a first time trip of a lifetime

never having been to Europe I really did not know what to expect but was anticipating the best and that is what this trip was. From the cities visited, the group I was with, the tour director and guides in each city, it was much more than I anticipated. I want to go back and see more. We packed so much into 12 days. Every minute was busy. I would highly recommend this trip to family and friends or to anyone who would like to see Europe.

Best of Central Europe

Overall the tour was excellent. I would have liked to stay an additional day in Innsbruck and more of a variety of food. We were snitzeled out by the end of the tour.

One of the best trips ever

Paula Noad is one of the best tour guides we have ever had. She is very informative and spends time with each person.

Middle Europe: Germany, Switzerland, Austria

Excellent trip. Plenty of free time to explore on our own and the optional tours were interesting too.

Be advised!

Since my husband will not write his thoughts I must do it for him. This seems to be a trip for experienced travelers who want to check countries off their "Bucket List". ALL city guides should be required to use the "whisper" devices no matter how strong they, or our tour guide, think their voices are. If a city guide is more interested in taking you to the BMW showroom and only spending 30 fast minutes in a major castle start complaining! None of us were BMW shopping that day. Everything was at a dead run unless you skipped extra excursions. Do not plan on taking pictures or tying a loose shoelace. I bought a recording device to capture information but got nothing except reading material suggestions from the guide as I was too rushed taking photos and trying to keep up with the guide. My husband has done nothing but complain about this trip since we got home. This was a "once in a lifetime" trip for him and not what he wanted. Guess maybe it was our fault as we could not afford one of the high dollar tours that take the traveler more into consideration.

Mixed review

My husband was a first time tour traveler on his "dream of a lifetime" trip. For me, I had been on an EF tour that was my "heart's desire" some years ago. For my husband this trip was a great disappointment and I am not sure he would recommend Go Ahead to anyone. It was too frantic for him and there was not enough free time to see some of the cities unless we skiped an extra excursion. He spent most of his time worrying about me taking time to stop to take a picture or that I might not be able to keep up with the group. By the way, the group NEVER had to wait on me. For me it was a chance to see cities that we might want to revisit at a more leisurely pace. The hotels were better than expected but both of us were very disapointed in the "authentic" foods provided by the tour. I never want to eat apple strudel or sauerkraut again! Often none of our group could guess what the meat was and although the markets had beautiful vegetables we were only served a geen vegetable once and I do not recall ever getting beef. The tour guide was very professional and knowledgeable but as first time travelers to this area did not always know what to ask until it was too late. Customer Service led me to believe that the two places I really wanted pictures of would be made available if I asked our tour guide. This was not true. Our tour guide did provide a side trip that I think should be made a regular part of the tour. At Melk we boarded a boat where great food was available. We cruised the Danube to Dirnst where we boarded a tractor pulled train through the vinyards beofre meeting our bus for the trip to Vienna. As a history buff the greatest part of this side trip for me was getting pictures of the castle where King Richard the Lionheart was held prisioner. However, at the Eagles Nest most of us stood in the cold while some visited the document center. The group should have been allowed to wait on the bus or go on up to the Eagles Nest to catch pictures or sit inside in the warmth with tea and rum. Anyone considering this trip should be aware that "handicapped accessible" is not in the European thought process. Hotels were fine but sites required being able to climb stairs, steep inclines, cobblestones, and uneven streets. As "first timers" we learned a great deal but this may be our last trip.

Equally good as last 6 trips with GoAhead

Paula, our guide was very knowledgeable with lots of historic data. The only drawback on the trip was 2 women in the group that smoked as we were on street tours and/or waiting in groups. This is enough to make me think twice about joining another of your tours. This has never been a problem and would think non-smoking would be required. I would also suggest you inform guests of the recessed electrical outlet. The prawns on the adaptor plug are right, but won't fit into the recessed round wall outlet. Women also need a hairdryer which the first hotel did not provide in our room. These are small details and the overall trip experience was wonderful. Oh, perhaps the Marionettes in Austria could be an optional? We went on our own and loved them!

The trip I've been longing to take

I have wanted to see this part fo Europe for many years and finally made it a realization! I braved it alone, which turned out to be perfect due to great travellers also on the trip. We got to see so many things and experience such fun adventures. All of the countries visited were so beautiful and we got to know so much more about the history of the places visited due to the great knowledge of Paula, our tour director. I know I'll think about this trip in the years to come with fond memories. I'd definitely recommend this trip to friends!

Best of Europe: Germany,Switzerland & Austria

Our tour director did all she could to make our trip a pleasure.

Best of Central Europe:Germany, Switzerland, Austr

This is a great trip with beautiful scenery and architecture combined with historical significance and great food and beer and wine. What more could one want!