Romantic European Reviews

For a first timer in Europe, this was a great tour to pick. Traditional in the sense of road traveled, it ticked off lots of locations that I wanted to experience, and a few ones that I wouldn't have considered! The pace is still quite busy, despite the two nights in some locations - and you will not see nearly as much as you'd probably want to in some ...read more cities (eg. Budapest, Vienna, Rome), but as long as you have that clearly in your mind, you won't be super disappointed.

Hotels are decent - and locations are fantastic perhaps with the exception of Pullman Montparnasse in Paris (relatively far out from the central area). The Florence hotel is not one that I'm eager to go back to (they tried to be modern, but it just was weirdly tacky) and the Grand Corinthia in Budapest was truly delightful.

The included food was a bit hit and miss - some meals were lovely, others were left on the plate! (Wurzburg I'm looking at you! Yikes). A tip - if you are doing optionals that include meals - do not each much during the day. You are usually in for a 3 course meal with drinks with large portions. I found eating a decent breakfast was enough to get me through.

A word on the optionals - yes, they are expensive - but some optionals truly made the trip for me - such as the Luzern Carriage & Farmhouse visit, the Viennese dinner & Orchestra, the Tuscan dinner, the Budapest river cruise & dinner. Some people I went on the tour with did not know about the optionals and had not known to budget for them - which did create some tension and grumbling. Request the Optional price list from your agent here so you can budget the cost. Insight originally did not send the list to me in the pack and I had to request them from my travel agent here (Thanks Hannah!)

Also, the notion of tipping - we Australians aren't that great at it - but in Europe...it's all about the tips! You generally are expected to tip local tour guides and your Insight guide and driver. Another cost to factor in your budget.

Would I do Insight again? Probably. You are herded a bit like you would on any tour, but the group is smaller than some of the really big groups like Trafalgar, Globus etc. And there is something really nice about having everything organised for you, right down to luggage delivered to your room. Thanks for the smooth booking Global Journeys - I would most definitely book through you again!

From the very start everything was so well organised & efficient. Michelle White our Global Journeys travel consultant assisted us at every turn and answered all our questions promptly and courteously. Our holiday with Insight was even better than we thought it could be! Every detail had been thought of to help us enjoy our journey and make us feel ...read more safe and secure through Europe and the tour director & accommodation were excellent. We will definitely use Global Journeys & Insight Vacations again. With heartfelt thanks.

Great tour with a great company. The pace of the tour was a lot more relaxed than other tour companies due to many 2 night stays. The extra leg room in the Insight buses is worth the extra cost alone. The unexpected highlight for us was Budapest. What an amazing city and the 5 star hotel was a treat. The online service that Global Journeys offers is ...read more hassle free with excellent communication. I highly recommend Insight Vacations and Global Journeys and will be using them again in the near future.

What a fantastic introductory view of the European cities and countryside. The accommodation was of a very high standard with the included meals excellent. Most of the optional excursions were interesting and good value but probably need to be made more transparent on initial costing as they enhance the trip and add significantly to the whole experience. ...read more The Switzerland options and the Tuscany trip to San Gims and restaurant are not to be missed. The coaches have plenty of room for feet and luggage and both the coach driver Raffaele and tour director Sharon were first class assisting us all to really enjoy every day. We met some fantastic people from all over Australia and would highly commend the tour and Global Journeys. Thank you Hannah for your efficient planning and communication. We would certainly use you again.

Very happy with Global Journeys in that Michelle White has handled our booking magnificently - she is very approachable and always happy to help and assist! Insight Tours has always been excellent (I did a tour with them last May 2014 with my mum) and our Tour Director this year is the best! His name is Tim Pendlebury and he just gives you his 100% ...read more attention all the time and always look after all his 39 Insight Tours coach guests. We really enjoyed our time with Tim and hope to be in his future tours again! Insight Tours should extend the Wifi on the coach to at least 200mb as 100mb is not sufficient at all. Thank you very much.