Discounted Escorted Tour packages
 

I have been researching escorted tours for Italy. I will more than likely be using Globus. Some web sites offer 15% off. I spoke with a travel agent this past week in which she gave me brochures to look over which are identicle to the web sites. I asked if any of these quoted fares are discounted and she said no. The price is what you see in the brochure. Does anyone have any comments on securing the tour over the web site or are only selected tours discounted? Just wondering if anyone has booked a tour through a web site. Thanks.

I am always very suspicious when someone says that a price cannot be discounted in some way (this is expecially true for trips such as cruises which you should NEVER pay the brochure price for buts that another subject)...in some instances I suppose it is true but a discount means the agent gets a smaller commission.
There is no harm in going to the Globus website and poking around...you'll never know for sure unless you do so. You do not HAVE to secure a tour through an agent unless you want to OR the company involved deals with the public only through a travel agent.

I can suggest the travel consolidator my parents are using for Italy. www.allworlddiscounttravel.com. I wish I had found them sooner as I could have saved 100's over the past years. Just call and ask for Charles the owner. Not sure what the Globus discount is but he'll tell ya,

Another website is www.pavlustravel.com which offers 13%off air/land and 11% off land alone. However I would like to note www.allworlddiscounttravel.com beat out Pavlus by a few hundred dollars when I compared quotes. Hope this helps. Have fun:)

I thank you both so much. Yes Palvus is where I saw the discount and also affordabletours.com. (I was reluctant to say exactly for fear of someone thinking I was advertising.) I will try the allworlddiscounttravel.com this was a new one to me. 15% is better than nothing.

Also, don't be afraid to say XXX offered this rate, can you beat it? That's when Allworld really came through in my case. Don't forget to lookout for those little extra discounts such as AAA, Senior, friends fly free & such offered by the tour operator, perhaps remind the agent as I'm sure there are so many little extras one may forget. You didn't say when you're going but many Tour operators offer extra discounts around Christmas/New years, mid-summer and end of summer. Italy? I'm jealous.....;;)

I contacted our travel agent about a Globus tour after viewing the brochure & web site and knowing that Globus offered an AARP discount plus a special BA (air) discount was in affect. The "Globus expert" TA never mentioned any discount when quoting a price. I did not question them and booked the tour thru Palvus. So far so good. We leave Sept 4 on the best of Italy & Greece. I hope Globus provides the same excellent service that GoAhead provided on our last tour.

I know many people have used Internet travel agencies, but for reason that I don't quite understand, they make me nervous. I've bought expensive items over the internet and I pay all my bills on the internet, so it's not that, but I don't know why. Maybe because if I have to make change, which on the last trip, I ended up having to make 2 changes, ( which I hated to do, but had to), and if it's on the internet, I don't have the safety of just dropping in the office 3 blocks away.

Anyone feel uncomfortable using internet travel agencies?

Gate One travel offers discounts on many of their tours via their internet newsletter (you have to sign up for it). I have found that most of these discounts are for winter months or trips coming up in the nest few weeks...still there are some bargains. Most of the tour companies offer a discount if you pay cash instead of charge and if you book more than 6 months out.
Just be careful when pricing out tours that you ask all the questions about WHAT meals are included.....and WHAT sightseeing trips are free and which you have to pay for. The optinal sightseeing can really add up.

I didn't like dealing with Pavlus. I found them disinterested and rude. For example, I could hardly ever reach anyone on the phone, left a message asking a question, and then got an e-mail asking me to e-mail the agent with my question. Guess she couldn't figure out to e-mail my phoneed-in answer?

Then they started adding on taxes, etc., and it ended up not being nearly as much of a discount as advertised. Meanwhile, my travel agent offered $100 off on the trip. When I told the Pavlus agent, whom I did reach, miraculously, by phone that we had decided not to book with them, she hung up on me. This was for a Globus tour, by the way.

That is always a concern when they offer discounts.Are there add on fees in which you are not aware of when you start out. I am primarily interested in the Italian Mosaic tour through Global. I have heard great reviews. I am also wondering about air flights at this time of year the end of Sept. which are much cheaper than the end of May. I have trying to choose between the 2 time frames. I suppose it would be best to book air separate. This is for 2004. When we cruise we always do air separate.

I booked a Globus tour this summer using AffordableTours.com and had no problems whatsoever. I got quotes from them and Pavlus, which was significantly more expensive. If anyone in your group is over 50, ask about an AARP discount, which saves a little extra.

These high-volume bargain travel agents are NOT full-service travel agents. They're not intended to help you research potential tours and they don't do anything except book tours (since I didn't take the Globus air package, for example, I had to book my flights on my own). So they're best for people who do their homework on their tours and just call for a quote.

I was a little nervous myself dealing with a virtual stranger (literally!) but was very reassured when I got all my Globus documents a couple of weeks before the promised date. Once I got the documents, I knew that if I had any problems I could simply deal directly with Globus.

We used Pavlus for our Globus trip and March and they were great. Globus themselves messed up on one of our plane requests, and our Pavlus agent worked to get it corrected.

I used Pavlus to get a 10% discount off a Tauck tour this spring and had a very positive experience with them. My phone calls and emails were returned promptly and the travel agent I worked with was very helpful. My parents have used Pavlus to book a Globus tour and get the discount, and they were also very satisfied with the service. I would definitely use them again.