Greetings,

My wife and I are planning to take a tour to Europe (May '07) but we are not really sure is there , beside the price, a big difference between going with the first class vs. budget tour.
Accomodation, buses, sightseeing.. .. .. ..what is the difference?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Srdjan

Katarza,

In general, on a budget tour there are more seats on the bus, possibly no toilet on board, the hotels are further out of the city centre, the meals are not quite as good. Most “must seesâ€

ON first class tours more meals are included and more inside visits at places.On budget tours you will have to pay additional to see some interesting places that are included in the 1st class tours. In addition the hotels are nicer and located closer to the city centres.If you want to go budget there is nothing really wrong with the hotels,just mot as fancy and well located.

Take a look at Globus. I have traveled with them several times and always been very satisfied with the experience. I also suggest that you find a tour with at least 2 nights in each location.I did 1 tour that was just 1 night in many places and it was very rushed with not enough time to savor the sights and relax a little. I travel on my own now most of the time but I have just booked a River cruise with Avalon for next summer. I look forward to only having to unpack 1 time!!
The buses all have bathrooms and the bus stops frequently on all tours.. . It is discouraged on all tours to use the bathroom on the bus as there are not many places in Europe to empty the tanks Therefore it is reqiuested that the bathroom on the bus be only used in a emergency.

Location! Location! Location!. . That said, it's all about were you are going. Say for instance your tour stops in Prague for two days, you want to be located somewhere that allows you to access the "old town" when you have free time. The same with Rome Amterdam, Paris, Lake Lucerne, Innsbuck Vienna ect.. . On a Budget Tour, you will usually have some spare time unless you purchase all the optionals. Make sure the hotel is not out in the sticks with no transportation to town. Usually it is. I think it all boils down to you get what you pay for. Do a lot of research and see what is included and where you are staying. I would recommend Insight, Trafalgar, Globus, Grand European, Brendan, Collette and Go Ahead Tours.

We have used Trafalgar and Globus. Both do use good hotels. However, use the Internet to preview the hotels for location and quality. Trafalgar "Best of Germany" used excellent hotels but several were near the autobahn vs. inner city. Berlin and Munich were excellent locations and Hiltons. Globus "Italian Mosaic" hotels were OK, not outstanding. Venice was disappointing since it was located in Metz or out of the city. Same goes the Albani Hotel in Rome. The hotel in Florence was a dump, located near the train station. Globus did stay 2 nights for the most part, Trafalgar 1 night.

Much more bus time with Trafalgar, plus the "content" was not as good as Globus. With Globus there were more inside visits and local tour guides with wireless headphones, only one with Trafalgar. We will probably return to Globus for Spain and the Benelux countries--after I check out the hotels.