Cosmos Tour Reviews
The 1984 Cosmos Tour reviews listed below are from past clients of Global Journeys that have traveled with Cosmos. Each review has been individually verified by our team.
4.4
5 Star
4 Star
3 Star
2 Star
1 Star
The tour was well organised and the tour guide well informed of his country. He was helpful and attentive. Some of the hotels could have been better, but then it was Ireland and some of the hotels in the towns were older hotels. We appreciated that not all dinners were catered for in the price, but we're not informed until after we had booked that some read more of the excursions listed were extras and needed to be paid for at a cost that was quite high. The experience of these optional dinners/evening performances made a difference to the variety of the tour. Overall we had a great tour. Thanks.
Everything was very well organised and excellent tour guide 1
Golden West Adventure
Colin Wilson, Australia, Jun 2014
This was our second Cosmos holiday and enjoyed it very much! Everything was very well organised and our tour guide Linda was excellent. She was able to answer any query and went the extra mile to assist fellow travellers. It was a moderate pace tour with plenty of stops for food and photos. We were surprised at the elegance of our hotel in Los Angeles read more and loved staying there.The rest of the hotels were very good usually well located near restaurants and shops etc. We would be very happy to do another Cosmos tour next time we travel.
Once in a lifetime treat 4
Canadian Train Odyssey with Alaska Cruise
Stephen Wise, Australia, Jun 2014
Our tour guide, John, was brilliant and the tour was great from day 1. John provided historical and humorous anecdotes and his knowledge of the area was encyclopedic. The VIA Rail portion of the journey was great with beautiful scenery and lovely meals over the three day trip. The stops at Jasper and Banff were also highlights with lots of scenic stops read more and wildlife. We saw black bears and a grizzly, elk, a wolf and coyote and numerous mountain goats, big horn sheep and squirrels. The visit to Victoria was nice with lovely weather and atmosphere with markets and buskers providing lots of entertainment. Nice restaurants and settings made our two day stay very pleasant. We joined a cruise to Alaska after completion of the Cosmos tour and this was also a great trip with historic ports and beautiful scenery. The ship, (the Volendam, was well equipped and comfortable and we really enjoyed the interaction with other passengers. Overall the trip was a once in a lifetime treat.
Overall excellent. Hannah booked our tour and was very efficient and friendly. Tour was beautiful and tour guide Mikhala was very good, nothing was too hard for her and did everything with smile.
Service from Global Journeys was second to none 2
Seven Countries, Venice & Paris
Mark Russell, Australia, Jun 2014
On balance everything was great; however, I am not convinced that some of the extra activities that we decided to do while on the tour were value for money. This is mainly in relation to activities that included food and entertainment, I felt all in all they were not good value for money. I would also however say that when we decided to go on another read more tour, we will go directly to Global Journeys as the organisation professionalism, and service were second to none. (Ed. Thanks Mark! Review based on slightly different itinerary. Trip name and itinerary updated this season)
I have to first start with thanking our tour consultant Yvonne, who organised our fantastic trip with not much notice. She made sure everything was covered which allowed our trip to run so smoothly. This is the first tour holiday we have been on. I was a little apprehensive prior to going with not knowing what to expect, but with Global Journeys it read more was smooth sailing from start to finish. The tour guide and coach driver were excellent and both professional and friendly. Nothing was too much trouble for them. The long Trans-America journey could have been boring and extremely long but the tour operator kept it fun, and the driving time passed reasonably quickly. I could not fault any aspect of our trip and I am looking forward to more trips with your company.
Pace was full on but really impressed with our tour 4
Trans-American Adventure
Robert & Susan Fox, Australia, Jun 2014
We were really impressed with our Cosmos Tour. The pace is full on but enjoyable. We only had 30 people on the tour so plenty of room to spread out. Our Tour Director Todd Asperger was fantastic (we have done 7 group tours before and Todd was the best Tour Director we have had)- a great tour leader, full of knowledge and information, patient and always read more friendly even when we had some fun with people not coming back on time!!! Everyone on the tour really got on well with him and each other and that makes for a good group tour. Hotels were surprisingly good. We expected them to be ok but maybe a bit out of the way given this is a budget tour, however nearly all rooms were of a very good standard and in great locations. Our 'cabin' accommodation in Cody and the Grand Canyon were basic, but clean and tidy and everyone we spoke to thought they provided and interesting interlude on the journey. We covered lots of miles and Todd provided videos of each state either after or before we crossed borders. We also saw a selection of old movies that showcased the areas as we travelled, like Marilyn Monroe in a Niagara based 'thriller' and North by Northwest which had shots in New York and Chicago - great fun as we travelled. Travel time was up to 10 hours on some days, but we had plenty of breaks on the way and also Todd pointed out photo opportunities as we went. This is a great tour if you want to experience America as well as see some amazing cities (New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, LA) and incredible scenery (Niagara, Bryce and Grand Canyons, Zion and Yellowstone NP). It was great to have a bit of time before and after the tour as well - a really big thanks to Michelle at Global Journeys for her patience with us through the changes and additional days we requested before the tour and answering all our questions - we couldn't have asked for better support.
We had a great time on this tour. Although the first couple of days included a lot of sitting on the coach, once we got through this all the places we went to were amazing. We had a great tour director who gave us enough attention but also personal space and time. Our accommodations were really good esp. compared to another tour we had recently done. read more We enjoyed all the optional excursions we did and thought they were good value. I would recommend this tour as a good value and interesting tour. (Ed: Review based on slightly different itinerary. Trip name and itinerary updated this season)
Can't wait to do another tour with Cosmos 1
Highlights of Germany
Robin McGuiness, Australia, Jun 2014
Wonderful trip, with fantastic guide. Our tour consultant Georgie answered all my queries promptly and expertly. Can't wait to do another tour with Cosmos. (Ed: Review based on slightly different itinerary. Trip name and itinerary updated this season)
Very good tour of England, Scotland and Wales 2
Lynnette Correia, Australia, Jun 2014
Very good tour of England, Scotland and Wales (6 days). Some hotels were better than others - the first included dinner was pretty awful. The hotels were good, out of the city/town (but to be expected as this was more a budget tour) - the Kensington Close was a lovely hotel but the room was the worst of any of the other hotels, beds were very small, read more room was poky, bathroom also small - suggestion: if Cosmos use this hotel in the future (fantastic location) perhaps charge a little more but get upgraded rooms. The bus driver was great - wonderful English sense of humour. All in all, very good tour and wonderful that it included the Stonehenge visit. (Ed. This trip changed slightly in 2019, so this review is based on the previous longer itinerary)
Would recommend Global Journeys to friends 3
Grand Tour of Britain & Ireland
Ahlu, Owen, Lorelle & Audrey Brown, Australia, Jun 2014
Well planned. Can see you have a lot of experience in the touring industry. Would recommend you to friends. The meals provided could improved by including more vegetables.
Great fun and our tour guide was excellent 1
The Canadian Rockies
Nadia Giarrusso, Australia, Jun 2014
The tour was great fun our tour guide was excellent and very informative about the areas we visited. Though there was a vast gap in age between travelers as it was not mentioned it was mainly an over 55's tour. (Ed. Hi Nadia, pretty much all of the tours we showcase are 'Open' age. This means there can be a broad range of ages. Most tours have a good read more mix, but depending on the destination, budget and time of year there may be a skew towards older or younger age groups. We explain what to expect in our 'Tour Operators' section. Thanks for your feedback!)
I rated the accommodation down because of my experience at the hotel Milan au Luc in Stresa. All the other hotels were lovely, even if the Lake Garda one was nowhere near the lake. My hotel room in Stresa was small, with a lowered ceiling to 6 foot high only with a 2 foot wide x 2 foot deep shower. It was claustrophobic, to say the least, and far from read more relaxing. Also, this European thing about single travellers and therefore single beds is archaic and out-of-date. What sane adult sleeps in a single bed by choice and gets a good night's sleep? We don't at home, so why when on holiday are we subjected to such stupid conditions? I roll over and fall out of bed, so doesn't make for a relaxing night's sleep and feeling refreshed when on holiday. And the Stresa hotel gave me a choice of a room with a narrow (child sized) single bed or a room with a slightly larger bed, but not double size. Also, the tour guide touting for his and the driver's tips at the end, to me as an Australian, frankly embarrassing! I think how, when and what to tip is up to the discretion if the individual making the tip. However, the driver did an amazing job on those narrow, windy Northern Italian roads and was a gentleman in assisting us off the coach each and every time we disembarked. The tour guide was pretty good - funny with an almost British sense of humour. My only other disappointment was the amount of time spent on Isola Bella - I personally would have loved more time. The optional tour highlights for me were the Lake Garda day, Mt Tamaro and the dinner on Isola dei Pescatori. Whilst I enjoyed the 3 island cruise and stop on Isola Bella and Isola dei Pescatori, it was too short - maybe do the cruise bit and drop people off at Isola Bella and dovetail in with the lake's ferries for passengers to pick their own time to leave and go to the next island, and what time they choose to be back at Stresa. Just a thought. Overall, I really enjoyed the tour especially as this was the first time in 23 years I did a big group tour and not a speciality small group tour. The lakes are beautiful and this tour provided the opportunity to see the best of all the 3 lakes.
Well organised and the tour guide was wonderful 2
Central Europe
Cheryl Cavanagh, Australia, Jun 2014
Hannah was very helpful in assisting me with the organisation of this tour and was more than happy to arrange a further 2 nights accomodation after the tour ended. I had no problems on the tour, it was well organised and the tour guide was wonderful and went out of her way to offer any assistance if it was required. I would totally recommend Global read more Journeys when booking travel.
Enjoyed the tour and would recomend it to anyone 1
Eastern US & Canada Grand Vacation
Wendy & Ian Bennett, Australia, Jun 2014
We enjoyed the Eastern USA and Canada tour and would recomend it to anyone. There were lots of extras included such as the local guides and entry to a few things, accomodation was overall good and could not praise our tour guide enough - he made everything so easy. We are looking forward to doing another tour soon.
Fantastic, informative, amazing and life changing 2
The Best of Europe
Carole Irving, Australia, Jun 2014
Georgie you gave me great service and I was thoroughly informed along the way. The first day of our tour, the tour lady was confused and dumped us all at the train station and told us to get to Brussels by ourselves. We were separated however, on arrival in Brussels, we found each other. For the rest of the tour it was fantastic, informative, amazing read more and life changing. The bus driver was fantastic and most importantly our Tour Director was fantastic till my last day. Unfortunately he didn't support me in helping to get in contact with my brother when we were 3 hours late, due to him forgetting his case at the previous hotel. We were great to him and rallied around to all put in some money to help with the taxi, however, when I asked if he could contact the Paris hotel to let my brother know we would be late, he did not. I wasn't impressed with this at all and also the lateness when I asked specifically when we would arrive in Paris. Every other day we were on time. This did not hinder my tour at all, Ruben was great with having to deal with some clients who complained about how fast paced the tour was and that we should change things just for them. I then continued my holiday with family and still enjoyed my experience overseas. I will definitely recommend Global Journeys, because people are always concerned about booking online and not with a real person. Thank you for your support and help, if the feedback can be passed onto Cosmos that would be appreciated.
The pace was fast but loved it! 1
Canadian Masterpiece with Rocky Mountaineer & Alaska Cruise
Kerry Perini, Australia, Jun 2014
Loved this Cosmos tour, our tour guide Elaine Wright was excellent. Will be hoping to do another tour with Cosmos in the future - the pace was fast but we manged - just loved it!
Outstanding tour 1
Canadian Masterpiece with Rocky Mountaineer & Alaska Cruise
Marcia Priddis, Australia, Jun 2014
Outstanding tour, great fellow tourists, great value for money. Tour was organised very well, only downside was not having our details for the cruise sent through to cruise liner for online booking. (Ed. Thanks Marcia, I presume that's why you rated Global Journeys as 'average'? Just so you know, that was Cosmos' responsibility (as the Operator), but read more we are still very pleased you enjoyed your journey!)
I did the Focus on Scandinavia tour in June 2014. It was the first time I'd ever travelled solo, and I had some concerns about it - which were all completely unfounded as I had the most brilliant time! I would definitely recommend paying the extra and going for the single supplement. To me Cosmos, and this tour, totally exceeded my expectations of what read more a budget coach tour would be like. Others on the tour seemed to have some disappointments, but you get what you pay for and I honestly believe it was great value for money. I'd previously done a Trafalgar tour, so I didn't know what to expect from Cosmos. It actually wasn't that different, other than there's less inclusions (which for me is a bonus as I like to wander around on my own). The optional excursions were always there if you wanted them. Apart from the Copenhagen and Stockholm hotels being very far out of town (near airports) the accommodation was mostly central, especially in the smaller towns. I joined the tour on Day 3, as I wanted to stay more central in Copenhagen. Cosmos and Global Journeys were super accommodating with this request. Our Tour Director was Alessandro Giudice, and our driver was Arne. They were both great. The first and last days of the tour really don't include anything and some said the first evening (meet and greet dinner) was disappointing as the TD didn't facilitate conversation or really introduce themselves. Probably only a concern if you were travelling solo.
Some of the hotels were definitely better than others. Stand-outs in terms of modernity were Oslo, Bergen and Karlstad. Others were a bit kooky, but that is all part of the experience I guess! Don't expect air conditioning and be prepared for the Scandinavian way of showering (no screen or curtain, and water can go everywhere). If you're paying the Single Supplement, you'll often get the smallest rooms but I have to say you don't really spend much time in them. The included dinners were so-so, quite often they're were buffets which I guess they do to appeal to as many people as possible. Almost all of the breakfasts were good, with cooked and continental options. I thought I'd forgo the included dinners, but given how expensive Scandinavia is, I soon changed my mind and went to them all! For this reason I also did any optionals that included dinners (entree, main, dessert and one alcoholic drink) as there is no way I could have got the same value if I did it myself. What can I say about the scenery? Well, its just stunning!! Norway TOTALLY blew my mind. It was majestic - with snow capped mountains, might fjords, and stunning waterfalls. The fjord cruise was wonderful and the view out of the coach was just WOW. The local guide in Oslo and Stockholm were really great - very insightful and really gave you an idea of what life was like living in those cities today. We even had free wifi on the coach while we in Norway, something that Cosmos were trialling apparently.
Bergen is a lovely town, very walkable and if you are independent, just see it yourself rather than getting locked into organised tours. The tourist centre is near the Fish Market, and you can get all the info you need. The Bergen Card is a great way of seeing lots of things at a discounted rate. Bryggen can get very busy with cruise ship passengers, so go and see it very early in the morning or later in the evening. Mt Floyen also gets busy with tourists in the day, so I went up the funicular late afternoon. The views are spectacular. Do it! Others on our tour did. Grieg's house but said they'd have preferred to stay in Bergen.... and there's always the Hop On Hop Off bus. The old town in Stockholm is a wonderful place to explore, and do try and get out on the water if you can. I'd HIGHLY recommend staying at least 2 extra nights in Copenhagen and Stockholm before/after the tour if you can, but go stay somewhere central so that you really 'feel a part of it'. Thanks to Georgie Walpole who was an absolute dream to deal with. Do this tour - you won't regret it! I'll even do it again someday I think! Now... where shall I go next?
Some of the hotels were definitely better than others. Stand-outs in terms of modernity were Oslo, Bergen and Karlstad. Others were a bit kooky, but that is all part of the experience I guess! Don't expect air conditioning and be prepared for the Scandinavian way of showering (no screen or curtain, and water can go everywhere). If you're paying the Single Supplement, you'll often get the smallest rooms but I have to say you don't really spend much time in them. The included dinners were so-so, quite often they're were buffets which I guess they do to appeal to as many people as possible. Almost all of the breakfasts were good, with cooked and continental options. I thought I'd forgo the included dinners, but given how expensive Scandinavia is, I soon changed my mind and went to them all! For this reason I also did any optionals that included dinners (entree, main, dessert and one alcoholic drink) as there is no way I could have got the same value if I did it myself. What can I say about the scenery? Well, its just stunning!! Norway TOTALLY blew my mind. It was majestic - with snow capped mountains, might fjords, and stunning waterfalls. The fjord cruise was wonderful and the view out of the coach was just WOW. The local guide in Oslo and Stockholm were really great - very insightful and really gave you an idea of what life was like living in those cities today. We even had free wifi on the coach while we in Norway, something that Cosmos were trialling apparently.
Bergen is a lovely town, very walkable and if you are independent, just see it yourself rather than getting locked into organised tours. The tourist centre is near the Fish Market, and you can get all the info you need. The Bergen Card is a great way of seeing lots of things at a discounted rate. Bryggen can get very busy with cruise ship passengers, so go and see it very early in the morning or later in the evening. Mt Floyen also gets busy with tourists in the day, so I went up the funicular late afternoon. The views are spectacular. Do it! Others on our tour did. Grieg's house but said they'd have preferred to stay in Bergen.... and there's always the Hop On Hop Off bus. The old town in Stockholm is a wonderful place to explore, and do try and get out on the water if you can. I'd HIGHLY recommend staying at least 2 extra nights in Copenhagen and Stockholm before/after the tour if you can, but go stay somewhere central so that you really 'feel a part of it'. Thanks to Georgie Walpole who was an absolute dream to deal with. Do this tour - you won't regret it! I'll even do it again someday I think! Now... where shall I go next?
Tour was very well organised 1
Leo Alcano, Australia, Jun 2014
Overall the tour was very well organised and commendations to the Tour Director and driver for keeping us well entertained in between sights. Undoubtedly there are many more aspects of Germany, particularly certain places, that we would've liked to explore and experience more. But this tour is as it is called - 'Highlights'. Nothing really to complain read more about that weren't unavoidable. For a 'low cost' tour it's certainly more than that and a real value for money. Very highly recommended.
