Insight Vacations Reviews

Jenny and I returned today from our trip to England and Europe today (25 October 2011). Many thanks to Insight and to Global Journeys for co-ordinating our travel itinerary. Our transfers and accommodation in London (Thistle Marble Arch) were great and we enjoyed our 5 or so days in London. The Insight 'European Heritage Tour' was one of the best spent ...read more 34 days of our life. At first I was cautious about spending 34 days touring Europe in a coach but the experience turned out to be fabulous. The coaches used by Insight are set up for 40 people rather than the 50 plus seat coaches. Plenty of leg room to lay-back when you are tired, scheduled breaks every two hours or so. Every hotel met or exceeded our expectation. Nobody could ever complain about the high standards of accommodation provided by Insight on this tour. Our tour commenced in London on 15 September with around 30 passengers, two couples were from Canada and the remainder were Aussies. Some left the tour in Athens where another 8 passengers joined us, yes, another 8 Aussies!

The included tours, excursions and meals were excellent as was the included three-night Greek Island Cruise. I will be writing to Insight separately to acknowledge the great time we had. However, such times are only achieved through great planning, coordination and teamwork between Insight, the tour director and the coach driver not to mention a wonderful group of fellow passengers. Betty Griffiths, our tour director and Dino, our Italian driver, are true professionals, noteworthy organisers, good companions and great representatives for Insight. When we were approaching the Greek border from Albania we learnt that the border was closed for our coach. Betty and Insight arranged for a Greek Coach to meet us on the Greek side of the border to transfer us and our baggage for the next two days then onward to Athens. The paper work needed for our coach to cross the border to Greece could not be processed because the public servants were on a 48 hour strike. As you are probably aware the Greek Government has imposed severe austerity measures because of the EU monetary crises. At first it looked as though we would have to take our bags off our coach and trolley them 850 metres down the road (being no-man's land between the Albanian and Greek border). Alas, Betty convinced the Albanian Police to drive her down to the Greek border and then got permission to drive our coach down the 850 metres of road to make the baggage transfer much easier. How easy was that? Dino had to stay with his coach in Albania for the duration of the two day strike in Greece. He ultimately met up with us in Athens. Upon arrival at our first night in Greece (Ioannina) one couple received sad news of the death of a close family member and they needed to urgently return to Australia. Their timely return would not have been possible without Betty Griffiths. At short notice Betty went to unprecedented lengths to coordinate their departure from Greece, albeit during a 48 hour general strike.

A truly remarkable tour director! Betty and Dino should be commended, they were just great. On another day, when leaving Athens, we were passing the Greek Parliament, red traffic light and the coach was surrounded by about 300 protesting students. No panic, five or so minutes delay and off again. All of these exciting extras at no extra charge! What more could you ask? Finally a big thanks to Yvonne Brooks at Global Journeys for all of her help in organising this wonderful trip, we had such a great time. The standard of service and follow up to every question that I raised was quickly satisfied. We received all of our travel documents on time. Global Journeys were very efficient. Who said that great holidays cannot be successfully organised on the internet? I will be recommending Global Journeys to all of our friends. (Ed: Review based on slightly different itinerary. Trip name and itinerary updated this season)

Really enjoyed the 'Best of Spain & Portugal'. Tour guide was very professional but relaxed. Places visited were very interesting. Loved the fact that there was so much leg room on the bus. Enjoyed the Spanish lifestyle.

The Insight tour to Northern Europe Capitals and Russia was generally excellent. The Tour Director and Driver were both excellent and very caring. The Tour Director was most knowledgeable and at times humourous in her commentary. The accommodation was first class with exception of Vitebsk in Belarus which was a poor Russian concrete construction hotel ...read more with poor facilities. Meals where provided, were first class with exception of Vitebsk, where we were given our Russian ration. My greatest critisim was the local tour leader in Berlin who had great difficulty in filling in an hour let alone filling in 2 hours of the tour, given Berlin with its recent history since WW2. I received more information talking to a German man alongside the Berlin Wall. The tour guide in Vitebsk seemed to being giving the tour party the local Communist line on how good the city was and how well the people were treated by the Russians. The visit to the Marc Chagall home was a waste of time as the tour group (cut in two), rooms were so small for the tour party that crowded into the house to hear the Guides (translated from Russian) that they could not see the paintings/photographs on the walls. The Chagall Museum and its etchings were not generally appreciated by the tour party and it had a limited appeal to audiences. It appeared the visits to the Chagall locations were a fill-in as there was nothing better to see in Vitebsk. By comparision the visit to Vilnius, with a similiar history to Vitebsk, was brilliant. Overall the tour was both educational and entertaining and the tour group mixed very well to make a happy time. Would highly recommend Insight tours.

This was the very first bus tour my husband and I had experienced. My husband had always said he would not go on one. Well he has now changed his mind. We had a wonderful tour. It was hectic but enjoyable and we saw all that we wanted. Our tour guide Belinda Richardson was an absolute gem. So knowledgeable and enthusiastic, we could not have had better. ...read more The bus with it extra legroom was much appreciated and the hotels generally were more than acceptable. The only hiccup was in Assisi, the meal was awful everyone complained, but all the rest were magnificent (not good for the waistline). So thank you Global Journeys for a wonderful trip. We certainly hope to do another one!

We were very happy with our tour of Turkey. It was the best organised tour that we have done. The hotels were excellent except the Dederman in Cappadocia. Rashid our tour guide was the best with his extensive knowledge and sense of humour, he got us to the sights, museums etc. at the right times so we didn't have to cue. It was the first tour that I ...read more have done where the tour guide has given his phone no and room no to us. We were very happy with Yvonne's help in booking this tour for us. Thank you all very much. (Ed: Review based on slightly different itinerary. Trip name and itinerary updated this season)

Thoroughly enjoyed the trip despite 45 degree heat on some days. Tour leader was excellent, informative and very well organised. Met some fabulous people and saw a great deal of Italy. My only constructive comments would be perhaps to be careful that at breakfasts and some dinners that are arranged that the members of the tour aren't made to feel like ...read more second class citizens by putting them at back tables (this happened quite a lot to us). Felt like feeding time at the zoo on some occasions. Secondly we stayed at one hotel in Bolzano (Aldi) which was really sub- standard with a dinner that could be barely eaten. Other than that brilliant! Would go again and recommend it to friends!

We had a wonderful trip. Thanks Yvonne at Global Journeys for making the booking and payment process painless and easy to understand. And for your patience and understanding when we rang you to clarify some aspects of the tour as this was our first overseas trip. Happy to recommend Global Journeys to others and will contact you again for our next trip. ...read more The trip itself was fantastic. We were very impressed with Insight Vacations. Sue, our Tour Director was a wealth of knowledge and has a true passion for Europe and travel. Everything happened with a minimum of fuss. The places we visited were wonderful and the hotels we stayed in were also very good. Would definitely travel with Insight again.

We would recommend the tour Road to Rome to anyone. Our tour director Gary was exceptional in all details a very caring manner nothing was a trouble. As for the extras offered they were all more than we had expected so pleased we took the lot. We shall definitely travel with Insight Tours again in the near future. Thank you Yvonne for care and attention ...read more nothing seemed to be a trouble to you, thanks.

Had a great time. Our tour director went that extra mile to please us all. Each destination was just fabulous. Accommodation was first class. This was the first tour I have taken solo, and I am already planning my trip for 2012. Well done! Forgot to mention our excellent coach driver!

As an introduction to Europe, the tour certainly fulfills expectation. There are a couple of items where I think improvement could be made. Weather forecasts on the board to ensure appropriate apparel/sunscreen etc. Better explanation of how the optionals work and how little free time there is if you take them up. The ability to sign up for extras the ...read more day before as you do not know what the city/place you are visiting is like. The quality of the food on the included dinners. A 'tell everyone a bit about yourself' opportunity to help get to know everyone. An indication of the time on the road each day. Things I think were excellent were, the room on the coach, most of the road stops, the tour guide's knowledge, how much we actually saw and did & the price of the extras. Overall, our experience was very good and we now have the knowledge and skill to return to Europe, back to the places we liked and to others we did not even see. Thanks for showing us what we can do! (Ed: Review based on slightly different itinerary. Trip name and itinerary updated this season)

Yvonne looked after our tour and air travel bookings. She was extremely helpful, professional and timely with her responses. She certainly assisted in making the planning of our trip easy. A big thank you. The Italy tour overall was just fantastic. Specific problems in regards to hotels were limited to Florence - we stayed at the LLadro. Rooms were ...read more small with limited non smoking options. The smell of smoke in our room was overpowering. We were moved for the second night but to a very small room. The dinner at this hotel was also sub standard. The tour guide and driver were great and we made many friends. Would recommend it.

The tour was great. Well organised and well run, nothing was ever a problem. Both tour guide and driver were great. The only negative was the 'Turkish version' of history that was presented about the ancient sites visited, which was challenged by a number of travellers who knew their history. eg. presented as Roman ruins rather than Hellenistic, etc. ...read more It made it interesting and amusing :)

The trip was wonderful. It is a well scheduled trip, but some of the 'optional extras' (175 Euros/person) should really have been included as part of the tour, even if that increased the cost. The hotels were good, except for the Marriott in Lisbon. This was very inconveniently located (and in need of some refreshing). Our guide, John Chappell was informative ...read more while the driver of the bus really deserves special commendation in the way he assisted passengers on and off the bus. Thanks for your efficient help with the reservations.

We both really enjoyed the trip through Europe for 14 days. The tour guide we had on the bus was fantastic and he made the most of our time on the tour. Not much free time but we knew that before we left but we could not have seen half of what we had seen had we not been on the Insight Tour. Also got into the attractions at a good time with not much ...read more waiting. We had a great bus load of people and we all got along well and swapped email addresses. I would totally recommend Insight Tours as it was a great introduction to Europe for us first timers.

It was an amazing experience. The tour director Belinda and driver Antonio were absolute professionals and they really knew their stuff. The coach was brand new and very comfortable with all facilities that were required on board. The hotels and the food of exceptional quality and the staff at all hotels were helpful. The tour was well organised and ...read more directed, this was made possible by the attitude that Belinda where nothing was to much trouble for her and Antonio kept us safe with his exceptional skills in handling the coach. I would recommend this tour to all people, but if you dont like walking dont do it, however this is not a reflection on the tour, because the more walking we did the more we saw and experienced. Great all round, many thanks to all involved!

Our thoughts on our trip was that is was a very well planned 14 day bus trip through Europe just to give you a taste of the 8 Countries we visited. We had been kept informed through Global Journeys prior to our trip to keep us up to date and also when we arrived home to see how it was. My husband and myself would no hesitation to re book with Global ...read more Journeys for the next time we travel to Europe or to any other destination we decide. It was such a great trip for our first time that yes we will try to get back there again some time.

The tour was excellent. We had a great tour guide called Anna who was very knowledgable but not boring. The hotel in Athens was very nice but it could have been more central to the Plaka and shops. The location of the other hotels on tour were great. Overall I would highly recommend this tour.

Our trip, Normandy, Brittany & Chateaux Country was very well organised. Our tour leader, Phillipe was very helpful and gave us enough information, guidance and free time. All the accommodation and included meals were excellent. My daughter and I both enjoyed the trip very much; the standard and punctuality of the coach were first rate and really we ...read more could not fault the trip in any way.

Tour was very well organised and accommodations mostly were of a high standard. I would have preferred to have fewer included activities (eg dinners) and more exposure to the natural environment than was included. When we arrived back in Boston after the tour ended, myself and a number of others who were not flying out of Boston directly or not staying ...read more at Omni Parker House, were left to make our own way to our alternate accommodation in spite of the fact that the tour ended more than 2 hours earlier that was expected. I did not find this level of service acceptable given the relative high cost of the tour.