We have been watching for a few months and it seems like some of the deals are pretty awesome. Right now there is an 8-day to London, Paris, and Rome for $799 per person with flights, hotel, and breakfast included. I am a little nervous about the voucher system though, so was curious if anyone else has used Groupon and what your experience was? Thanks!
Uh... no way. Sorry. That price is far too low to be credible. I also wouldn't try to cram three major cities into 8 days.
Look into Gate 1 Travel or Travelzoo deals (or even cruise ship deals)...I would trust those more than Groupon. I thought Groupon went out of business already because they couldn't make their business model work...maybe I'm wrong on that, but why take the chance?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/norman-i-silber/warning-groupon-may-be-da_b_4894122.html
I would not be so quick to dismiss the Groupon offer. Very reasonable if the departure is from New York or another east coast city. Also the time is critical. We have had similar deals from Travelzoo that were just as attractive. I would look into to it.
My workmate used Groupon last year to go to Ireland. They got an amazing deal BUT you had to have 4 people to use the deal, which they did. Everything was exactly as stated, flights, car rental and accommodations were clearly spelled out. It was only 7 days but she felt it was a good value over booking everything herself. My other friend used TravelZoo to book their honeymoon deal (Hotel only, local drive) and I have purchased show tickets in Vegas through them and everything has been fine. Same friend will look through the TravelZoo deals to decide on where to go to next based on the bundles they offer. When we went to Dublin last year Travelzoo offered the Hotel we wanted cheaper than the official website, went off without a hitch.
It looks like the departures at the $799 price are no longer available, but you can get the deal for $899 if you travel in February 2018.
I have used Groupon vouchers for many different things, but not for European travel. The voucher itself is probably legit, but I would definitely read the fine print to understand exactly what you're getting for the price.
https://www.groupon.com/deals/ga-gate-1-travel-london-paris-rome-15
Unless it clearly spelled out the name of the included lodging I wouldn't touch it. There are some REAL dumps out there, and the first thing that's going to ruin your "European Vacation" is staying in a roach motel with the shared bathroom down the hall and located in the far outskirts of the city with no connection to public transport.
My daughter did a Groupon trip to Europe. She was satisfied.
The flight was from NYC so getting there is an additional cost.
And as already noted, carefully real all the fine print
Friends have used Groupon travel deals with great success. Understand the details well.
Groupons are usually for a Gate 1 tour or a tour put on by another travel agency. There have been threads about this on the forum before. People have been satisfied. You will notice that the dates are limited for these offers.
What you really need to pay attention to is the "extras excursions" that are offered. Your Groupon won't usually include sightseeing. The excursions can easily double the cost of the tour if you sign up for them all.