast USA/Canada tour was a last minute, snap decision but happy I went as I had a good time and it was a very enjoyable tour. Our Tour Director was excellent as was the coach driver - very helpful, friendly, patient and I recommend and travel with them anytime in the future. The tour itinerary and pace was quite good but of read more course it would have been good to spend more time on some places such as New York and Washington as so much to see and do.
The hotels were somewhat hit and miss. Overall good but some where a bit far from the city, e.g. Quebec and Washington. Skyline Hotel in New York looks very tired and is in an awful location, one night in Hell's Kitchen was too much. Lancaster hotel also dark and dismal looking inside but may not be too many to choose from in that area. Optional Tours generally overpriced for what you get and ones that included a dinner were very rushed so not enough time to enjoy the food or the venue. For me the best value was evening tour in Boston which included the harbour cruise and dinner. I would suggest that you give passengers option to do illumination tour in Washington but cut out the dinner, much better value. CN Tower, great location but felt we needed to speed eat our meal and move on so they could fill the tables with other dinners!
I travelled with Cosmos three years ago to Spain and felt that tour was much better value for money and had many more inclusions than the USA/Canada trip which apart from sightseeing in major cities/areas there were no other inclusions. I would suggest that breakfasts be included as makes it much easier for passengers particularly on the early morning starts. A welcome dinner at start of tour would give everyone a chance to meet fellow travellers and tour director and group can form a better bond from outset. I think our group would have also enjoyed a farewell dinner on the last night as this would a nice way to finish off and say goodbye instead of rushed farewells and waves as people were getting of the coach at airports or in NYC!
The hotels were somewhat hit and miss. Overall good but some where a bit far from the city, e.g. Quebec and Washington. Skyline Hotel in New York looks very tired and is in an awful location, one night in Hell's Kitchen was too much. Lancaster hotel also dark and dismal looking inside but may not be too many to choose from in that area. Optional Tours generally overpriced for what you get and ones that included a dinner were very rushed so not enough time to enjoy the food or the venue. For me the best value was evening tour in Boston which included the harbour cruise and dinner. I would suggest that you give passengers option to do illumination tour in Washington but cut out the dinner, much better value. CN Tower, great location but felt we needed to speed eat our meal and move on so they could fill the tables with other dinners!
I travelled with Cosmos three years ago to Spain and felt that tour was much better value for money and had many more inclusions than the USA/Canada trip which apart from sightseeing in major cities/areas there were no other inclusions. I would suggest that breakfasts be included as makes it much easier for passengers particularly on the early morning starts. A welcome dinner at start of tour would give everyone a chance to meet fellow travellers and tour director and group can form a better bond from outset. I think our group would have also enjoyed a farewell dinner on the last night as this would a nice way to finish off and say goodbye instead of rushed farewells and waves as people were getting of the coach at airports or in NYC!
Loved this tour! Well paced with 3 night stays in most cities. Tour group was wonderful and our guide was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Loved having the free time to explore each city in depth. Local guides were great also. Would highly recommend this tour to anyone wanting to see Prague, Budapest & Vienna. The optional boat cruise along read more Danube River in Budapest was a highlight. Thank you to Hannah for booking my tour and flights, she did a great job! (Ed: Review based on slightly different itinerary. Trip name and itinerary updated this season)
Great overview of cities and scenic attractions 7
Trans-American Adventure
Living life, NSW, Australia, Aug 2016
We thoroughly enjoyed our trip across the USA, we were lucky enough to travel with 46 great people from the UK, Aus, and NZ. Some of the days spent on the road were quite long, but we were covering huge distances so was to be expected. Our accommodation was highly satisfactory with regards to comfort and cleanliness. I do feel though that that location read more in LA should be changed to a more touristy area. Allison, our Tour Director was very knowledgeable and funny and made the trip interesting during time on the coach. Jeff, our Coach Driver was brilliant, kept us hydrated and candied-up as well as being a fantastic driver. We were very happy with the Optionals we chose to do. My only reservation is that I feel the tour itself needs to be slightly longer by 2-3 days. The consensus on the coach was that we needed another 2 night stay somewhere or make Las Vegas and Chicago 3 night stays.
I did the Trans-American tour with an extension in Honolulu. Everything went smoothly from start to finish, the trip was exhausting so it was good to have some free time to either relax or explore. Every day was a new adventure, from the big cities of New York, Chicago, Vegas, Washington and LA to the spectacular views in the national parks. Loved Niagara read more Falls, Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Canyon. A highlight was a helicopter tour to the Grand Canyon. Alison our tour guide was very informative and gave us a lot of interesting commentaries on the places we visited. Going to Hawaii at the end of the tour was just a wonderful way to relax before heading home, thanks to Roby for his advice on things to see and do.
We were lucky to have very good weather for most of our 10 day holiday through the Canadian Rockies. I think this, combined with the magnificent scenery and the lovely people on our bus tour meant that we thoroughly enjoyed our holiday.
We were happy with most of the accommodation, which was usually central and of a reasonable standard. As we were read more aware that this tour did not include meals, the lack of breakfast being included didn't bother us but most of the other people on the bus tour felt that it should have been included, especially as we had a few early morning departures. Our main complaint was the tipping at the end of the tour. As Australians we are not used to tipping, however we were aware that in Canada we would have to tip waitresses, taxi drivers etc and a few dollars here and there didn't' bother us. But Cosmos asked us each to tip the tour guide and driver $5-7 US a day. My husband and I had to pay out hundreds of dollars in tips at the end of our trip (when money was getting tight). I agree with another reviewer that this tipping seemed outrageous and I wished I had been aware before the tour how much money we were expected to pay out in tips to the tour guide and coach driver. (GJ: Thanks for your feedback Liv & Stan. With regards to tipping, some Operators include it in the price of the tour, others - like Cosmos - allow you to pay it at the end of your trip, or prepay it before you leave. I know it's not really tipping when you are expected to pay, or feel bad if you don't, but everyone is different. Ask your GJ Consultant to include it in your quote if you'd prefer next time - we hope!)
We were happy with most of the accommodation, which was usually central and of a reasonable standard. As we were read more aware that this tour did not include meals, the lack of breakfast being included didn't bother us but most of the other people on the bus tour felt that it should have been included, especially as we had a few early morning departures. Our main complaint was the tipping at the end of the tour. As Australians we are not used to tipping, however we were aware that in Canada we would have to tip waitresses, taxi drivers etc and a few dollars here and there didn't' bother us. But Cosmos asked us each to tip the tour guide and driver $5-7 US a day. My husband and I had to pay out hundreds of dollars in tips at the end of our trip (when money was getting tight). I agree with another reviewer that this tipping seemed outrageous and I wished I had been aware before the tour how much money we were expected to pay out in tips to the tour guide and coach driver. (GJ: Thanks for your feedback Liv & Stan. With regards to tipping, some Operators include it in the price of the tour, others - like Cosmos - allow you to pay it at the end of your trip, or prepay it before you leave. I know it's not really tipping when you are expected to pay, or feel bad if you don't, but everyone is different. Ask your GJ Consultant to include it in your quote if you'd prefer next time - we hope!)
Excellent tour but impacted by daily seat rotation issue. 4
Irish Discovery
Judith & Warwick Parker, NSW, Australia, Aug 2016
What should have been an excellent tour was impacted by issues in regards the lack of daily seat rotation. It became quite a major issue which impacted greatly on the overall enjoyment of the tour which was very disappointing. Tour director should have done more to enforce the seat rotation to make it fairer for all passengers. Things actually became read more quite nasty when people refused to move at all and just sat in what ever seat they wanted to each day. A better seat rotation system needs to be implemented and then enforced to prevent this situation occurring again. Maybe name cards placed on seats each morning to indicate where each person should be sitting and then the card being moved back or forward at the end of the day and being placed on the seat for the next day. After our recent experience on board the coach on this tour I doubt whether we would do another Cosmos tour again. The tour of Belfast and the Titanic Exhibition was an optional excursion. I think the tour of Belfast should have been included in the tour rather than having to do it as part of an optional tour. We would highly recommend Global Journeys to anyone wishing to book a holiday. We were very impressed with Michelle White's attention to detail in putting our holiday plans into place.
Always enjoy travelling with Cosmos. They are professional and value for money. Will be looking to book another trip with them next year.
A memorable and enjoyable experience 2
Jim & Sophie Kelly, Qld, Australia, Aug 2016
The bus was new with seat belts and had a good quality Wi-Fi that enhanced the trip. The hotels were also good with only one hotel with low grade Wi-Fi that faded in and out. The Tour Manager and Driver were very professional, positive. pleasant and made every effort to enhance our experience The Tour Guides were the same. All were entertaining. The read more Tour inclusions, places visited and optional excursions were terrific. The weather was good, summer hot and dry, with one day of rain. (Ed. This trip has changed this season, so this review refers to a slightly different itinerary.)
Very well organised tour with great guide (Nikola) and driver (Igor). First time travelling with escorted tour and certainly enjoy to have all the accommodation/breakfast/transport sorted out by Cosmos. We are allowed plenty of free time to explore cities in the afternoon and also gets to decide what to eat for lunch, which was good. The optional tours read more are well worth going - the one we have been to are great - including Zealand Castle, Mount Floyen, Vasa Museum. The scenery was beautiful , weather great (which was a bonus), and good mix of people from all over the world (US, Australia, Philippine, Hong Kong, UK)!
