Hello. My wife & I are planning an (extended 19-21 days) European Globus Tour. This will be our first tour and first time in Europe. We haven't decided which one yet.

Since we will be spending LOTS of time on the tour BUS, we wanted to get your feedback and comments on your experiences with the COMFORT level on the tour buses - esp Europe. In particular interest are:

* does globus supply pillows and blankets?
* cleanliness of the buses?
* comfortable ride? spacious? able to strech out our legs?
* sleeping on the buses comfortable?
* are there restrooms on the buses?
* any other tour bus or Globus experiences is highly appreciated!

Thank you in advance for your comments!!

Hi. I recently returned from Globus' "Italy's Great Cities" - not as long as the trip you're planning, but I can tell you about my experience:

* does globus supply pillows and blankets?
No - A few people had their own blow up neck things, and the temperature was controlled by the driver, but the tour director would ask regularly how everyone was doing with the temp. It really wasn't a big issue. Regarding sleeping, people did sleep on the bus, others read, listened to music, chatted, etc.. .. .

* cleanliness of the buses?
Our bus was brand new! The tour director said we were the first group to use it and it definitely seemed like it.

* comfortable ride? spacious? able to strech out our legs?
The bus was a pretty standard bus, nice, but not tons of leg room. The group makes frequent stops (every 2 hours or so) to use restrooms and stretch. Globus allows one small carry-on onto the bus. No roller suitcases are allowed upstairs in the bus and for our tour each person was allowed 1 suitcase for down below. An additional suitcase was several dollars per day. Most people used a small backpack or the bag provided by Globus and small purchases accumulated during the day also could fit in the overheads, but the bus overheads are not like those on planes. As a final note, our Tour Director said on the 1st day that everyone would rotate 4 rows clockwise each day so no one was ever stuck in a bad seat for more than one day.

* sleeping on the buses comfortable?
The chairs do go back a little bit, but too far back can really make the person behind uncomfortable. I really didn't feel like any of this was a problem. Almost everyone would doze off at some point, it's similar to an airplane. The people that seemed most cramped were overweight people.

* are there restrooms on the buses?
There are restrooms on the bus, but I think only for #1. As I mentioned above, the bus makes frequent stops so it wasn't a problem. If someone really had an emergency the bus could stop, but I think with the regularly planned stops, everyone was fine.

I hope this helps you! I really don't know how much more comfortable you could be unless you were to go without a group and rent some huge car that you probably couldn't park anywhere or go around on trains that would be much more stressful because of all the taxis to bus stations, waiting, buying tickets, train traveling, carrying bags, etc.. .. . Additionally, the buses go directly and efficiently to exactly where the tour stops are so there's no wasted time like at airports, train stations, or car rental places.

Globus was fabulous. Everything was taken care of and the Tour Director is there to help you. The most important thing is to relax on a wonderful vacation and let the others do the driving and worrying. Have a great time!

Lisa

hi! i've just come back from my second globus tour three weeks ago (la france tour) and i found the bus very comfortable. our bus was very clean and new (it had this amazing GPS tv screen which shows you the route we were going on as well as the estimated time of arrival!) however, pillows and blankets were not provided, which didn't bother me since i was too enthralled with the scenery to sleep. as far as room to stretch your legs, i think taller people might feel cramped. but the drives were broken up into well-timed stops for pictures, lunch, restroom breaks, etc. there is a restroom on the bus, but this was only for emergencies. there is also some space above the seats for bags, purchases, etc. hope this helps! have a great trip to europe!

You might want to take a look at the offerings by Insight Vacations . .. .. . http://www.insightvacations.com/choose.html . .. .. . suppose to be limiting tour sze and claiming more leg space. Agree with previous poster . .. .. . too much to enjoy to think about pillow and blankets.

Good company . .. .. . have done lots of tours with them.

I agree with the others. Our bus was very new, clean, and comfortable. No pillow or blankets but I'd rather use my own if I wanted one anyway. I agree that you couldn't find anything much better.

There was a restroom which you could use in a pinch - but noone ever did.

Our seats reclined some and the seat on the aisle could also move sideways a little (towards the aisle) to give you more space. My DH and I aren't that big so I asked a big football player type guy how comfortable he was. He was a little cramped.

For sure, they were better than what airlines have.

Debbie