Trafalgar Travel Reviews 175

Trafalgar are amazing!
My first experience with them was the Best of Switzerland tour and as a solo traveler I had the best time. The tour guide looked after us so well, and provided so much information about the history of the country as well the culture and languages. He even provided a lot of Lindt chocolate which was a thoughtful touch.
And it gets better! Last year I WON a trip to Costa Rica (which myself and my bf were already saving up for) and Trafalgar once again went above and beyond for us. This tour guide was also amazing and he was so passionate about showing us around his country. We learnt so much from him about Costa Rica and all the flora and fauna which is truly fascinating.

I honestly cant recommend Trafalgar enough, and will booking again asap!

I travelled with Trafalgar Travel to Turkey and it was AMAZING. Our Travel Director, Al, was so accommodating and knowledgable and treated us like family not tourists.

We got to try local food and do experiences I could never have organised by myself. There was a really nice mix of couples and families on the trip, of all ages so it was easy to make friends or also enjoy time as a solo traveller.

Highly recommend!

when my daughter and I arrived at the hotel, after arriving in Sicily, my daughter's suitcase wasa missing.(This was the 2nd time trip with Trafalgar that this had happened). We had taken the suitcase, complete with confirmed name tag on it, out to the bus witj our fellow travellers. We watched suitcases being loaded. Stiull, the suitcase didn't arrive.(also our rooms werent ready until afternoon, also chronic problem with Trafalgar. Anyway, our guide INSISTED that my daughter had taken the WRONG suitcase,as I said, we saw the name tag.
The denial of responsibility, the refusal to send the driver to check th airport went on ALL day. My daughter was distraught so we spent 80 Euros travellint to and from the Airport to check, even though the guide again INSISTED she had checked and it wasn't there.(REMEMBER TRAFALGAR HAD LOST MY DAUGHTERS SUITCASE BEFORE, AND IT ENDED UP LEFT AT THE AIRPORT FOR 14 DAYS.
Well, lo and behold, my daughter, after an hour of speaking with various people, retrieved her suitcase. No thanks to our guide OR Trafalgfar and out of pocket for 80 Euros. We've travelled with Trafalgar a number of times but NOTHING would induce us to use them again!!

This was a horrible trip that my husband & I had with Trafalgar! The tour operator was a disgrace!! He never even introduced himself, was a terrible communicator, never looked at & followed my medical firm with need to do less steps & less walking, and was in his own world? When our bus broke down in south Utah he didn’t even call the police for many hrs & we were there for 6.5 hrs, until after midnite. He didn’t even get us anything to eat. What a disgrace & since he didn’t listen to me, i ended up in lots of pain! Never Trafalgar again Bryan Smith was tour operator

One word, amazing ..... it's mind blowing and another mind blowing day , which the words my travel director says everday, Mr Danilo..which was exactly what we got.
Was a packed trip which so much sighting and top notch service from Danilo and excellent driver Davide .
Salute as my family and me had a best trip and we'll taken care
.

If you worked for your hard-earned money and wanted to go on your dream vacation, choose another tour company. I booked 9 months prior to the tour as I saw the hotels and itinerary that I wanted. Three weeks prior, I was notified that my centrally located Rome hotel was moved out of Rome to the suburbs -45 minutes away and in residential area with no sights or restaurants. Two weeks prior to the tour, Trafalgar couldn't get tickets to the Vatican. It gets better, while on the tour, fellow tour members inform me that our hotel in Venice was moved off the island. Moved to an industrial area that half an hour bus ride away and 20-minute water taxi to get to Venice instead of walking out the front door of the Venice hotel. We lost the full experience in Rome and Venice. It is too late for me. not for you. For Trafalgar- change the name of this tour from Great Italian Cities to Suburban Italian Cities so you don't deceive your potential customers.

I had to cancel my trip to Italy Trafalgar was great in returning the amount of $2329.74 for me Iris Merlino and my companion Marcia Giannini on 10/24/24. The insurance company is giving me a very hard time refunded the money I sent in all my information to their address certified mail (it was picked up per certified mail) I am not a expert on computers and cannot fill out the form with attachments. They received it on the 8th of November. I called last night no they said they did not receive the information finally I got a reference #3457971. I am still unable to walk because of bulging disc, pinched nerve and sciatica. I went to er on October 12th had MRI and CT scan Xrays since then. Since I did sign up with travel insurance when I booked the trip I would like any help you can provide. Iris Merlino 247 Brier Circle Jupiter Florida 33458 5617452377. Your booking number is ttusas-b997787 booked on July 22,2024

A great tour and the Tour Director and Driver were excellent, but corporate support was lacking. When we booked our trip our web page said that the itinerary would update with more detailed information " soon". It never updated. Our tour had 4 potential seasonal optional experiences, Despite calling customer service 2 weeks prior to the trip, we were unable to determine which were actually available until contacted by the Tour director. This left inadequate time to seek and book optional activities as only one excursion was actually offered.

We are currently taking a tour of Ireland with Trafalgar. This is our first organized coach tour abroad and our first booking with Trafalgar…. Very disappointing. My disappointment stems from the items we have listed below as well as not reading reviews prior to booking.

I have listed several callouts from our travels with the intent of providing insight for prospective travelers… both seasoned travelers as well as those who are new to this type of travel experience.

1) Ask in advance as to how your seats will be assigned on the motor coach.

Determine if there will be a rotation of seat assignment's including front to back and side to side (left to right) on the bus. This is important to assure seat assignments are uniform amongst all of your fellow travelers. If you’re traveling with a group and you want to sit together make sure your request is confirmed…. We were separated after day two.

Resolving these points up-front will definitely create a more enjoyable experience related to of your considerable time on the coach.

You don’t want to be in a situation like ours where you’re traveling along the coast of Ireland and relegated only to one side of the bus, separated from your group, and missing opportunities to absorb the scenery and document the vista’s/attractions appropriately with pictures.

On Wednesday, only three days into the trip we asked our guide if we could be afforded an opportunity to sit up front or at least close to the front for at least a segment… her response was “it was already late in the trip”… the next morning we were moved to the second to last row in the coach. So much for any favorable consideration of our request while we were celebrating our wedding anniversary and my brides birthday.

It was difficult for us to understand why other guests received preferential seat assignments who were not disabled nor had specific medical needs. There were situations where guests were guaranteed non-rotation of seats and therefore better seats. At a minimum, I would advocate you attempt to determine how your expectations and trip will be impacted by your seat assignments.

2) Don’t pre-pay gratuities in advance.

We went with our travel agents suggestion to pay gratuities at the time of booking. On day one of the tour the tour guide explicitly defined the expectations for a gratuity… 6 and 4 euro per day for host and driver respectively per passenger.

When I pre-paid the gratuities I didn’t ask how those gratuities would be distributed… this was a mistake. If you decide to pre-pay, at a minimum determine who gets the gratuity and how much. It’s like anything else, if you go to dinner and receive great service you’re more than appreciative and tip accordingly… the inverse is in-play with the “pay gratuities up-front.”

With pre-paying there is no incentive for the tour guide host/hostess to provide exceptional service nor accommodate your request and/or support. I can’t confirm if it impacted our requests but it is reasonable to assume more effort would be afforded accommodating those who haven’t paid gratuities up front.

3) Determine in advance how hotel rooms will be assigned to guests

We had rooms that were not desirable including a two night stay where the outside view was completely obstructed. My thought process was the travel company would have negotiated a block of preferred rooms due to the their frequency of interaction with the same hotels … tour after tour. I was wrong… these hotel rooms with Trafalgar appear to be in-fill rooms and as such are the least desirable of the hotels available rooms.

Additionally, like the assignment of seats on the bus coach… if there was complete random assignment and/or uniformity/equity as to room assignments one would not question… but there was not. Of the rooms that Trafalgar made available there were rooms that were significantly better than others. I would advocate you ask in advance where you will be staying within the hotel if room choice and preference is a consideration for you.

4) Understand there will be incidental tours and sight seeing opportunities that are not included in your tour package…you will be sold hard to participate.

We did participate in all of the Extra tours not included in the overall price of the tour.

In summary, Mike, our coach driver was great. Our tour guide was well informed and very pleasant but the execution of the items listed above was severely lacking.

I strongly advise against booking Trafalgar’s Splendors of Japan with Hiroshima tour. While our guide was professional, they spoke to us like we were children, which quickly became condescending and frustrating. The itinerary was poorly planned, with way too much time spent on the bus and not nearly enough time at the actual attractions. Despite the sweltering heat, there were no adjustments made to accommodate the weather, leaving us uncomfortable and exhausted.

The hotels were outdated, and no precautions were taken to ensure guests' health, which was especially concerning during a group tour. The experience felt far too touristy and staged rather than authentic, making it a huge letdown for anyone hoping to truly experience Japan. Group meals were also disappointing—unimaginative and lacking local flair.

Considering the price, this tour is not worth it. Between the rushed schedule, uninspired itinerary, and lack of concern for guests' comfort and health, it was a major disappointment. I would recommend looking elsewhere if you want a meaningful, well-organized trip to Japan.

Additionally, our experience with Trafalgar’s Guest Services was extremely disappointing. We contacted them during our tour with urgent concerns, and it took days for them to respond. When they finally did, their answer was dismissive—they told us we’d have to wait until after the trip for any resolution. This left us feeling helpless and unheard while still on the tour.

After the trip, we reached out again hoping for some accountability, but instead received a detailed response that completely brushed off all of our concerns. They offered no remedy or compensation for the issues we raised, despite how much we paid for the tour. It was clear that they were not interested in making things right. We expected better service from a company like Trafalgar, and this experience left us frustrated and dissatisfied. I would not recommend relying on their guest services for any meaningful support.

I'm reading all these reviews but already booked, can't cancel now.
Im heading to Prague, Vienna and Budapest on November 1-8, 2024 with Trafalgar. Now im having night mare.
Im going to keep my fingers crossed and hope everything goes well. Hopefully i could find decent food as i take meds. Im not bringing a lot of extra money to spend as this trip is already above my budget.
Does anyone know if i need a converter for to charge my phone? Im traveling from Canada and its 110 v here. Any other advice would be welcome. Thank you. Ray.. Toronto Canada

Friends and I just returned from Trafalgar's Great Italian Cities tour. The positives were our travel guide, Laura, who was fun, knowledgeable, engaging, and really good at "herding" 40+ people with a range of personalities, needs and mobility. We saw a lot, and packed in more than we would have done on our own. The local experts who gave us tours of various cities and attractions were, for the most part, excellent. Two of the three hotels were ideally situated, close to city centers, and were all very nice. Now for the drawbacks....we had a lot of issues leading up to the tour date, with hotels not being confirmed, inability for Trafalgar to book us an extra night at the first hotel so we could arrive a day early (we were able to book it w/o a problem on our own), canceling our Vatican tour (which we also had to book on our own). Also, the group meals that were included, and two that were optional that we paid extra for, ranged from just palatable to awful! Most of our tour were Americans. I guess Trafalgar thinks Americans prefer dry, baked chicken legs for their main course! Of real disappointment was one of the optional meals, on Burano. The fish was unpalatable; and guests who had chicken or beef said they were inedible. The best meals we had were during our free time, when we found our own restaurants. I'm glad to have finally tried a bus tour, but I will never take one again and certainly won't be recommending Trafalgar!

We did the Paris with highlights of Barcelona tour. The tour was very exhausting and fast paced. Many beautiful sights such as churches were skipped over, and people where only permitted outside photo opps. I ended up excusing myself from the tour early due to exhaustion and never got to see Monaco. I was sad, because I was looking forward to Monaco. I also ended up contracting Covid 19 in Spain. Not a great experience.

Most our hotels were downgraded and were on the outskirts of town. We were supposed to stay on Murano Island, a converted monestary, and in a lakeside hotel. Didn't happen. The last hotel was in the middle of nowhere in Rome with no easy access to downtown or the airport. The dinners provided were minimally OK.

The Itinerary was changed and we were provided the times only the day in advance.

Also, they had Optional Tours that one had to purchase that were scheduled when one was traveling from one city to another. if you didn't purchase it, what did you do, especially as one had little notice of the time.

The total of the Optional Tours amounted to an additional 50% of the tour cost if one purchased them all.

I would not book with this company again.

We booked our Trafalgar trip trough Europe. We paid the amount which included a guide and porterage services - so we thought. Through the trip we were strongly pressured to tip the guide and bus drive - 4 euros per person per day for driver and 6 euros per person per day for guide. We felt somewhat ripped off given how much we paid for the Trafalgar tour to then pay 20 euros per day for 21 days (extra 420 Euros / $714 AUD). It appears that Trafalgar pay their staff peanuts and then we have to pay this charge so that thye get a fair remuneration for the services Trafalgar brochure says are base level inclusions.
It felt like an extorsion.
We will try another company next time.

I have traveled with Trafalgar Travels three times, and my experience was a mix of highs and lows. Here’s an honest take on what to expect.

**Pros:**
- **Hassle-Free Travel:** One of the standout features of Trafalgar Travels is the ease of travel. The entire journey is conducted via a comfortable coach, which makes the experience stress-free. The coaches are well-maintained, ensuring a smooth ride.

- **Friendly and Knowledgeable Tour Guides:** The tour guides are another highlight. They’re not only friendly but also incredibly knowledgeable about the destinations. Local guides are also brought in to provide deeper insights, which added a lot of value to the tour.

- **Quality Meals:** Most meals are included in the package, and they are generally of good quality. It’s a relief not having to worry about where to eat, as the food provided was satisfying and diverse.

- **Convenient and Comfortable Hotels:** The hotels we stayed at were usually convenient in terms of location and comfort. They were generally clean and provided a good resting spot after a day of exploring.

- **Efficient Touring:** The itinerary is well-organized, allowing us to cover large areas in a relatively short amount of time. This efficiency is great for those looking to maximize their sightseeing opportunities.

**Cons:**
- **Extra Costs for Essential Sightseeing:** One downside is that many essential sightseeing activities are not included in the base package and require additional payment. This can add up quickly, making the trip more expensive than initially anticipated.

- **Inconsistent Hotel Quality:** While some hotels were comfortable, others were subpar, akin to the quality of a budget motel. This inconsistency in accommodation quality was disappointing and detracted from the overall experience.

- **Complicated Refund Process:** If your tour is canceled, whether by you or Trafalgar Travels, be prepared for a complicated and lengthy refund process. I was quoted 90 days to receive a refund for a tour they canceled, which is frustratingly slow.

- **Health Considerations on Coach Days:** Spending long hours in close proximity to others on the coach can raise health concerns, especially in terms of potential illness. It’s something to be aware of, especially if you’re prone to catching bugs.

We just finished the Contrasts of Switzerland tour. This tour is basically some coach tickets and hotels. You are just traveling in regular coach class. Nothing special about the tour and unlike bus tours they don’t provide any information about the area while you are traveling on the train. Just book the train tickets and hotels on your own and you could save lots of money. In my opinion this tour is a ripoff.

We recently took the Capitals of Scandinavia tour.
Our tour director, Mike was excellent. He is knowledgeable, personable, professional, and friendly.
Our driver, Tom, was also excellent. He drove us through 5 countries expertly.
We definitely recommend Trafalgar. Wonderful trip!!

The locations we visited were stunning, and the hotels and experiences were wonderful. The local guides were knowledgeable, professional, and generally guided us well, though they could have been a bit more attentive to the group's needs.

However, the main guide we had for the tour seemed somewhat disconnected from the group as a whole. It felt as though he didn't fully appreciate or respect the Trafalgar travelers, as if we hadn't earned the right to be there. When we brought to his attention that some group members were struggling to keep up with his pace or wanted to take more time for photos, he simply continued at the same speed.

At one point, he even lectured us on the coach, going so far as to play a podcast about gratitude and happiness. He also made it clear what he expected in terms of reviews and tips, discussing this three days before the tour was over, which felt inappropriate.

I've taken many Trafalgar tours before and have always loved the experience, with guides and drivers who were attentive and accommodating. Unfortunately, this was my worst experience so far. It’s worth noting that this guide was not local and had no personal connection to the areas we visited, which may have impacted the experience. This is something I will consider for future trips.

This is my second tour with Trafalgar and it has been exceptional once again. I appreciate the sense of security and safety I have with Trafalgar knowing that I am taken care of from start to end and it is not only the big things but the small things that count. The drivers' skills to maneuve through the winding and smaller roads is remarkable in the huge couch, which is so comfortable and spacious, and always lending a supportive hand to help us off the coach shows kindness and patience. Our tour guide Victor was brilliant, his commanding presence ensured our safety and that we kept to schedule. He is so knowledgeable and I appreciated him sharing all the tidbits of the history of places, people and environment. Trafalgar promotes awareness of the local people, their business and culture as we had at least four experiences included on the tour where we are given the opportunity to learn about how these family businesses started and grew and this showcase from Trafalgar not only highlights these undertakings but also encourages us to take a step back and reflect on how we can give back in our own communities. Support local is huge for me and it helps smaller businesses and families not only thrive but they include their communities in their ventures to expand, educate and shows the true meaning of "Ubuntu" in action. I also love the fact that I am on holiday and the Trafalgar team makes it that much more special as you don't have to plan and scurry about not knowing what is happening. You are kept informed, days are planned out in advance, the communication is on par and if you need anything they are always willing to assist with a smile. It means you get to just enjoy the trip and take it all in. The cherry on the cake is although we travel in a group everyone has their own personalities and the Trafalgar team knows how to manage each person making it a better and smoother experience for all. Thank you Trafalgar and your amazing team. I look forward to book my next trip with Trafalgar and this wonderful experience has uncovered my passion for travel and wanting to share this with my children as I know they will be safe in your capable hands.