Which tour company do you prefer? We're just starting to plan a trip to Europe in 06.

Globus-hands down.

Read my other post, it all really depends on the tour director which is out of our control on who'd they put as the tour director. I been on both and really liked the Trafalgar tour because of the tour guide.

Been witrh Globus 2 times. They were great!

i've used both and i prefer globus. i think that the globus hotels are more centrally located. the tour director assigned to your tour does make a great difference and the ones i've had on globus have been just wonderful.

mind you, i've only been on one trafalgar tour, which was enough for me. the hotels in italy were so out of the way that you had to rely on the optional tours (i.e. more money you pay to the company- for heaven's sake why should pisa be optional on any tour of italy, i'd like to know!) to get anywhere. also the trafalgar director on that tour was so-so. to top it off, in venice we were herded into a glass factory and kept there for what seemed like ages with salespeople trying to sell expensive sets of glassware. same in florence, except it was a leather shop.

the last tour i went on (with globus, of course) was superb. the tour director went out of his way to avoid the highways in france so that we could see more of the beautiful villages and towns. he and our driver were the best!

then again, the itinerary should be your main criterion- which cities do you really want to visit? which company goes there?

i'm sure the debate over globus or trafalgar will continue to be waged, but i'm clearly on the globus side.

I've been on tours with Globus, Trafalgar (1st class) and Insight (1st class) and found them all to be great, I think the only way to decide is to check the hotels on the web to see where they are and of course the itinerary is an important aspect. All these companies have their own websites and you can check what optionals will be offered and that can be another point of difference too. Hope you have a great time.