Trafalgar Reviews
The 1,795 Trafalgar reviews listed below are from past clients of Global Journeys that have travelled with Trafalgar. Each review has been individually verified by our team.
The 1,795 Trafalgar reviews listed below are from past clients of Global Journeys that have travelled with Trafalgar. Each review has been individually verified by our team.
What an action packed 18 day tour we experienced travelling through Europe with Trafalgar. We loved everywhere we visited and learnt so much from our extremely knowledgeable tour guide. All the optional extras (which included many dinners) were wonderful & worth the extra we paid for them. These also gave us the opportunity to get to know our fellow read more coach travellers and we all had such fun and have made some great memories and friendships.
Some of our accommodation was not what we expected to be Trafalgar standard, but overall pretty good.
Booking this trip through Georgie at Global Journeys was as always easy & great. The few hiccups we had were quickly sorted with Georgie’s help, and she was always helpful and prompt with my many questions. I would highly recommend Georgie and Global Journeys & look forward to many more trips to come.
Some of our accommodation was not what we expected to be Trafalgar standard, but overall pretty good.
Booking this trip through Georgie at Global Journeys was as always easy & great. The few hiccups we had were quickly sorted with Georgie’s help, and she was always helpful and prompt with my many questions. I would highly recommend Georgie and Global Journeys & look forward to many more trips to come.
I enjoyed the trip very much, there were a few hiccups, below quality hotels on two occasions, staff not understanding or letting you know a request could not be met. One dinner we had a guest on our table was left without a meal, very upsetting for people at the table. When we tried to sort it out with staff the Travel Director got angry with us, where read more if he had relayed instructions properly this should never had happened. On more than one occasion I asked a question of the Travel Director and was not polite in his answer. He discovered Ron was a nurse and sent all the sick passengers to see him, we are on holiday. He went out of his to humiliate me when out looking at historical site. When departing the coach, he completely ignored us, asked others if they needed help or taxis but just walked away from us with no goodbye or time of day. The Travel Director tended to waffle on a lot and lost our attention very quickly, I know from taking people away, you need to stick to basics, be polite at all times.
The other people on the coach made it great, they were very friendly, polite and enjoyed their company immensely. Loved the places we saw and visited and the other guides were awesome. My only other disappointment was when I asked about the last day in Paris and the office at Trafalgar replied with the wrong information, if they had informed me correctly we could have done other tours on that day with people of the coach. The office in London needs to train staff to be informed on little details of trips. I will definitely do another trip and have already started looking, I have also given details on the trip done to others.
The other people on the coach made it great, they were very friendly, polite and enjoyed their company immensely. Loved the places we saw and visited and the other guides were awesome. My only other disappointment was when I asked about the last day in Paris and the office at Trafalgar replied with the wrong information, if they had informed me correctly we could have done other tours on that day with people of the coach. The office in London needs to train staff to be informed on little details of trips. I will definitely do another trip and have already started looking, I have also given details on the trip done to others.
We have just returned from a most interesting tour of historic sites in Greece. This was our third tour with Trafalgar, each with exceptional tour guides (we call them ‘gems’). The world is becoming full of tourists so we recommend travelling with a tour group - in some places you could wait hours to gain admittance in searing heat as was the case all read more over Europe this year. Leanne, it was a pleasure working with you - efficient & good communication. We will return for your assistance for sure.
This tour is as described. A quick glimpse and historical account of Europe. Firstly, this is the second tour that my husband and I have taken with Trafalgar, booked through Global Journeys. If you are one who doesn't fare too well on long drives, then this tour is not for you. There are 2 days where all you do is drive through Europe in your coach. read more We had Bern, as our tour guide. She was fabulous. Loved to chat, but was very personable, friendly and very much approachable and knowledgeable of all areas visited.
Day to day consisted of time lines, mostly early, but this was to ensure you missed peak hour, got to spend more of your free time in locations and beat all the other tour buses to the rest stops/services. Hotels, look, going via a costsaver trip, there are costs saved to ensure the tour is within the budget you set. All places were clean and for my husband and I, were very spacious. However, European rooms are generally smaller. Most complaints come from American travellers. We were in Europe during their heatwave. Europe is not prepared for hot days. More often than not there are no air conditioning units and one of the hotels ran out of fans (literally fans were sold out in one of the areas we stayed). Most locations are safe to leave your window open when going to bed but we didn't.
We did all the optional experiences. Some couples went off and did their own thing. We knew that if we didn't join the optional experiences, we would have just stayed indoors and missed out on seeing and experiencing unique experiences for that location. Highlights was certainly the folklore evening and going up to the top of Mt Pilatus. The Arc De Triomphe and Eiffel Tower were amazing. Paris was certainly cleaner than I had been told. I didn't find it dirty at all.
Food. I'm lactose intolerant. Again, this is something that is very foreign in Europe. Patience and understanding is required, as they will offer alternatives which include other dairy or you will literally get three slices of orange and 2 slices of tin pineapple on your plate for dessert. If you have no limitations, you will have plenty of options.
Day to day consisted of time lines, mostly early, but this was to ensure you missed peak hour, got to spend more of your free time in locations and beat all the other tour buses to the rest stops/services. Hotels, look, going via a costsaver trip, there are costs saved to ensure the tour is within the budget you set. All places were clean and for my husband and I, were very spacious. However, European rooms are generally smaller. Most complaints come from American travellers. We were in Europe during their heatwave. Europe is not prepared for hot days. More often than not there are no air conditioning units and one of the hotels ran out of fans (literally fans were sold out in one of the areas we stayed). Most locations are safe to leave your window open when going to bed but we didn't.
We did all the optional experiences. Some couples went off and did their own thing. We knew that if we didn't join the optional experiences, we would have just stayed indoors and missed out on seeing and experiencing unique experiences for that location. Highlights was certainly the folklore evening and going up to the top of Mt Pilatus. The Arc De Triomphe and Eiffel Tower were amazing. Paris was certainly cleaner than I had been told. I didn't find it dirty at all.
Food. I'm lactose intolerant. Again, this is something that is very foreign in Europe. Patience and understanding is required, as they will offer alternatives which include other dairy or you will literally get three slices of orange and 2 slices of tin pineapple on your plate for dessert. If you have no limitations, you will have plenty of options.
My wife and I enjoyed this tour. The highlights were the Peles Castle in Romania, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Bulgaria, the place where Mother Teresa was born in Skopje, the coffee in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the beautiful sunset in Dubrovnik, the old town of Kotor in Montenegro, the Danube in Budapest, the dinner in the famous Gundel Restaurant including read more the New York Cafe in Budapest. The tour director 'Karl' was very helpful and efficient. All the hotel accommodation was excellent. The pace was enjoyable. We highly recommend this tour to anyone!
We rarely take bus tours but we’re very happy we did this one. Our Guide Betty was delightful, considerate, amusing, informative and being a local, gave us a valuable insight into Irish culture. Highly recommended to gain an appreciation of Ireland in a short time.
This was my first time on a bus tour, or any large tour. There were 40 and we all got on reasonably well. The tour leader Aine was full of interesting news information. The accommodation was very good. The tour included some evening meals which were of all good quality. The area we covered wasn’t too rushed and we saw wonderful scenery as well as interesting read more side tours. There were a few optional tours but they weren’t too expensive. I would recommend Insight and booking through Global Journeys.
WOW!!! Another great Insight! 7
Best of Eastern Canada and USA
Brian & Bernadette, VIC, Australia, Aug 2018
There were many highlights of this well-structured Insight tour. Our tour guide (Howie Geib) both inspired and amazed us with his knowledge of the history and geography of our track around North America. His boundless energy was infectious, and his eagerness to go the extra mile to keep us safe and incident free was amazing. We are happy to highly recommend read more this tour of Eastern Canada and the USA (and Howie).
It was relaxing and enjoyable knowing that we were being capably managed and all arrangements had been made. The accommodation was superb - quality and centrally located. The coach was comfortable and the wifi worked well (an improvement from our last trip). The driver was experienced and we had every confidence in his ability to navigate the more difficult read more roads encountered.
All cities chosen for stop-overs were good and provided variety. However, I would have preferred less time on the Costa del Sol and more time in Valencia. Some of the optional tours were disappointing and those that provided meals, these were disappointing. The travel directors are very knowledgeable as are the city guides. However, it would be helpful to receive written summaries of the background information, such as key historical dates. Overall this was a worthwhile tour and I would recommend it to others.
All cities chosen for stop-overs were good and provided variety. However, I would have preferred less time on the Costa del Sol and more time in Valencia. Some of the optional tours were disappointing and those that provided meals, these were disappointing. The travel directors are very knowledgeable as are the city guides. However, it would be helpful to receive written summaries of the background information, such as key historical dates. Overall this was a worthwhile tour and I would recommend it to others.
This trip is lovely and Rob is certainly is accredited for it. Thanks as well to Hannah and Global Journeys.
Trafalgar - Spain, Portugal and Morocco 5
Spain, Morocco and Portugal
Amanda, NSW, Australia, Jul 2018
Overall we thoroughly enjoyed our tour of Spain, Portugal and Morocco. We booked the tour with the understanding of the distance we would be travelling in the coach. Trafalgar planned the stops along the way very thoughtfully taking into account the passengers' needs and government requirements for drivers' rest breaks. We have been independent travellers read more for years and have taken tours recently with other tour companies. We were very happy with the itinerary and pace of the tour. The included highlights were very good however there appeared to be quite a number of optional tours offered, more than anticipated. Our group of travellers, mainly from Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada connected from the first day and had a great holiday together.
There were many positives in this tour however there was also some negatives that need to be mentioned. Firstly the fact that Trafalgar was unable to secure tickets to enable our group to visit Alhambra Palace in Granada. For us Alhambra was to be one of the highlights of Spain, and to receive a letter (dated three days earlier) on the coach seat to announce this was such a disappointment. This tour had been a guaranteed departure since the brochure was printed, so who didn’t secure the tickets? Of course another tour was substituted in another city, however we didn’t get to see Alhambra Palace.
Secondly we must make mention of our tour guide Philip Rogers. Philip was very knowledgeable on the history of the countries visited and a fluent linguist. Apart from those attributes Philip did not attempt to connect meaningfully with his guests at all. His timing of pointing out highlights along the road was poor, by the time he mentioned the highlight we had passed it, or there was no mention at all until a guest asked. We were also quite concerned about the way Philip handled the situation when one member of our group collapsed on the bus and appeared to be very ill, especially in regard to Philip’s and Trafalgar’s duty of care to the guest and group. Philip's religious preference heavily swayed his commentary and he engaged more with our Moroccan guide Nile than his guests.
In closing, we would suggest that Philip has lost touch with the expectations of guests on what is a high end tour. This was our first Trafalgar tour and after speaking with fellow passengers, many of whom are regular Trafalgar travellers, by far the majority agreed Philip was disinterested and probably past his best.
There were many positives in this tour however there was also some negatives that need to be mentioned. Firstly the fact that Trafalgar was unable to secure tickets to enable our group to visit Alhambra Palace in Granada. For us Alhambra was to be one of the highlights of Spain, and to receive a letter (dated three days earlier) on the coach seat to announce this was such a disappointment. This tour had been a guaranteed departure since the brochure was printed, so who didn’t secure the tickets? Of course another tour was substituted in another city, however we didn’t get to see Alhambra Palace.
Secondly we must make mention of our tour guide Philip Rogers. Philip was very knowledgeable on the history of the countries visited and a fluent linguist. Apart from those attributes Philip did not attempt to connect meaningfully with his guests at all. His timing of pointing out highlights along the road was poor, by the time he mentioned the highlight we had passed it, or there was no mention at all until a guest asked. We were also quite concerned about the way Philip handled the situation when one member of our group collapsed on the bus and appeared to be very ill, especially in regard to Philip’s and Trafalgar’s duty of care to the guest and group. Philip's religious preference heavily swayed his commentary and he engaged more with our Moroccan guide Nile than his guests.
In closing, we would suggest that Philip has lost touch with the expectations of guests on what is a high end tour. This was our first Trafalgar tour and after speaking with fellow passengers, many of whom are regular Trafalgar travellers, by far the majority agreed Philip was disinterested and probably past his best.
I was saddened for the trip to end as I made good lasting friendships and saw everything I needed to see in France. I would rate it better than the last trip with Trafalgar in the UK in 2013. Congratulations to Trafalgar's organisers. I also want to thank Global Journeys including my organiser Madeline from the start to finish, a special salute to her read more for keeping in touch throughout the booking and journey.
Thanks Juliet for helping us book our Grand Scandinavia tour with Insight Vacations at such a great price. Our tour guide Maja was excellent, so knowledgeable about everywhere we went. The local guides were also great and we all loved the bus driver Arpad. It was amazing how he maneuvered the bus around the hairpin bends. The scenery was amazing and read more it was great being able to sit back and look out the window rather than driving ourselves.
A Closer Look at Normandy, Brittany & the Loire Valley 4
Normandy, Brittany & The Loire Valley
Norma & Geoff, NSW, Australia, Jul 2018
The highlight of this one week tour was a better understanding of the D Day landings, the tactics involved and the unique advantage provided by the mulberry harbours. "Conquering" Mont St. Michel and relaxing in St. Malo were additional features we enjoyed. The trip was well conducted by Insight with Tour Director Shona providing high quality professional read more service and much comedy - all good fun. This was the seventh trip arranged by Global Journeys for us. Georgie Walpole has always provided excellent service and advice allowing us to proceed with confidence on our travels.
Wonderful Scottish Holiday 12
Scotland's Highlands, Islands and Cities
Leigh, ACT, Australia, Jul 2018
Trafalgar Tours was exceptional. The tour guide Kate was a Scot blessed with a sense of humor and a vast knowledge of her country which she delivered in an entertaining and lighthearted way. The pace of the tour allowed free time and the optional tours were excellent value. What set this tour apart was the opportunity to visit Northern Scotland, The read more Orkneys, The Isle of Skye as well as the islands of Mull and Iona. Definitely one of the highlights for us.
Best of Finland, Russia & the Baltic States 4
Terry, WA, Australia, Jul 2018
Great trip overall but at times it was a little rushed especially through the Baltic states of Latvia and Estonia. The Tour Director and Driver/s were excellent and the weather stayed perfect for all but a couple of days.
Enjoyed the trip and saw many interesting places 8
Inessa & Gdalia , VIC, Australia, Jul 2018
The itinerary was suitable for us and we thought it was very interesting. The coach was very good and director knew his stuff. Our only issue is that the age group was very old (between 65 - 75 years old mainly). I understand there is a range and that there will be some older people but most were much much older and it makes it hard to socialise and read more also in regard to speed at tours etc. We do think both Global Journeys and Trafalgar need to advise people so we can make a decision. Or maybe go at another time on the same tour with more appropriate travellers.
A few of the hotels were much further out and if you didn't do an optional tour you were stuck in the hotel with no transport. It's like we were being punished for not taking an optional tour. Trafalgar should at least offer those people to drop them in the centre and pick them up when the tour is over. Other companies do this.
A few of the hotels were much further out and if you didn't do an optional tour you were stuck in the hotel with no transport. It's like we were being punished for not taking an optional tour. Trafalgar should at least offer those people to drop them in the centre and pick them up when the tour is over. Other companies do this.
Feeling happy to travel with Trafalgar especially with great help from Hannah at Global Journeys who did everything to make the trip of our dreams come true.
We booked our trip through Jemma at Global Journeys and we were more than happy with the booking processes and the helpfulness of Jemma. We were a group of 6 adults and booked a Trafalgar Best of Britain tour commencing 14/7/18 seeing the hidden gems within England, Wales and Scotland.
We travelled during Britain's heatwave so it was extremely hot read more in England. We did have a problem with the hotel in York which had no a/c. Despite the hotels best efforts to obtain a pedestal fan for all rooms we missed out. Trafalgar is aware of this problem. If we were to go to Europe again we would probably go 2 months earlier or later to avoid the crowds in peak season and possible heat.
Despite this minor issue we had a great tour. Our tour director Anya and driver James were exceptional. Anya knew her job well and her personal attention to everyones needs and problems was first class. We were in a group of 48 consisting of 18 Aussies, 16 Americans, 12 Canadians and 2 South Africans. Everyone mixed well together and thoroughly enjoyed hearing the stories of our friends from other countries over a beer, wine and food.
My personal highlight was Scotland especially the spectacular scenery of the Highlands and the optional dinner show in Edinburgh. Thank you Jemma for booking us a wonderful holiday.
We travelled during Britain's heatwave so it was extremely hot read more in England. We did have a problem with the hotel in York which had no a/c. Despite the hotels best efforts to obtain a pedestal fan for all rooms we missed out. Trafalgar is aware of this problem. If we were to go to Europe again we would probably go 2 months earlier or later to avoid the crowds in peak season and possible heat.
Despite this minor issue we had a great tour. Our tour director Anya and driver James were exceptional. Anya knew her job well and her personal attention to everyones needs and problems was first class. We were in a group of 48 consisting of 18 Aussies, 16 Americans, 12 Canadians and 2 South Africans. Everyone mixed well together and thoroughly enjoyed hearing the stories of our friends from other countries over a beer, wine and food.
My personal highlight was Scotland especially the spectacular scenery of the Highlands and the optional dinner show in Edinburgh. Thank you Jemma for booking us a wonderful holiday.
Hannah Campbell managed our booking at short notice, it is our 4th tour booked with Hannah & Global Journeys. Well done yet again. It was a busy tour, travelling over 5800klm, long days of driving, early starts, and one night stop overs, some places with little to do or see there. For example there wasn’t a lot of choice when we had to find our own read more dinner in Narvik, there were only two restaurants an Asian and an Italian Pizza Parlour!
Our wonderful friendly driver Joseph kept us safe, especially on some scary fjord roads. Lena our Tour Director was knowledgeable of all the 4 countries we visited, and kept the tour on time. The Baltic Cruise from Stockholm to Helsinki through the archipelago was spectacular, but do question the brochures description of “High class sea-view cabin”. It was in fact a small cabin with bunks; it was a commercial ferry so extremely busy. The larger city hotels were adequate, linen and beds were of a good standard and some rooms offered robes and slippers. Although the quality of the bath towels in some of the hotels was most disappointing. I questioned one city hotel at the lack of soap; to be informed they had run out!!! As we travelled north the hotels became pretty basic, some double rooms plus luggage left little room to move around. Others lacked a safe, or tea/coffee facilities, which would have been welcomed after a long day of travelling. Another problem was the concept of a shower over the bath, difficult for older people.
Hotel breakfasts and dinners were varied, with something for everyone. When three or more coach tours were booked in at the same hotel, meal times often became a ‘bun fight’. I did not pay Insight prices to stand in a queue with an empty plate, only to then have to search for a vacant table. Alcoholic drinks i.e. beer in the hotel bars were very expensive. Believe discrimination was shown to coach tour guests, over regular guests. Especially in The Union Hotel at Geiranger, where guests were told they could not drink a cup of tea on the terrace, as it was for hotel guest only!!
The Geiranger Fjord is magnificent, with the Union Hotel built above the lake. Be prepared if you need to go down to the harbour to catch a cruise boat or do some shopping, you can walk down the roadway which extremely narrow and busy, or attempt the steel stairway. The Danish and Swedish optional dinners were acceptable but nothing out of the ordinary, the Russian dinner was very good. We had to leave the venues soon after dinner, leaving little time for a chat or to get to know other guests. The visit to the North Cape to view the midnight sun was totally disappointing, owing to the inclement weather which set in earlier in the day, and therefore should have been cancelled.
Favourite Included Experiences: Puijo Tower, Alaskan Husky farm with dinner, Viking Ship Museum, Geiranger Fjord, and Santa Claus Village. Favourite Optional Experiences: The Arctic Experience – Arctic Cruise, Fjord St Dalsnibba, Wilderness River Adventure, Vasa Galleon, Traditional Lapland Dinner and Reindeer Farm. Took 10 of 15 Optional Experiences, this cost Euro 1186 which exchanged to approx $3000!! So be prepared for this on top of the tour price. Scandinavia was an incredible tour, but also worked out very expensive.
Our wonderful friendly driver Joseph kept us safe, especially on some scary fjord roads. Lena our Tour Director was knowledgeable of all the 4 countries we visited, and kept the tour on time. The Baltic Cruise from Stockholm to Helsinki through the archipelago was spectacular, but do question the brochures description of “High class sea-view cabin”. It was in fact a small cabin with bunks; it was a commercial ferry so extremely busy. The larger city hotels were adequate, linen and beds were of a good standard and some rooms offered robes and slippers. Although the quality of the bath towels in some of the hotels was most disappointing. I questioned one city hotel at the lack of soap; to be informed they had run out!!! As we travelled north the hotels became pretty basic, some double rooms plus luggage left little room to move around. Others lacked a safe, or tea/coffee facilities, which would have been welcomed after a long day of travelling. Another problem was the concept of a shower over the bath, difficult for older people.
Hotel breakfasts and dinners were varied, with something for everyone. When three or more coach tours were booked in at the same hotel, meal times often became a ‘bun fight’. I did not pay Insight prices to stand in a queue with an empty plate, only to then have to search for a vacant table. Alcoholic drinks i.e. beer in the hotel bars were very expensive. Believe discrimination was shown to coach tour guests, over regular guests. Especially in The Union Hotel at Geiranger, where guests were told they could not drink a cup of tea on the terrace, as it was for hotel guest only!!
The Geiranger Fjord is magnificent, with the Union Hotel built above the lake. Be prepared if you need to go down to the harbour to catch a cruise boat or do some shopping, you can walk down the roadway which extremely narrow and busy, or attempt the steel stairway. The Danish and Swedish optional dinners were acceptable but nothing out of the ordinary, the Russian dinner was very good. We had to leave the venues soon after dinner, leaving little time for a chat or to get to know other guests. The visit to the North Cape to view the midnight sun was totally disappointing, owing to the inclement weather which set in earlier in the day, and therefore should have been cancelled.
Favourite Included Experiences: Puijo Tower, Alaskan Husky farm with dinner, Viking Ship Museum, Geiranger Fjord, and Santa Claus Village. Favourite Optional Experiences: The Arctic Experience – Arctic Cruise, Fjord St Dalsnibba, Wilderness River Adventure, Vasa Galleon, Traditional Lapland Dinner and Reindeer Farm. Took 10 of 15 Optional Experiences, this cost Euro 1186 which exchanged to approx $3000!! So be prepared for this on top of the tour price. Scandinavia was an incredible tour, but also worked out very expensive.
