European Highlights

Traveler Reviews

• SM

  Selena3.0•May 2026
  European Highlights Tour HG April 17-26 2026 starting in London England, France, Switzerland, and ending in Rome,...
  European Highlights Tour HG April 17-26 2026 starting in London England, France, Switzerland, and ending in Rome, Italy Tour Guide IRIS (the Netherlands): She was awesome, energetic, professional, knowledgeable, kind, funny, and overworked 12+ hours a day and needs an assistant for these fast-paced "highlight" trips. 4 countries in an actual time of 8 days is too much with multiple stops and excursions for 1 person to handle, along with guest issues, but she did it with a smile on her face. Our entire tour was in awe of her. You can tell she loves her job, cared about us, and remained in constant communication, and even answered our texts throughout the trip. I even caught her helping with luggage at 6:30 a.m. She was the first one up and the last one down every day. Her multi-tasking skills just can't be beat, and she was absolutely the best part of our entire trip! Bus driver Paolo (Italy): An outstanding and safe driver, always punctual, relaxed, friendly, and professional. His English was good enough, and it was nice to see his smile every day. He handled luggage and driving with ease, though it wasn't easy given how the other drivers were driving in every country. He was a big part of what made our tour enjoyable! Secret guest/quality control Globus employee Susana (the Netherlands): We did NOT feel Susana added much value in her role as a ride-along quality control guest. While she appeared to take notes and photos during excursions and meals, she often behaved differently from the rest of the employees and, at times, came across as a princess and was unapproachable. For example, bus seating rotated daily so all guests could enjoy different views, but she remained near the front for the entire trip instead of participating in rotation. There were also moments where she publicly corrected or contradicted tour guide Iris in ways that felt unnecessary. One example occurred when Iris commented, “We are just waiting for Susana to leave at 5:00.” Susana heard and sharply responded with a negative tone of voice, “You said 5:00, and it’s 4:59, so what is the problem?” Another uncomfortable moment occurred when my husband briefly sat in her seat near the front while waiting to access our bag overhead. Instead of temporarily sitting elsewhere or in the vacant seat next to him, she pointed her finger and swiped it to the left as if motioning for him to "move" or "get out of my way" in front of guests, which felt unnecessarily confrontational from our cultural perspective. At the Vatican, I attempted casual conversation while waiting in a very long restroom line and commented, “It’s crowded like Disneyland.” Her cold response was with a negative tone of voice: “No, it is not!” when she probably has never even been to Disneyland. The most unprofessional behavior, in my opinion, was when she removed her shoes on the bus and spent the entire ride from Florence to Rome with her bare feet up beside us while massaging her feet on the armrest. Her bare feet were in our view when we tried to look out of the right side window. It felt inappropriate for someone representing quality control and professionalism. If she represents Globus as a company ambassador, I would recommend additional etiquette and cultural-awareness training regarding communication style, body language, and professionalism. The Tour Itself: The hotels were sufficient, sometimes small, but acceptable since we mainly used them to shower and sleep. Hotel breakfasts were decent, and luggage transfers were extremely convenient and well organized. The bus was very comfortable, air-conditioned, and had large windows that made sightseeing enjoyable. The excursions, skip-the-line access, and local guides were all excellent. The pace was VERY FAST and tiring, but understandable for a “Highlights” tour. We saw an incredible amount in a short time, and it was worth the long days. What We Would Change: #1 Remove Susana as a QC rep for the Globus brand. #2 Notify travelers about carrying tip money to bring local currency for tips ahead of time. We carried three currencies for our guide, driver, and walk-on guides, but it was surprisingly difficult to locate ATMs or banks during the trip. Overall Rating: 7.5/10 — It would've been a 10 sans quality control rider SusanaShow more
  Traveled in April 2026
• CM

  Christopher5.0•May 2026
  Great trip! Well organized and lead. Guides were fantastic.
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  Traveled in April 2026