Trafalgar Reviews
The 1,004 Trafalgar reviews listed below are from past clients of Global Journeys that have traveled with Trafalgar. Each review has been individually verified by our team.
The 1,004 Trafalgar reviews listed below are from past clients of Global Journeys that have traveled with Trafalgar. Each review has been individually verified by our team.
We did this Trafalgar tour starting 2 October and ending 10 October this year. It was a good time to go as we saw lots of beautiful colours ranging from bright yellow, orange and into reds and the weather was very good and mild. It is a very fast paced tour with mostly early starts and long days in the coach and late arrivals at our hotel. Not a lot read more of free time. Unfortunately our tour guide and coach driver had not done this tour before and I think we missed out on a lot of local knowledge and guidance (sometimes even where the public toilets were). The guide spent most of the trip on her phone googling answers to our questions or trying to find where the coach could park, or what road to take. Hence, we got lost and missed turns and had to backtrack often. One day we stopped at a town (Portland) which we apparently weren't supposed to visit but she tweaked the itinerary (meaning they took the wrong turn?). It was about 10.30 in the morning and we were told this was our lunch stop and we had a couple of hours free time. We all ended up buying take-away lunches and eating them back on the coach. She told us to go to the tourist info centre to find where the toilets were. I don't think this is good enough for a company like Trafalgar. We have travelled with them a few times and never experienced anything like this. Also the coach broke down inside Acadia National Park (one of the highlights) so we only saw half of the park. As I said, we did see some nice colours and the accommodations were mostly high standard. I would have rated it higher with a more experienced guide and driver. Booking with Global Journeys, as always was easy and hassle-free.
Cruise on Holland America was excellent 1
Warwick & Debbie, NSW, Australia, Sep 2016
Tour guide Isabelle wanted to keep a full pace on the tour which meant she didn't wait for everyone to get off the coach before heading off ( had to look way ahead to see where she had gone). There were a number of older/ slower people on this tour that she should have considered. Hotel in Quebec was below standard and not in a convenient location. read more The cruise on Holland America was excellent - great staff, food etc and the ports visited were stunning with the fall colours.
This was a good tour but was really busy. We saw plenty of wonderful natural phenomena and man made masterpieces, but covered around 2500 km in a week - a lot of coach time and very little free time. The tour director was way up there with the best. She had every attribute required to make the tour as good as possible. She worked hard, put herself out read more on many occasions, had a great sense of humour, was much more patient than I could ever be and really knew her stuff. Coach was comfy with wifi. Seat rotation. Driver was excellent. Meals and accommodation were fine. No complaints. Trafalgar are a professional company and we always appreciate the smoothness of their tours.
From start, with booking through Global Journeys till the end of the tour, everything went like clockwork. Yvonne Brooks of Global Journeys was prompt and attentive to all of our queries and requests. The Trafalgar Itinerary for 14 Days East Coast USA & Canada was comprehensive. Tour Director showed great initiative, tailoring our journey with interesting read more extras that were not mentioned in the itinerary. The driver was skilled and accommodating, making our journey safe and pleasant. We met many friendly travel companions and had a wonderful experience of unique culture (Amish Country), local food (lobster, clam chowder) and unforgettable sights (Autumn Colours). The only minor negative was the long drive on a couple of days with early start to the journey that made the trip hectic at times. Otherwise it was almost perfect.
Portugal was simply amazing. The people everywhere we went were friendly and helpful. Our tour director and drivers were excellent. The Be My Guest visit at a traditional stud ranch was fascinating. In terms of optional experiences - Monsaraz should not be missed. The last few days of the tour were crammed with different experiences - but it was exciting read more to see the walled medieval cities, the manor houses, the monastery even if it was a whirlwind! Global journeys were excellent - preparing a quote quickly and offering guidance. I am about to book a third trip with Global Journeys.
From the day Yvonne from Global Journeys contacted me with details of the trip the organisation and information provided couldn't have been better. The trip was fantastic, well organised, with very good hotels and connecting services. Optional extras on the tour were very good and we were in a position to miss highlights that we'd visited on a prior read more European trip. Overall we were very happy with our experience.
Edinburgh and Glasgow are great cities well worth exploring. The highlands are quite spectacular, however the day trip to the Isle of Skye was way too long. We left the hotel at 7.30am and didn't return until 5.45pm, most of that time sitting on the coach. This day trip was way too far and not worth the time and distance. We were told that Isle of Skye read more was a sought after destination by travellers however we didn't find it that fantastic at all, given that we spent so little time there, 90% of our time was on the coach getting there and back.
Online booking was handled very efficiently and the travel documents were received in plenty of time. The coach was full which meant, as a solo traveller, I was seated next to a "new friend" who chose not to communicate; reason unknown. It is always enjoyable travelling in the USA, broad smooth highways, and lots of interesting sights to see. Of the read more optional excursions I did, most were OK, except the jeep tour in Sedona which was disappointing since it did not visit the advertised sites of Cathedral Rock or the Chapel of the Holy Cross. There wasn't much time at some destinations. For example, arriving late in the afternoon at Santa Barbara at a hotel some distance from the town centre, meant there was no time to explore. The Tour Leader did a very good job organising and explaining logistical arrangements, leaving times, dinner times, etc. The commentary given on the coach was cheerful but not very informative. I would have liked to hear more about the region we were in, the issues facing the population in the past and present, the Indian wars, etc, and American life in general.
Our Tour Director, Jacqui Stark at Trafalgar was a class act. She was very knowledgeable and provided an interesting insight into each of the destinations along the tour. She worked tirelessly to ensure each person involved was able to experience what they desired to. The destinations visited and tours offered as "optionals" were excellent and well read more thought out. Our family really enjoyed this trip and recommend it to those personnel, particular those whom have never visited Europe before.
Great overview of Western Canada 2
Debbie & Warwick, NSW, Australia, Sep 2016
Tour guide Marlene & Driver Bob were excellent. Hotels were excellent. Saw so much wonderful scenery throughout the whole journey. The trip on The Canadian (in prestige class) was a highlight of the trip. Was a relaxing way to end the tour and each day on the train the scenery was different.
We have used Global Journeys before and find them very helpful and efficient. I will not hesitate to use them again for future Trafalgar tours. The Contrasts of Canada has all the highlights one would dream of seeing, what a wonderful experience. The VIA Canadian was a experience but this is a commuter train so it is a bit grubby, staff do not really read more have the interest of passengers. August/September is a good time of year to travel in Canada, temperature 25 degrees C. Pleasant temperature. All hotels are outstanding and beautiful and well located to towns. The fellow travelers were around the same age and easy going.
Went for out honeymoon and it was amazing! 8
Scenic Scandinavia and its Fjords
Wendy, QLD, Australia, Sep 2016
My husband and I went on this trip for our honeymoon and it was amazing. From initially booking the tour all the way through to the last day the customer service we received was outstanding. The scenery was beautiful and romantic. Our travel companions were lovely and friendly. This was our first trip overseas and the bar has been set so high. We would read more recommend everyone we know go on this trip. Especially while Catrin Griffiths is still the tour director. She was amazing, accommodating, friendly, patient, funny and kind. We cannot recommend this trip enough.
We toured Britain for 7 days and straight onto a 6 day European highlights tour thereafter, both with Trafalgar. I would highly recommend travelling with Trafalgar as everything was organised with regular stops along the way, photo opportunities and the tour directors have huge historical knowledge to impart. The accommodation was excellent and locations read more good and breakfasts to suit every taste, even gluten free! Global Journey's organised all the bookings, transfers and gratuities online and communicated well and everything ran like clockwork. Both trips were hugely enjoyable and we met some amazing people and had fun times.
Well worthwhile trip 5
Britain and Ireland Grandeur
Gary & Holly McLaughlin, SA, Australia, Sep 2016
A very good value and we'll paced tour. All persons connected with the tour from booking with Global Journeys to all Trafalgar staff could not be faulted. Great tour can only recommend to all travellers.
Fascinating trip through East coast United States and Canada 5
East Coast USA and Canada
John & Cindy Henderson, Qld, Australia, Sep 2016
We loved the trip and our tour director Adrian was great fun and very well informed as he had been doing this for a very long time We particularly loved Washington DC and were glad we had two nights there. We were a little disappointed in the hotel in New York but the rest of the hotels were great. Hannah from Global Journeys was extremely helpful and read more answered my emails promptly.
10 day Tastes & Sounds of the South (Trafalgar) 3
Tastes and Sounds of the South
G & P Coleman, NSW, Australia, Sep 2016
The accommodation was excellent except in New Orleans - hotel was just OK - although location was excellent. Too many "free" days, nothing to do in Nashville or Memphis on these days. Maybe tour options could be added here. Tour guide was great - tour on the whole was very enjoyable. Large number in group, some didn't bother to interact, nice to have read more people from other countries in group. Global Journeys was excellent, Hannah was always there to answer any questions - great service.
Tastes and sounds of the South 2
Tastes and Sounds of the South
Dianne Walsh, VIC, Australia, Sep 2016
I really enjoyed the relaxed tour to the USA. I had a trouble free booking experience with Global Journeys handling everything in a expertly fashion. Any queries were quickly dealt with so I was able to relax and enjoy my holiday. The coach travel was very comfortable with on coach wifi a bonus. Our tour director Gary was friendly, very knowledgeable read more and on hand for any queries. My only problem for the trip was my accommodation. Although the rooms were very nice my view was always to the back of the hotel with views of the car park. I expressed my disappointment on this and my view was quite different at our last hotel. I'm not sure just how the hotels relegate rooms, but this was the only drawback and was rectified once I mentioned this to our travel director. All up a great relaxed tour.
This tour of amazing Italy with its surprises around every corner was fantastic and the following comments are intended to be constructive. Leanne Duffield (our Global Journeys agent and website were A1! Tour Director - Federica - A1. Special mention here; She is so experienced, flexible, competent and lovely. Federica had to accommodate rearrangements read more of our schedules as there was another bus of 42 Concerto tourists and some of the places could not accommodate 84 people at once. She did this with ease, no disruptions and give us extras because of the changes. She was lovely to every one. Federica spent a lot of time on the first evening explaining Italian culture including hotel room size etc so as not to raise expectations. There were 42 or 44 on our tour (Americans, Australians and Kiwis). We all got on extremely well and on our last evening gathered to have drinks together.
Our Coach Driver was an excellent, careful driver and we felt very safe. The coach was just the best and we appreciated having Wifi. Re Gratuities - We did not know if we had pre paid these as all the other kiwis on tour had paid the gratuities when they booked their tour. It was embarrassing to find out on the last morning ours hadn't been. Federica was so nice about it (another story for another time!) The optional extras were the high lights for us and are must dos. It does make the tour much more expensive but we had budgeted for this before we left NZ. We were aware of others who just could not afford them and missed out on amazing experiences. This tour is definitely not 'at leisure'. Most days are full on and early starts. Definitely needs more time in Florence. We had just one day there. Suggest making the tour 11 days so two days in Florence.
Our Coach Driver was an excellent, careful driver and we felt very safe. The coach was just the best and we appreciated having Wifi. Re Gratuities - We did not know if we had pre paid these as all the other kiwis on tour had paid the gratuities when they booked their tour. It was embarrassing to find out on the last morning ours hadn't been. Federica was so nice about it (another story for another time!) The optional extras were the high lights for us and are must dos. It does make the tour much more expensive but we had budgeted for this before we left NZ. We were aware of others who just could not afford them and missed out on amazing experiences. This tour is definitely not 'at leisure'. Most days are full on and early starts. Definitely needs more time in Florence. We had just one day there. Suggest making the tour 11 days so two days in Florence.
The trip was set at a good pace and everything was extremely well organised. Our bus driver (Radik) was amazing - the best we have had. Loved Berlin, Budapest and Prague.
A wonderful journey that highlighted the major sites of Europe, made even more enjoyable by the amazing group of people I travelled with. Definitely gave me a taste of what Europe has to offer and plenty of ideas of where I would like to return to in the future.
