Gate 1 or Globus (Italy)
Mar 19th, 2011, 11:07 AM
#1
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Gate 1 or Globus (Italy)
This is my first trip to Italy and I have chosen to take a escorted tour. Has anyone had any experience with either of these two companies? Any suggestions would help. Thanks!!
Mar 19th, 2011, 11:36 AM
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I've taken a Globus tour in France. It's a low end tour group with hotels away from the center of the city. The food in the included meals was not good. And the tour guide was not very good.
If you search on this board you'll get other opinions on Globus and Gate 1. They seem to be the most popular budget tour groups.
If you search on this board you'll get other opinions on Globus and Gate 1. They seem to be the most popular budget tour groups.
Mar 19th, 2011, 12:29 PM
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We have taken a 9 day Italy tour with Trafalgar and we thoroughly enjoyed it. I can't speak to either Globus or Gate 1. It was well organized and tickets were pre-purchased for all of the attractions so no waiting in lines.
You really get to see more than you would on your own but it can be hectic. The guides were all very knowledgeable and passionate about their areas of expertise and really added to the experience. The hotels were clean and fairly well located.
This year we are covering Campania on our own, but that's more laid back and local transportation is excellent.
Good luck with your travel!
mike
You really get to see more than you would on your own but it can be hectic. The guides were all very knowledgeable and passionate about their areas of expertise and really added to the experience. The hotels were clean and fairly well located.
This year we are covering Campania on our own, but that's more laid back and local transportation is excellent.
Good luck with your travel!
mike
Mar 19th, 2011, 12:42 PM
#4
One of our few tours, we took a Globus tour out west in the US and that was incredibly interesting. Food good, tour guide was great and hotels were OK. If you do chose to use a tour visit this company that sells these tours at a discount and they are very reliable. The discount check comes with the travel papers, about a month before the tour starts. I like to check the actual company first and see the cost of the tour you select and then check the discount company for a price comparison. We did a Scandanavia Tour and used this company. Richard www.pavlustravel.com
Mar 19th, 2011, 12:51 PM
#5
It would help to know why you're thinking of taking a tour rather traveling independently (as many, many non-Italian speakers do successfully each year). Also your age and price range. Gate1 and Globus are really quite different.
Mar 19th, 2011, 03:29 PM
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My niece and I did a Globus tour of Tuscany a few years ago, and it was wonderful. We got to see a lot, the hotels were quite nice and located right in town except for Florence where it was a short taxi ride away, the food was perfectly acceptable, and the guide was excellent.
Mar 19th, 2011, 04:25 PM
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My understanding is that Gate 1 sells packages - not tours. That is, you pick the cities, the number of days and the hotel that you want and they arrange the air, airport transfers, hotels and a brief city tour. You are then free to do what you want - including buying more tours from them if you want. This lets you decide how long you want to stay where.
Globus offers traditional (and downscale) tours with moves almost every night, long days sitting on a bus, "views' (drive-bys) of many sights versus actual visits, hotels that may be at the end of hell and gone (it's uneven - each tour is different) and poor quality food (most hotels are really not where you want to eat in Italy).
If you really want the ease of a tour I would look at a better quality one - such as Tauck - which has more pleasant centrally-located hotels and decent food. Or go for Gate 1 - where you pick the hotel you want and can spend more time in each place.
Globus offers traditional (and downscale) tours with moves almost every night, long days sitting on a bus, "views' (drive-bys) of many sights versus actual visits, hotels that may be at the end of hell and gone (it's uneven - each tour is different) and poor quality food (most hotels are really not where you want to eat in Italy).
If you really want the ease of a tour I would look at a better quality one - such as Tauck - which has more pleasant centrally-located hotels and decent food. Or go for Gate 1 - where you pick the hotel you want and can spend more time in each place.
Mar 20th, 2011, 11:26 PM
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I have taken several Globus tours, as well as several Cosmos tours; Cosmos is their budget arm. Globus is a so-called "First Class Tour" in the same tour category as Trafalgar and Insight(Trafalgar has budget tours too). Tauck is a more expensive tour and is considered "Deluxe" class.
I took a Cosmos tour of Italy several years ago,and it was the only Cosmos/Globus tour I have taken that I thought was not a good value.
Please take a look at how much time you are spending on the bus each day and how many nights you are spending in each city. If you are moving to a new city every night, it can get tiresome to pack and unpack. Also check the location of the hotels. Are they centrally located or out in the boonies?
How much is included? For example,on my Cosmos tour, almost nothing was included and the hotels were about a half-hour outside the city. This was back in pre-internet days (1990), so it was more difficult to check out the hotels.
Most posters on Fodors are independent travelers and disdain tours, even if they have never been on one. There are many, many threads on this debate, so I won't even go there. All I will say is that for some people tours can be a good way to travel as long as you pick the right one.
For discounts on tours please see http://www.affordabletours.com/Italy/
Here are a couple of threads on Globus Italy tours that may interest you:
http://goo.gl/8o0Yy
http://goo.gl/I8GIP
You can find more by using the search box at the top of this page. Good luck!
I took a Cosmos tour of Italy several years ago,and it was the only Cosmos/Globus tour I have taken that I thought was not a good value.
Please take a look at how much time you are spending on the bus each day and how many nights you are spending in each city. If you are moving to a new city every night, it can get tiresome to pack and unpack. Also check the location of the hotels. Are they centrally located or out in the boonies?
How much is included? For example,on my Cosmos tour, almost nothing was included and the hotels were about a half-hour outside the city. This was back in pre-internet days (1990), so it was more difficult to check out the hotels.
Most posters on Fodors are independent travelers and disdain tours, even if they have never been on one. There are many, many threads on this debate, so I won't even go there. All I will say is that for some people tours can be a good way to travel as long as you pick the right one.
For discounts on tours please see http://www.affordabletours.com/Italy/
Here are a couple of threads on Globus Italy tours that may interest you:
http://goo.gl/8o0Yy
http://goo.gl/I8GIP
You can find more by using the search box at the top of this page. Good luck!
