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.
Highlands and Loch Lomond cruise were the best parts 1
Best of Scotland
Jennifer Robertson, Australia, Oct 2011
Great organisation by agent Georgie Walpole, extremely efficient and hassle free. Tour of Scotland was very enjoyable, tour leader Tom was knowledgeable and organised and a pleasant guy. Bus new and comfortable and driver also exemplary. The guide at Edinburgh Castle was loud and self important and treated us like children. There is no doubt he is very read more knowledgeable but I think you could do better here. The whiskey distillery was not functioning when we visited and the guide was bored and boring. This was a big waste of time and every one who went agreed it was hopeless. Apart from these two minor problems the trip was all I hoped for. It gave me a glimpse of Scotland and I will return there for a longer holiday in future. The Highlands and Loch Lomond cruise were in my opinion the best part but of course that is just personal preference.
The 'Be My Guest' dinner was truly excellent 8
Highlights of France and Barcelona
John & Hayden Fowler, Australia, Oct 2011
We undertook two tours, the second of which was a Trafalgar tour of France and Spain, which was excellent, and with just 29 on board it was much easy to move around and to get to know people. The pace was slightly more relaxed than on our Globus UK tour. The Tour Guide, Martine Carr was extremely pleasant, competent, and had all the info at her fingertips. read more The driver also was very competent and managed to negotiate some very tight spots indeed. A couple of times he was caught out by his GPS on roads he was unfamiliar with, but it caused no real dramas. The Trafalgar tour coach was better than the Globus coaches as far as comfort was concerned. All accommodation was top notch, and the included meals were also excellent. Given that it was France and the 'Home of quality Wines' we were most disappointed with the poor wines we were served with our included meals though. The 'Be My Guest' dinner was truly excellent, but the optional Flaminco Dancing after the Farewell dinner in Barcellona was quite uninspiring. All the places we visited were fantastic and well worth seeing - particularly Paris, Monte Carlo, St Paul, & Montserrat Monastery amonst many others. There were a few very long days of travelling where some good tourist spots - even Wineries could have been included to break up the long hours sitting in the coach. The truck stops we used instead on the Freeways were very ordinary. The first long haul was from Bourges to a truck stop near Vichy, the second was from there to Lyon, the third was from Lyon to Chateauuneuf du Pape north of Avignon, the fourth was from Avignon to Nice, and the largest and most uninteresting haul was from Cannes to Barcelona with some very ordinary truckstops along the way. The long distances had to be done, but some enjoyable scenic/tourist breaks would have helped. Perhaps an extra day and stop overnight near Marseille could be considered to break up this last haul, or alternatively have a different tour that finishes at Nice or Marseille and their airports. Overall these minor negatives were outweighed by the fantastic places we visited and saw, and the expert commentary. The detailed tour information, patient guidance and help from Yvonne Brooks from Global Journeys was fantastic, and she made our first time overseas trip a hassle-free experience. I would strongly recommend this tours to anyone who wants to see a lot of France in a short time, who wants value for money, and is prepared to be 'busy'. (GJ: Review split over two tours taken.)
We wanted it to be perfect and hassle free...it was! 4
Grand European
Brian & Susan Loughland, Australia, Oct 2011
Brian and I have waited more than 20 years to do our first big European trip together, so we wanted it to be perfect and hassle free...it was! Our tour was brilliantly organised by Yvonne Brooks. At first we were a bit concerned using email and internet , but Yvonne was always in contact and quick to respond and alleviate any concerns. Our whole tour read more went off without a hitch! The tour leader, Howard Hazecamp was excellent and informative. He was very well organised, and even the riots in Rome and a pheasant hitting our bus, did not spoil our trip. Everything went off without a hitch , which we put down to the organisation and attention to detail displayed from the moment we decided to travel! The tour itself was fantastic, we had a great group of people on our tour which made it so much fun. The hotels were excellent and the places we saw and the experiences were unforgettable. We loved The Mt Pilatus Excursion, The Seine and Rhine River Cruises, The Gondolas in Venice - where we were serenaded, Pompeii, Positano, Assisi, Florence, Rome and of course Paris. The city by night tour was spectacular, finishing with the sparkling Eiffel Tower which Howard, took us to as a grand finale. We were so impressed with Howard who always took the time to ensure that every person on the tour was satisfied, all questions were answered and each person felt comfortable. We have shared so many photos and stories with friends and family. One of the highlights was at the end of our tour when flying home we wanted to have a 2 night stopover to break up the trip. Yvonne suggested and organised lovely little details such as a car to pick us up from Hong Kong Airport to take us to the Harbour Grand Hotel, (where we felt like celebrities) . We felt so pampered and spoilt that we arrived home in Australia relaxed and not overly jet lagged. Even when Qantas grounded the Fleet , we emailed Yvonne who sent a prompt reply and some suggestions as to what to do. (The flights resumed the next day and we were not affected thankfully!) We hear so many horror stories about people's trips overseas and I have to say our was not one of them. We loved every minute of it. Everything went seamlessly and we would put that down to the professionalism and organisation of every person we dealt with from the moment we decided to book our holiday . Thank you to Global Journeys and Trafalgar, we will have so many memories to treasure and share and we will certainly be recommending your companies to colleagues, family and friends!
Absolutely delighted with this tour 2
Wonders of Turkey (Small Group)
Alana, Rob & Georgia Buick, Australia, Sep 2011
We were absolutely delighted with this tour. The quality of the accommodation was excellent as were the included tours and all the meals. The bus was spacious, clean and very comfortable. The tour guide, Rashid Ergner, was exceptional. He had an amazing knowledge of all aspects of Turkey and even though Georgia was the only child on the tour she enjoyed read more this tour as much as us. We would highly recommend this Insight tour and would consider Insight again if we choose to tour again.
Catered very well for our interests in the history and culture 4
Gregory & Joan Stanton, Australia, Sep 2011
Had a great time. Very competent, helpful and knowledgeable tour director on the tour itself. Local guides superb. Coach driver a very able and careful driver. Program was one that catered very well for our interests in the history and culture of the countries that we visited. High standard of accommodation everywhere. Yvonne Brooks was our contact/tour read more consultant and we found her extremely helpful in answering our questions and providing us with information. A very efficient and pleasant person with whom to deal.
Great tour, excellent scenery, coaches and hotels well appointed and comfortable. Guide and driver very good.
I would thoroughly recommend this tour 2
Country Roads of France
Elizabeth & Gerard Marshall, Australia, Sep 2011
Country Roads of France' was a really enjoyable tour. Probably the best way to see the 'real' France. Travelling through the countryside and seeing all the villages was delightful. The upgrade to the Fairmont at Monte Carlo was a bonus. I would thoroughly recommend this tour.
Very good tour, short, but the scenery was magnificent, staff were excellent and quality of accommodation was first class.
I was the only solo traveller, and was made very welcome 3
European Cavalcade
Janice Fitzsimmons, Australia, Sep 2011
I had a wonderful time, although very tired at the end as it seemed to be go, go, go. We had lots of free time, in some places it was too long in others too short. Unfortunately most of Europe was having an Indian Summer which caught all of us out as we had packed for cool to cold weather so my suggestion would be to suggest to any other travellers read more doing this tour at this time of the year packing for all kinds of conditions eg. 1/2 & 1/2. I met some wonderful people from a wide range of backgrounds and seeing that I was the only one travelling alone I was made very welcome and never left out of anything and they all looked after me even though I was quite capable of doing so myself, I just let them look after me. The bathrooms in a few of the hotels were a bit on the small side especially for those travelling as a couple but I was fine. The food was delicious and definitely too much (3 course meals each night). I have one complaint is that sometimes we arrived at our hotel late and only had time to put our carry-on luggage into our rooms before having to head to the restaurant for our dinner, some of us would have liked to have time to at least freshen up a little before having to go to dinner. I'm not sure what Trafalgar can do about that situation. Apart from the bathrooms, weather and arrivals at the hotels, as I said before i had a wonderful time and would recommend this tour.
Very energetic tour, fell in love with Italy 1
Italian Escapade
Maureen & Michael King, Australia, Sep 2011
The Insight tour was great, very energetic. We really enjoyed the tour and fell in love with Italy. The accommodation was great, the hotels which were chosen couldn't be better. The food unfortunately was very ordinary compared to the Uniworld cruise we went on. The Tour director was wonderful and the tour guides were good. All in all very good time was had by all.
The organisation was impeccable 2
Britain and Ireland Highlights
Beverley Eyles, Australia, Sep 2011
Trafalgar First Class tour of Best of Britain & Ireland Highlights for 8 days was excellent. The organisation was impeccable with tour guide Amy Pomeroy doing an extraordinary job of coordinating our arrivals at accommodation (our room keys were always ready within 5 minutes) and sight seeing destinations to ensure that all available time was accounted read more for in this jam packed adventure. Amy ensured travellers were aware of their duties with regard to punctuality etc and this made the trip even more enjoyable as we did not spend time waiting for people who overslept or overstayed at travel stops. Outstanding job Amy! Martin and John our drivers have amazing driving skills. We felt safe in their hands. The accommodation was excellent and comfortable. Thankyou for organising this wonderful tour.
I found Georgie to be an excellent Travel Agent - always willing to answer my many questions about my Tour of Italy. The Insight 10 days Best of Italy was amazing, I saw many more sights than I expected - our Tour Guide was fun and very professional. When I go on another tour, I will be contacting Georgie at Global Journeys for any assistance that I need.
Wonderful trip, we had such a great time 1
European Grandeur
Gary & Jennifer Corben, Australia, Sep 2011
Jenny and I returned today from our trip to England and Europe today (25 October 2011). Many thanks to Insight and to Global Journeys for co-ordinating our travel itinerary. Our transfers and accommodation in London (Thistle Marble Arch) were great and we enjoyed our 5 or so days in London. The Insight 'European Heritage Tour' was one of the best spent read more 34 days of our life. At first I was cautious about spending 34 days touring Europe in a coach but the experience turned out to be fabulous. The coaches used by Insight are set up for 40 people rather than the 50 plus seat coaches. Plenty of leg room to lay-back when you are tired, scheduled breaks every two hours or so. Every hotel met or exceeded our expectation. Nobody could ever complain about the high standards of accommodation provided by Insight on this tour. Our tour commenced in London on 15 September with around 30 passengers, two couples were from Canada and the remainder were Aussies. Some left the tour in Athens where another 8 passengers joined us, yes, another 8 Aussies!
The included tours, excursions and meals were excellent as was the included three-night Greek Island Cruise. I will be writing to Insight separately to acknowledge the great time we had. However, such times are only achieved through great planning, coordination and teamwork between Insight, the tour director and the coach driver not to mention a wonderful group of fellow passengers. Betty Griffiths, our tour director and Dino, our Italian driver, are true professionals, noteworthy organisers, good companions and great representatives for Insight. When we were approaching the Greek border from Albania we learnt that the border was closed for our coach. Betty and Insight arranged for a Greek Coach to meet us on the Greek side of the border to transfer us and our baggage for the next two days then onward to Athens. The paper work needed for our coach to cross the border to Greece could not be processed because the public servants were on a 48 hour strike. As you are probably aware the Greek Government has imposed severe austerity measures because of the EU monetary crises. At first it looked as though we would have to take our bags off our coach and trolley them 850 metres down the road (being no-man's land between the Albanian and Greek border). Alas, Betty convinced the Albanian Police to drive her down to the Greek border and then got permission to drive our coach down the 850 metres of road to make the baggage transfer much easier. How easy was that? Dino had to stay with his coach in Albania for the duration of the two day strike in Greece. He ultimately met up with us in Athens. Upon arrival at our first night in Greece (Ioannina) one couple received sad news of the death of a close family member and they needed to urgently return to Australia. Their timely return would not have been possible without Betty Griffiths. At short notice Betty went to unprecedented lengths to coordinate their departure from Greece, albeit during a 48 hour general strike.
A truly remarkable tour director! Betty and Dino should be commended, they were just great. On another day, when leaving Athens, we were passing the Greek Parliament, red traffic light and the coach was surrounded by about 300 protesting students. No panic, five or so minutes delay and off again. All of these exciting extras at no extra charge! What more could you ask? Finally a big thanks to Yvonne Brooks at Global Journeys for all of her help in organising this wonderful trip, we had such a great time. The standard of service and follow up to every question that I raised was quickly satisfied. We received all of our travel documents on time. Global Journeys were very efficient. Who said that great holidays cannot be successfully organised on the internet? I will be recommending Global Journeys to all of our friends. (Ed: Review based on slightly different itinerary. Trip name and itinerary updated this season)
The included tours, excursions and meals were excellent as was the included three-night Greek Island Cruise. I will be writing to Insight separately to acknowledge the great time we had. However, such times are only achieved through great planning, coordination and teamwork between Insight, the tour director and the coach driver not to mention a wonderful group of fellow passengers. Betty Griffiths, our tour director and Dino, our Italian driver, are true professionals, noteworthy organisers, good companions and great representatives for Insight. When we were approaching the Greek border from Albania we learnt that the border was closed for our coach. Betty and Insight arranged for a Greek Coach to meet us on the Greek side of the border to transfer us and our baggage for the next two days then onward to Athens. The paper work needed for our coach to cross the border to Greece could not be processed because the public servants were on a 48 hour strike. As you are probably aware the Greek Government has imposed severe austerity measures because of the EU monetary crises. At first it looked as though we would have to take our bags off our coach and trolley them 850 metres down the road (being no-man's land between the Albanian and Greek border). Alas, Betty convinced the Albanian Police to drive her down to the Greek border and then got permission to drive our coach down the 850 metres of road to make the baggage transfer much easier. How easy was that? Dino had to stay with his coach in Albania for the duration of the two day strike in Greece. He ultimately met up with us in Athens. Upon arrival at our first night in Greece (Ioannina) one couple received sad news of the death of a close family member and they needed to urgently return to Australia. Their timely return would not have been possible without Betty Griffiths. At short notice Betty went to unprecedented lengths to coordinate their departure from Greece, albeit during a 48 hour general strike.
A truly remarkable tour director! Betty and Dino should be commended, they were just great. On another day, when leaving Athens, we were passing the Greek Parliament, red traffic light and the coach was surrounded by about 300 protesting students. No panic, five or so minutes delay and off again. All of these exciting extras at no extra charge! What more could you ask? Finally a big thanks to Yvonne Brooks at Global Journeys for all of her help in organising this wonderful trip, we had such a great time. The standard of service and follow up to every question that I raised was quickly satisfied. We received all of our travel documents on time. Global Journeys were very efficient. Who said that great holidays cannot be successfully organised on the internet? I will be recommending Global Journeys to all of our friends. (Ed: Review based on slightly different itinerary. Trip name and itinerary updated this season)
I loved the tour. The Tour Director was terrific, couldn't fault him in any way and my fellow travellers were also terrific. So much fun was had by all. Also I would like to thank Yvonne Brooks who was my Travel Consultant. She answered all my concerns and made all my travel plans so much easier without causing any pressure on me. When I decide on where read more to go for my next trip, Yvonne will be the one I email. Thank you Yvonne and thank you Trafalgar.
Enjoyed my tour of Europe and my London week last year with Trafalgar would certainly use Global Journeys again. My tour consultant Yvonne was a wonderful help with any questions or problems I had, which is essential when dealing with someone over the phone or by email, everything went to plan.
Our entire bus journey was fantastic 1
European Cavalcade
Margaret & Dennis Arkell, Australia, Sep 2011
The tour leader Annette Suttie was full of information on every place we called into and all the sites and extras were just great. The coach driver that we had was an Italian his name was Pino Bastiano and with him in charge we all just had such a relaxing journey as far as we didn't need to worry about his driving, he was just so good. Meet lovely read more people and we just had a great time. If I could have one small bitch it is that the hotels don't have tea and coffee facilities in Europe and also an iron.
Unlikely to recommend Trafalgar in the future 3
London to Rome Highlights
Alana, Rob & Georgia Buick, Australia, Sep 2011
I will start with the positives - the quality of the hotels were very good for the price we paid, as were the included meals and breakfasts. The included tours were also good and the local guides were excellent. The optional extras were quite expensive and cost us an extra EUR1400, however we did enjoy them all so can't really complain. We found the read more tour director to be quite condescending and seemed to treat the passengers like children - even Georgia (9 years old) commented at one point that she felt like we were being treated like babies. I understand that a lot of people who go on tours are first time travellers, however being treated this way didnt leave a good impression. The coach was extremely cramped down the back where we ended up for the majority of the trip (in fact Georgia spent 3 days on the back seat because the tour director seemed to play favourites with some people and wouldn't enforce a seat rotation with them). This makes us highly unlikely to recommend Trafalgar in the future.
Would very much recommend this tour 1
Best of Spain & Portugal
Elizabeth & Gerard Marshall, Australia, Sep 2011
Really enjoyed the 'Best of Spain & Portugal'. Tour guide was very professional but relaxed. Places visited were very interesting. Loved the fact that there was so much leg room on the bus. Enjoyed the Spanish lifestyle.
The Insight tour to Northern Europe Capitals and Russia was generally excellent. The Tour Director and Driver were both excellent and very caring. The Tour Director was most knowledgeable and at times humourous in her commentary. The accommodation was first class with exception of Vitebsk in Belarus which was a poor Russian concrete construction hotel read more with poor facilities. Meals where provided, were first class with exception of Vitebsk, where we were given our Russian ration. My greatest critisim was the local tour leader in Berlin who had great difficulty in filling in an hour let alone filling in 2 hours of the tour, given Berlin with its recent history since WW2. I received more information talking to a German man alongside the Berlin Wall. The tour guide in Vitebsk seemed to being giving the tour party the local Communist line on how good the city was and how well the people were treated by the Russians. The visit to the Marc Chagall home was a waste of time as the tour group (cut in two), rooms were so small for the tour party that crowded into the house to hear the Guides (translated from Russian) that they could not see the paintings/photographs on the walls. The Chagall Museum and its etchings were not generally appreciated by the tour party and it had a limited appeal to audiences. It appeared the visits to the Chagall locations were a fill-in as there was nothing better to see in Vitebsk. By comparision the visit to Vilnius, with a similiar history to Vitebsk, was brilliant. Overall the tour was both educational and entertaining and the tour group mixed very well to make a happy time. Would highly recommend Insight tours.
Hectic but enjoyable, we saw all that we wanted 2
Best of Italy
Jim & Judith Samuel , Australia, Sep 2011
This was the very first bus tour my husband and I had experienced. My husband had always said he would not go on one. Well he has now changed his mind. We had a wonderful tour. It was hectic but enjoyable and we saw all that we wanted. Our tour guide Belinda Richardson was an absolute gem. So knowledgeable and enthusiastic, we could not have had better. read more The bus with it extra legroom was much appreciated and the hotels generally were more than acceptable. The only hiccup was in Assisi, the meal was awful everyone complained, but all the rest were magnificent (not good for the waistline). So thank you Global Journeys for a wonderful trip. We certainly hope to do another one!
