I had the opportunity to go on a tour of S. Africa with friends planned by Collete tours. I found that during the planning process that there were a few mishaps with Collette, including not being able to identify our group when I called Collette to answer a question, canceling not once but twice an informative session with the group and failure of Collette to follow-up with concerns that came up after the trip. Things Collette did well, picking wonderful hotels for us to stay in, sending a beautiful package prior to our leaving and before leaving a willingness to correct problems. (I haven't seen this on our return). I would like to see Collette improve on activities and places we visited while in S. Africa. Our tour was 14 days and we visited a winery for 3 days, a riverfront hotel for 3 days and though these were beautiful places, we really did not have an opportunity to visit surrounding areas, including the museums, art galleries or get a taste of S. Africa due to the distance of some of the hotels to the city, though most were close to tourist shops. In 14 days, we had a one day safari, visited a diamond "factory" that was actually a diamond store in downtown Cape Town where we were greeted with champagne and cappuccino, with the goal for us to spend money! I actually was encouraged and previewed diamond earrings on sale for $13500, a diamond bracelet for $100000! We visited an aloe "factory" to buy aloe products and with the exception of going to the Apartheid museum, the ostrich farm and paying to have dinner with a local family, we never visited something that was for the purpose of seeing what made S. Africa special unless we did it on our free day off. We were given the opportunity to see many Dutch buildings and churches in most of the cities we visited, the beautiful coast line of S. Africa and a winery. All nice, but not what I think about when I think of S. Africa. If we had visited these places for a few hours and not spent days I believe my trip would have been more enjoyable. I have seen compared my trip with other S. African tours on-line and I feel cheated. I suggest before booking this tour with Collette that you compare it to other tours. Happy travels. read more

Took the tour to Portugal and the islands. Family of four so not cheap. Really was going to visit St Michael island in the Azores which is where my ancestors were from. Scheduled for 4 days there. Due to hurricane Lorenzo Collette made the decision to cancel our flight without consulting anyone on the tour. Asked if our family could go on our own and was told no. Long story short our scheduled flight did make it there. We eventually did also. So our 4 day stay turned into one and Collette claims we did everything we were supposed to. Amazing. One person was supposed to swim with the dolphins while other 3 were doing a whale and dolphin watch. Obviously that didn't happen. To make up for the 3 days no there we stayed I Lisbon spending much time on a bus and seeing more museums than we wanted to. read more

We just finished a wonderful tour "Spotlight on Tuscany ". It was led by Sergio...he had us laughing so hard as he educated us on life in Italy!! He went out of his way many times to make sure everyone was well taken care of. We left with amazing memories and new friends! We had a fabulous time on our tour. Thank you!!! read more

I went on the "Holy Sites of Italy" tour in October.Our tour guide, Giulio, was obnoxious. He dressed like a clown in strange outfits and hats. He never stopped talking, especially when we were a captive audience on the bus. Often the facts he told us were wrong. The restaurants we visited as an included meal were very mediocre and I'm quite certain that either Giulio or Collette were getting kickbacks. We often ate at truckstops. The hotels were so so. Giulio would remind us that we were "pilgrims" and that our accommodations should be stark and simple. There wasn't any wifi on the bus because the router was broken. On previous tours with other companies I could use my phone and tablet, especially to follow our journey on Google maps. We weren't allowed to use the toilet on the bus. At each site and hotel we would meet up with another Collette tour this doubling the number of people and over crowding the place we were visiting. I won't travel with Collette again. read more

Really disappointing. 2 Weeks in Africa. Pre-trip in Dubai. Post trip at Victoria Falls. I travel overseas a lot. I will NEVER go with Collette again. They sound like a tour agency, but merely seem to subcontract to lesser quality tours. In Dubai, there was no meet-and-greet. I was on my own. Collette advertised it as part of the group on the Africa Tour would also go on it. No, I was the only one. The first day I was completely on my own. No meet-and-greet. No meal. No outings. No communications. Nothing. The second day they provided a 1/2 day walking tour. The second day they provided a 1/2 day tour. The fourth day I left. So Collette provided 1 day's worth of excursions. The rest I had to entertain myself. Most tours get you a hotel with walking distance of restaurants and points of interest. My hotel was all by itself, in the middle of nowhere. So I would have to take a taxi to go anywhere. They had no suggestions. They basically had no communications with me. The third day half day had a sand dunes safari. Sounds good. Said we would ride up and down massive sand dunes. But no, I merely sat in a car and someone else did the driving. What a waste! The Africa tour was good, but the guide seemed like he really didn't want to be doing it. A lot of the tour was ALL DAY bus driving across South Africa. We'd arrive really tired out. South Africa is BIG and cities far apart. The post tour at Victoria Falls was likewise disappointing. They advertised it as a group that would continue on after the main Africa tour. No. Only two people were on it. It was a very lonely "tour". There was a special meal one night, but like the other nights, we two were on our own, as our guide as usual did not join us. The other nights we had to eat on our own at the hotel. Collette arranged the flights, but did not put my frequent flyer number on the flights. As for Emirates Air flights, Collette did not first have me get a frequent flyer number, and just made the reservations. Emirates refused to give me credit for the miles, as they need the ticket number for the flights. Collette has refused to give me the ticker numbers. So I can't get credit for the 48,000 miles I flew! I email Collette and I get no response. In general, I felt Collette did the least possible work to provide a tour and over promised what I would get. My favorite travel agencies are Tauck and Globus. From my experience, they are WAY better than Collette. read more

Here are some concerns we have about the Netherlands, Belgium, Paris Tour: Our tour group has 43 people, which seems too many for the one guide to organize and logistically do an effective job. 43 people are limited to where we can go for dinner meals together. Stops are difficult because of the time involved in getting people out of the bus and back on, especially considering 60 years plus age of at least half the group. Individual needs and ability to communicate with 43 people also more difficult and again, considering age of majority in the group. The first evening for the tour a note at front desk said the tour leader ( Kathy) would be "available" for discussing our tour options and options for dinner the following night. People drifted in a couple or few at a time, each time Kathy needing to repeat herself and then individually trying to address questions and preferences. This would have been FAR more effective if the sign had been clear to ALL meet at 4:30 and then information would have not been repeated numerous times and confusing to everyone. This was the beginning of many such situations where directions, time frames, communications were unclear or contradictory. When there were a few issues involving individuals on the tour rather than speak to them on an individual basis Kathy addressed the entire group about the problems. This was embarrassing and certainly disrespectful to those involved. Again, it seemed condescending and really unprofessional. One such incident involved an elderly gentleman ordering a coke at a dinner event. It would be more effective and professional for Collette Tours/AAACHOICE to have a large white board in each hotel lobby posting our daily or next few days agenda. Having the Collette/ AAA logo would make it visible and communicate more effectively with the group. There was a sign posted about day 5 of the trip. But it was small, not readily visibly and not clearly/ neatly written. It appeared rather unprofessionally and haphazardly written with small print. Numerous times the guide gave us a time to meet, different than the written time on the AAA/Collette pamphlet. Then it was changed again. So folks were very confused. Then Kathy became frustrated and condescending to folks when they were confused or not there on time. Before the tour even began and we left the USA we were not given our pamphlets and information on the tour until 1 week before the tour. Previously we have had the pamphlet and information at least a month prior. This limited our options on the tour as we were to sign up for a Versailles option 21 days in advance. Numerous people on the tour had the same issue. Therefore the Versailles tour was cancelled even though many of us would have liked to take the tour. Also our hotel accommodations were changed twice since we signed up for the AAA tour. We booked 3 extra days on the tour and it ended up being in a totally different hotel and different part of Paris. Half a day was lost to repacking and arranging a taxi and traveling to another hotel because the Opera Cadet Hotel could not extend our stay 3 days with only a 1 week notice. 5 other people on our tour had the same problem! The "panoramic" tours in both Brussels and Paris were really disappointing. They were long, over 2 hours, and seemed like endless driving in circles rough the cities. They were boring and we could not really effectively see sites or take any photos! Many people just fell asleep on both these tours and they were a waste of time that could have been used on our own to see sites! We only stopped once on each of these panoramic tours....to use the restroom. It would be much more effective to have the tours choose 4 or 5 highlighted places to see and let folks out at least to see the exterior and take photos. Why not choose near the Eiffel Tower, St Chapelle Cathedral, the Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, to just briefly stop and get out? Then let hem see other sites on their own? This is a lot to read and consider, as well as a lot of concerns. Our other Collette Tour was so much more organized and effectively conducted that we were surprised by this tour. But it has made both of us doubt whether we would book another tour with this particular company. Additionally, Collette had arrange our limo from the hotel to the airport at the end of our trip. We verified this three times before the day of our flight, the last time the morning before our flight. Our flight with Airfrance was cancelled due to a strike. But Delta was wonderful in arranging a flight at the same time as our original flight. So there was no need for us to change our limo ride to the airport. The limo arranged by Collette never arrived on Sunday morning to take us to the airport! The limo service said Collette had cancelled the limo. Collete never contacted us by email, phone, or text and they had this contact information. They never left a message and we had to call a taxi, almost missing our flight. read more

I am a lively senior who likes to get out and about but doesn't want to drive cross country by myself. I have just completed my second tour with Collette covering US National Parks. The tour guides are very good, the bus equipment is better than any other tour operator I use, and their drivers are first class. Their prices are competitive and for certain road trips Collette has the best itinerary and hotels. The arrangements for the tour and their customer service are excellent. My only gripe (and it is a small one) is their website is a c+ at best. read more

just wanted to say that the tour we took to Spain was horrible. Collette markets themselves as "first class"...wrong....example: the tour bus we had was cramped, absolutely NO legroom, we were told not to use the on-board bathroom as then we would have to spend time driving around Spain looking for a receptacle to dump it; we ate at "TRUCK STOPS"..yes, truck stops! There were 45 people in this tour and we had absolutely NO TIME to do anything but stand in lines...a line for the bathroom...a line for food...and with our guide telling us we had TEN minutes..hurry up....we had ZERO time to shop..we spent the time, that's right, in "touring lines"..forming lines to walk through the town...touring one church after another church....we came home with NOTHING purchased from Spain...and the meals that were covered in the tour package? never included a good variety of fish...if you were lucky you had "hake fish" to choose as one and only fish option, the rest was pasta, lots of bread..very sad If you have had this kind of experience with them, the only thing I say that will call their attention to this, is to demand your money back for the price of the tour. Complaints alone just don't do it. read more

This was one of the most disappointing vacations we ever took. On the positive side, Marilyn, our Tour Manager did a good job. The bus driver on our New Zealand tour also did a good job. Day One - Many of the people forgot to bring their name badges. I suggest that you not send them out and have the Tour Manager hand them out at the meeting prior to the dinner. Many of the people who had name badges did not go by the name that was on their badges. I suggest you ask each attendee what name they would prefer on their badges. Also, why not include the city and state they are from it's a great conversation starter. Every Day - The buffet breakfasts were abysmal. The scrambles eggs and bacon were either over or under cooked. Most of the fruit was canned and very little fresh. The beef sausages were tasteless. I never saw a waffle or a pancake. I will say that the breads and pastries were very good. Day Two - This was the best day we had in Cairns. We enjoyed the Cultural Center and the Croc Farm. The dinner was one of the best provided meals we had on the entire trip. Day Three - The lunch served on Green Island was the worst lunch I have ever experienced. It was inedible. Cairns Hotel - the carpets were dirty. Sydney Hotel - The two arm chairs were filthy and worn, the carpets were dirty. I would equate the two Novotel hotels on par with Motel 6. How come we did not stay at a hotel equivalent to a Marriott, which I expected, having booked our vacation through the Marriott? Sydney Tour - When we go on vacation we want to see the sights of the city, but not on a bus that hardly ever stops at the sites. We did enjoy the Sydney Opera House and the tour was managed very well. Day Five - This day was one of the biggest disappointments of our trip. The Aquarium tour was a disaster. We had over twenty five people and one guide, who shouted the whole time. You could not hear her in the back and there were so many non-tour people crowding around the guide to hear what she was saying that it became boring and many of the people were ready to leave early. THE TASE OF AUSTRALIA SHOULD NEVER BE CALLED THAT. OUR DINNER CONSISTED OF A MENU THAT INCLUDED A CHOICE OF A STRIP STEAK, CHICKEN OR FISH. WHEN YOU ADVERTISE SOMETHING AS THE "TASTE OF AUSTRALIA" YOU WOULD EXPECT PRAWNS AND BUGS, MAYBE AN APPETISER OF EMU, KANAROO AND CROCADILE. NOTHING OFFERED WAS ANYWHERE NEAR AN AUSTRALIAN MEAL. MY STEAK WAS OVER COOKED AND TOUGH, THEY SERVED US A CEASER SALAD AT THE BEGINNING, THEN BROUGHT OUT OUR ENTRÉE AND SERVED A FAMILY STYLY GREEN SALAD (NO VEGATABLES) AND FRENCH FRIES. THE FISH WAS NOT EVEN THE LOCAL BERRIMUNDI BUT COD. HOW CAN YOU CALL THIS THE TASTE OF AUSTRALIA? HOW CAN YOU CHARGE $115 PER PERSON FOR THIS SUB-PAR MEAL AND TOUR? I FEEL LIKE I WAS RIPPED OFF ON THIS EXCURSION. Day Seven - Diner with the New Zealand family was wonderful. Day Eight - Mackenzie Country Inn - one of the better hotels we stayed in during our tour. The buffet dinner was very good New Zealand Tour - It seems that the tour was designed to make sure that we stopped at every place that had a gift shop. The bus rarely stopped at the sights. Again, almost every picture of the landscape was taken through the bus window as we drove by at 20 or 30 mph. Millennium Hotel - The staff was excellent, the rooms clean and acceptable. We booked this trip through our Marriott points and expected the hotels to be more on par with their hotels, but they were not. We expected the food to be more upscale, but I had better breakfasts at a Fairfield Inn that at any of the hotels you put us in. I am going to inform the Marriott of my disappointment with this trip and if this tour is any indication of how you manage your other tours, we would not be inclined to take another trip that involved Collette. read more

We've been traveling with Collette for 22 years! Highly recommend this company!!! Safety & knowledge are impeccable.

As a Marriott Owner I was appalled at how poor this tour was! We were told there would be a max of 24 people on the tour, (32 people were on this tour) " The Treasures of Italy" a Marriott Owners tour! There was a lack of organization with regard to how long we stayed in certain sites! To much hurry up and look at something then back to the bus! There were no options for extra tours.!! Explain why you would spend three days in Florence and not include tours at the two most important museums. The Academia and Ufizzi? Fortunately we were in Florence 6 days before joining the tour. We used Rick Steve's Free Audio walking tours of the major sites and museums! They called this a 9 day tour but counted the flying days...actually a 7 day tour! There were two dinners (thank God) as the food was horrible! We had breakfast each morning at some very nice hotels, Lets face it Italians have an expresso and pastry! Trying to serve an American style breakfast was hit or miss! But The hotels tried! I would not recommend this tour and will not go again! Don't waste your hard earned money or points! BTW if you are a Marriott owner try to find a blog to share you experiences, good or bad about Marriott they control the blogs which amounts to censorship! If something is broke listen to your customers and fix it! Don't get me wrong i love Marriott, time shares, vacation points hotels etc.. The high standard Marriott had set for us in the past took a serious black eye from their association with Collette! We have a saying " it wasn't a Marriott" when we have to stay in a non Marriott facility! THE TOUR WAS NOT A MARRIOTT !!!!!! read more

Iceland tour- it was great. Our guide, Antonija, was amazing. Our driver, Arnara, was also perfect. I loved it.

My mother (a lively senior) and I had a miserable experience on the recent tour we took presented by Collette called "Resorts of the Canadian Rockies". Although Collete might have been a decent company at one time, they have truly lost their way. When I contacted Dan Sullivan (President) and Phillip Hobbs (Customer Relations) I received a response that basically denigrated every point that I raised about our experience, including the lack of concern by the tour guide for our dissatisfaction even while on the trip. In our view, almost all of the problems we encountered can be attributed to the extremely poor structure of the product and the decision made by Collette to allow 50 people to participate on a tour that was not structured to support that many participants. With the exception of the visit to Bouchard Gardens, the entire first part of the trip (Vancouver, Victoria and Kelowna) could be eliminated. The activities that were offered were uninteresting, and there was not enough free time (or guidance offered) to allow for any real enjoyment of the locations The tour was SERIOUSLY overbooked (they apparently combined two groups together at the last minute to avoid losing revenue from canceling a tour that did not have sufficient participants). This caused many many issues for the entire trip, including having the bus almost stall 4 times on a long stretch of uphill road between Kaloowna and Jasper, BC. There was no back up plan, and the very experienced bus driver admitted to me after we thankfully made it up the hill that he had never had so many people with so much luggage on the bus before, and that (combined with it being a warm day) caused the bus to overheat. To which I responded...."and who's fault is that? The tour company's!" Based on our experience and the lack of concern demonstrated by the response from their company leadership, I strongly urge you to avoid any tour presented by this company. read more

I wish I could give 0 stars. 1st.. most tours are panoramic tours.. you only get to see the places from the bus, even though they promise tourists, they will get inside those attractions. Example: the Alhambra in Granada, the arts and science place in Valencia and Monjuic fountain in Barcelona. The tour manager was the rudest person I have encountered in my life and I have traveled to more than 30 countries. I called their guest relations dept 5 days ago and so far they have not returned my call. Poor customer service, mediocre tours and hotels...In Granada they changed our hotel at the last minute because they had not reserved enough rooms.. not organized at all.. read more

We just came back from Scandinavian tour which included Royal Carribian ship thru fiords. Day before we left Collette called blaming the ship they overbooked and we do not have an outside cabin but a tiny shoebox inside. We went anyway. They did give us credit for the room. The hotels they book like the one in Copenhagen was over a mile from Tivoli Gardens and a view of over 2 acres of construction material and a bull dozer. Small room looked like a dorm room. How cheap can you get Collette?We paid good money for this tour. Never again. Norway Geiranger land excursions were all sold out. They did not warn us of this. Major hassel. Did not get any of the excursions we wanted. Massive mob of people.Wife fell on her knees in Copenhagen from a landing that was not clearly marked with yellow for safety. Managment never even came by to check on her or see how she was doing. Missed the pickup driver because his sign was so small. After an hour finally located him.Why did we have to fly to Copenhagen and then to Stockholm. Because it was cheaper for Collette. We had twenty minutes to get ready for dinner after a 13 hour flight. Collette changed hotels at the last minute. We did not have the name of the new hotel. April the tour guide was great. She was the highlightt of the tour.We were so upset we did not tip her.The communication for the Santa Rosa JR college were we signed up was so bad. We asked a question and a week later the rep got back to us. Never again. We are planning another trip now but not with Collette. read more

We took a trip to Iceland with Collette in March 2018. The trip was ok, scenery was great, tour guide was nice, but provided commentary from pre-written scripts. The big problem came on the trip back to the US (which Collette arranged). We arrived in Boston with 17 inches of snow on the ground and our continuing flight the next day was cancelled (American Airlines). All well and good, but when it came time to arrange an alternate flight Collette was nowhere to be found. American was swamped. Finally on the afternoon of the second day, I spent over an hour on the phone with an American agent finally getting a flight out of Boston to DC and then KC. Collette supposedly has travel insurance provided with the trip for interruptions, etc. We filed the trip insurance claim on 3/21/18 and it is now May 31 and no settlement yet. It should not take over 2 1/2 months for something like this to get settled, but no action yet. Trip was fine, but the after effects were not. They need to change insurance companies. The travel insurance company is "Trip Mate". Look up their reviews online if you plan to take a Collette trip (since the insurance is part of the trip cost). I only see negative reviews. read more

My husband and I have taken three tours with Collette (Scandinavia, Iceland, and most recently, Croatia). All three have been exceptional with wonderful tour guides and good accommodations. Our most recent trip to Croatia was cut short by a death in our family. We could not have asked for a more professional and kind tour guide (Ned Ostojic) who helped to get us on our way home within hours. We will definitely take another trip with this company in the future. read more

Our first tour and it will be our last with Collette. We went on a 13 day tour to Spain and Portugal in Sept. 2019. Started terrible at the airport check in where we find out my husband and I are seated 7 rows apart. First hotel which is supposed to be a 5 star was far under. Room was tiny and no view except outside walls. Another hotel we had to change rooms due to mold in washroom. A lot of extra activities were added at extra cost or you were left out...these are only a few items....would never recommend... read more

I took the Collette tour of "The Emerald Isle" this past July...I flew Aire Lingus and was very happy with the flight..I did pay extra for a bulkhead/exit seat but it was worth it for the comfort. I was met at the airport by both my driver and guide (I was driven to my hotel in a Merz.Benz nice touch. The tour was for 10 . I did not want to travel with a bus full of people. I thoroughly enjoyed my tour and the lovely people I met. Our guide Allison and our bus driver Tony were truly a pleasure. I have already booked my next trip with them to Italy if it is as enjoyable as my trip to Ireland then I will be a life long fan.... read more

We just got back from the Australia and New Zealand. Our tour leader Joan Somyk. Our Australian driver was Darren and the New Zealand was Scotty, both terrific drivers. Thank you all. read more

Very mediocre tour. Had to wait 2 hours at airport for others to arrive before leaving. Hotel rooms not available when we arrived after an all night flight. Stranded in lobby with no idea when we could check in. Welcome meal not great. Too much time at coliseum and no time at pantheon or forum. Breezes though Vatican in no time. Got to Florence to see David Saturday. Most museums closed Sunday so could not get into uffizi. Taken on walking tours and dropped off to get back on our own. Had to give tip to local tour guide daily hotels were clean basic nothing fancy. Great breakfasts. Did not have 2 days as arrived late day one so had 1 day most places. Did enjoy short stop at winery Assisi and Siena. Milan was a waste as the church tour was a wash and over 4 hour wait to get in due to screening of bags. That was not their fault but do cone up with an alternate plan. I walked around the city and yard a filthy McDonald's bathroom paying 5600 and using this bathroom gave me pause. They seem to need to make a lot of money on the tours. Would not go with them again. Maybe I'm just not the tour type. The bus was comfy. The guide was ok. She can only do what she gets support to do from the top read more

Collette-Romantic Road & Fairy Tale Road (12/06/17-12/17/17) Reservation #778031 This was our third tour with Collette, and after this trip, our last. We provided Collette with our travel itinerary prior to the trip per their request. The itinerary included our dates of travel, airlines, flight numbers and hotels where we were staying prior to the trip as we left home a week before the actual tour was to begin. We received our travel documents about three weeks before we were scheduled to leave for our trip and noticed that the dates that were provided by Collette in those documents did not correspond with the original tour dates in the brochure, and those listed in our contract which was 12/17/17. The pamphlet reflected that the tour was scheduled to end on 12/18/17. I immediately contacted our airline to change our return flights, and while doing so spent well over two hours with the airline while attempting to change our "air mile award" flights. It was during that time that I realize that Collette omitted a full day, and reflected incorrect information/dates. I immediately contacted Collette and made them aware of the error. They initially denied making an error, though eventually acknowledged the error, but not until I requested to speak with the manager. They blamed the error on their printer, and stated that it was solely the result of our individual pre-tour travel arrangements. I advised them that they needed to make our fellow travelers' aware of the misprint at which time they stated that the error was only reflected in our documents and that it did not affect anyone else. They subsequently refunded $110.00 that we had paid for an optional tour in an attempt to compensate us for our time and concerns. They also said that they would send us corrected documentation, which they did. I later learned that some of the other travelers also received documents that reflected the incorrect dates, though the error was discovered by their respective travel agents, and rectified prior to their actual travel. At least two of those individuals showed me their documents, all of which were the same as the ones initially sent to us by Collette. We arrived in Berlin a day early, and stayed at the same hotel that was booked by Collette for the tour. We had no contact by Collette upon our arrival, and did not receive any form of communication from Collette during the subsequent twenty four hours. We spoke to the hotel staff on two or more occasions during that period of time in hopes of determining where we were to meet with our tour manager though they were unable to provide any information. I sent a message to Collette shortly before 5:00PM making them aware of the lack of contact and inquired as to when we would hear from our tour manager. We received an envelope at our room at 5:10PM. The envelope contained a message that were to meet at 5:30PM, and upon arriving at the designated time did in fact meet with the tour manager, Sabine, as well as our fellow travelers. This particular Collette tour is a new tour and has only been in existence for about seven months though we and our fellow travelers encountered problems that should not have occurred, all of which were the result of a lack of communication, and or a "don't care attitude" reflected by the tour manager. We later determined that she is a contract tour manager, and not a Collette employee. We failed to visit one of the sites on our tour, Trendelburg as Sabine failed to communicate with our bus driver which in turn resulted in him missing a turn, and going the wrong way for at least ten, if not fifteen minutes, which then caused him to back tract. We also missed the carriage ride down the hill after visiting Neuschwantstein Castle and as a result had to walk down the mile or so long hill. My wiufe feel during that walk. That particular situation was the result of the tour manager failing to acquire our entry tickets in a timely manner, which in turn resulted in our tour beginning too late, and ending after the last carriage left the castle for the day. Sabine also failed to tell us that the bus had wifi, or a bathroom, and did not notify us that water was available on the bus. We learned that information on the seventh day of the twelve day tour, and only after the bus driver told us. She also failed to inform the bus driver where the entrance gate was to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, which resulted in him having to stop, and wait on the road. He eventually had to reroute and spent a total of thirty or more minutes getting turn by turn instructions from an outside source via his cellular phone. That information should have been made available to the driver long before he encountered the situation as Collette has been visiting this town every twelve days for the last seven or so months. The hotels met or exceeded our expectations as did all but the final restaurant and meal which was TERRIBLE. read more

I wish I didn't have to give them any points . . . And I haven't even taken a trip with them yet! Every time I contact them for a "Marriott Destinations" program, their prices (the cost of using my points) are always at least 30% higher than the rate that I could get on my own. There is definitely some kind of collusion between Marriott and all of their vendors. After reading actual experiences, I am now doubly troubled. I made a huge mistake signing up for the Destination Points program read more

I was caught in shut down of the us government in the middle of out tour of the National Parks. Yes, it was very disappointing but Collette Travel and a great tour manager did a fabulous job sorting it all out and sending us all home wanting to rebook. They couldn't have been more decent and professional! read more

Marriott's Italian Vista Sept. 2014... Excellent, everything I thought it would be and more. I am a Marriott Points owner and I'm amazed that out of all the hundreds of trips they provide...a hand full of people complain and make it look like everyone feels that way! Not so. Loved Gary the tour operator, very knowledgeable, love the other guests, we became like family, loved the hotels, very European style and we were occupying some of the same hotels as Tauck Tours. In a nutshell, doing London Paris in about "52" days with my two daughters. If I had a bad experience, wouldn't be doing another one year later! PS feel the value is there, by comparing it to the price of a maintenance fee per point charged. Use your judgement, I like using my Marriott Destination Points! read more

I have traveled with Collette Tours for the past 25 years, totaling over 60 world-wide tours. I manage a very upscale travel program and I can honestly say that Collette has always provided my group with the very best tours in the travel industry. Everything from home town pick-up to our return has proven to exceed our expectations. The meals, hotels, guides, destinations, and motor coach equipment are top of the line. Collette Tours provide a great mix of time on your own along with plenty of sightseeing. This respected tour company hires only the best Tour Managers in the industry. The quality of their products and their commitment to service is unsurpassed. When I offer a Collette tour to my travel group, the tour sells out immediately. I always have a waitlist for their tours. I would never book with another tour company and if you want to experience a trip of a lifetime, you shouldn't either! read more

Took the "Reflections of Italy" tour with Collette. I was so pleased with all aspects, from the car service to/from the airport and the actual trip. I felt the tour was well-planned with an excellent pace of touring. We got to see Rome, Florence, Siena, Assisi, Venice and Milan. In addition to seeing all of the highlights of each city we visited we also were given time on our own to explore. The food that was provided was always good and so were the accommodations. Best of all was our tour guide (from Italy himself). He was very organized, knowledgeable, and very very funny. The group I was part of had a variety of ages and interests, yet everyone got along well. I am already looking into another tour with Collette. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this tour company to anyone who loves to travel. read more

If you are thinking of booking a tour with Collette, please make very sure that you do extensive research on their ratings, ask many questions, and make sure you understand the cancellation policies before placing a deposit. We are Marriott owners who became very excited about the Treasures of South Africa, Victoria Falls & Botswana which allowed us to use 2 years points. We were informed that the points did not include the in country flights which added an additional $2,400. We had been warned to make our own arrangements for flights to Capetown. We should have checked out prices prior to placing our deposit. My husband requires extra room seating on long flights because of his knees. The one way fare per person was $4,600+. The after flight to Barcelona would cost another $2,500 for the two of us. At this point, the trip became cost prohibitive and we decided that we must cancel. The planned excursion was 11 months in the future. We decided in one week to opt out. Collette would not refund the travel insurance of $310 per person ($620 per couple). This was a very expensive lesson for us. Be forewarned and be careful! read more

Went on the Italian Vistas tour in September 2012 - it was wonderful. The tour manager, Carla was exceptionally well informed about the places and culture of Italy. We had spearate knowledge tour guides for our tours of Rome, the Vatican, Pompeii, Florence, Venice, and the Isle of Capri. It was a wonderful tour with deluxe accommodations and great food. There was one evening where the dinner was not very good and Collette comped everyone for another dinner. Jan T. read more

TTook the Collette Discover Croatia, Slovenia and the Adriatic Coast featuring Istrian Peninsula, Lake Bled, Dalmatian Coast and Dubrovnik September 2018. We were told as were many other travelers on the tour that there would be no more than 24 people. They did a bait and switch and we wound up with a full bus of 44 people. This was not the experience we expected, much less personal This meant long queues for the bathrooms when we stopped and the bathroom on the bus "for emergency's only" and there were a few.....was dirty. Wasn't straightened up until the end of the tour when the bus driver was looking for his tip. We saw a lot from the bus...more of a panoramic tour. Mostly travel on the bus....stop for a 1 hour "city tours" and about 1.5 hours on your own them back on the bus. Don't bother doing the Montenegro extension took 4+ hours to get there, had a short tour and about 1.5 hours to have lunch and tour around on our own. Then back on the bus for the long ride home (two border crossings) stay in Dubrovnik and go to the beach or walk the wall. Would not recommend traveling with this company. We decided to take this trip because we had a perfect rip last year on their Northern Spain and Portugal trip. We are done with Collette. read more

My wife and I just returned from a vacation to Portugal. Overall disappointed in this tour. We joined Collette Vacations on the advice of our travel agent. Flights from Toronto, Canada were included in the tour price. What a mistake! We should have booked our own flights. Collette put us on flights through Philadelphia with more than 7 hours layover. A normal 8 hour flight direct from Toronto to Lisbon turned into over 20 hours. The same thing happened on the return flight. Another 7 hours layover in Philadelphia before catching the last flight of the day to Toronto. During our 7 hours in Philadelphia noticed at least 3 other flights they could have put us on to get us home earlier. The Tour Manager lacked knowledge of local areas and was inflexible. The tour itself consisted of a very large group of 42 people, which was unwieldy and slow. Hotels were generally good and included breakfasts which were generally ok. However, all hotels are not located in convenient areas for shopping and dining. You either have to walk long distances or try and get a local taxi, which was impossible at times. Several dinners were included as part of the tour but were not particularly memorable except for the Fado artists during one dinner. There were two optional tours approved by Collettte during this 8 day vacation, none of which we partook as they were not interesting. This lack of optional tours was also a disappointment. The tour also spent a half day driving through Lisbon which is the largest city in Portugal with no opportunity to walk or shop in the main center of the city. We had to leave the tour bus on our own to do this and then find our way back to the hotel which was located on the outskirts of the city. On the positive side, the tour bus and driver were very good and the local guides were knowledgeable. However, we will not be travelling with Collette Vacations again. read more

From the Outback to the Glaciers Tour. I took this tour from April 7th to May 1st, 2019. It included Australia, New Zealand's South Island with an extension to Fiji. Fiji was fine, enjoyed the island's beaches and hospitality. New Zealand was stunning! Landscapes to die for. Australia was also great, except for the Outback and the tour guide. The Outback was full of flies that try to get into your eyes, ears and nose. During the day you have to wear a hat with a net everywhere. When you are getting into the tour bus the passenger getting in behind you has to swat the flies off your back. Still, plenty get in to make your life miserable. The tour company never warned me about this. The tour guide was not helpful throughout the trip. At Sidney airport they changed gates at the last moment. He didn't even come to warn us. I complained to the company and they promised to call me. It is now the middle of August and I have not received a call. I travelled with them several times before and was very satisfied. I do not know what happened to them, but I don't plan to travel with them again read more

I would not advice anyone to travel with Collette and shop. We were taken to Edward Lama souvenirs and told by our local Collette representative and our Israeli Collette representative that the shopping was "guaranteed". That should have been my first red flag. I purchased a diamond ring from that store. When I returned to the States, I had the ring appraised. I was charged double the value of the ring. Collette refused to help me, so I pursued options through the credit card. By the time Collette agreed to help me with me paying the merchant to take the merchandise back, it was too late. I had already mailed the purchase back. At this point in time, I am looking at having to pay $1000 to the credit card company due a time lapse in international mail, and I have no jewelry. Shoppers beware! Israel was an amazing country. I just wish Collette would be more concerned about their guests. I wrote to Collette CEO, Dan Sullivan, Jr. asking him to investigate and was not even given the courtesy of a reply. read more

I wouldn't recommend Collette unless you are looking for an average tour with too many people and are okay with quite a few things not covered with their packages. First of all, I called several times to get a DETAILED itinerary but just kept getting the general outline. Because of this, by the time we DID get the details (on the morning the tour actually started!!!), it was too late to change plans - we had already booked a Book of Kells tour only to find out the 3 hour walking tour offered by Collette was that same morning. We should have known this WAY ahead of time. Also, in that same itinerary, we were asked for preferences - including what type of bedding we wanted. We had already been put in a room with two twin beds....My husband was not happy. Our trip to Ireland in September had 43 people - way too many - and only one tour guide who was very knowledgeable but also very aloof and distant. We felt that we did see a LOT, but their choices in where to spend more time are very questionable. We spent two nights in Limerick and there is literally nothing there other than a castle and maybe a couple of cathedrals. In comparison, we spent two HOURS in Galway and it was a beautiful town that everyone wanted to enjoy more. I talked to people who were on a CIE tour and they didn't even go to Limerick and yet they did spend two nights in Galway. Charging one euro for a bottle of water seemed to be a nickel and dime type of thing, and even on the few occasions when wine was included with a meal, it was only one glass. The hotels we stayed at were great - no complaints there. I would only travel with Collette again if there was nothing else to choose from. We've traveled with other tour groups that I would recommend over Collette.... read more

We just returned from Italy with Collette/Marriott. Long story short, I had a 3 day asthma attack(never had one befor) and spent numerous hours in the hospital as well at treated by 2 physicians. It was the mold in one of our hotel rooms that was the culprit, I cannot stress enough, this is substandard and not acceptable. We left the tour to get to a larger city for access to healthcare, our "Tour Manager" help so much by offering to put us in a cab. Don't use Collette for anything, keep your timeshare. Each of the compaines are blaming the other, Marriott stating it is not their fault, it is Collette's and vise versa. As I told Marriott, circular firing squad and I am in the middle. HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE! read more

The tour was very good, however, I was very disappointed in the hotel accommodations. I would definitely check out any accommodations in the future. read more

I was on a Collette Cuba vacation in Feb. It turned out to be a big disappointment . The Collette sales rep promised that we would have a Collette tour manager experienced in Cuba...as it turned out the tour manager we were given HAD NEVER BEEN TO CUBA...she knew nothing about Cuba. She would sit in the back of the coach and take pictures out the window with her iPad. She acted more like a tourist. She could not answer the simplistic question about Cuba or what to expect..since she had never been there...it was unbelievable. Why would the owner of Collette send her as a tour manager? How unprofessional for a company to do that. We were also given a Havanatur guide who was a suave young man who pretty much ran things and the Collette tour manager did whatever he said. The young man kept saying " how safe and crime free Cuba was" ... As he is saying this I am looking out the window of the motor coach and seeing all these security bars on the windows and doors of houses and appartments.....IF THERE IS NO CRIME, WHY ALL THE SECURITY BARS?? The guide said our group could walk around the streets day or night and it was safe. I could not believe the tour manager was letting him say this ..... I was sure she could see the security bars too. And any experienced tour manager knows you never leave your guard down when traveling. She should have spoken up and warned the group...BUT OF COURSE SHE DID NOT SAY A WORD. On the last night of the trip we were taken to a restaurant for our farewell dinner. We were seated at tables along a public sidewalk even though the rest of restaurant was almost empty and there were safer less vulnerable tables to sit at....once again our Collette tour manager said nothing and was not looking after the welfare of her group. WITHIN 15 MINUTES A THEIF WALKING ALONG THE STREET REACHED IN AND STOLE THE PURSE OF A WOMAN IN OUR GROUP. SO MUCH FOR NO CRIME IN CUBA!!!!! Purse, money,passport gone. The next day our group and the Collette tour manager left Cuba,except for the woman who had her purse stolen and her husband. They were left with little assistance from Collette. Another tour operator gave them some assistance...since the person the Collette tour manager promised would be there to help them did not show up. They finally got back to the US. They are still trying to settle with the travel insurance company that Collette uses....3 months now...and little assistance from Collette in filing the claim. AND WOULD YOU BELIEVE THAT THE PRESIDENT OF COLLETTE STLL HAS THE NERVE TO SAY WE WERE GIVEN ONE OF HIS BEST TOUR MANAGERS. IF THAT'S THE CASE, I WOULD HATE TO SEE HIS WORST TOUR MANAGER!!!!!! read more

We took a trip to Iceland in January called Iceland's Magical Northern Lights. Our first trip with Collette! Iceland is beautiful, but Iceland is very expensive so having breakfast and dinner included is really a bonus! The tour bus was comfortable with plenty of leg room, but the bus driver was not very pleasant and hardly spoke to or interacted with the passengers; however, our tour guide was great! She was lovely and very knowledgeable about Iceland. So why only a 3! Well first of all they shouldn't call this a Northern Lights trip as we never really saw them! Iceland is a very cloudy, raining place and honestly you have little chance to see them so when you do have a clear night you have to jump on it! We went out on one night out of five on the bus in search of the lights and saw a glimmer of white light! That was it. We were also supposed to take a Northern Lights cruise, but due to unfavorable conditions (I didn't think so) that was cancelled and rescheduled for our last night and then cancelled again due to in climate weather. In any event, I don't think we searched hard enough for them especially when the title of the tour is Iceland's Magical Northern Lights! I feel you should take every opportunity to find them even if it's not under pristine conditions. My second complaint is about the hotel in Vik. Hotel Katla is out in nowhere, which is fine as you need darkness in order to see the lights. My issue is after you eat dinner (which unfortunately is the same thing for three nights in a row) at 6:00 or 7:00 pm there is nothing to do! Go back to your room until the morning and watch old reruns on a tv that only gets 3 stations? I think they should seriously think about planning some events at night to keep folks entertained (board games, comedy hour, movie night, trivia night or a wine tasting, etc.). Again, Iceland is beautiful, and this tour takes you to some stunningly beautiful locations, but if you are like me and the main reason for wanting to take this tour was to see the Northern Lights you undoubtedly will be disappointed. read more

The purpose of this review is to express our dissatisfaction with our recent Great Britain -Ireland trip Sept 6-20 2013. . This was the sixth tour we have taken in the last eight years, the first trip with Collette. There are a number of reasons for the disappointing trip:* The trip was advertised as a small tour trip-we don't consider 2 bus-loads of people a small group. A group this size resulted in numerous waits and a frantic daily schedule with constant reminders of "time segments" to accomplish the itinerary. We were often checking into a hotel near supper time or even after. Meals were "scheduled" around other smaller groups and often represented wait times of 2+ hours. Since hotel stays and meal sites were available for both groups , it appears this tour size was preplanned.* The meals were average at best with several well below our expectations and inedible; not nearly the quality of the meals served by other tour companies in our experience.* In addition, the hotels were largely substandard, several very poorly maintained and dirty. Hotel selection was obviously for cost savings and not comfort or the convenience of the traveler. * The tours of the capital cities of Great Britain and Ireland was notable, but "free time" in a large city without a mode of transportation limits options to the immediate area around the hotel. In our opinion there was too much free time that could have been used for a more complete sample of the people and culture of these countries. Cardiff was short changed as a capital city stop, with no tour, and we arrived near dark and left early the next day. I noticed another tour group was given a tour of the city. * Of the 10 day tour, five days were spent in Ireland-we would agree that Ireland is a beautiful country with lots to see, we spent 2 weeks there on a tour in 2011. However that leaves just 5 days to "tour" England, Wales and Scotland. The days devoted to Ireland would have been better spent in a more comprehensive tour of Great Britain. The time spent for the ferry to and from Ireland was the better part of a day, at least 7-8 total hours including wait times and transit time; again a waste of precious time that could have been spent for other tour segments. On the plus side: Our tour guide and bus driver were excellent; Both men served us with courtesy, humor and organized efforts. Step-on city guides were also excellent, especially in Edinburgh, Scotland. All in all we ranked this tour as a 5 on a 1-10 point scale. It's doubtful we will take another Collette tour even though the foreign travel options offered are expansive. Our opinion would be for owners and managers to put more stress on the quality of tours. read more

We booked our trip several months in advance only to be told much later that our trip dates would be cancelled and alternate dates would be given. We planned our vacation around the dates we secured with our deposit, a change in schedule was not possible due to work obligations. I understand when emergency situations surface, but we still had 5 months before our trip. We don't have the option of changing work vacation dates so Collette really disappointed us....and they don't really care!!!! read more