Globus La France Tour

Walter my MIL took a Globus tour of Italy. She enjoyed it, but, found it exhausting, lots of early mornings and go go go. So wear comfy shoes and get whatever rest you can ..

also see rick's article on 'tour bus self defense'. Its in his "Europe thru the backdoor" book and may be online here as well.

As a former tour director, and having worked a short time for Globus, let me say Rick went a little overboard on his description of large tour groups and tour directors.

He is, afterall, trying to sell his own tours

Yes, European tours stop at places to shop. This is because the passengers want it. If they didn't, the tours wouldn't stop there. (They tell us in their evaluations--see later)

No, not all tour directors are out to take you for every penny. Most of us, who were professional, first and foremost, wanted you to have a good time.

Tour directors do not hate independent travelers. In fact, if there is something you specifically want to do during your free time, mention it to your tour director and he/she will probably help you.

At the end of the tour, you'll be given an evaluation to fill out. I cannont emphasize enough how important that evaluation is. Every one is read. Any negative comments made by a passenger are brought to the attention of the (con't)

tour manager who must respond in writing to the tour company as to what happened and why. Too many negative comments and that tour manager will be looking for a new job.

Also, all Globus tours are run by a "bible." This means that every "LaFrance" tour, no matter who runs it, will be the same. Tour managers are not allowed to make changes except with good cause. They only stop at shopping places approved by the tour company. They only offer optionals approved by the tour company.

Globus is one of the strictest companies when it comes to rules.

Most people who prefer to travel the "Rick Steves" way would not enjoy a Globus tour. But then many who like the Globus way of travel wouldn't like an RS tour.

Hi Walter, My husband and I took the La France Tour last May15th. We are in our 60's and enjoyed the tour very much.
We had an excellent tour guide and saw a good deal of France. This was our first Globus tour and we'd take another with them. Only drawback is that we'd rather have eaten more dinners in neighborhood restaurants rather than hotels.

Another zombie reactivated. Mary, I'm sure Walter enjoyed the tour of France - in 2008.

Frank has got the typical tour group situation nailed...we've used both Globus and Cosmos and yes, you do have an early start, but I'm up early anyway. Just for the room cost and the transportation alone it's been worth it to us...we travel a lot at Christmas time...more clothes, luggage,...try washing cold weather gear in your room then. Are launderettes scarce? Not if you really look. All the tour directors, guides, and drivers have been complete professionals. And we have at times gone independent too..rental car, train, bus whatever. I have yet to visit France, been all over Europe, and I'll probably use a tour for what could be considered a quick look at France, then return there later for a more in depth look. Post up what you think and find out. Happy Trails

Maybe Walter can answer the question for everyone else now.

How did Mary find this post and pull it up to post on, or should I wonder why instead?

I'll bet she searched for "France tours" and it came up. It did when I searched for those terms, however I did notice that it was from 2008 but maybe she didn't catch that.

Hello all, I'm Walter of the April, 2008 post. Didn't know I was so popular on the internet! Bets suggested that I post an answer re my original post, since we completed our trip. We arrived in Paris 6 days prior to our Globus tour & did a self tour of Paris for 4 days & joined a Battle Bus tour of the Normandy American beaches for the last two days. That was the highlight of the tour for me, a retired Army officer. We booked the Globus LaFrance tour after enjoying a great trip in Italy with Globus. We did not expect to enjoy the France trip as much & we didn't. That said, we did have a good time on our trip, but it had more to do with the people on the trip with us & the country of France. Our tour guide was a German, speaking English about France. It didn't work. Did I get what I expected: yes. Did I enjoy my trip: yes. Would I take another escourted trip to Europe: yes. We leave this summer for a self driving tour of Ireland & a Brandan trip to the UK.
Hope this helped.

Thank you Walter. Great to hear about your travels and to get a follow up to this resurrected posting.

In going to Europe every summer and running into Globus tours frequently, I am amazed to see how they get that many people into one of their busses. I can only believe that they fill almost every seat - I can be corrected on that. I also notice that they are always at hotels, not any B&Bs, which I enjoy as a way to meet more local folks. Well, as Walter insituated, different strokes for different folks.

Well Charlie it goes without saying that a Rick Steves tour is better in most ways, then most tours( except) perhaps for very expensive high end tours like Tauck),, most tours do want a full bus,, and as you know the RS tours limit their numbers to about half of those big bus tours,, but still use same big bus( very comfy) . The smaller groups also allows for those stays at great smaller hotels etc,, BUT , some people are attracted by the seemingly cheaper prices of some of those other tours( but they soon find out about the extra and optionals later) and others like ( or in some cases do really need the extra help) having their luggage carried for them. I have only done the one RS tour, and although I still prefer independent travel at my age,, I know that when I get fed up planning stuff one day,, I would definately consider another RS tour. Its a real quality for money tour.