Cosmos

I went to Italy with Cosmos many many years ago. The company has 3 levels of tours. Globus - the most expensive - usually better hotels Brendan - mid level Cosmos - the budget tour level I've been on Brendan and Cosmos and enjoyed them both. Typical bus tour..... up early, bags outside your door, on the bus at a certain time. Short stops with limited time to see things. I think there are pluses and minuses to bus tours......but then there are pluses and minuses with independent travel also.
Hope you have a wonderful trip. NOTE: There are probably customer reviews on tripadvisor.com and other travel sites. You many be able to find out all kinds of info.

Like Frances, I did a Cosmos tour of Italy a good many years ago. The on-line brochure for your particular tour will detail everything that is included and what is not, so read it very, very carefully. The hotels are usually at some distance from the cities on the tour, not in the centre of town, as a measure of economy. You can google each hotel named in the brochure to see what it is like.

I don't know if you'll find them useful, but they do post testimonials from travelers on their website. Just give the tour department a call and share your questions and concerns - they will be able to clarify everything. The service you get from them on the phone will give you an indication of whether they are reputable and trustworthy. The fine details will be in the "contract" - take the time to read the small print so there are no surprises in the end (they should tell you how many meals are covered, what activities are "extra", whether tips for the tour guides are included, etc).

Michelle, you can't control how people will respond to your questions. You can only control what you post. Posting a question on any travel board will elicit a variety of responses, not all to your liking. There are legitimate concerns being raised that people are going to point out. The most obvious was just pointed out - Why would you book a tour if you don't know what it includes?

Can you contact Cosmos and ask them?

Let's give Michelle a break - haven't we all once paid (sometimes a lot of $)for something and then asked questions or expressed some confusion for what you paid for later? It's a human trait, sure it's not wise or ideal, but no need to reprimand someone. It takes some humility to say you don't know something publicly while awaiting sharp electronic quills to come out from the peanut gallery. There are all levels of travel experience on this Board, all levels of financial and street smarts - I feel a bit for the newbies (assuming this is the case here). Rick doesn't help either by constantly talking about pickpockets - not saying they don't exist - but I don't personally do anything radically different overseas than here or engage extra tools - a simple purse with zipper will do (caveat: it helps to know a bit of foreign languages to get yourself out of a pickle)

I know what the tour includes in general.. I know what cites and that all stops are for at least 2 days. There is 4 days in Tuscany.. that is what attracted me to it was the price and the idea of day tripping with some open time in each area, as opposed everyday on a bus for a long time. What I wanted to know was has anyone here had any experience on a Cosmos tour and were they pleased or displeased or whatever.. How was it for them? I do very much appreciate the many people here that have been kind to me and helped me find hotels and a cell phone. Not to mention the moral support of several people who are VERY nice.

Frances (1st poster) gave you her take on the tours. She also pointed out Trip Advisor. I pointed out testimonials on the Cosmos website. So you have some sources - perhaps not a lot of RS folks went on your tour. Also each country tour is bound to be a bit different so it's best to compare by specific tour type and country. Check out RS tours sometime - right on this website. They are very good at posting tour reviews and the folks that go are real nice - although based on my very limited experience, they are an extremely well traveled bunch. RS tours are also very upfront about what they include, and the reviews suggest that folks feel very fairly treated. The best part, from my experience, is that the tour I went on was very small (20 some folks as opposed to a cruise or typical bus tour with 40+ folks). Best of luck - you'll have a great time! PS. I didn't mean "newbie" pejoratively - there's no shame in being new to something and it only happens once.

Thank you Angus for your moral support.. Yes I am a "newbie" as you call me.. I don't have buyers regret at all.. I was wondering of anyone had any experiences with Cosmos tour company. I am not one that is picky about my room and such and has real high expectations.. I know that Italy will be a new experience. That is the while reason to go. And I want to connect with the local people if I can. I actually got real bargain in this tour knowing what hotels cost in Italy. I will be on my won in Rome for a week and on a MCS cruise out of Bari for another week to see the Greek Isles, Venice and Croatia..SO I think it will be a nice mix.. It is ok that Rick talked about pick pockets.. I at least know to protect myself. Rick Steves also mentions that violent crime is very low in Italy.. Much better then here. Which is a real relief to me actually. I just want to do protect myself and still not offend the local people or offending a policeman. That is why I asked about it. Thank you for your kind and polite answer Michelle

- Globaljourneys.com has 336 Cosmos Tours reviews. - Trip Advisor has reviews of Cosmos Tours across their various country forums. - There are reviews of Cosmos Tours in Fodor's Europe forums. - Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree Forum has reviews of Cosmos Tours. - Cosmos Tours has many 'testimonials' about their tours on their own site (I'd take those with a grain of salt because it's unclear whether Cosmos posts all feedback or only the positive comments.) - Epinions.com has 52 reviews of Cosmos Tours. What did we ever do before we had Google? On the Rick Steves Helpline you would have easily gotten many comments about the RS tours, and on the RS site you could find hundreds of candid, unedited reviews of the dozens of RS tours offered each year, by the people who actually participated in the tours.

Hi, I trimmed out a few posts here. We need to leave questions or accusations of one's validity off the boards. It should be noted that reading Rick's guidebooks and other guidebooks are not required reading before posting on the Helpline. That's not to say that suggesting that one do some guidebook reading can't be a helpful tip. There were also some other helpful research tips that were trimmed out with the parts that needed to be removed. My apologies there.