Home > Compare Tour & Adventure Operators > Collette vs Cosmos
Collette vs Cosmos
Compare the travel styles, pricing, destinations and popularity of Collette and Cosmos.The Low Down
While new to the Australian market in 2017, Collette have actually been operating since 1918. Offering coach touring and small group explorations around the world, you won't find too many Aussies and Kiwis on their trips yet, but clients of ours that haven taken the plunge over the last season have come back with very positive reviews. Collette is very popular in the US and now has offices and support in Australia, Canada and the UK too. Collette market their trips as 4 star accommodation with 5 star service and inclusions - so if that sounds like your cup of tea, then how about this - Collette also includes a roundtrip home to airport chauffeur service for those within a 40km radius of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, Darwin, Cairns and Hobart airports.
A lot of our clients aren't too fussed about their accommodation (as long as it's clean and comfortable) and are more interested in the destination. Over 1,200 past client reviews with an average 4.5 out 5 star rating, is impressive. Why? Great value and interesting itineraries. Part of the Globus Family, there are further great discounts to be had.Accommodation is 3 to 3/12 star, but a lot of our clients are pleasantly surprised at the quality. Hotels are often located out of the city centre, so prepare your trip budget to allow for transfers or taxis if you want to explore the cities on your own. Allow extra funds for some meals and excursions not included in more premium inclusive itineraries. Like our past clients, we feel very comfortable recommending Cosmos.
Stats
No. of Trips
182
No. of Departures
5,630
Avg. Trip Length
10 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$545
Accommodation
4 Star
Budget
Premium
No. of Trips
190
No. of Departures
2,576
Avg. Trip Length
14 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$381
Accommodation
3 - 4 Star
Budget
Affordable
Trip Styles Coach Tours
In Their Own Words We asked the travel companies themselves why you should travel with them
At Collette, we consider everyone who travels with us to be our personal guest. Every moment matters to us because we know it matters to you. This may be because at heart we are a family owned company that has been in business for 100 years. It may be because our team are passionate about sharing their own love of travel and uncovering mysteries.
Choosing Collette comes with benefits that take your guided travel experience to another level. Our inclusive tours provide you more value for your money and more of what makes travel special. Let us show you the world!
At Cosmos, we like to think of ourselves as experts in ‘thrillology’ – the art of bringing you an experience, time and time again. With over 50 years of ‘wow’ under our belts and no sign of slowing down, we know how to curate value touring holidays that you’ll never forget; creating the experiences you’ve always dreamed of and showing you the ones, you never thought of. Our job is to take care of the planning and logistics, so that all you have to focus on is living your dreams!
Recent Reviews
4.5
My friend and I had a great time on this tour. We loved our tour manager Rosario, he was excellent and showed us elements of Sicily & Malta that we could never have done on our own. We also loved our bus driver Antonio, he also was excellent and had the added bonus of being a great musician, entertaining us when he finished driving for the day, much ...read more appreciated! We met new friends in our lovely group of 22, they were fun and interesting, mostly from USA with a couple of other Aussies. We were very sorry to leave them all & plan another tour for hopefully next year. Our hotels, guides & pre planned meals were all top notch. Thank you.
A fast paced tour showing what Italy has to offer. Commencing in Rome we basically had 2 nights stay at Sorrento, Florence, Venice and Stresa. We had stops along the way to such places as Pompeii, Pisa, and Verona. My highlight was the 1 hour bus trip each way up to Simplon Pass in the Swiss Alps whilst staying in Stresa. We had 42 in our group and ...read more it was a very friendly tour consisting of 35 Americans and 7 Australians. Clarissa was our fantastic Tour Leader and Gian Carlo was our excellent coach driver. You have to be reasonably agile and fit for this tour as there is a lot of walking on uneven cobblestone streets and paths. Although there was a lot of distance covered every couple of days, it was a great tour and we would travel with Collette again.
I’ve just returned from a 14 day Collette tour of Ireland. An initial google search led me to Global Journeys, and a very efficient agent, Rachael, was assigned to look after me. The planning and booking process was smooth and any queries I had, Rachael was very timely in her response. The tour itself was amazing. No words to describe the beauty of ...read more Ireland and the friendliness of its people. Our tour manager and driver were excellent. I highly recommend Global Journeys to organise your dream holiday.
Collette are a US company and cater to those needs of that market, so accommodation was in general of very good quality and the lovely group of people were almost all well travelled and return clients. There was care taken with food and water quality, and excellent qualifed Egyptologist guide in Egypt who gave us an excellent experience. The quality ...read more of the Nile cruise was outstanding, a beautiful ship with great food, no comparison with the other ships we saw doing the same route except possibly the dedicated river cruise companies. Worth noting that while this was peak season, supposedly cooler it was unseasonably and often unbearably hot, often 45-47 degrees, which produced a real aircon problem at our Nubian hotel. And the crowds were horrendous everywhere- our guide did a good job of getting us places when crowds were minimal. His expertise and kindness were exceptional.
The Jordan guide was fairly uninterested in our group - it was just a job for him, he never knew our names or tried to help anyone having difficulties, resulting in some dissatisfaction, but he was competent. The wonders of Egypt are amazing, but there is a cost in patience and resilience - the pace is pretty relentless at times, getting around to everything, and there are relentless vendors and demands for tipping. Our guide really tried to mitigate this and it was a quality experience, helped by only 23 people, who were all such enjoyable companions.
The Jordan guide was fairly uninterested in our group - it was just a job for him, he never knew our names or tried to help anyone having difficulties, resulting in some dissatisfaction, but he was competent. The wonders of Egypt are amazing, but there is a cost in patience and resilience - the pace is pretty relentless at times, getting around to everything, and there are relentless vendors and demands for tipping. Our guide really tried to mitigate this and it was a quality experience, helped by only 23 people, who were all such enjoyable companions.
This was such a great tour. The accommodation was excellent with a friendly and cultural feel. Lots of great meal inclusions which was a surprise. The included activities were varied and fun. This was really due to the tour guide, bus driver, local guides and of course our fellow passengers. I would recommend this tour in a heartbeat!
The whole trip to Norway was one long highlight. There was so much to see and do that we were happily exhausted at the end of each day. We have never taken so many photos. Everywhere you look is another photo opportunity. The food was too good.
4.5
Beautiful country, pleasant and knowledgeable tour guide and skilful bus driver. Very congenial group of only 23 which made this Cosmos experience most enjoyable.
What an incredible 2 week global journey through the Canadian Rockies hosted by 10/10 Tour Director, Sharon Sawatzky, paired with highly skilled coach driver, Mike. Spring was a great time to go to see endless stunning scenery, lakes (although some still covered with ice, so not showing their usual colour), snow on the mountain peaks & an abundance ...read more of wildlife, including bears
(on several occasions) moose, elk, mule deer, orcas, ground squirrels, coyote cubs, marmot, bald eagle fledglings.
The accomodation was generally very good, the stopover towns that included free days were very well chosen. There was a good range of optional extra tours. Highlight for me was finally getting all the way to Jasper this time, travelling along the Icefields parkway, one of the top 4 most beautiful highways in the world & also the Ice Explorer experience on the Athabasca glacier, not to mention the wildlife sightings. Early morning snow in Banff then the weather clearing so we could do the gondola ride to Sulphur Mountain, the views down into the valley & the boardwalk to the summit.
Whistler was almost as beautiful as I remember, however Autumn/Fall is definitely the best time with the lovely colours in the leaves, although the tulips provided a lovely splash of colour this time. Sun Peaks was a beautiful little alpine ski village. Mt. Robson was a sight to behold. The Capilano suspension bridge, skywalk & boardwalk in North Vancouver are a must see & Granville Is. markets on the waterfront were fantastic. Soooo many highlights really, never-ending spectacular scenery, some great memories & wonderful new friendships made.
Sharon's commentary was fantastic. Her extensive knowledge of each area we visited, the history, facts, stats was mindblowing. Her great sense of humour was enjoyed by all. She was very well organised, patient, extremely helpful & easy to get along with. Nothing was any trouble to her. Mike's driving skills were impressive. We always felt safe irrespective of what terrain or weather we were travelling in. Overall, 10/10 for this amazing tour. Very highly recommended.
(on several occasions) moose, elk, mule deer, orcas, ground squirrels, coyote cubs, marmot, bald eagle fledglings.
The accomodation was generally very good, the stopover towns that included free days were very well chosen. There was a good range of optional extra tours. Highlight for me was finally getting all the way to Jasper this time, travelling along the Icefields parkway, one of the top 4 most beautiful highways in the world & also the Ice Explorer experience on the Athabasca glacier, not to mention the wildlife sightings. Early morning snow in Banff then the weather clearing so we could do the gondola ride to Sulphur Mountain, the views down into the valley & the boardwalk to the summit.
Whistler was almost as beautiful as I remember, however Autumn/Fall is definitely the best time with the lovely colours in the leaves, although the tulips provided a lovely splash of colour this time. Sun Peaks was a beautiful little alpine ski village. Mt. Robson was a sight to behold. The Capilano suspension bridge, skywalk & boardwalk in North Vancouver are a must see & Granville Is. markets on the waterfront were fantastic. Soooo many highlights really, never-ending spectacular scenery, some great memories & wonderful new friendships made.
Sharon's commentary was fantastic. Her extensive knowledge of each area we visited, the history, facts, stats was mindblowing. Her great sense of humour was enjoyed by all. She was very well organised, patient, extremely helpful & easy to get along with. Nothing was any trouble to her. Mike's driving skills were impressive. We always felt safe irrespective of what terrain or weather we were travelling in. Overall, 10/10 for this amazing tour. Very highly recommended.
We both thoroughly enjoyed the tour through Central Europe. The tour guide George and driver Salvatore were both excellent and kept everyone on track. The local guides were experts in their specific regions and enhanced our understanding of the history and events that shaped each country. The hotels were comfortable and the included meals made the ...read more longer days easier to handle.
All in all I have no real complaints but a couple of suggestions for improvements. The first day in Vancouver (Sun 12/5) could have been better spent actually visiting attarctions rater than driving past them - pointing this is so & so and on the coach leg of the tour we double tracked a number of times to meet timing of attraction schedules. I think ...read more this can be better planned so we are not wasting 1/2 day travelling unnecessarily.
I had a great time on this Cosmos tour. Both the tour director and bus driver were so good and professional at their jobs. They went above and beyond ensuring all travellers were happy and satisfied. We also had a good group travelling together who all got on well. The scenery and places visited were very beautiful and unforgettable. The hotels were ...read more overall very good. Weather wise we were had it good with only 1 day not being the best.
Finally the booking process with Global Journey’s and my agent Hannah was both user friendly and faultless. Thank you.
Finally the booking process with Global Journey’s and my agent Hannah was both user friendly and faultless. Thank you.
Trip well organized in general, good group, but good and bad details as usual.
Hotels 3* with very basic facilities (missing hot water/coffee facilities and fridge in all hotels, except one) and medium/small size room, but comfy. Great beds! Some were quite distant from the city center but most were manageable. Hotels' staff were good and fluent ...read more in English. Our Guide was a lovely guy, gentle, polite and calm. Good basic knowledge about touristic sites, however some times the communication of plans with the group were not so clear, generating some frustrations amongst some (and almost "forgotten luggage at lobby of hotel" one one occasion!), but in general very responsible and caring in all aspects. Always trying to help as he could in some unplanned bad situations. eg. Forgotten mobile on highway restaurant!
Our Driver was polite and a good driver, I suppose, despite a bit of more opening to help, maybe bending a bit the time schedule, could have saved a lot of stress on the "forgotten mobile situation", but in part understood due to the "highway possible difficulties".
Our route and attractions : great towns and attractions but quite in a hurry. Major difficulty was coordinating the meals and available time around visited towns to avoid missing the coach. Some of the major attractions, despite described on tour, were in fact independently done, not really part of the tour, like Mt Michel visit.
Included dinners were the low part of the tour, except for the last hotel, the included dinners were extremely poor in quality. Disappointing french cuisine in fact quite "uneatable" and ridiculous in some occasions. (My suggestion is to pleases revise the quality of meals before including it as dinner..for the sake of tour name!). Breakfasts were good in my point of view in all hotels (but I'm sure not complete for those who are used to hot bkf..)
A big failure of the planned trip that made me think twice for possible next trip with Cosmos was the badly explained beforehand and unexpected bad surprise on last tour day. Example: Last Paris day with 2 optionals for the same day, included on same day of a quick Paris Bus city Tour, where, whoever wouldn't be signed for the optionals were left on their own to find their way back to the hotel, for the sake of the optional tours to be completed. This was a bad surprise. About 12 travelers tried to sort Metro station/lines, walking literally 40 min to the right spot, relying in continuous street people advices and google maps, in Metro peak hour, some with mobility difficulties. (One couple separated due to fullness of metro train had to wait for next one alone).Seriously??!! The minimal expected would have been to drop who was not on" optional " tour , back at the hotel or at the very least close to the exact Metro Station. (They should be a priority in my point of view as a client paid to be"spoiled by a preorganized tour. This transport "adventure" was explained only on the last day. Maybe some people wouldn't even bother to go to the rushy bus city tour if were aware that optional tour would have priority above the regular clientele).
In general tour gives an idea of country France, superficially, as expected for quick moving tour, but a taste of France. Food and hotels will always have + /- ,all accepted as "expected"..but the last day arrangement I believe it is a big failure in planning, that should be reviewed.
Hotels 3* with very basic facilities (missing hot water/coffee facilities and fridge in all hotels, except one) and medium/small size room, but comfy. Great beds! Some were quite distant from the city center but most were manageable. Hotels' staff were good and fluent ...read more in English. Our Guide was a lovely guy, gentle, polite and calm. Good basic knowledge about touristic sites, however some times the communication of plans with the group were not so clear, generating some frustrations amongst some (and almost "forgotten luggage at lobby of hotel" one one occasion!), but in general very responsible and caring in all aspects. Always trying to help as he could in some unplanned bad situations. eg. Forgotten mobile on highway restaurant!
Our Driver was polite and a good driver, I suppose, despite a bit of more opening to help, maybe bending a bit the time schedule, could have saved a lot of stress on the "forgotten mobile situation", but in part understood due to the "highway possible difficulties".
Our route and attractions : great towns and attractions but quite in a hurry. Major difficulty was coordinating the meals and available time around visited towns to avoid missing the coach. Some of the major attractions, despite described on tour, were in fact independently done, not really part of the tour, like Mt Michel visit.
Included dinners were the low part of the tour, except for the last hotel, the included dinners were extremely poor in quality. Disappointing french cuisine in fact quite "uneatable" and ridiculous in some occasions. (My suggestion is to pleases revise the quality of meals before including it as dinner..for the sake of tour name!). Breakfasts were good in my point of view in all hotels (but I'm sure not complete for those who are used to hot bkf..)
A big failure of the planned trip that made me think twice for possible next trip with Cosmos was the badly explained beforehand and unexpected bad surprise on last tour day. Example: Last Paris day with 2 optionals for the same day, included on same day of a quick Paris Bus city Tour, where, whoever wouldn't be signed for the optionals were left on their own to find their way back to the hotel, for the sake of the optional tours to be completed. This was a bad surprise. About 12 travelers tried to sort Metro station/lines, walking literally 40 min to the right spot, relying in continuous street people advices and google maps, in Metro peak hour, some with mobility difficulties. (One couple separated due to fullness of metro train had to wait for next one alone).Seriously??!! The minimal expected would have been to drop who was not on" optional " tour , back at the hotel or at the very least close to the exact Metro Station. (They should be a priority in my point of view as a client paid to be"spoiled by a preorganized tour. This transport "adventure" was explained only on the last day. Maybe some people wouldn't even bother to go to the rushy bus city tour if were aware that optional tour would have priority above the regular clientele).
In general tour gives an idea of country France, superficially, as expected for quick moving tour, but a taste of France. Food and hotels will always have + /- ,all accepted as "expected"..but the last day arrangement I believe it is a big failure in planning, that should be reviewed.
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