Grand Tour of Central Europe 2024 - Czechia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland
Tour of five Central European capitals and UNESCO towns, each of them so rich in history and culture. - Rating by our customers based on 1 tour reviewTour Reviews
Central Europe Grand Tour
Barbora
We wanted to thank you for a most wonderful trip. Diane and I felt like VIP with drivers being present when we needed them and tours being on time. We were a little uncertain on the first day not knowing how each scheduled item on the itinerary would occur and after the first few we understood that each person would show up as scheduled. This made our trip relaxing from a logistical perspective.
As you alluded to, the only glitch was not having our tickets for the first train ride. You responding to our phone call with the ticket numbers solved that issue immediately. We realize that the problem was no person's fault, rather a communication issue as we never received the email that contained the tickets. We looked everywhere, spam, junk etc to no avail. We had set up a phone plan so we could use our cell phones and for some reason it didn't work in the beginning. I suggest informing your clients to test their phone access as soon as possible to avoid the stress of not being able to connect in emergencies. (It took me many hours and contacts with my carrier to correct the issue right when I needed it most).
The personal tours you set up were fantastic with the guides speaking easy to understand English and very open to sharing their culture and personal experiences. This being one of our main objectives for the trip means you score 100. In Cesky Krumlov we were to meet with Ms. Tereza Marsalkova, however Nikki showed up. We had such a wonderful time with her learning about the city and joking and having a relaxed time together. We took her out to dinner afterward and she shared more about her culture. Would you be able to find out her full name and contact information so we could send her a thank you note. As an alternative you can share our contact information so she could contact us if that feels more appropriate. Nikki was knowledgeable and personable and fun to be with. I was a little disappointed not to meet Martin Koska as we would have liked getting some more insight into your company as well as local knowledge. However, Martin ,his replacement , was a winner also. Having two days to get to know each other allowed for extended conversations about life and politics and history and Slovakia. He was a joy to work with. Additionally. He was very accommodating about our request to see the Tatras. I also observed that as he listened to us and got to know us he pointed out sights that he thought would meet our specific interests. He is a very knowledgeable and considerate person. Tomasz Walczyk gave us a knowledgeable tour of Krakow with insights into local pride. Ms. Gabriella Balint was a good guide however she seemed a little distracted. We know she was concerned with last minute child care issues which is understandable yet she was using her cell phone a good portion of our time together. Her tour was interesting and informative and we did not experience a warm connection.
All our drivers were warm and friendly unless there was a language barrier (only once). Our driver in Krakow who took us to the train was especially helpful. He took us to the platform and made sure our train was present and that we knew which car we were to ride in. He made the train connection an easy experience for us (as opposed to the other driver for our first train ride who dropped us off at the curb and left).
Most of the group tours were not as exceptional as our private tours. The one group tour we did enjoy was the Hallstatt tour because the guide was personable and his English was very understandable. Frequently the guides accents were hard to understand which required intense focus on their speaking which took away from admiring what they were talking about. In a couple of instances (Prague and the salt mine) we were not able to understand much of the narrative. The overview city tours on the busses were overwhelming with place detail that I could not put on a map, if I wanted to go back to that location. I think the intention was to give an overview, however I found it dis-orienting under the circumstances of our experience. Perhaps, if they offered a map with the drive route and points of interest, then we could stay focused on the narrative.
Our accommodations were good with a lot of variety to experience local architecture or design or location or places in time. I thought it fun to experience the different styles. Breakfasts were more than ample and the food choices allowed us to take sufficient snacks for lunch.
The pacing of the overall tour was very good in the beginning and we experienced a balance between activity and private time. Towards the end we felt a little rushed between activities. I am guessing the need to get us to all the cities and meet our flight created some time crunch especially with putting the tour activities in the schedule too. Diane and I realized after the trip that having one day on our own in the middle of an 18 day trip would give us a chance to take a collective breath.
Thank you so much for a wonderful tour and we have told a lot of our friends about your company giving us VIP treatment.
We wanted to thank you for a most wonderful trip. Diane and I felt like VIP with drivers being present when we needed them and tours being on time. We were a little uncertain on the first day not knowing how each scheduled item on the itinerary would occur and after the first few we understood that each person would show up as scheduled. This made our trip relaxing from a logistical perspective.
As you alluded to, the only glitch was not having our tickets for the first train ride. You responding to our phone call with the ticket numbers solved that issue immediately. We realize that the problem was no person's fault, rather a communication issue as we never received the email that contained the tickets. We looked everywhere, spam, junk etc to no avail. We had set up a phone plan so we could use our cell phones and for some reason it didn't work in the beginning. I suggest informing your clients to test their phone access as soon as possible to avoid the stress of not being able to connect in emergencies. (It took me many hours and contacts with my carrier to correct the issue right when I needed it most).
The personal tours you set up were fantastic with the guides speaking easy to understand English and very open to sharing their culture and personal experiences. This being one of our main objectives for the trip means you score 100. In Cesky Krumlov we were to meet with Ms. Tereza Marsalkova, however Nikki showed up. We had such a wonderful time with her learning about the city and joking and having a relaxed time together. We took her out to dinner afterward and she shared more about her culture. Would you be able to find out her full name and contact information so we could send her a thank you note. As an alternative you can share our contact information so she could contact us if that feels more appropriate. Nikki was knowledgeable and personable and fun to be with. I was a little disappointed not to meet Martin Koska as we would have liked getting some more insight into your company as well as local knowledge. However, Martin ,his replacement , was a winner also. Having two days to get to know each other allowed for extended conversations about life and politics and history and Slovakia. He was a joy to work with. Additionally. He was very accommodating about our request to see the Tatras. I also observed that as he listened to us and got to know us he pointed out sights that he thought would meet our specific interests. He is a very knowledgeable and considerate person. Tomasz Walczyk gave us a knowledgeable tour of Krakow with insights into local pride. Ms. Gabriella Balint was a good guide however she seemed a little distracted. We know she was concerned with last minute child care issues which is understandable yet she was using her cell phone a good portion of our time together. Her tour was interesting and informative and we did not experience a warm connection.
All our drivers were warm and friendly unless there was a language barrier (only once). Our driver in Krakow who took us to the train was especially helpful. He took us to the platform and made sure our train was present and that we knew which car we were to ride in. He made the train connection an easy experience for us (as opposed to the other driver for our first train ride who dropped us off at the curb and left).
Most of the group tours were not as exceptional as our private tours. The one group tour we did enjoy was the Hallstatt tour because the guide was personable and his English was very understandable. Frequently the guides accents were hard to understand which required intense focus on their speaking which took away from admiring what they were talking about. In a couple of instances (Prague and the salt mine) we were not able to understand much of the narrative. The overview city tours on the busses were overwhelming with place detail that I could not put on a map, if I wanted to go back to that location. I think the intention was to give an overview, however I found it dis-orienting under the circumstances of our experience. Perhaps, if they offered a map with the drive route and points of interest, then we could stay focused on the narrative.
Our accommodations were good with a lot of variety to experience local architecture or design or location or places in time. I thought it fun to experience the different styles. Breakfasts were more than ample and the food choices allowed us to take sufficient snacks for lunch.
The pacing of the overall tour was very good in the beginning and we experienced a balance between activity and private time. Towards the end we felt a little rushed between activities. I am guessing the need to get us to all the cities and meet our flight created some time crunch especially with putting the tour activities in the schedule too. Diane and I realized after the trip that having one day on our own in the middle of an 18 day trip would give us a chance to take a collective breath.
Thank you so much for a wonderful tour and we have told a lot of our friends about your company giving us VIP treatment.
Steven and Diane from the USA
- rating 5