Good for seeing alot in a short time
Written: Sep 08 '05
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Pros: variety of people, guaranteed share program, plethora of side trips
Cons: not for those expecting a five star trip or a party central atmosphere
The Bottom Line: Good balance of cost and sights
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| skigt's Full Review: Cosmos |
As most other reviews of this company state, this isn't a luxury trip. That out of the way, I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed my trip. I had just graduate from college and like most young adults wanted to go see Europe while I was young and could have some fun. Now here is another point I need to make, I am no party animal and this is not like a Contiki tour that expects wild parties and caters to younger adults as I was. But I didn't know that and as it turns out it was fine with me.
The cost was very reasonable for the European Panorama since I chose to leave the 1st week in October when the prices dropped slightly. And I was very surprised that the temperatures were not like a Pennsylvania October, instead they were very pleasant. But then again 45F to me is still short and t-shirt weather. I did take a coat and I think I put it on one time. Anyway, I took advantage of the guaranteed share program which further reduced the cost and to those who do not know what it is, it simply means that if you are a single traveler they company will pair you up with another single same sex traveler that is in your group and you share the hotel rooms. I lucked out in this case as the only other singles were females, and I ended up getting the cheaper double occupancy rate instead of having to pay the single rate and I got to enjoy the hotel rooms all to myself during the entire 14 days.
Now as for the hotel rooms, sure they were not first class, five star joints, but there were acceptable for a budget group, plus I wanted to see more of a cultural aspect of this trip instead of just the tourist trap places. The weirdest thing for me was that some of the hotels had shared bathrooms. But then again the cool thing was that since I was the single male guest, I was usually away from the rest of the group. Not that I minded being in a group of roughly 30-35 people whose age probably averaged 45 or so. Being only 21 at the time I thought it was cool that I was the youngest in the group. And I made several good friends of a group from Australia and Georgia.
The worst things about the trip was a constantly complaining New Yorker that constantly compared EVERYTHING to US standards. About halfway through the trip my friends started playing "Guess the complaint" every morning when he got on the bus. And the other bad thing about the trip and again it doesn't really relate to the tour itself is that I somehow got a pretty bad case of "traveler's sickness" and for some reason the tour guides decided that no one was going to be allowed to use the bathroom on the bus. In retrospect, it was probably a good idea for everyone's comfort. Because I could only imagine how well liked I would have been then :)
As for the meals . . . the few that are provided . . . you are pretty much on your own for most of them. Of the ones that are provided they were decent if you like "chips" 0 a.k.a. french fries. Just keep in mind that those are considered a celebratory food and used in special occasions and not to just placate the American taste buds (something I learned when visiting my Romanian in-laws for the first time this year and it was explained to me by my wife).
The extra tours that can be purchased can get a little pricey and your "budget" tour can quickly become very expensive. My advice would be unless it involves a substantial bus ride to get you there, look into doing it yourself. The European public transit system is pretty efficient and straight forward once to get to know gist of it. Plus as one other reviewer pointed out with the cost for the Louvre’s ($50) as compared to the $8 entry fee at the door, you can get screwed with certain items. Caveat Emptor.
My final assumation of the company is that if you want to see a lot of countries in a short amount of time and not spend a fortune, then this is a definite winner. It not only gives you free time to explore on your own, but it does provide the basic means to getting around and the options to do fun things with a group too. But if you’re a party animal, you might be better off searching for those groups that cater to a younger crowd specifically. If your young and don't really want to hang around tourist traps and want to see Europe in a more relaxed and carefree atmosphere and have the ability to see a little more of behind the scene (not in a bad meaning way)Europe in some places, then this it.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Seniors
Tour type: Group
Tour format: Bus
Tour length: Over a Week
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Epinions.com ID:
skigt
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Reviews written: 18
Trusted by: 0 members
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