Trafalgar Reviews
The 999 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.
4.6
5 Star
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1 Star
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.
Eastern Europe adventure 2
Highlights of Eastern Europe
Janelle & Richard Lamont, ACT, Australia, Sep 2016
We saw wonderful things and learnt a lot about that part of Europe. It was a fascinating and enjoyable adventure. Trafalgar staff were very professional and all we had to do was to enjoy the trip. Visiting beautiful Lake Bled in Slovenia was a real highlight for us.
We thoroughly enjoyed our Grand European trip! The pace and the itinerary were perfect for us. Absolutely everything was taken care of, and we'd definitely do another Trafalgar tour. Our tour director Emile was fantastic and he really made sure everybody had not just a good time, but an amazing time. His dedication and passion for Europe really shone read more through and his stories and knowledge of the areas visited were exceptional. We booked our tour through Global Journeys and our consultant, Hannah Campbell, was wonderful! She answered all our questions promptly and took care of everything. Thank you Hannah!! We wouldn't hesitate to book our next tour through Global Journeys.
Overall it was an excellent tour, saw so much in 18 days, pace was a little tiring at times, not always enough time in some of the cities to just wander around and soak in the atmosphere. The 2 night stops made the pace better. Hotels were excellent, good size rooms and meals, only negative with accommodation was same people always got the rooms with read more a view, not just any view but of the grand canal in Venice, Mt Vesuvius in Sorrento, Lake Lucerne in Lucerne. Needs to be a fairer way to ensure these rooms are shared more equitably, it wasn't only us that missed out but it was the same 8 or so names at the top of the list that got the view rooms.
Optional excursions made the tour price expensive, 17 optionals is a lot, and these cut into any free time you might have. Night time optionals were good fun though. Thought the Galleria Academia was very expensive when we really only wanted to see statue of David, local guide was informative but really didn't need all that. We didn't do 2 of optionals as had done them on a previous tour. Tour inclusions were excellent, tour director was diligent in getting us to Sistine Chapel and Pompeii early before the crowds which made things much easier. Would certainly book with Global Journeys again, prompt efficient service.
Optional excursions made the tour price expensive, 17 optionals is a lot, and these cut into any free time you might have. Night time optionals were good fun though. Thought the Galleria Academia was very expensive when we really only wanted to see statue of David, local guide was informative but really didn't need all that. We didn't do 2 of optionals as had done them on a previous tour. Tour inclusions were excellent, tour director was diligent in getting us to Sistine Chapel and Pompeii early before the crowds which made things much easier. Would certainly book with Global Journeys again, prompt efficient service.
Really great trip through Portugal, a country with very varied landscape. Travel through cork plantations to grapes for the famous port, then down the coast to fishing villages. The hotels were close to city centres.
This tour was an ideal introduction for us as 1st time travelers to Europe. It covered all the major landmarks and attractions that we were personally interested in. Anyone with the slightest interest in European history, art or architecture will not be disappointed. For those that aren't, the scenery is spectacular - particularly in Switzerland and read more Austria. Our tour director Stephen Pearce was outstanding. His insider knowledge and attention to detail was first class, Our trip ran like clockwork. Even when weather and traffic threatened to derail our planned activities he still managed to get us where we needed to be on time. I would suggest that you take all or most of the optional experiences on this tour. Those of our group that didn't were pretty much left to their own devices while the rest of us were away.
It needs to be noted that there is a lot of walking on this tour and quite a few stairs to take to see the best views in some locations. The Colosseum in Rome and Mt Pilatus in Switzerland being just two sites where you will need to climb several steep staircases. I was disappointed with the so called "luxury" coach. Although it was practically brand new it was not my idea of luxury. It was no more comfortable than the average council bus. It certainly did not live up to the dictionary definition of luxury i.e. "conducive to sumptuous living, usually a delicacy, elegance, or refinement of living rather than a necessity". The overall accommodation was very good however the pretour accommodation at the Euston Thistle was less than satisfactory for the price that was charged. The Premier Inn Waterloo is right next door to the Trafalgar Departure Centre and is a much better option in my view. In spite of these few minor complaints I would definitely recommend this tour for fit, able bodied 1st time Europe tourists. It was a hassle free way of seeing Europe and well worth the price.
It needs to be noted that there is a lot of walking on this tour and quite a few stairs to take to see the best views in some locations. The Colosseum in Rome and Mt Pilatus in Switzerland being just two sites where you will need to climb several steep staircases. I was disappointed with the so called "luxury" coach. Although it was practically brand new it was not my idea of luxury. It was no more comfortable than the average council bus. It certainly did not live up to the dictionary definition of luxury i.e. "conducive to sumptuous living, usually a delicacy, elegance, or refinement of living rather than a necessity". The overall accommodation was very good however the pretour accommodation at the Euston Thistle was less than satisfactory for the price that was charged. The Premier Inn Waterloo is right next door to the Trafalgar Departure Centre and is a much better option in my view. In spite of these few minor complaints I would definitely recommend this tour for fit, able bodied 1st time Europe tourists. It was a hassle free way of seeing Europe and well worth the price.
