TRAFALGAR TOURS
 

I am considering going on one of Trafalgar's 12 or 15 day Cost Saver tour in Europe in June. Countries covered;Holland,Belgium,Germany,Austria,Switzerlan d,Italy,France. <BR>Does anyone out there have an opinion first on Trafalgar Tour,then on the countries mentioned above.

A friend and I (2 females in our 50s)have booked the Cosmopolitan, a 20 day cost saver from 2 to 20 June. I often look at the forums at www.trafalgar.com and the majority of postings are very positive about the Trafalgar tours, many people seem to book with them over and over. We booked with YHA and chose Trafalgar because the agent herself has done a lot of overseas travel and she recommended them.

We used Trafalgar (but not the CostSaver) for 16-day tour through 6 countries in 1996, and then for France only in 1998. They are well-organized, have comfortable buses, use good hotels and leave some ‘leisure’ time for you to do things on your own, or you can take some or all of their ‘optionals’. They never harangued us to take the optionals, nor seem to adopt an attitude toward those who chose not to take them. I have always felt that they were a good value for the places you go vs. the expense, and have compared them to numerous other companies. I would assume that the CostSaver versions will not take you ‘inside’ as many sights, and the hotels will probably be somewhat less favorably located (ie. edge of town, not in center). If you plan to see more on your own and take local transportation, then it will probably be cost-effective. I am trying to be more adventurous (sp ?) and plan / do more on my own, but still think tours are great if you are stressed about making arrangements, or just want to get an overview covering a larger area. Trafalgar is a partner with AAA in the US, if that helps any…

Dear Arthur, as someone who has taken a Trafalgar tour of Spain and France, I can tell you not to take one of the Cost Saver Tours unless you absolutely can't afford to take the "regular" tour. There is a reason these tours are cheaper--the hotels are inadequate and the included meals are inedible. You will be staying in hotels that are far outside cities, and your rooms will be tiny and cramped.<BR><BR>When I was in Spain I met people who had taken the exact same tour as I, but their tour was the Cost Saver. They told me that because they were so far outside Barcelona and Madrid (in their hotels) that they were stuck during their free time. They said that they wished they splurged on the more expensive tour because it would have been nice just to walk outside the hotel at night and have the whole city at their disposal. <BR><BR>But, if you don't mind staying in at night and hanging out in the hotel, then maybe the Cost Saver is for you. But, please find out the hotels before hand and investigate just where they are located. You have been warned!

We did a 3 week Tour of Europe with Trafalgar in 1999 - the tour itself was great and we enjoyed it immensely - however this was not a Cost Saver and yet the majority of the hotels were on the edge of towns/cities and as the previous poster referred - it made it difficult to get about and do things in the evenings.

Me again... you asked about the countries you've listed as your interests. My opinion would be that you find a tour that 'covers' maybe 3 countries in 10-12 days, so you can stay overnight in several cities for at least 2-3 nights each. The tours where you arrive late afternoon, spend the night, have marginal sightseeing in the morning before moving on to spend the night in the next city will not be satisfying to you. You will spend much time packing/unpacking and riding the bus. You need to be in a city at least 1 1/2 to 2 days, partly with the tour and partly with free time, to begin to appreciate what is unique about the city. Go out and find dinner on your own at least half the time. The 16-day tour I mentioned above was very good for a first-time trip, but I will say it was the best in Italy and inadequate in Germany. In Brussels, we had maybe 1/2 day. In Germany, we saw the cathedral at Cologne, the castle at Heidelburg, and the river cruise (no true German meals). We saw the Alps then stayed at Lucerne for Switzerland. Once we reached Italy, it was a little slower and 'deeper'. We also greatly enjoyed Nice/Monaco, and the 1 1/2 days in Paris. Had to go back to Paris for 12 days the next year! So, maybe if you chose Italy/Switzerland/France, or Austria/Switzerland/Germany, you will have a better trip...

Really, Prue? That is so strange. All my hotels were centrally located. In Barcelona, my hotel was right off of the Passeig de Gracia. In Mardrid, on the Gran Via. In Granada, the hotel was right across the street from Corte Ingles Dept. Store. Was I just lucky??

Have been looking at several Trafalgar tour itineraries and so far all the hotels are very centrally located 3 and 4 star properties. They usually tell you in the itinerary what hotels are used so it's easy enough to check them out on the internet. Most seem to be the nicer chain hotels and some are unique properties that may have river frontage or are on a lake, etc.

In general, Trafalgar Tours is an excellent company. But the tour you selected sounds as if you will spend more time on the bus than off of it. This really sounds like a taste of Europe. If this is to your liking, then go for it and in the future go back to the cities you're interested in the most. Otherwise, you could probably pick 3 cities and take the train and really get a feeling for where you are going. By the way, what cities will you see on this trip?<BR><BR>Do the Cost Saver tours include other meals other than breakfast?

John,<BR>I guess you must have been lucky - we were on a tour that took in France, Italy and then Budapest, Prague, Vienna etc. and some of the hotels were pretty awful - and I had studied them in the brochure. But their idea of CBD certainly was different from mine!<BR>However, as I said, apart from that we really enjoyed it and had an excellent Guide and Driver.<BR>We also found that on many occasions it was late by the time we reached the hotel so their was little time to do anything other than eat and sleep and get ready for the next early morning, so it did not matter too much.<BR>I am very much in agreement with the idea of doing a tour to get a taste of the different countries - and then hopefully going back to your favourites to do them in depth.