France and Italy Adventure Tour

8 Reviews

Excellent

63%

Good

13%

Average

25%

Rather Poor

0%

Bad

0%

• TH

  Todd
  Written on April 15, 2018

  2.5 - Average

  Several things went wrong with this trip! This was our first time using Tour Radar/Discovery Nomads and my wife and I were celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary. To begin, our 10-day trip began in Paris, France and the first mishap occurred when we met up with our guide to tour the Louvre museum. The tour guide only had my name on the list, which omitted my wife. The guide stated that if my wife wanted to join the tour, I would have to purchase an additional ticket for 59 euros. I explained that I had already purchased two tickets as part of my package and that I was not going to make an additional purchase. The "hotline" number for emergencies was no help either. Subsequently, my wife and I did not go on this particular tour. I notified discovery nomads via email and they stated that they would reimburse my credit card 118 euro. However, the credit card that I used to book the trip coincidentally was compromised that same day and the credit card fraud department notified me that they had to shut off my card and issue a new one. This issue still has not been resolved and I have not received any reimbursement or correspondence from Discovery Nomads or Tour Radar on how they plan to send me the 118 Euros. Our next stop on the tour was Nice, France. When we booked into our hotel, they assigned my wife an I to a tiny room with two twin beds. We told the front desk clerk that this was unacceptable and they advised that our tour company had booked the room to have two twin beds. However, they were able to put us in a room with one bed. Later that evening, I received an email from Discovery Nomads advising to meet our guide at 9:30am the next morning for our tour of Monaco and Monte Carlo Casino. Our tour package stated that the tour began at 8:30 am, not 9:30, so I replied to the email asking for clarification. I never received a response. Therefore, my wife and I woke up early and was downstairs in the hotel lobby at 8:30am in case the tour guide showed up. And of course, the tour guide showed up at 8:30am, not 9:30am as Discovery Nomads had advised. The tour guide, who worked for a separate company, was upset for the confusion and took a picture of the email and sent it to his supervisor explaining the confusion. I still have not received a reply to that particular email to Discovery Nomads. No issues occurred in La Spezia or Florence, Italy. However, once we arrived in Rome and went to check into our hotel, we were advised by the front desk manager that the hotel was overbooked and that we were being moved to another hotel. When my wife and I woke up the next morning, we were covered in bites from bed bugs. A fitting end to our 10-day trip with TourRadar and Discovery Nomads!! Additionally, I had arranged for a private car to transport my wife and I to the airport and now had to make more arrangements, with additional fees, to change locations. Due to the last minute change in hotels, I ended up having to cancel the private car. As a side note, none of the hotels will allow check in before 2pm, therefore, Tour Radar/Discovery Nomads should arrange departure/arrival times accordingly when scheduling transportation! Why schedule a train at 8:30am for a 2-3 hour ride when you can't check into your hotel at your arrival location till the afternoon. Clients should be permitted to sleep in a little and enjoy the time they have at each location.

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• 

  Breanna
  Written on September 6, 2017

  2.5 - Average

  Summary: The trip was definitely an independent tour - hotels and transportation are prearranged - and they give instructions on meeting points. Otherwise you are on your own - there are no guides to lead you to where to go. Hotels were clean and had friendly staff. However some were not centrally located. Breakfast was included in some, and was decent. If you want a hassle free way to have hotels and transportation booked with some walking tours thrown in, then I would recommend this tour. If you want something cost effective - I would compare costs of booking your own hotels and transportation with the tours overall cost. You have all the free time to book and plan your own activities. If you want something structured with more guidance go with a different type of tour. Disappointments: I was disappointed with the communication before the tour and how the brochure of this tour of what activities were included was VERY misleading. For example, the brochure stated the first day of the tour would have no planned activities, I contacted the tour contact point guide to make sure and they stated nothing would be planned the first day, everything starts day 2. They sent our voucher late, I had to contact the main site to get a response on why the voucher wasn't sent. We then had our travel documents with our booking confirmations, train tickets, and airline boarding pass sent extremely late. The voucher showed tour of Eiffel tower the very first day after being told nothing would be planned the first day - so we had to change our already scheduled plans. Also - the tour was not at the top of the Eiffel tower as mentioned in the brochure, you only go to the second level. Some places included in the brochure we did not even see with the guides - this was misleading. The tour should also mention which sites you actually get to visit, rather than just walk by from the outside. I was also disappointed that it wasn't communicated to me that our tour price does not include the hotel price completely, we must pay the city tax out of pocket. This tour had very few planned activities mostly just walking tours - and at least one of our walking tours was actually free to the public which I would have planned on my own. The walking tours were usually on the second day, so by that time we already had seen the city and most of the sites on the outside.

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• AM

  Agnes
  Written on June 4, 2017

  3.5 - Good

  Hotels are nice and easily accessible. Tours and guide are informative n accommodating. Schedule just right- not too hectic. Pick up to and fro should be included to make it more perfect

  

  Discovery Nomads commented on this review

  Dear Agnes, Thank you very much for review! We hope to see you again soon! Best Regards, Discovery Nomads Team

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• 

  Tammi
  Written on May 15, 2017

  4.5 - Excellent

  This was a great way to see France and Italy on your own time, but with everything pre-arranged for you! We loved the easy nature of this schedule and freedom to still do our own thing. All tours and transportation were organized for us and hotels prebooked and paid. The accommodation was great and of a high standard in central locations. We would definitely book another Discovery Adventures Tour!

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• MA

  Mattias
  Written on June 4, 2016

  5.0 - Excellent

  Great trip! Absolutely love it, was fun!

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• J

  Jennifer
  Written on May 24, 2016

  5.0 - Excellent

  We had a great time! Excellent hotels, a lot of activities and interesting guides, fast paced adventure with some free time that was really nice and we visited all the cities in Europe I was dreaming about in one trip!

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• N

  Nicole
  Written on April 28, 2016

  5.0 - Excellent

  We enjoyed the tour so much! Weather was perfectly sunny and warm and cities not so crowded with tourists. Europe is so beautiful and it was nice to spend some days on the beach. The hotels were exceptional and recommendations for the restaurants truly beyond any expectations, really unique spots! Next time travel only with Discovery Adventures!

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• S

  Sandra
  Written on March 24, 2016

  5.0 - Excellent

  Absolutely love this tour! The hotels were super and it's so comfortable traveling between the cities by train. We saw all the most beautiful cities in Europe and had lots of activities!

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