has anybody done a cosmos tour? what are they like? do you have a lot of free time? is it ok for traveling alone? what age group goes?

Have not done Cosmos. Did a Globus tour in 1999, since then have gone on my own. Cosmos is the less expensive version of Globus. I found on our tour that actually one would have quite a bit of free time if one didn't take the extra excursions that are offered. I'll bet Cosmos is much the same that way. You need to check your brochure carefully and see what sites you actually visit..these will usually be in bold print, and the ones you just drive by. There should also be a list of optional excursions. Most people here, with a few exceptions, are independent travelers. I can't name one right off hand but I know there are message boards that are geared for people that are interested in and do tours..you might try to google if you don't get enough answers here. Also, I will add, I am NOT against tours and under the right circumstances would probably take another one, it's just been that the last two trips worked out better to go it on my own. As far as age group goes.....I don't think there is a "hard rule". It seems that for the MOST part, the majority of tour travelers seem to be middle aged and up, but having said that, my group consisted of a 13 year old girl with her parents, two single girls in their mid 20's, two sets of young honeymooners, and couple of sisters in their early to mid 30's, a couple who were probably in their 70's, and the rest in the 50's range. So we were quite diverse actually so not sure what "normal" age is supposed to be.

We used Cosmos for a three week tour of the British Isles because I didn't want to drive on the left. Started the October 3 or 4 as I remember it, 2001. Hotels were old and away from everything. One hotel was so pathetic the guide appologized for it. Breakfasts were good, lunch we were on our own, most dinners bad.

Guide started talking as soon as the bus pulled away for the day and didn't stop 'til mid afternoon. Topics were religion, politics, her family etc, couldn't understand why all the flags flying in U.S and Ireland. This only weeks after 9/11 DW bought and used earplugs.

Those on the tour were mostly from USA, Australia, and New Zealand. Ages mid forties to early seventies.

The last day of tour we were told if air travel had been arranged by Cosmos, Cosmos would confirm return flight, and hotel departure time would be posted in the hotel. Our flight was scheduled for, and confirmed by cosmos for early morning. When we got to the airport we learned the flight had been cancelled before we left the states. We got the last two seats available, last row, for an around noon time departure. We will never again go on a bus tour.

On the plus side, the Isles were beautiful and there are several areas we will return to, driving.

Cosmos is the budget based division of Globus tours....they cater as noted to Australians, New Zealanders, Canadians and Americans. In that sense you will probably have an international crowd.

Age...well one could tell you the average age on your tour is 48.3 but that would be meaningless and nobody knows what your particular tour will have (I don't mean this in a nasty sort of way; there is always a range of ages on tours).

Hotels on cosmos are considered tourist class and a little cheaper than globus...how do they do this I hear you say...well either they use older more "European" hotels or they are a little out of the way which is the price you pay to save money. Doesn't mean they are necessarily unsatisfactory. Included dinners are not horrible, they have to be fairly bland to meet all palates...as such they are okay. Breakfasts in the British isles are usually very good, other breakfasts depend on which country you're in, usually good in Holland, Scandanavia, Germany and putrid in France and Italy and Switzerland.

Do you have free time...yes, especially in the evenings if you choose not to take the optional excursions.

Will you have a satisfactory or good experience, will you get more for your buck than doing it yourself, probably...no hassle about worrying about what hotel you're staying in each night and carting your luggage to yuor room...is it as flexible to travel as compared to independent travelling, no of course it isn't but you will see the main sites in every case.

Personally, I would opt for either globus or Trafalgar where you will get a higher standard ofhotel (not luxury class), better locations (except in the big cities where you might need public transportation to get into the centre of town) but they have a lot going for them.

I've done 4 Cosmos tours and I was happy with 3 of those. My biggest complaint, as already mentioned, is that the hotels are not in a central location. You are likely to stay in an airport hotel or in a suburb of the city you are visiting. This was especially true on the "Best of Italy" tour, and that's the one I wasn't happy with. But overall Cosmos has been good for me. As for traveling alone, it's perfect because you will have friends in the group from Day 1.

Hi

I've done 2 Cosmos Tours - Greece and Spain. They were fantastic. The hotels were 3* or better and centrally located. The coach was first class. There is plenty of free time to do your own thing. We're in our 40s but the age group is mainly retirees. Don't worry, you'll have trouble keeping up with them! My only complaint was the included dinners were generally awful and I'm not a fussy eater (we did a Trafalgar tour and food was just as bad). We were booked to do Turkey with Cosmos this year. Hwoever they cancelled due to lack of numbers. TIP: If you do book a tour with Cosmos or any other company make sure that it is on a guaranteed departure date i.e the tour will run irrespective of numbers. Your travel agent will assist you with this. Despite all this I will definitely use Cosmos again.

Buon voyage