Insight Vacations Reviews
The 600 Insight Vacations reviews listed below are from past clients of Global Journeys that have traveled with Insight Vacations. Each review has been individually verified by our team.
Had everything that was advertised and good value overall 7
Best of Spain & Portugal
Robyn Ryan, Australia, Apr 2014
Our recent tour of Spain & Portugal proved to be everything that was advertised and good value overall. The local knowledge, organizing ability and dedication to detail by the Tour Director meant we had the opportunity and the information to enjoy as many historical, cultural and entertaining experiences as possible along the way which made our tour read more a very pleasant experience. The optional excursions are an extra cost and sometimes mean a late night, or touring part of a rest day, but we think they are worth the extra effort. As each region of Spain is different in landscape and culture and Portugal is quite different again every day was a new adventure. There were a couple of long drives but the comfort of the coach, including wi-fi, and the ability of the driver to provide a smooth ride, adequate stops and keep to the timetable helped those days to pass ASAP. Hotels were sometimes quite fancy othertimes less grand but almost always central and near a supermarket.
Tour director was knowledgeable, organised and adaptable 1
Italian Escapade
Julianne & Roy Thompson, Australia, Oct 2013
We thoroughly enjoyed our Italian Escapade. The tour director Sharon was fantastic - knowledgeable, organised and adaptable. It was our first visit to Italy and we feel we have a really comprehensive snapshot of mainland Italy. The tour was exactly as described in the brochures and on the website. It was a pity that some participants weren't aware of read more some of the physical demands as this did lead to some delays. Sharon managed these issues with diplomacy. Yvonne from Global Journeys was very helpful and professional when we were booking our tour. I would definitely consider both Global Journeys and Insight when travelling in the future.
Excellent tour 2
Les Gilham, Australia, Sep 2013
The tour was excellent, and our tour guide and driver were both superb. We had a few issues - in two hotels the bags were not delivered to our rooms until about 2 hours after arrival - most frustrating especially as we were to go out for dinner and could not change from our day clothes. On one occasion the coach broke down and delayed us by about 2 read more hours which cut into our time later in the day. The hotel rooms were all large, comfortable and well furnished, and the hotels were all of an excellent class. The various day trips/tours were all most enjoyable, and the meals all up to a high standard. We were disappointed in Global Journeys which incorrectly quoted our extra day as including breakfast, and when it was discovered this was incorrect only offered partial recompense for the extra cost of breakfast. However all other aspects of our Global Journeys 'experience' were satisfactory.
Overall it was a good well planned tour 3
Normandy, Brittany & the Loire Valley
Florence Hooi Sim Tan, Australia, Sep 2013
Overall it was a good well planned tour. Shortfall only in the accommodation as some hotels we stayed didn't provide basic necessities. Tour pace was excellent, not too hectic and gave quite free time on your own. Food was very nice too, maybe because it's in France. Suitable for those who love countryside and more relaxed travelling.
Great tour will enjoy doing it again in the future. Trouble free travel on a modern coach with huge windows for viewing. Wifi onboard available, comfortable seating and excellent leg space. Guides were friendly and informative as well as active in creating a positive environment while on the coach or walking tours.
An excellent tour of Italy. It was nicely paced and Jackie, the tour director was brilliant. We did all the side trips bar one and thought they added greatly to the holiday.
Nothing I would have changed, except maybe more free time 3
Grand Italy & Sicily
Lucia McKay, Australia, Sep 2013
Thoroughly enjoyed the tour. Couldn't have asked for a better tour guide, driver and a wonderful group of fellow travellers as well. The extra legroom in the coach was excellent. There wouldn't be anything I would have changed with the tour, except maybe more free time to do more shopping. Never have enough time for shopping. I would recommend Global read more Journeys and Insight Vacations to anyone looking for a coach tour.
Enjoyed the tour tremendously 3
Kee Tan, Australia, Sep 2013
Excellent tour. An extra day in Moscow would have been wonderful. Tour pace is dependable on the number of excursions joined. As I joined all the excursions I find that I do not have time to do some shopping on my own especially in Moscow. As for accommodation all hotels were excellent except for the hotel in St Petersburg which was good. Overall excellent. read more I did enjoyed the tour tremendously.
An excellent initiation to organized coach tours 4
Italian Elegance
Sue & Peter Haley, Australia, Aug 2013
Italian Elegance Tour was an excellent initiation to organized coach tours. Plenty of variation in places visited and daily activities. Quality of hotels were generally far superior than what we were expecting. Our tour guide Karen Gower was extremely knowledgeable on 'all things' Italian and had the perfect personality for the job. Her organizational read more skills were excellent and she managed to make it all look so easy! Only criticism would be only one choice of meal on offer for the included dinners and some of the optional tours were a bit over priced.
Absolutely loved Morocco 3
Treasures of Spain, Portugal & Morocco
Anthony & Rosina Barker, Australia, Aug 2013
We really enjoyed seeing places we last saw 44 years ago (Spain) and visiting Portugal and Morocco for the first time. The comfort of the coach lived up to Insight's publicity and we appreciated having companionable fellow-passengers and a tour guide who combined efficiency with informality. The only reason for rating the accommodation only 'pretty read more good' is that the hotels in Morocco had rooms that didn't match the splendour of their foyers and were poorly serviced (we had to be very assertive in demonstrating a toilet didn't flush and it was essential to have a new room.) In recommending the tour I'd also have to warn others there were some very long days on the coach: I guess both these reservations were almost predictable and I should add that, apart from the quibbles about accommodation, we absolutely loved Morocco.
I was, disappointed with the Insight tour of Spain on a couple of counts. One was that the hotels they used. Whilst being described as 'centrally located', with the exception of the one in Valencia, were the edge of each city, (at least 10-15 minutes by taxi or more, for instance Barcelona Melia was 20 minutes from Place Catalyuna by taxi on a Sunday read more afternoon) making it very difficult or even impossible to look around the city by yourself in some (very limited) free time. They were lovely hotels, but inaccessible for tourists to find their own way around a city in the limited time. I would have preferred a lesser hotel, but more accessible to the city we were in, as I came home thinking, I hadn't really seen Spain, I had seen 'buildings', as I had not been able to get the flavour of the places we stayed in. I also feel very strongly about the lunch stops. I am appalled that a tour of the standard we were on, stopped (with two exceptions Peniscola and Toledo), at truck stops for lunch! Food was awful, typical of what you usually associate with a truck stop, not even a decent freshly made sandwich and of course no opportunity to explore the area there either. The facilities at the truck stops were basic but clean but a decent cup of coffee and a nice sandwich would have been much appreciated and time to look around a local town was what I would have expected for a tour of this standard. The tour was described as being 'leisurely' which was completely incorrect, fast paced would have been nearer the mark. It was full on from early morning, till late at night, as most nights there were either included dinners or optional dinners. With the hotels being so far removed from the city there was little or nothing in the area near the hotels to eat, so consequently we felt the only option was to take the optional dinners, which of course added to the cost of the holiday, rather than eat in an expensive hotel restaurant.
Very happy with the tour 2
Treasures of Spain, Portugal & Morocco
Richard Jenkins, Australia, Aug 2013
Very happy with the tour, a very good introduction to the countries visited and the culture and history of the locations, all enhanced by the personal insights of the guides and the tour director (Brit who lives in Portugal). There is room for improvement with the additional optional meals offered. The bus was very comfortable and the windows were cleaned read more daily (good for photos). Most hotels had pools and their locations were good for shops. We look forward to going on another Insight tour in the future.
Fast pace especially when doing all the optionals 1
European Grandeur
John Hills, Australia, Aug 2013
Tour was fast pace especially when doing all the optionals. Our Tour Director (Janelle) was the best. We all loved her stories. Our driver (Dino) was also exceptional. Opportunities include wi-fi on the bus and in all hotels.
The tour was fantastic. There was a bit of confusion with meeting point at the airport but we got there in the end. The tour director, Lynne, was absolutely phenomenal. She was knowledgeable, enjoyable, always making sure we were all ok, funny and really made the experience a memorable one with her expertise. The hotels were quite good, the sights were read more amazing and the bus driver was also very good. The tour mainly consisted of Australians, which I was very happy with! We were on our honeymoon and when Lynne knew this, she certainly made our experience very unique and special. Someone had also celebrated an 80th birthday and that was also not forgotten! If anyone else gets Lynne from Insight, they will most certainly be in for the times of their lives.
This tour was fantastic in every way (the tour guide was super). Before the tour I was a little concerned about the food in France as I cannot eat onions or spicy food, however each day the tour leader would tell us about the nightly dinner menu (French food) and if anyone had a problem then he would organise for them - in the end there were only two read more items on the whole tour that I could not eat and they were starters and I was given a nice salad instead. This area of France is truly beautiful and interesting - being of English/Irish/Scottish descent I know a lot about the British Isles but lacking in knowledge of France and the French. I now have an appreciation that did not have before. The only real drawback was that it was school holidays in France (and most of Europe) so Paris as crowded with tourists. For this reason I did not like Paris but loved the other areas of the tour.
Enjoyed the tour very much, had beautiful weather 2
Country Roads of Switzerland
Vilma Berrington, Australia, Jul 2013
Enjoyed the tour very much - had beautiful weather - met some lovely people and Switzerland was like a Picture Postcard everywhere you turned.
Great tour pace, a few too many add-ons though 4
Normandy, Brittany & the Loire Valley
Janice Stephens, Australia, Jul 2013
Overall the pace of the trip was good. A couple of the accommodations were a bit far out of the centre of the town but overall good. The Chateau in the Loir Valley was excellent. Our tour guide Fredrick was a mine of information. I thought there were a few too many add-ons and this should probably be added to the cost or advised of the extras before booking.
The best tour guide ever & a great coach driver 4
Best of Britain
Terence Brennan, Australia, Jul 2013
We had the best tour guide ever & a great coach driver. Our Irish tour guide made sure all her charges were up to date with the tour, made sure every body was back on the bus at all stops, very funny, laughed at herself. Would love to go on another tour with her. Our coach driver was the most professional driver we have been with. All the hotels were read more good except at Liverpool. The twin rooms were very small so we asked for a double room which was better. unfortunately we missed seeing the Beatles Museum plus our restaurant was very slow, most of the group left before desert around 9.45 pm. Some problem in the kitchen. Overall we packed in a lot of sights on the 7 day tour.
Covers just about everything for those who want to see Italy 6
Italian Elegance
Flane Down, Australia, Jul 2013
The Italian Elegance tour covers just about everything for everyone who wants to see Italy in different perspectives. Cities with their hustle and bustle, the peace and serenity of the Tuscan Hills (surrounded by fields of sunflowers), amazing historic villages, well known places such as the Square in Siena, Portofino, and the Cinque Terre towns, rice read more paddies (who knew) and of course the many vines that Italy is so well known for. We road the bus, cable car, train, boat, horse and carriage, gondola and a valparetto (water taxi). We stood inside the amazing Colosseum, saw the lights of Rome. We were serenaded whilst floating in a Gondola in Venice and experienced the beauty of the mighty Dolomites - so from mountains to the valleys, from the countryside to the sea it was fabulous and highly recommended. Accommodation was fantastic especially the nights spent at our villa in the Tuscan countryside and culminating in a very centrally located 5 star hotel tucked away canal-side in a lane-way in Venice. WOW!
Loved it all and would love to go and do it all again 1
Italian Elegance
Flane & James Down, Australia, Jul 2013
Thank you Georgie for your professional and diligent approach to our initial enquiry, to our other additional enquiries and the the prompt and efficient delivery of our travel documentation. We had a fabulous trip and would recommend highly others to consider the Italian Elegance Tour as a great way to experience the many facets of the Italian way of read more life. So many places, so many things, so many great experiences. Loved it all and would love to go and do it all again (come on Lotto). Our sincere thanks - job done well.
