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Fun Travel Service
Category:
Travel Agents
113 Salem St
Boston,
Massachusetts 02113
(617) 742-6944
My third time traveling with Fun Travel , my husband and I went on a guided tour through Peru. We...
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My third time traveling with Fun Travel , my husband and I went on a guided tour through Peru. We enjoyed the tours, learned a lot from our knowledgeable and friendly guides, but we felt the pressure to shop at every folk-art station was a bit ridiculous. Warning: be prepared for guilt to be put on you for being born in a first world country. And, remember, some of the mothers carrying children on their backs are borrowing the kids and hiking down into the cities to receive a tip for a picture.
By the end of the trip, others in our group had expended a good deal of money on useless trinkets and what have you to alleviate the great poverty had by many of the people there; and a number of us failed to tip our one day bus driver from Cusco to Puno. And, many of us were rewarded with missing baggage when we went up to our rooms (after approaching the bus driver and offering to carry our luggage ourselves, in some cases). A few hours later, the bus company straightened it out, though Gate 1 said they couldn't do anything about it in the immediate moment.
To end on a positive note, Fun Travel provided a cost effective travel plan which is good for those of us on a budget. On the other hand, watch your baggage, keep in mind that alot of things are a show, and at the same time, have an open mind and heart because so many of the people you'll meet in Peru are the real deal and want to share their way of life with you.
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We just returned from a tour of the Highlights of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Our...
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We just returned from a tour of the Highlights of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Our trip was nothing short of fabulous. We made reservations with Touraine, a first rate company with tons of experience. They are based in Colorado and Switzerland and have a vast array of tours in most major cities around the world for the traveler to choose from. My mother is a travel agent and she recommended them to us, so how could we say no? Having never done a tour such as this, ever, we thought it would be wise for us to go there the first time to have places introduced to us, rather than trying to navigate our way around Great Britain ourselves. It was a wise decision. I cannot imagine having to rent a car, drive on the right side of the car and on the right side of the road! I think we would have spent half of our time being lost.
Prior to leaving for our Touraine vacation, we were each sent paperwork, including a detailed itinerary, luggage tags, name tags and a quality tote bag. Things were looking very good. We chose a Highlights Tour because we felt it would give us what we wanted to see which was the most we could for the length of time we were spending there. Touraine has brochures which are available at travel agencies.
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Odyssey Cruises
Category:
Romantic Dining
60 Rowes Wharf
Boston,
Massachusetts 02110
(866) 967-9635
My company held a work function on the odyssey last week and it was a great time. The food was...
More 1 year ago
My company held a work function on the odyssey last week and it was a great time. The food was fantastic and the views of Boston were awesome. I highly recommend the odyssey to anyone who is looking for a great experience and fun environment.
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Donna Franca Tours
Category:
Travel Agents
470 Commonwealth Ave Ofc
Boston,
Massachusetts 02215
(617) 375-9400
Just returned from vacation with Donna Franca Tours to Germany and Austria for Christmas Market...
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Just returned from vacation with Donna Franca Tours to Germany and Austria for Christmas Market Tour. Started off weakly when a Donna Franca Tours Travel rep told us not to bother booking the trip if we were only going to have 5-6 hours between arriving at JFK and departing for Europe,but since we really wanted to go we ignored this, booking the trip through a local travel agent. After that, everything went great. All bookings were as specified, right down to the free drink with the tour director at the first hotel we arrived at in Munich. Baggage pick-up, pick up at airports, transportation from city to city was near perfect. Tour director Michael Paier was knowledgeable,helpful and accessible at all times- he really made the trip easy for us as first time travelers to Europe.The vacation itself was a Christmas lover's dream- the sights of the markets are a visual delight. The trip was fast paced but still left time for one to explore the cities and markets on your own. Michael's knowledge of Vienna subways was invaluable in enjoying the city in the allotted time. The hotels were clean and close to areas of interest. We felt safe and knowledgeable about heading off on our own after speaking with Micheal. The cities themselves were amazing, Munich, Salzburg and Vienna go all out in decorating for the holidays, and being part of the huge crowds at night was exciting. I don't mean things were overly crowded, just that many people were out- we met and talked with people from countries all over the world. A great experience all around, Americans really do need to see what a diverse and different world exists outside of our borders. Only complaint would be flights- had to fly past Munich to Rome, then back. Also had to leave for airport at 4 a.m.on return flight. Rough.
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Kings Vacation
Category:
Travel Agents
1032A Commonwealth Ave
Boston,
Massachusetts 02215
(617) 232-8838
Kingsvacation offers me good price to Manila from New York. Service is good.
2 years ago
Kingsvacation offers me good price to Manila from New York. Service is good.
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Bike Riders
Category:
Travel Agents
295 Hanover St
Boston,
Massachusetts 02113
(617) 723-2354
The people there are jus there to get you satisfied I suppose. They want to get you in and out of...
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The people there are jus there to get you satisfied I suppose. They want to get you in and out of their hands as soon as they can. They would give you some nice places at one point and then disappoint you if you are too slow with your decision. Basically, you have to tell them what you are looking for and they will try their best to please you. Some of the employees were trying to give us some kind of a discount when i thought it was too expensive and I guess i was able to save some money out of it.
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Las Americas Travel
Category:
Travel Agents
9 Maverick Sq
Boston,
Massachusetts 02128
(617) 561-4292
Pros: Their clout in certain areas of the world is necessary to worry-free travel.
Cons: You may...
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Pros: Their clout in certain areas of the world is necessary to worry-free travel.
Cons: You may meet a bad apple, but that's possible in any group.
Don't travel alone! Las Americas arranges every detail. If headed to India, wait until you can have DAVID as your tourguide. As we traveled near and mid-east, we had individual tour guides for Egypt, Israel and Jordan. The luxury of having a guide all to yourself is unparalleled. Yet, there are palms to be greased, customs to know, etc. David even made sure my 121 rolls of film did not have to go thru x-ray machines on every air hop! Wow!
Our Egyptian guide deliberately misled us to an unscrupulous jeweler. When we arrived home and our jeweler of many years told us the sad truth, stepped up, contacted the Egyptian company and got our refund! Can you top that. I could go on, but I think I've made my point. We strongly, heartily recommend this company.
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Resolution Ball
Category:
Bars, Pubs & Clubs
101 Arch St
Boston,
Massachusetts 02110
(781) 559-0137
I went to the Resolution Ball last year with a group of friends. It was hands down one of the best...
More 1 month ago
I went to the Resolution Ball last year with a group of friends. It was hands down one of the best New Years Eves ever! We plan on going back this year to the Resolution Ball at Cyclorama in the South End. This location is going to be PERFECT for the hottest of Boston's young professionals. Can't wait!
Pros: great music, lots of bars, good atmosphere
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Vacation Outlet
Category:
Travel Agents
Boston,
Massachusetts 02108
(617) 451-9022
Great hotel accommodations and luggage handling. Efficient and organized. Worry free traveling to...
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Great hotel accommodations and luggage handling. Efficient and organized. Worry free traveling to destinations.
Know what your getting into with a tour we did. If a tour is what you want, you won't have a problem with Globus.
As two 24 year-old girls with little traveling experience we decided to explore Europe with a tour. We’re not into the backpacking and hostel staying way of travel. We did extensive research and even contemplated doing a Contiki Tour. After reading less than favorable reviews on epinions, we opted for Vacation Outlet' “The Popular” Europe tour based on its itinerary and superior tourist class hotels even though the age range skewed to the slightly older. As pointed out in many reviews below, if you want to truly blend into a culture of each country then don’t do a tour. A tour is a fast paced glimpse of each country's touristy "must sees" – this means most of the places you will go will have English menus, straight-out-of-college backpackers and an assortment of souvenir tchotchkes. You might have only 25 minutes to explore the Sistine Chapel or 90 minutes to take a picture of the Leaning Tower of Pisa in your hand.
However, we still had a great time. Vacation Outlet does allow you free time after group sight-seeing tours in the morning and afternoon. Take advantage of this free time.
The tour guide will try to scare you into joining the overpriced optional excursions by making it seem dangerous and difficult to use the subways, buses, or trains. This isn’t true. Most of the hotels are either centrally located, very close to metro stations, or a cab ride away. Don’t let your guide deter you from seeing the cities at night. For example, our day in Venice ended around 6pm. Our tour guide said it would be dead at night and advised everyone to go back to the hotel for dinner. We stayed and had an amazing time. Venice is totally different at night. The tourists and pigeons are gone and St. Mark’s Square is simply breathtaking. By contrast, our tour mates had a lousy “Italian” dinner at the hotel with rubbery chicken and dry pasta.
Don't expect to eat well in Europe – this is something you need to take initiative about. Your breakfast consists of bread, cold cuts and cheese. Your lunch is eaten "on the run" – either at a roadside stop or at a pit-stop town where you don't have enough time to sit down for a proper meal. Dinner is your only chance to find an authentic meal. Don't be too afraid or too cheap to find REAL local cuisine because you already paid for the "included" hotel dinner. Hotel dinners are overrated as they (1) eat up time as you make small talk with your tourmates (if you are into socializing, this can be accomplished at a more opportune time, such as the hours you spend on the bus together), (2) force you back into the high school facing the "where do I sit dilemma", and (3) usually consist of some cultureless variation of meat and potatoes. Ask a local for recommendations or come prepared with a list of restaurants from a guidebook.
Don’t fall for the optional excursions. These are by far not worth the money and extremely overpriced. The excursion to the Lourve cost about $48. We thought it would be crowded and we would get extra things. Instead we ran around the Lourve with a local guide that spoke really fast. Plus, you have to listen to tour mates complain about the all the steps they have to climb. By contrast, the actual ticket cost about 8 euros (with a little extra for headphones) and you can wander and look at what you want. The only excursions that are economically worthwhile are to places out of the way, such as the Palace of Versailles or the fishing town of Volendam. Remember that every excursion means time away from independent exploration – which might be what you're looking for.
Our strongest piece of advice, Bring some guidebooks and maps. We brought Frommer's “Guide to Europe” and Rick Steves “Italy.” Use these as tools for things that might not be covered on your tour. They list addresses and points of interests. We also used the internet to see the location of our hotel and any places we wanted to see that were not listed in our books. Internet can be expensive over there. Our proudest find was the library in Amsterdam that offered free internet. Other tips: Often times you are concentrating so hard on making sure you capture the moment on film for later that you forget to capture the moment for yourself. Remember to stop and take a minute to drop your jaw and be amazed by Europe's beauty. Make use of the time you have in each place to actually enjoy the place. Rather than squander this time frantically searching for presents to bring home, shop at the convenient Autogrills and roadside stops. They provide a variety of cookies, chocolates, postcards and other touristy things and you're usually stuck there for an hour anyway. The slightly higher price is worth the convenience.
Beware that the quality of your tour will depend on your tour guide – and this is really hit or miss. Our tour guide was really great. She seemed scatterbrained at first, but was actually very organized. Though everyone moaned and groaned about 5:45am wake-up calls, they allowed us to avoid the swarming masses at each stop. Our tour guide knew that we liked to do our own exploring and never forced the excursions on us. Instead, she would give us directions and instructions on how to get around. These weren’t always correct or detailed (we couldn’t find our tram in Amsterdam, but a kind local pointed us in the right direction), but she had the best of intentions. Our tour guide had extensive knowledge about each country and you can tell she does her research. She was able to give first-hand impressions and experiences with the countries – even if some of it was a little bit outdated. We never saw her sleep on the bus and were amazed at the amount of energy she had. Members of the other concurrent Globus “Popular” tour complained nonstop about their horrible tour guide who told horror stories about getting robbed in Rome and introduced each stop with "This is where we're going to have lunch. Be back at 1pm." Many of their excursions were cancelled due to lack of interest.
Overall the tour is organized and efficient. We would never have been able to see as much as we did on our own. While tours have a tendency to promote dependence and hand-holding, Vacation Outlet also allows you to grab on or let go according to your comfort level (while never instilling the fear that you will be left behind – see other tour company reviews). Remember that these are foreign countries and things will be different from the U.S. Don’t gripe and complain (as many of our tour mates seemed to do). Don’t forget to explore on your own. If you ask nicely, locals are more than willing to help. Enjoy it.
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Right from the get go it was top notch. Our luggage was picked up and we were whisked away to our...
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Right from the get go it was top notch. Our luggage was picked up and we were whisked away to our hotel to begin our incredible holiday. Our guide woke us up early most mornings and managed to get us to each location before the crowds. Sami (hands down the best guide in Egypt!) somehow managed to locate the shade and provide us with such vivid histories of everywhere we visited that we had no problems envisioning the past as it was. The service was wonderful - we were spoiled rotten for two full weeks. The food was varied and delicious and we weren't hit with any illnesses. The tour took us to all the sites we wanted to see and we never felt rushed. I cannot speak highly enough of Carlson Wagonlit Travel - they truly thought of everything and provided us with our trip of a lifetime that truly surpassed all of our expectations. I would not hesitate to recommend Carlson Wagonlit Travel - truly five star!
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