Experience with Goahead Vacations?
 

We are planning a vacation and were thinking about booking with goahead vacations. Has anyone booked or had an experience with them?

Very good friend of ours use GoAhead frequently...their last trip was the Provence/Paris tour..they enjoyed it very much. Priced it out independtly and thought GoAhead's prices were at least 50% lower. Their vacation was last October and would use them again.

I'm going to Italy in 2000 and I have researched all kinds of tour agencies. Go ahead seems to be pretty good. Give it a shot.

I have used GoAhead twice and have been very pleased both times. It is an independent tour, but they offer group tours to anyone who wants to sign. You only have to see the group you are traveling with when you arrive at a destination and when you are leaving. This worked well for people who were looking for travel mates, and it worked well for us since we had our own agenda. One good thing is that the tour assitant is in the hotels in which you are staying. He/she can help with any problems or questions you have. Our luggage was lost in Milan, and no one seemed to speak English. We had to go on to Venice. It was very nice to have someone who spoke Italian to track it down for a total of three days! I have traveled without GoAhead, and I do think they can do it more cheaply. I have used other tour organizations, and I like GoAhead the best. We usually use a group the first time we visit a country,and then when we go back, we travel on our own.

dont you find with a company such as goahead there are alot of hidden costs?

Go-Today is the best travel discounter out there. I used them a few months ago for a trip to London and Paris. The price was right, much lower than any other package. The tickets arrived about 6 weeks before we departed and the trip was flawless. I will definitely use them again. <BR> <BR>No, there aren't any hidden charges. The only additional charge is for the departure tax and that is stated right on the website. If you question their prices, call a travel agent and ask how much they charge for a similar package. My trip to London and Paris through Go-Today cost about $875 including flying from Atlanta. Liberty Travel quoted me $1200 for their "budget" London/Paris package and that didn't include a flight from Atlanta. <BR>

Looking at some info re: Go Ahead Vacations and they offer you a free booking if you will lead one of their tours. Has anyone done this? If so, did you have to round up the 8 other people in order to do this?

I used GoAhead last year, to London & Paris, and had a WONDERFUL time. I think their tours are best for fairly independent travelers who don't expect luxury accomdations. THere were some people on our tour who expected the tour advisor to hold their hand the whole time--we just took a map and explored the cities! The accomodations were all good, but not great (I would say equivalent to a Holiday Inn--clean and with a bed). Also, our tour advisor in Paris was much more helpful than the one in London. Finally, they offer "optional excursions" which escort you to major tourist destinations--don't do it--you'll pay way more for it than if you just got yourself there through public transportation. We went to Versailles by ourselves and spent the whole lovely day there, but the people on the "optional excursion" paid much more than we did and only stayed for 3 hours.

Could someone post the website for Go-Ahead Vacations? Thanks. <BR>

Kristen, <BR>GoAhead Vacations web address is: <BR> <BR>www.goaheadvacations.com <BR> <BR>I called them today & they are sending me a brochure which they said should arrive in about one week. <BR> <BR>Beverly

FYI...my comments are incorrect. I thought this post was about Go-Today Vacations (used to be europevacations.com). If anyone wants info on Go-Today, check out their website at www.go-today.com. They are truly an outstanding company. <BR> <BR>As for GoAhead vacations, I've found their prices to be too high for independent packages. Their prices start at $999 for "low-season" (Nov-Mar). There are better deals out there.

Be VERY careful of Go Ahead Vacations --definitely don't every take one that's an "add on date" or you could get some really lousy hotels in the back of beyond. You may be okay if your trip date is published in their catalog, but check out the hotels carefully...we got lots of untruths and run-around. We also found the included dinners (thankfully only a few) to be mediocre at best. We won't use them again; bad isn't a bargain!