Travelled in October 2019 on the Europe jewel. For the price, the tour was great. However, the tour guide had his moments where although he said he "attempted" to connect with all from the group he clearly had his favorites and assisted them more then the ones he had to tolerate. He also sat with a specific group and didn't really share with all equally. Also if you made friends with people from the tour he would separate you so you can meet other groups which isn't bad , but one should be allowed to sit with whomever you want. The tour guide also came off very pushy with the tips and when a lady on the bus fell on the bus he lacked compassion. He was extremely upset and acted annoyed and not very supportive to the lady at the time. He just wanted to get her to the hotel and get rid of the problem. As for the optional excursions, some are worth it and some aren't. Some optional dinners were 40$ euros a person but the quality was lacking. The food you can tell was not fresh and the options were very limited. A suggestion, for those who are triggered by others actions, I recommend to ensure before booking that you're okay with dealing with 49 other personalities. The group we had was a mixture of annoying phillipinos who wanted to be the first in everything to laid back nice families.
We had a great with my girls on the trip. Luke the Tour guide was amazing, knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor. The driver, Paul was amazing too, always smiling even after a long drive. He loaded and unloaded our luggage all the time. The passion that Luke has for his job was exceptional. He really loves what he is doing. Regardless of long trips and managing different characters, they remained professional.
The tour is excellent when it comes to "value for money" rating. The hotels were just right, the attention to detail was exemplary, from registration to the end of the tour. Our tour guide, Gustavo was funny, entertaining and very accommodating and assisted us with all the tips that we needed to make our day to day experience enjoyable, safe and comfortable. Some lunches and dinners were included in the price and not as optional tours. There are still some room for improvement, though. I suggest either to add an extra day in Vienna to be able to cover Schonbrunn or get rid of Slovakia to give some place to an extra day in Vienna. We appreciated the visit of the Expat owners when we were in Paris. I have been raving about this trip to my fellow doctors in the hospital Long live the tour operator!
Bas NausTravel Expert in Belgium and Holland
