Opinion on this tour's itinerary?

I think if you look at a map of Europe and plot out the distances between the stops, you will see that you will be on the bus for at least half of most of your days.
In addition, you will be sleeping in a different hotel every night and almost all your meals, while paid for up front, will likely be of a poor "big bus tour" quality.
You will have no time to make discoveries of your own, add in a museum visit of your own, or even grab a cappuccino at a local cafe.
To be perfectly honest, this tour sounds exhausting and extremely superficial.
I would not recommend this.

This is only a personal opinion based on having done big bus tours, small group tours, and independent travel. In 11-12 days, this is way way too much, too many different places, too much travel, not enough time to actually see anything. I wouldn't do it. For a tour that short I would do 3 locations max, with day trips to a couple of other locations but returning to base city hotel at night. If you don't mind hours and hours on a bus with short (probably highly unsatisfying) sightseeing stops, well that's up to you.

I understand that you may not have too much time for your vacation and may be on a strict budget, so the instinct is to find a tour that goes to the most places for the least amount of money. Unfortunately, that's not always the best option. I think 2 weeks is the minimum for a bus tour that covers one, two, or three countries, and 3 weeks for an overview 'best of Europe' type tour, so if you can get that much time it would be worth your while. There are several tour companies that do budget tours that in my mind would suit better than this one - Cosmos (part of Globus), Costsaver (part of Trafalgar), or Contiki if you're under 35. My first trip to Europe was a big bus tour and it was for 2 weeks and only went to two countries, and very small parts of those countries. I think if my first trip had been as hectic as the one you suggest, I'm not sure I would have been as eager to return again and again.

This tour would be a nightmare. You would barely be able to glimpse the sights from a bus window.

If low cost is your goal, there are lots of ways to do that that don't require packing yourself into a sardine tin with 48 other people.

What would you like to see in Europe? How much can you spend, comfortably?

Oh my goodness - just seeing a long day from Lucerne to Venice, then the next day leaving Venice and hitting Florence then on to Rome?? I had to stop after that...just...no. No no no.

You could probably see as much by just doing a computer search of the listed destinations and save yourself the expense and torture of this itinerary.
If I were given the trip as a prize, but had to pay my airfare, I would probably pass on the offer.

" Would this be a good way to go on a first-time trip to Europe? " -- I vote 'no'

EDIT-- I know nothing about the company, but when they list the "Dodge Palace" in Venice ( it's Doge's Palace) and "Coliseum" (Colosseum is correct spelling for the edifice in Rome), I am left to wonder how well they know their stuff. I amend my vote to "NO!"

I agree with the others, it's way too rushed. It's what I call a check list tour. Only go on it if you're checking off the sights and don't really care about seeing and experiencing the locale. Definitely not the way I would want to travel.

Terrible itinerary.

Way too much time on the bus. Not enough time to see much.

This is a very good example of what you get on a big bus tour. If it's Tuesday it must be Belgium. I did something similar on my first European trip. Except it was 8 countries (plus Monaco and Lichtenstein) in 23 days. The majority of travel days were hours looking at the scenery from the bus. Only quick superficial l visits to the main sites. No time to linger over places of special interest or to explore on your own. Boring American style business hotels. Boring food.

I've never done another large group tour. Fortunately it didn't sour me on Europe. And I learned the value of spending more time in fewer places, to get the most out of my subsequent trips.

I understand the attraction of a tour group if it's your first time. But I would pick one that concentrates on only one or 2 countries, if you are limited to only 2 weeks.

PS. I won't cast aspersions on their adequacy as a tour operator because of some of the typos in their online brochure. This is a Chinese travel operator, originally specializing in travel to China and travel for Chinese Canadians. I believe some of the typos are translation errors.

The link provided does not open for me. 🤔

I opened it earlier but now it won't open for me either. There must be a problem on their website.

Judy and Nancy, you aren't missing anything. This is not what I'd call an 11-day tour. It really begins on Day 2, upon landing in Frankfurt after a night flight after getting little sleep and being jetlagged. Day 11 is breakfast and fly home. That's 9 days of sightseeing - or perhaps more accurately, seeing the outsides of sights.

I wouldn't do this if it was free.

I don't like raining on peoples' parades but I've done one bus tour and I'll never do it again. By most standards the food and lodging were good but a bus tour tends to skip a lot of places I'd go and drop you at gift shops for extended periods. When I got back I read the brochure more carefully and learned something about tours. If they say, "See Venice," that's all you will do. As the bus drives within eyesight they'll say, "Look there's Venice."

Too much distance means too much time lost to travel. In your case it means time spent sitting in your bus seat waiting for a meal break and the occassional stop at a gift shop that's within eyesight of an actual attraction. I'm exaggerating somewhat, they do visit some sights but "see" or even "stop" in the brochure isn't the same as "visit".

Planning your own trip may sound hard but close your eyes and imagine Europe. What do you see, smell, taste? Now you just have to find places that are like that and book an airline ticket. An itinerary is only a series of stops that make sense. Rooms are generally easy to find; if it gets hard ask the Tourist Information office for help. Public transportation works well in Europe but don't emulate the tours and try to cover too much in one trip. Give yourself time to move at a comfortable pace and always consider the time involved getting from one place to another so you don't rush (torture) yourself.

I am a tour fan and have done 8 Rick Steves bus tours and 8 Road Scholar tours but this tour would not appeal to me at all. As others have said there is no time to actually see anything. This is NOT a typical bus tour in my view.

While I am not familiar with this company, I am familiar with the Asian tour model by 2 other companies in the US from time on Trip Advisor. These tours advertise they are bilingual but the continuing complaints I see on TA from English-speakers is that there is minimal information given in English. The model involves leaving very early in the AMs and getting to hotels late in the evening. In the US many of the food stops are Chinese buffets or if that's unavailable, fast food. Most breakfasts are the ones provided by the hotels, so I question the statement on this tour info saying American breakfasts. The US tour model involves a lot of stops for very short time - usually enough to get off the bus, take a picture of said monument, scenic site or whatever, then back on the bus. They are usually priced inexpensively but you are expected (Many reviews say the guides demand ) cash tips daily for the driver and guide. Another complaint I see is that the guide collects money for admission fees that are way above what the actual fee for the site is. Other complaints are regarding the location of the hotels which are usually out of the city center, however with early departures and late arrivals there is really no time to visit anywhere on your own anyway. Some of the reviews I have read on Trip Advisor indicate people were left when there was not a clear time they were supposed to be back at the bus or were late by 5 minutes.

IF you decide on this tour please scour the internet for reviews of this company. Check to see that information is provided in the language you expect (not a problem if you speak which ever Chinese language they present in). Check to see what the daily tip amount is. Check to see where the hotels are. Check to see where the lunch and dinner stops are. Check to see how often there is a comfort stop. Check the itinerary carefully and note whether they say you SEE a sight (can be a drive by on a bus) or VISIT a sight (which means get off the bus and go in). Check to see if good things are covered only by optional paid tours. As Brad says, check to see if they take you to gift shops or demos where you are supposed to buy something.

If you want an enjoyable tour of Europe, I'd recommend spending more money for a better tour company. Do some comparison with the RS tours covering a similar area. Look at the the 14 or 21 day best of Europe itineraries which cover similar territory. I didn't price compare but I'm sure the daily rate is at least double but .... you get what you pay for. I'm not saying Rick's is the only tour company but it is a good basis for comparison. See what entry costs are covered, what meals, what sights you visit. Neither Rick Steves or Road Scholar stop at gift shops or build shopping opportunities in to your itinerary in lieu of seeing cool things. Of course shoppers infiltrate both tours, lol, but they are on their own for finding shopping.

BTW, you can order the RS tour book which of course is free. Sometimes it's good to have a copy to flip thru.

We recently took a bus tour(not Rick Steves) that made no stops at gift shops. There was usually a guided intro to city tour in AM and free afternoon. Considerably less expensive than Rick's tours-PM me for name of tour company. I don't think they do "Tuesday Belgium" tours("If today's Tuesday, this must be Belgium") but tours of regions or individual countries(our tour was Lisbon and Spain)

This itinerary gave me an anxiety attack. I can't believe people actually try to cram this much in. Also I laughed at "Heidelberg, a beautiful village". Heidelberg is beautiful but calling it a "village" is hysterical.

On my first trip to Europe in 2001 I decided to take a RS tour - Best of Europe in 21 Days - and greatly enjoyed. We had about 26 people on the tour in a 52 passenger bus. I was fortunate to live in Seattle where I could go to some of RS lectures and visit his office in Edmonds, WA, a 25 minute drive away. I so enjoyed everything about Europe, the tour, and RS's approach to traveling that I have since taken another 13 RS tours. Along the way, I have seen too many big bus tours where there are as many tour members as the bus has seats. I would highly recommend a RS Best Of Europe tour to anyone who is taking their first trip to Europe and had no prior plans to visit a specific location. happy travels.

You shouldn't be booking that company, you should be reporting them for human rights abuses. Nobody should be subject to that, and no human body could physically handle it.

Apparently it is a style of travel enjoyed by Chinese tourists:

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/04/18/the-grand-tour

This tour went from Frankfurt to Heidelburg to Paris to the Alps to Lucerne, Milan, Venice, Rome, Florence and Pisa in 10 days. They use the ample bus time for lectures on culture and history.

In that case I'd rather stay home and read a book or watch a video, then go out to my favourite Italian restaurant.