Northern Capitals 3
Anne Bridges & Irene Snow, WA, Australia, Jul 2016
We were very disappointed at the start of our holiday. When we arrived in Copenhagen we found where we had to wait for the Courier. The previous people had been picked up 20 minutes before we arrived. We were supposed to wait 2 hours which stretched out to 3 hours. By that time 14 of my tour had arrived. A Globus van arrived to pick up 3 people from read more another hotel and tour. After much deliberation squeezed us into the bus. We arrived at our Hotel 15minutes before the Welcome Dinner started. At the start of the tour we were supposed to receive "whispers" these didn't arrive till days later. Oslo Hotel was very hot and was apparently being closed for refurbishment soon after our stay.
Absolutely magnificent tour from start to finish. Scenery was unforgettable. Rocky Mountaineer Train was all and more than we expected. Glad we didn't upgrade to Goldleaf as we felt more pampered in Silverleaf. The service was first class and not having to move from your seat for meals was excellent. We really didn't get to see much of Whistler as the read more Canadian Ironman was running that day and we had to wait for hours outside of the town until the road reopened. Globus really should have had more forethought in getting us to Whistler before the road closed. The cruise was more than we expected. Scenery was fantastic and the verandah cabin and all meals and service on board were excellent.
Our Tour Director was informative of the places we visited. She was an excellent tour guide. The accommodation was good. There were many highlights with the trip including: Boston, Quebec City, dinner with an Amish family, New York and Washington. Seeing Niagara falls was an amazing experience for me. We even got to change the colour of the lights read more on the falls. Thank you very much Globus and Global Journeys.
Our experience with Global Journeys, especially with Michelle White has been excellent. All interactions with Michelle have been positive. She is professional, patient and quick to respond to multiple queries and changes to quotes regarding itineraries/destinations/dates. This was my first time booking a holiday through Global Journeys and I am happy read more to recommend them to anyone who is considering using this company, particularly when dealing with Michelle. We booked a 14 day European holiday with Globus via Global Journeys and we were somewhat happy with the overall experience however, we had some positive and negative experiences with the trip.
Firstly, there was a problem with our airport pick up as the driver was 45 minutes late due to a flight change by the airline. We arrived into Berlin half an hour earlier. This perhaps, should have been flagged by Global Journeys with Globus or the driver should have double checked arrival times prior to picking us up. This caused unnecessary angst arriving into Berlin with limited means of reaching the driver as it was a Sunday and the Globus office was shut. As for the tour, I believe advertising it as a 14 day tour is misleading because it is in fact a 12 day tour. A 6pm dinner & talk on the “first†day is hardly considered a fruitful 1st day although essential information were distributed. I think this could have been done at a day called “Pre-Tour or Induction†but it should not be regarded as the first day of the tour. Similarly, the trip really ended on day 13 with a farewell dinner as we didn’t really see anyone on the 14th morning for breakfast as most of our fellow travellers have departed Berlin by then and you are expected to check out of the hotel on the 14th day anyway.
Most of the hotel accommodations were of good standard and are generally located centrally at the city that we were visiting bar some issues with some which I will be posting separate reviews on Tripadvisor and via direct feedback to the individual hotels. Other than that, the overall itinerary was first-rate. Yes, it was very fast paced and covered a lot of sights and experiences so prospective travellers need to be prepared that a lot of fast walking is required. Some of the optional excursions were certainly a “must do†especially the dinner cruise on the Danube, the Salt Mines and the Mozart & Strauss concert. The dinner cruise on the Danube in Budapest is certainly the Highlight of the tour and the visit to Auschwitz was a memorable and humbling experience. Globus certainly took us to a lot of cities and sights that we wouldn’t have achieved in the same duration had we done this on our own so with that in mind, I am glad that we selected this tour.
The trip was complemented with a clean and new Mercedes coach (only four months old, we were told). It was also comforting to have a very careful driver, Roman and the fantastically funny Tour Director, Mario to share our journey with. In spite of his quirky sense of humour, Mario was very warm, efficient but professional. At the end of the tour, we felt like we have made a new friend. The travellers on this tour were a good mix of Americans, Canadians, Kiwis and Aussies who I believe got along well, especially after a few drinks! On the whole, it was an enjoyable tour that covered a lot of key tourist locations. The breakfasts at each hotel were excellent and the few lunches and dinners that were provided were also very good. Globus also took the trouble to provide a bottle of spring water for each traveller each morning which was very thoughtful. Are we glad we did this tour? Yes. Will we do another coach tour with Globus? Not for a while as the early wake up calls and early start was a killer for late owls like my husband and I.
13 Day Maritmes ADventure (Globus)
9
Maritimes Adventure
Bruce & Patricia Marshall, QLD, Australia, Jul 2016
Unfortunately we found this trip quite boring, we are aware of the distances between stops and attractions etc, but we spent way to much time on the coach seeing practically nothing, then when we did seem to stop at something interesting the time allowed there did not seem adequate, when at times we would stop for 1 1/2 hours for lunch (no packed lunches read more at all). Our driver was excellent, a very courteous and polite gentleman, again unfortunately our Tour Director was not we felt up to the standard we experienced on our last Globus trip, this was not only felt by us but by others in the group. There was some tension between individuals and the Tour Director which was felt throughout the group.
We also felt that arriving at our destination many times at around 6pm was way to late for people to relax etc, any dinners provided were usually around 6.30pm so again rushed and then no time to yourselves. Dinners and at times breakfasts provided were also not to the same standard as previous tour, this could also be said for some of the latter hotels, apart from the Blue Nose INN and the Alquonquin (which were excellent) we felt that the hotels went downhill as the tour progressed, the last hotel being the somewhat jaded. Also the Welcome night and the farewell dinner, was again we felt not up to the standard we had appreciated on previous tour, the farewell dinner was very ordinary. We and others on the tour felt that as we had already prepaid our gratuities we had done ourselves an injustice, not for the Coach Driver but for the Tour Director. We were also concerned as to whether the Tour Director would have been capable of handling any kind of physical emergency had it occurred. There was no provision on the coach for water bottles etc either. Which is usually provided. Local guides were excellent at stops where they were provided, very knowledgeable and entertaining, enjoyed this part of the trip.
Quebec and Niagara Falls were great. We even got to change the colour of the lights on the falls. Accommodation was first class and included meals were very good. Lunch breaks on some days could have been a little shorter allowing earlier arrival times at destinations.
My trip was informative of the cities that we visited and the coach driver and our tour guide were great people. Our tour guide was quite knowledgeable with history. The hotels were a great standard. Free WiFi in most hotels we stayed at and two that did not have free WiFi I negotiated with them and they gave me free WiFi. This was my second trip with read more Globus and I can see myself going for a third in the near future.
This was the first orgainsed tour we had ever participated in and we were a little hesitant. We had always arranged our own itinerary and chose where and when we stopped. This tour was fantastic. The tour guide was very helpful without giving us the feeling of having no say in what we were doing. This tour provided days when we could chose our own activities. read more The organised activities provided a variety of things to do while the accommodation and meals were excellent. A final factor that made this a memorable trip was the fantastic group of people were travelled with - there was a mix of personalities and many laughs were shared.
Wonderful
3
Scenic Norway
Eric & Janine, QLD, Australia, Jul 2016
Great trip. Loved the fiords and Norway. Excellent guide. Enjoyed museums. Good weather. Good company. The coach and Wifi were ordinary.
Wonderful Week 1
Helen Morrissey, ACT, Australia, Jun 2016
I really enjoyed this tour. The cities were very interesting and the activities were interesting. The weather was great too. I especially liked the tour of the subway in Moscow. It was pretty full as I joined all the optional excursions. It was too hard to choose! The fact that this tour joined another tour which had begun a week earlier in Warsaw did read more mean the dynamics of the group were a little different from other tours I've been on. I understand this is done so that the tour can be guaranteed but it did alter the relationships in my opinion.
Great trip through Greek History
1
Classical Greece
Mr & Mrs Howell, WA, Australia, Jun 2016
Wonderful but too short. Accommodation at some distance from main sights but very good otherwise. Tour guide extremely knowledgeable and organized.
I loved the places this tour took us. Especially Meteora. They were amazing. But the tour guide was like a spinster history school teacher who totally bombarded us with how wonderful the Greeks were, and are now. In the end instead of listening to the monotone voice of the guide, I would dart off in all directions taking in the sights and photographing read more everything in sight, as did many of the other passengers.
There was also a lot of time on the bus, (and the guide talked continuously about Greek history while the bus was in motion ) more so than other tours I have done. I would enjoy doing this tour again with a different guide and not in the heat of Summer.
Top Trip!
2
Southern Charms
Tony & Jenny Georgeson, NSW, Australia, Jun 2016
Global Journeys worked their magic from afar and arranged our travel without a hitch. Everything fell nicely into place and we had a hassle free holiday. This tour is a beauty. The scenery was outstanding. The Red Jammer bus ride up through Glacier National Park was breathtaking, the jet boat into Hell's Canyon had everyone oohing and aahing, the lake read more cruise at Coeur d Alene, the gondola at Whitefish, etc. There were only 24 participants (mostly Americans), so there was plenty of room on the coach, and we got on well together. The Tour Director was a standout. He had a great sense of humour, worked tirelessly to make everything as enjoyable as possible, knew his stuff and was highly professional. The accommodation was good, however apart from 3 nights at Whitefish, the remainder were all one-nighters, so "unpack/pack, bags out at 7" became a bit wearying. However, this was necessary to enable us to see so much.
Worry free holiday
1
Southern Charms
David & Doreen Turpie, New Zealand, Jun 2016
Yes, we would book again with Global Journeys and travel with Globus. Quality of accommodation and time of year to travel - both excellent. Only 22 other travellers must have been disappointing for Globus. Good mix of travellers, 3 Australian couples only us from NZ. Rest from US Mid West and from East Coast. All of Mature age and mixed well. Tips read more for future travellers - some first timers might find long travel days a bit much. We had no problems with some 3 hour between stops. Over 2500 kms travelled - example of the big distances in US. Tour Director was meticulous in his research and information on visited places.
It was an okay tour. Not many wild animals to spot. We thought it would be like a safari tour, where we could spot a lot of wild animals (moose, renders and sheep) roaming around the big landscape, particularly during the Wilderness Expedition. Accommodation was good with the exception of Fairbanks: the room is too big for nothing (considering we were read more out all day), dark, has dirty couches, old. The vanity is too small in comparison to the room size. At Denali the cabins are not suitable for hot summer days. The room was like an oven when we entered. The fan right above your head would just give you a headache and noise. The room was shaking when people were walking outside, particularly when the porters were dragging suitcases at 5am.
Mysterious Russia 3
Andrew & Soo Nee, VIC, Australia, Jun 2016
We spent 3 days both in St. Petersburg and Moscow. They were beyond our expectations. What beautiful cities! We enjoyed various museums in St. Petersburg especially the Hermitage Museum and Catherine Palace. In Moscow, the Red Square, Kremlin and the Basil Cathedral offers the key attractions for us, with many photos taken at day and night. The underground read more railway stations in Moscow is a must for tourists, with many beautiful and different mosaics, statues and decor. We did two memorable optional tours - Swan Lake Ballet and the Great Moscow Circus, both strongly recommended.
I cannot speak highly enough of this wonderful tour. Everything met our expectations and more. Our tour guide was excellent, both professional and extremely friendly and nothing was too much for him. Our fellow coach travellers were a mix of mostly Aussie and New Zealand travellers and we enjoyed everyone's company and have made lots of new friends. read more The tour itself was well paced as we had lots of two night stays which let us explore the areas more throughly (plus have a bit of a sleep in) the scenery was spectacular and we even got to see it snowing in Banff, when we went up the mountains. Loved the cities of Vancouver & Victoria and had extra time at the beginning & end of the tour to explore these beautiful cities.
Will definitely be booking with Globus for our next holiday and thought we really got value for money. The cruise was good, and we saw some beautiful scenery ( especially glacier bay) the only negative was in the ports we went to, there where always about 4 other ships which swelled these little town to over 10,000 people. Maybe a small boat tour would have been better, going to different places. Finally a big thank you to Georgie who booked our tour for us, she was extremely helpful answering all my queries and made the whole process easy.
Such a lot to see in a very short time! Good mix of organised time and time to do your own thing.
So many amazing places to see instead of the usual big cities of Europe. These regional tours show some unexpected treasures and places not really on the Aussie radar. If you’ve done many of the big European cities and would like something different , then this tour is for you.
This covered a lot of religious themes regarding Camino trails, but not read more being overly religious myself, I still found this tour interesting. Compared to the rest of Europe, Spain and Portugal are very good value for money when buying retail and food and beverage. I will do more of these types of tours from now on.
Interesting range of places visited. A very good general guide whose chat (and video) was interesting and entertaining. Quietly very efficient - and charming. Excellent coach driver!
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