Globus - Sydney, New South Wales

Sharon M.

An excellent experience. Very experienced guides. We visited so many amazing places on the Eastern European tour. Perfect time of the year do these countries - weather mostly fine and mild and no crowds. Poland was a fabulous surprise.

D W.

My mum recently retired and with her savings, she went on a tour with Globus and got scammed by the tour operator.

She paid for two optionals in advance, helicopter experience and wildlife cruise. When she arrived for the tour, she booked a 3rd optional - the river adventure. The tour operator asked her for $629 USD (and cash only) claiming they had not received any payment for the helicopter experience, after paying she asked for a receipt and the operator said "I'll email it to you" but she never received one despite trying to contact the operator multiple times in vain.

Not only that, out of the 3 optionals she had paid for, she only went on the helicopter experience. She never had the opportunity to go on the wildlife cruise nor the river adventure.

She tried complaining to Globus head office, they advised her there was no record of a cash payment of $629 nor any bookings for river adventure. They would start an investigation and advise her of the outcome ASAP. That was more than a year ago and she still have not gotten a response from Globus.

Terrible treatment of my elderly mother and no follow up from customer service means they simply don't care. This isn't the first time she's joined a tour group but it's the last time with the Cosmos/Globus group.

Alexis F.

I am writing this review on behalf of my parents from who undertook this tour from the 4-24 August.

The tour coordinator, Scott, was extremely rude towards my parents who appeared to be the only people of colour on this tour. My parents were unfairly targeted and had listed several instances in which where they were attacked:

- [ ] My dad was sleeping on the bus, and Scott tried to take a photo of him in order to wake him up. He did not do this with any of the other passengers who were asleep.
- [ ] At the museum, he was about to say something rude - however, another tourist stopped him.
- [ ] Despite my dad not wanting to talk and desiring to listen instead, Scott kept picking on him and insisted that he talk. Keep in mind that my dad has a thick accent and Scott would laugh.

Scott apologised at the end of the tour, however, this behaviour is appalling. It doesn’t cost anything to be a decent, nice and caring human - something that I believe underpins his role as a tour coordinator.

Everything else within the tour was nice.

Leonie H.

My sisters & I did the Greek Island Hopper tour. It was an amazing experience, our tour guide was really informative & helpful. The accommodation was fabulous, especially on the islands. There was a good mix of guided tours and free time. Added bonus of meeting new friends from around the world. These tours are a great way to experience a new location. Highly recommend.

Angela B.

I have been Globus and Cosmos customer since 2007 and have enjoyed many of their holiday packages in that time to France, Switzerland, Greece, Turkey, Italy, Netherlands and the UK. The tours are always well organised, a great support for women travellers and always a lot of fun. The tours are as advertised, so if you do your homework, you can get the trip suited to you at a good time of year. I am looking forward to Egypt and Morocco, maybe Jordan too?, as my travel destinations next year, with Globus and Cosmos of course!

Dianne H.

Poland, East Germany & World War 2 Tour.
For the most part this tour was very insightful & informative. It was what I had hoped for in many ways. I had been on an Insight Vacations tour previously & that was wonderful. I was hoping for the same level of vacation with Globus & was, at times, disappointed.
The bus was small (in comparison to Insight Vacation) & quite uncomfortable for a tour that I spent upwards of 3 hours on it at times.
The tour guide was very knowledgeable in his history of the sights we went to see. However he was somewhat unapproachable at times. He seemed standoffish.
I was to be picked up from Warsaw Airport, as to the instructions in my itinerary booklet, however no-one came & I had to wait 2 hours before someone came, and this was only because other members of the tour were to be picked up. My name wasn't even on the list!!
I booked and paid for a tour to Oberammergau & Linderhof Castle, but this wasn't even an option anymore, I was refunded my money on my return home. It was then recommended that I attend & pay for the Eagles Nest tour. The day of the tour it was raining & by the time we got to the Eagles Nest we could not see the panorama views of the alps, in fact it rained so much and it was so cold, we were hurried back into the restaurant where we had lunch, a quick look around the souvenir shops, then back on the bus to go to our next stop. What a waste of money.
The hotels we stayed at were very nice & close to the Old Towns or city centres, until we got to Munich, where we were way out of town & had to catch transport to get into the city centre, which was closed on Sunday.
I probably would not travel with Globus again & would not recommend them.

Marigold

Have been booking globus cosmos for over 20 years. The tours are great! They know what they are doing. Sadly the service we received in Aus sub standard. Management need to support front-line staff and TRAIN them they are not processors. That is what we were left feeling. Australians pay a heavy price for travel the exchange rates are against us. More reason for the Australian travel industry to step it up! Laissez faire
We will book again but not here

George L.

Went on Europe tour—was great to see all the beautiful cities—Luzern and Paris were my favourites!

We found local restaurants for dinner — this is a must—we went to at least four really good ones—just seek out a highly rated one near the hotel! Especially in Paris—stay there until late and chat over wine like the locals do —such a laid back and romantic atmosphere.

We went up the Swiss alps in a train—so unique and marvellous to the eye. Switz was all lakes and mountains and grasslands—I’ve never before or since seen such natural beauty.

By the way, London is a near total waste of time for the Aussie traveller—just like Sydney but with worse weather! Mayfair steakhouse was very very special—I guess I went to London to eat one tremendous steak!

Note that this is a Very high paced and intense tour—with day long bus rides every day and very early morning rises (no respite from the jet lag) and I’m young—imagine the older travelers! I would imagine a single country tour would be more laid back for those wanting more relaxation. I will go to only Switzerland next time.

You should note that this is NOT a relaxing holiday—perhaps it isn’t meant to be. It is a very intensive sightseeing tour—this would be great if you were trying to get a taste of every city. I was unfortunately expecting something more relaxed and taken aback—ended up very tired. Early wakes every single day even the first- I'm jet lagged as are all others! - better tour planning needed!

We stayed in decent yet small hotel rooms— around 3-4 star standard. Acceptable as we were usually in each city just one night—just don’t expect top luxury. There aren’t any tremendous restaurants in any of the hotels—you’ll have to go outside. Most of the hotels were in city centres fortunately.

Some but not all meals are provided—they were all unique and very filling—note portion sizes are huge in Europe relative to the price—from an Aussie perspective.

Tour guide Elzo was extremely talkative—in my opinion too much so on the very long bus rides-very annoying at times-headache! Would have preferred more relaxation than trivia on my holiday. Perhaps other tour guides operate with a different style.

Note the tour isn’t all with Aussies! Unfortunately the tour was with many Americans—who ungracefully insist on tipping at every occasion—despite there being no such culture in Europe—Europeans have told me it’s similar to that of Aussie culture. The Americans’ cultural insensitivity—I mean generosity —almost compelling us to tip too. Not to say I had any problem with the guests in particular —all fellow travelers were lovely and out to have a great time too.