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Globus...Yay or nay? THE BEST OF ITALY & FRANCE

Globus...Yay or nay? THE BEST OF ITALY & FRANCE

Old Aug 12th, 2015, 04:26 PM
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Globus...Yay or nay? THE BEST OF ITALY & FRANCE

I want to book THE BEST OF ITALY & FRANCE (11 days) in 2016. Please, please give me honest feedback on the pace of the trip (did you feel rushed), excursions (are they worth it) rooms, food, etc. As much detail as you're willing to provide. Thank you <3
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Old Aug 12th, 2015, 05:19 PM
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Is this it?

http://www.globusjourneys.com/tour/t...aly-france/hh/

Day 1 doesn't start til 6PM so doesn't really count.
Day 2 your only day in Rome and it is on a bus most of the day and then an optional walking tour
Day 3 on the bus about 7 hours
Day 4 Your one day in Venice . . . and they want you to go out to Burano (?)
Day 5 Four hours on the bus
Day 6 Day in Florence
Day 7 Six hours on the bus
Day 8 Nice and St Paul de Vence
Day 9 train from Nice to Paris
Day 10 Paris
Day 11 -- fly out

A LOT of butts-in-seats time . . . and your Paris hotel (Moevenpick Hotel Paris Neuilly) is in a dreadful location,
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Old Aug 12th, 2015, 06:48 PM
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That tour moves for sure. Globus is a good company, I have taken a tour with them and it was a good experience. It was my first trip to Europe and I saw a lot, learned a lot, have gone back on my own since, and I have never regretted that tour.

If you are an experienced traveler then perhaps that tour is not so great, if you are not, have limited time, then I would say, go ahead if your want to.

The Paris hotel is not so great but you aren't going to be there that long and the day seems pretty well planned so I wouldn't worry about it.

When I went on my first trip I didn't have a clue about how to do anything, how to go about anything, I had limited time and didn't have the luxury of fumbling around, trying to find my way, trying to figure out how things are done, what is correct, what is considered an insult (the whole ugly american thing that people here like to talk about), and that trip was so worthwhile to me.

It was more leisurly that the one you are considering so we didn't have as many one nighters and had three three nighter, one two nighter and a couple of one nighters.

Most people here have traveled a lot, have traveled on their own for years, are not fans of tours and that's fine too. As I said, I have returned several times, always on my own. If you feel this tour is right for you, Globus in a good company, has been in the business for years, and I'd say give it a go.
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Old Aug 12th, 2015, 06:51 PM
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If you want to see/do/experience anything of France and Italy, don't take this tour.

You could certainly plan your own trip, choosing perhaps two cities and enjoying those places. It would be more satisfying than this tour and would likely cost less.
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Old Aug 12th, 2015, 06:54 PM
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Generally, bus tour hotels are not charming properties in atmospheric neighborhoods. They have to be large hotels with enough rooms in the same category so that everyone gets a similar room. And they have to be located on a main street with an area at/near the front door that allows for a bus (or two) to park while guests load/unload.

janisj has mentioned the drive times, but what the brochures/website don't tell you is that you need to be up, packed, breakfasted and loaded on the bus by 7:30a most days.

According to the link, breakfast is included, but no lunches and only 3 dinners (4 if you include the optional in Venice). Like the hotels, the dinners will be in large restaurants that can accommodate big groups, and the menus will probably be set. You will eat when they tell you to eat.
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Old Aug 12th, 2015, 07:05 PM
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I would not take this tour. It is really only 9 days as the first and last days are travel days. This tour is very rushed, as you have so little time in each place.

If you can only do an 11 day trip and want an organized tour, look for one that would give you more time in each destination. This means selecting a trip that goes to fewer destinations, such as Rome Florence and Venice. Or Paris and the south of France. But not both countries.

The hotel in Paris, is in a suburb, and not in Paris.

If you were to take a tour in the US, would you be happy with a tour that spent a day in Boston, a day in NYC, a day in Philadelphia, a day in DC? You get the idea.
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Old Aug 12th, 2015, 09:05 PM
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A tour can be a great experience! No worry or planing on your part, assuring you see some major sights, saving you time because they take you door to door. However, you have to research and pick the right tour for you.

This tour is a bit expensive for the amount of time you will actually have to see anything. By time you add in RT airfare (which as I saw it was not included, or was an added cost), lunches and dinners and any excursions you may want, you are up to around $5,000 for 9 days on the ground.

Part of the expense is all the travel time on the bus. The ratio of bus time versus sightseeing time is a little heavy on the travel time. It looks more like some student tours that hit a lot of places for an hour or so. It is tempting to cram in as many places as possible, but not wise. Find a tour that goes to fewer places and stays longer in major cities like Rome and Paris.

When you look at a tour, however, rather than looking at how many places it goes, get a map or google times and see how much time will be on the bus and how much for sightseeing. Make sure driving distances and time does not eat up a lot of your trip time.
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Old Aug 12th, 2015, 11:24 PM
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Nay for me.I have been on two of these bus tours and did not like many of the aspects, some of which are stated above. But if a friend was determined to take this tour I would give them the following advice:

Add 2 nights pre tour in Rome and 3 nights post tour in Paris. Do not stay in the Tour hotels for the additional nights.

ROME
Buy the Rick Steves Rome book. Plan your independent days taking into account what you will see on the tour. Pick some nice restaurants for dinner.Some of your included dinners on the tour will be mediocre banquet type food.

Tour Day 1.Meet your tour guide (You will probably like him/her). Meet your traveling companions (You probably will like 2/3 of them, and not enjoy being with the other 3rd of them for 10 straight days).

Tour Day 2.Excellent day-Vatican, Sistine Chapel, Colosseum, Roman Form. Optional tour walk across Rome is worth 38 euros. But is described in your Rick Steves Rome book and could be done independently by yourselves, possibly on your day of arrival.

VENICE Tour Day 3. You will like your bus driver.He will do things with that bus that you would think impossible. Assisi is a great stop on your way to Venice even if you are not a believer.The optional A Venetian Night Out Via the Grand Canal Travel by private water taxi along the splendid Grand Canal with its elegant palaces to a fine Venetian restaurant. Taste four mouth-watering courses of local specialties and wine or soft drinks. After dinner there is time to explore and absorb the unique, romantic atmosphere of Venice by night.
€71 EUR per person. The optional dinners are usually better than the included dinners.

Tour Day 4. Private boat to St Mark's Square, then visit the Basilica,Doges Palace, Bridge of Sighs. You might want to skip the glass blower demo (They want to sell you something-your guide gets a cut). Better to buy one of those great masks you will see at a mask maker shop while you stroll the back streets.I would skip the optional Gondola Serenade (€39 EUR per person) and the optional Lagoon Cruise and Meal in Burano (€69 EUR per person).

FLORENCE Tour Day 5. Stop in Ferrara on the way to Florence.Never been there. Looks like they are taking you to see Santa Croce, nice church, and to the Leather fab school. I bought some wallets for gifts last time I was there. Not cheap.Enjoy your included Tuscan dinner, perhaps wild boar.

Tour Day 6. Walking tour of this great city.The school girls no longer blush at the statue of David. Play hold the gypsy baby while mom picks your pocket.Climb the Domo.

Must take optional excursion to this world class museum- Highlights of Uffizi Gallery With your Local Guide . Gain fascinating insight into paintings by the great Masters Giotto, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Titian. €39 EUR per person

I would do this also. Tuscan Dinner Tuscany is known for its gorgeous landscapes, its rich traditions, long history and culture but Tuscany still has more to offer with its great food and wine. Tonight drive out to the rolling Chianti Hills and enjoy a traditional Tuscan meal, including coffee and drinks, in a picturesque country setting. This wonderful dinner with regional dishes is prepared using the finest local ingredients - Realize your dreams and live the Tuscan life for an evening! €57 EUR per person

NICE Tour Day 7. Stop in Pisa after leaving Florence. Take the photo of your companion holding up the tower. Back in the bus, cross into France, stop in the hill top village Eze above Monte Carlo. Skip the perfumery, they want to sell you something. Hike to the top of the village for spectacular views of the Riviera.On to Nice.

Tour Day 8. A highlight visit this morning to the picturesque hilltop town of St. Paul de Vence. Explore the many art galleries and enjoy the spectacular view, or relax at a café, where you may see the locals play pétanque (lawn bowling). Return to Nice for a lazy afternoon to dabble in the blue Mediterranean or to stroll along the elegant Promenade des Anglais. An optional outing is available tonight to Monte Carlo, Monte Carlo by Night and Dinner €68 EUR per person. I can tell you to skip it, but you won't.

PARIS

Day 9. You are taking the high speed TGV train to Paris. In a few hours you are there. Sightseeing begins in the afternoon, including a series of elevator rides up the Eiffel Tower. A special dinner for you followed by a drive through the City of Light.

Day 10. Paris on your own.Use your Rick Steves Paris book to plan your activities. If smart you have done this from home, modified by what you saw on your tour. No need to take any of their expensive tours.

Day 11. Your tour ends after breakfast. But you are staying 3 more nights-So much more to see before you fly home.

>> Please, please give me honest feedback on the pace of the trip (did you feel rushed), excursions (are they worth it) rooms, food, etc.
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Old Aug 13th, 2015, 06:47 AM
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I say go for it. If this is your first trip to Italy you can get a taste of cities you like and do your own trip back some day.
I have done a couple of Globus trips ( not this one) and I had no problems with them.
Also people talk about the bus time but even if you go on your own you have travel time from place to place.
When you are on a tour with long bus trip days they are always broken up with mid morning breaks, lunch , pit stops and even stops to see things not listed on the itinerary.
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Old Aug 13th, 2015, 07:05 AM
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How old are you? If you're under 45, you'll be wondering how you got lumped into a retirement home on wheels.

If you do book, tack on extra time in Rome and Paris at the start and end of the trip.

And skip the sales jobs to whatever degree you can - your time is limited, and they cut into it.
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Old Aug 13th, 2015, 10:19 AM
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>>Also people talk about the bus time but even if you go on your own you have travel time from place to place.of a certain age' then you'll fit in better.

I would NOT consider this tour unless you tack on 2 or 3 days in both Rome and Paris. Then it wouldn't feel quite so rushed.
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Old Aug 13th, 2015, 12:17 PM
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Yes this is my first trip to Europe ever!! It's been my dream. My husband and I are 37. I really do appreciate the breakdown dugi_otok I've been dreaming of going to France & Italy my whole life, but life got in the way (3 kids, graduate school, $). My husband and I are finally at a point where we can take this trip so when I saw the 11 day tour with Globus I got excited. However, the more I thought about it the more worried I became. It does seem like a lot of cities in a few days. However, this is the only company offering tours in those two countries (I think). I'd be happy to go to fewer cities, but I just can't find a tour quite as similar.
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Old Aug 13th, 2015, 12:58 PM
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What would your dream trip include that the tours do not?

Another way to think about it: If you feel you must do a tour, could you do two different tours, one in France, one in Italy, back to back to include the two countries you want?
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Old Aug 13th, 2015, 12:58 PM
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www.ricksteves.com may have slower tours of those countries.
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Old Aug 13th, 2015, 01:16 PM
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OK, did not realize you are a couple. While I hoped I was discouraging of the tour before, now I say No, No, No.

The two of you could do a wonderful trip and for that amount of money stay in some more charming, interesting places than the tour will provide. With what you save on doing a tour, you can eat better food, splurge at restaurants the two of you will enjoy and have some special time together.

With the help of Fodors forum, you can plan a trip that suits you. No, you won't go to as many places as the tour, but you will actually see more and remember the trip and time together, rather than siting on a bus tied to bunch of strangers.

Start now. Look at guide books. Pick your top two or three places or pick two, than add short day trips, or pick several places close together to have a reasonable itinerary.
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Old Aug 13th, 2015, 01:16 PM
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A Rick Steves tour may have younger people. The Globus will likely all be over 60s.

Are you willing to plan your own trip? If you can plan travel in the US, you can plan travel in Europe. If you want to try your hand at planning an independent trip, we'll be glad to help (well, some of us will be). Also, what part of independent travel worries you? We may be able to offer info that will reassure you.
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Old Aug 13th, 2015, 01:29 PM
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>> My husband and I are 37.> However, this is the only company offering tours in those two countries (I think). I'd be happy to go to fewer cities, but I just can't find a tour quite as similar.
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Old Aug 13th, 2015, 01:36 PM
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I agree - consider the excellent train system - for lots on planning a European rail journey here are some helpful sites: www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.seat61.com. You may not see as much but you'll experience a lot more - being a traveler not a carted around tourist.
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Old Aug 13th, 2015, 01:43 PM
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" .... And not with a coach load of old fogies."

Wow, that is such a rude comment.
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Old Aug 13th, 2015, 01:47 PM
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>>Wow, that is such a rude comment.serious????

I am well over 37 and qualify as an old fogie to some . . . Are you seriously saying a 37 yo married couple would be a good fit on a mass market coach tour? They are a TOTALLY different demographic.
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