Has anyone been on this tour before?
Like to hear about your experiences. For example, airport transfers (is it door-to-door?), hotels, meals, optional excursions, tippings, etc..
Also, what's the weather like in each city during this time of the year? Need to figure out what to pack.

Hi VP,
You will find that not many people reply to the costsaver posts. You must be looking forward to your wonderful tour and seeing so many countries and famous places. I have read many posts on clothing needed for long tours and if you click on the 'find' button on the top left hand side and type in "clothing" you will find a lot of replies. Have a great trip.
Helen

Hi Helen, thanks for your reply. I hope it's a case of not many people replying to this post instead of not many people taking the cost saver tours which would be a worry. Anyway, with a little patience, I managed to find a few comments re the European Voyager tour on this site from 2006 and earlier. Looks like I should be prepared for surprises in terms of hotels as well as weather! It took me several months to plan for this tour so I'm more than excited about it even though I'm still a bit apprehensive about travelling alone.

Hi VP,
Don't worry about travelling alone, I am also a solo traveller. When I travelled alone on my 12 day Premium Insight tour I was also very nervous. As it turned out I was the only single traveller but it was fine, everyone made me feel very welcome. The days are so busy you don't have a chance to feel lonely and sometimes it is nice just to go off on your own. I'm not good with directions and nearly got lost a few times however!! You will have a great time, I'm going on a costsaver tour in Oct to Italy and I can't wait.
Helen

Hi I thought about this trip but decided to do 3 smaller ones back to back. I read a lot on the tour tales of other costsavers which cover similar areas eg. The Adventure. Go to tour tales=look up where are all the tales and scroll down to bottom where the costsaver tours are listed. Hope you enjoy. Sandy

Hi Helen,
I'm also terrible with directions so I usually don't wander too far from the starting point! Enjoy your trip to Italy.
VP

Hi Sandy,
Hope your back to back tours work out well.
Thanks for your tips re the tour tales. They are really helpful.
VP

Hi VP, how was the trip? Any advice for someone about to take the same tour (I'm booked for the Sep 18th trip)? Any "must do" optional excursions?

Jeremy

Hi Jeremy, hope you get to read this before you trip. I had a wonderful time on the tour. All the hotel rooms were better than I expected. I was with a large group - 47 pax on a 49 seater coach. On a guided tour if you are walking at the back you won't be able to hear the guide's introduction and some guides moved at a fast speed so make sure you don't get left behind! Betty was our tour director and she has very good contacts everywhere to get us best seats at optional dinners, etc.

'Must do' optionals really depends on individual preference. I went for all except 3 of the optional excursions selected by our tour director. The ones I didn't go to are the Tyrolean Evening (I wasn't interested in yodelling show but those who attended really enjoyed it), the Vienese concert (thought it was expensive and I could do with an early night but if you decide to go you'll need something more formal to wear), and the caves in Lourdes (wanted more time to walk around the Grotto).

Honestly, I won't have seen as many places of interests if I didn't take up the optional excursions. I reckon if you want to explore these places on your own then don't go with a tour in the first place. The ones that I have good memories of are the canal cruise in Amsterdam, Lake Lucerne cruise, Mt Pilatus (except it was foggy that day), Gondola serenade in Venice, Burano with Lunch, Vatican & Sistine, Pompeii, Esphesus, St Paul de Vence, Mantserrat & the Black Madonna, Toledo, Seine cruise in Paris and Eiffel tower. The Eagle's Nest was the only one I didn't find worth doing other than the walk thru the tunnel and the elevator ride.

I found the optional dinners were pretty good as they all came with live entertainments and unlimited drinks including wines and beers. Also great for group bonding! But most require you to dress up a bit (ie no shorts, T-shirts or jeans). The ones I like best are the Blue Danube & dinner in a country mansion (must go), the Catalan dinner & Flamenco in Barcelona (food was great and the Flamenco was simply the best I've seen esp. it was up close!), Roman Dinner Party, Provencial dinner before visit to casino in Monaco, and the Parisian Cabaret & dinner (expensive but enjoyable).

Other advice I can offer are:
- prepare for very early morning calls each day (good to have your own alarm clock in case the expected call didn't come thru)and long coach ride between countries. Some folks found going for all optional excursions left them pretty exhausted so I suggest to check the daily itinerary to see how much free/rest time you need before deciding which optional to take up.
- use of public toilets in Europe at service/lunch stops costs 30 or 50 cents Euro
- have small change ready for local guides and local drivers
- optional excursions can be paid by credit cards but bring enough cash for lunches, water, sundries and tipping for main coach driver and tour director. While ATM can be found in most places but not all so I prefer not to be left in a desperate state when out of cash. One couple brought travellers cheques but they seem to have trouble cashing them.
- always have your luggage and bag locked at all time and valuables in safes where possible. We had valuables stolen from 3 rooms in a row on the Greek Island cruise. We were constantly warned of pick-pockets and gypsies in crowded places.
- hat and sun screen a must. Also bring an umbrella if possible
- drinking water is available for purchase at all service stops although some are cheaper than others. Take lots of fluid and multi-vitamins
- I bought an e-kit phone card but found it very troublesome to use so it was a waste of money. Some people bought calling cards locally but found that it can't be used in all countries so balance was wasted. My mobile phone worked in most countries so I made quick calls only whenever I had to but used SMS to communicate with family and friends back home. Internet access (charge by minute/hour/24hr) can be found in almost all hotels (ask if there's free access for hotel guests before paying and also on ferries and Greek Island cruise. Just watch out for the different key boards used in some countries.
- if you love to take tons of photos and videos like I do (but be safe than sorry in case some don't turn up clear), make sure you have plenty of memory cards and a spare battery for your camera. I have 4x4 GB cards with me but still found it insufficient and had to pay an exorbitant price for a 2GB card. Also bring the right power converter/adaptor plugs required for each country as the last thing you want is not able to charge your camera and phone while travelling.

Hope the above comes in handy for you. Bon voyage!
VP

Hi
Here is a differing view of the Eagle's Nest optional. Hope you have a wonderful trip.

Sandy

Next came my most anticipated optional – The Eagle’s Nest 56E. Veronika was our guide for this while Uli went to our hotel with the 5 who didn’t take this optional. Unfortunately, the cloudy skies did not give us a good view from the mountaintop but the excursion is phenomenal for several reasons: the history, the technology and the view. I will explain in a fair amount of detail below.

The Kehlsteinhaus is a chalet-style building built by the Nazis in the German Alps near Berchtesgaden. It was an official 50th birthday present for Adolf Hitler. Nicknamed Eagle's Nest by a French diplomat, it was meant to be a retreat for Hitler and a place for him to entertain visiting dignitaries.

We headed up the mountain road around hairpin turns. The Eagle’s Nest was completed in 13 months and officially presented to Hitler in 1939. The technology that went into building this piece of history was phenomenal. The road, the tunnels, the elevator shaft and the house were all completed by 3000 workmen, mainly Italian, in just 13 months.

Kehlsteinhaus is reached by a spectacular 6.5-km (3.9-mile) road that would cost about 150 million Euros in 2007 prices. There is a 124-metre long granite tunnel that ends at an elevator. The last 124 metres up to the Kehlsteinhaus are reached by an elevator, which rises through a shaft bored straight down through the mountain. The inside of the large elevator car is surfaced with polished brass, Venetian mirrors and green leather.

The main reception room is dominated by a fireplace of red Italian marble, presented by Mussolini. Hitler rarely visited the property. There were no bedrooms there only entertainment rooms. It has been suggested he only visited the Kehlsteinhaus around 10 times, and most times for no more than 30 minutes. Eva Braun often entertained there. It is said that Hitler did not like heights.

Today the building is owned by a charitable trust, and serves as a restaurant. It is a popular tourist attraction for its historical impact and the view. After the return of the Kehlsteinhaus to German hands, an information center was built on the foot of the hill to remind the public of Hitler and his regime. The Kehlsteinhaus itself does not mention much about its past.

What a wonderful experience! The Eagle's Nest book that I had bought a few days before certainly made my visit all the more interesting.

I strongly advise you to do this optional. The history, technology and the fantastic views make it so amazing. Just think of the historical figures who walked here before you. Just to name a few Dwight D Eisenhower Winston Churchhill etc.