Advantages of a Globus Tour

Three days ago, I decided to check reviews on http://www.tripadvisor.com/ on hotels I'll be staying at. I couldn't imagine Globus picking some dumps. From what I read, it sounds like the hotels will be all right though the rooms may be smaller than what I'm use to in the states.

While looking at the hotel reviews, I also took down the price per night of each hotel. I wanted to see if the tour I'll be going on was a good deal. Based on what it would cost to stay at each hotel for the number of nights I'll be staying there during the tour, it is a good deal. If I booked each hotel via one of the on-line booking services, I could expect to pay $2,969 alone for hotels. This doesn't include the breakfast buffet many of these hotels offer. The buffet can add another $15 or more per day. The price of my tour was $2,319 with an additional $595 single room charge for a total of $2,914. That means, I'll save at least $55 on hotels but, that doesn't reflect the total savings.

For starters, my transportation is included with the price of the tour. For 14 days, there will be a driver and bus to take the troup I'll be with to all the places we'll be visiting. Also, the tour includes 7 dinners. Figuring on a minimum of $25 per dinner, that would be worth at least $175. It also includes the ferry crossing from Frederickhavn to Gothenburg and a cruise on Sognefjord. I have no idea what those would cost but I doubt they're cheap. Lastly, there are guided tours of Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo as well as orientation visits to Gothenburg and Bergen.

Another item that would be hard to put a price on is the use of a guide the entire time. This is one thing I particularly like about the tour. I'll have the services of someone who is very knowledgeable about the countries and who can answer any questions I have about them. They can probably speak the languages of the various countries and so interpret for me if that is needed. They can help me avoid any number of pitfalls I'd be likely to fall into if I were on my own. Remember, I've never been to Denmark, Sweden or Norway. Once I've been to these countries and got a feel for them, I'll feel fine visiting on my own but, for my first visit, I like having the services of someone who knows the ropes as us Americans say.

Overall, I feel Globus tours are a good value. If you booked the various tours and hotels yourself, you'd probably end up paying more. They are also very convenient and easy. From the time you arrive at your destination country, they take care of you. The hardest part of the Australia tour I went on taking my bag to and from my hotel room. You don't have to mess with keeping track of various reservations or making sure you arrive for such and such tour in time. When Harvey and I went to New York City, we found out how much Globus had spoiled us. No one met us at Penn Station when we arrived. No one took us to where the Greyline tours started. No one told us how to get back to our hotel or where Radio Music City Hall was. Globus would've done all those things. The nice thing about Globus is they allow you to concentrate on having fun. Isn't that what vacations are supposed to be about?

Disclaimer: Just so all my readers know, I'm not in any way affiliated with Globus i.e. I don't work for them. I have contributed stories and photos to http://www.exchangetravelstories.com which is run by the Globus family of travel companies. I have received 1,300 GO points for those stories. When you earn enough GO points (2,400 points for a $10 gift certificate), you can exchange them for gift certificates to Amazon.com and GiftCertificates.com. I feel my stories have told both good and bad things about their tours.