Costsaver Reviews

The tour was great and our tour director - Jason Simpson - was fantastic. Visited lots of great places, the highlight being the Medina at Fes. Loved every minute of the tour & made lots of new friends.

Danilo our tour director was awesome. I have never met anyone who cared so much about everyone's needs as he did. He made the trip so much better. The itinerary was really good except the time in Florence at the leather store - that was a waste of time and should be scrapped from the tour. Everyone else thought so too. Besides this, it was well thought ...read more out and executed. I went with my teenage kids and they loved it as well. I would travel with Trafalgar again.

Overall it was a good tour showing the the highlights of Europe. The extra excursions was a bit expensive , many of them due to the cost of unlimited drinks for dinner. The cost of drink should have been paid separately by the users or at least only one drink to be included and any extra should be covered by the individuals themselves, which would have ...read more been fairer. Instead some had to pay for the cost of unlimited drink of others. The seating in the coach was not good for us. We were allocated seats behind seat a young and very noisy group, and the coach was full so we could not move.

I would never usually book this type of organised tour, however I booked this tour purely because I didn't have the time to organise the logistics of the trip myself. And, while subject to the ridicule of my friends, who have been to Europe several times over, I stuck to my guns...and am I so glad I did! While my expectations were not high (as I have ...read more always organised my own travels in the past), I was very pleasantly surprised! My chief concern was being on a coach with 46 strangers...this turned out to be a highlight. What a wonderful, eclectic mix of people! In the initial stages I found the coach travel infuriating, but as soon as I resigned myself to the fact that this was exactly what I had signed up for, I relaxed and went with the flow. It is known as the 'Calvalcade' for one reason, and it certainly lived up to the title. So my advice is, take responsibility for your choice! It is yours alone and there are other options. If you want a leisurely tour, then this is not for you! Our tour director Raymond (Ray) Padilla was personable, funny, knowledgeable, approachable and professional. We adored him! Our coach driver Andrea', in our collective view, is the best driver in the world, no exceptions! We saw so much in our 18 days that it was hard to comprehend, but that is exactly what this tour is about and why I selected it. For me it was a 'taster' and now I know exactly where I will re-visit, sooner rather than later. As a senior school history teacher I appreciated Ray's ability to retain the vast complexity of European history and while he modestly claimed to 'know a little about a lot', I knew 'a lot about a little' and so was happy to come away having learned much about the historical, social, cultural, political and religious contexts of Middle History, outside my areas of specialisation. Well done Ray, A+! I have one gripe, and that regards the ambiguity of the language on the intinerary. This needs to be articulated with with greater transparency. Also the optional extras were not always worth the cost and so alternatives should be clearly conveyed so that people are aware of their options when not participating. While the hotels were always better than expected, I think all of us would have happily preferred a hotel 'down grade' to be closer to town in most locations. To his credit, Ray always helped us to organise alternatives when not participating in the optional extras. Overall this experience was one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life, and while trying to be objective and critical, all that comes to mind are the fabulous memories!

Thank you very much Georgie for your excellent service and attention to our needs. The tour was excellent and well planned. Our experiences were unparalleled due in principal to our super Tour Director - Brek Collings. There are no superlatives to describe his knowledge, professionalism, attention to detail and congeniality. There were few hiccups - ...read more the hotel in Stans/Switzerland left much to be desired. The restaurants in Rome were a rip off and dishonest, perhaps Trafalgar could include dinners in this 'risky place'. Finally, Trafalgar could make it abundantly clear that the 'Optional Excursions' are more or less mandatory and have been left as optional only because the basic Trafalgar Tour is a CostSaver one. We enjoyed all the excursions but there were some in our tour group that were financially unprepared.

The 15 day European Impressions bus tour was stress free and just right for us. We had considered doing the trip ourselves by hire car initially, but ever so glad we chose the bus tour. Everything was done for us. The only extra decisions we had to make was which optional excursions to take. We took all but 2 of them. Those two occasions that we opted ...read more out of the excursions allowed us some extra time to catch up on laundry and sleep. Our tour guide, Annereike, went the extra mile to give us the best possible experience. Our bus driver, Joris, was the best.

Liked not having to do optionals and having time out to do our own thing, rather than having all the options included. Hotels were not in the middle of town but out a bit, however I liked this too as it meant nice walks, no hustle and bustle. In addition, there was never an early start - all this being conducive to a great holiday. The itinerary and ...read more the staff were wonderful, the company sure know their stuff!

Thoroughly enjoyed this tour of central Europe. Visited so many interesting places, learnt so much history, met wonderful people and the organisation was excellent.

Excellent package for first time traveller to UK and Ireland. I can only wish I took the longer travel days. The tour guide David, was very knowledgeable of the British History and very professional. The places we visited were historically significant. As a whole I quite enjoyed and very satisfied with the tour.

We had the best time, saw places that we would not have seen by ourselves, meet a lot of nice people & made new friends. John the tour guide was just great and has every thing planed to a tee. Could not fault the tour anywhere and the bus driver was the best driver I have seen - just excellent.

Impressed with Trafalgar organization and customer care, our Travel Director was very entertaining with a high knowledge of Italian history and culture. My wife and I had a terrifically good time and enjoy every second of it - and we learned about Italy!

Our trip was well organised in a timely manner. Hannah was fantastic and very responsive. The tour is very enjoyable but would recommend finishing at Paris instead of coming back to London because there is not much of the sight seeing other than travelling back to London. Our Travel director is very knowledgeable. He knew exactly the kind of information ...read more we needed to enjoy precious time we spent in each country/town. Most of the optional excursions are worth paying for except Swiss Heritage. The must go to's are dinner and 'city by night'. We enjoyed seeing the city become alive at night, especially Prague. I would be more than happy to recommend Global Journeys.

Just arrived home this morning at 5am, trying to stay awake till tonight so thought I would answer your email. Absolutely loved the tour, as it was a CostSaver we were not expecting too much but the hotels we stayed at were above expectations, not sure if it was because we had shared room with twin beds but they were king beds separated and the rooms ...read more were quite large, a real bonus and lovely clean ensuites and the hotel just out of Florence was a travellers dream, just what we think Italy is all about from all the movies we see - My Life in Tuscany etc. Also being a CostSaver tour we were thinking the food would be very basic, toast n jam for breakfast and although not 4 star still above expectation for the price. Our tour guide, Colleen was very honest and even suggested I not do one of the tours as it didn't really include the Italian Forum which I was keen to do. I did it by myself which was fine while the rest did things I was not that interested in. Very refreshing to find someone genuinely interested in you and making sure you have a good time and are not disappointed. The optional tours we did were also excellent. Yes, there was a bit of hard selling re the optional tours and gratuities but that just goes with a tour and I would like to think we are all grown up enough to make our minds up and for it not to bother us, it is just part of a tour and we accept it graciously. The week prior to the trip I found out I had fractured my foot so had a lovely boot thing to wear, once again Colleen our tour guide was very attentive to my needs, even supplying plastic bag and elastic band to cover it the day it rained. She and the driver were always on hand if I needed it, I just hope I wasn't too needy as they had a full tour to attend to but I did appreciate their concern. So many happy memories and I would recommend this tour to anybody as I feel it was very good value for money. Thank you for your help too, even making sure all our information arrived well ahead of the tour as my departure date from Sydney was earlier. Once again, the whole experience was excellent and above expectation for a CostSaver tour.

The Italian Scene tour was great. Our guide Fabritizo was very knowledgeable & our coach driver Francesco whilst he couldn't speak English, was awesome. Some of the hotels weren't so good (hard beds) and a little out of the way & breakfasts were generally typical Continental breakfasts, ie... a lot of pastries but sufficient. If you didn't do the optional ...read more tours offered, you were sometimes left in hotels that were quite a distance from the town, and public transport was often not available and taxis very expensive. However in saying that the optional tours were good. Meals in Tuscany & end of tour meal under the Colosseum were fantastic. The seafood in Burano was woeful (not fresh). This tour is rushed, (but the descriptions does state its lively) & I would have loved to stay longer in Venice (maybe see Venice at night) but we were taken back to the hotel by 6pm... & there was nothing to do in the hotel as its a fair way away from Venice. All in all, this tour was a great introduction to Italy. We met some interesting people on the tour from Aus/NZ/US/SA & Canada which made the tour heaps of fun. We have kept contact with them and hope to catch up with them in the future. Lastly, I'd like to thank Georgie our Tour consultant for arranging everything and her professionalism. I will certainly recommend Global Journeys to all my friends and family.

We both had a wonderful trip. Everything was organized so well from Georgie our Tour Consultant. We had the best Tour Director who was so helpful and knowledgeable everywhere we went. Accommodation was first class and overall we both had a great time and are looking forward to the next trip with Trafalgar.

I will treasure it very much. Excellent tour, really wonderful, beautiful, amazing scenery, views, rides (cruises, gondolas cables, horses carriages) historical places, museums, famous statues/buildings, gardens and well guided by our Local Tour Guides (Christine, Patricia, Agatha). Job well done - thank you. Global Journeys staff (at the Noosaville ...read more Branch were very helpful & excellent at their service - especially Yvonne). Trafalgar Director Tour Guide - Jon O'Reilly - your the best! A very funny-comedian, never dull moment, very helpful, understandable, approachable and very good & kind to all of us (47 of us from all over the world). We loved every time when you started singing in the coach Jon!!!! You made us laugh all the the time. The coach driver Christof - I nickname hm as Smirnoff just for fun - you are really an excellent driver - you made us feel safe in every way, & thank you for all your help in loading & unloading our luggage as well as Jon. I think that's the hardest part especially towards the ending of the tour. Our bags started to feel like a ton of bricks. I hope everyone in our group appreciated it, too. Accommodations (two places just alright, the rest very good), meals-B/D very good, extra excursions were excellent. My highlights of the tour, I think, for me - everything! Especially the Amsterdam scenic canal cruise, Venice Gondola live Serenade Rides with champagne, Roma Collosseum, Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel etc. The beautiful Alps scenery in Lucerne & most of all the Christmas lights of the Eiffel Tower at exactly 10pm. Last but not least, we gained beautiful & happy friendships... thank you all!

The tour was excellent. Great sights, great adventures, great scenery and history.

Our Tour Director was fantastic, informative and helpful, fellow travellers were friendly and enjoyed each others company. Will definitely do similar trips in near future. Would recommend this type of travel to friends and others.

The tour targeted the very best areas of the UK; hotels good to excellent; the excellent service provided by both tour guide and driver; brand new state-of-the-art coach. Didn't think that it was possible to see England, Wales and Scotland in only 8 days (I am originally from England) but I disagree after this really great tour.

Three of us went on this tour starting on 12 December 2012 and we had a great trip and saw lots. When reading about the trip we were a little concerned about the amount of time we would spend on the coach in particular we were concerned about day 2 and 3 but we were pleasantly surprised as they turned out to be one of the better days. The travel on ...read more Christmas Day was an absolute bore though. The tour had a good mix of ages - 5 schoolies of which my daughter was one of them, a few in their 20s, 30s, 40s,50s etc which made the trip better as we met others. Our first coach driver Mario was a scream and added to our entertainment, he was worth his tips as he cleaned the coach regularly so everyone was made as comfortable as possible as we were on it for 18 days. However, he had to be replaced with another coach driver while we stayed in Sorrento, the new coach driver seemed to want to stop regularly to have a smoke which irritated everyone, he cleaned the bus less than Mario and at times did not secure the coach when were stopped leaving other tourers stuff at risk. Needless to say he was not tipped. The coach on the driver side was quite comfortable however on the passenger side was quite cramped as it had another door and toilet in the middle of the bus to contend with so instead of removing one row of seats they overcame the problem by providing absolutely no leg room. Luckily there was only 34 on the trip when the capacity is 49 allowing everyone to spread when it was their turn on that side of the bus. I would hate to do this trip in summer with a full coach load. A winter trip is brilliant - not to mention every European city was decked out in Christmas decorations which were brilliant. Well done Europe. I have left the best to last - our tour director Ester she has been with Trafalgar for 30 years the first 20 years as Contiki tour director. What a scream she was. Very informative, entertaining and cared lots for her group and made sure everyone was having a good time. You could always find her at the office (she spells it B A R) it was obvious she loves her job and what ever Trafalgar pays her as a base salary before any tips should be doubled. All in all we had a great time with a great bunch of tourers and a great Travel director, the first coach driver was good value. My only recommendation is to do this trip in the winter.