Tour of France

This being my first trip abroad, I can now say what all the hub-bub is about when someone mentions going to Europe. France was a delight from beginning to end. I am now reading about the country and will continue to do so until my next trip abroad wherever that might be. I plan to travel with Go Ahead in the future. Thank you for making my first voyage a memorable one.

A Taste of France: Burgundy & Champagne

Our Tour Director, Thierry, was a gem. He could not do enough for us. He was intellegent, full of historical information from the beginning to the end of our trip. Our trip would not have been as great if it were not for him. The Hotel Roosevelt in Lyon was a gem. We loved it. Small, quaint and the staff was most courteous. Wine country was lovely. We especially liked the small towns we stopped at and the Chateaus. The winery in Chablis was my favorite. Beautiful village. Reims was spectacular. Hotel not so great. Overall it was a very good trip. Not enough time in Paris

Interesting tour with some negatives

Although I would probably not recommend this tour to a friend that is primarily due to difficulty with office staff contact and obtaining information as well as uncertain lodging quality. For travelers who prefer familiar American chain hotels this company may be the right selection. Holiday Inns seem to be the norm for this trip. Unfortunately the planners did not check on remodeling status of the hotels or ignored that information in making the final selection of lodging. Poor location for two of four hotels and two hotels with renovation problems ( non working elevators and maintanance problems) constituted an inconvenience. That said, the tour itinerary was good, food was generally very good, tour director good ( needed a little more organization at the start of the trip but ajusted quickly and was very helpful), and bus very good. We did not do air with GoAhead just the ground part. If the location hotels had been better managed and company contact and communication improved I would probably recommend.

Know before you go

I enjoyed the tour very much, but the very early days do wear a person down by the 11th day. It would be nice to have one late day (leaving at 10 am) during the tour. Our guide was very flexible and accommodating, but a little disorganized.....but I am a little tough on that aspect. All in all, it was wonderful.

Didn't Live Up to the Hype

I booked this trip after enjoying the Tuscan Spa Retreat 2 years earlier. Three of the four scheduled wine tastings were fine, but the other was very disappointing. The winery clearly didn't want us there as it was harvest time. They gave us a glass of wine and some stale crackers and rushed us into their shop to purchase their wines. The hotel in Dijon was under construction - loud jackhammer noises from 8:00 am until 6:00 pm. The elevators were broken and we had to climb up and down from the 5th floor. Not located anywhere near the city center and terribly inconvenient. Hotel in Reims was somewhat better in terms of location but my room had no working telephone, therefore no wake up call at all. Paris hotel was in a questionable neighborhood and had the bare minimum in terms of amenities: no fridge/mini bar, no safe, no way to get a snack or something to eat. Only one elevator was working, resulting in long waits to use the only operational one. Breakfast food was horrible. Hotel's location too far away from anything we wanted to see, resulting in expensive cab rides when we didn't feel comfortable taking the Metro at night. For a food tour, the included meals were nothing spectacular, just very basic local cuisine. The tour director was very knowledgable about Paris and gave us excellent advice and assistance, which saved the trip for me. He worked hard to make the trip smoother for us. I realize that hotels in Europe are different than in the US but the elevators and phones should work and they should be located in safe, convenient areas. When you have only a few days in a city you don't want to spend excessive amounts of time traveling to and from sites you want to see. Not a good value for the money spent.

Second Rate Hotels

My wife and I booked this tour because we hoped to duplicate the great time we had in France on a european tour last year. Alas, that did not happen. The itinerary covered on the tour was fine, taking us to places we hadn't been before. The tour director was attentive and helpful. The major flaw in the tour was the hotels. In Dijon the Holiday Inn was far outside of town requiring a 20 minute bus ride into the city. On one of the two days we were there the elevators were not working which required us to walk up 6 flights 4 or 5 times. In Paris, the Holiday Inn was in a rough looking working class neighborhood about 3 miles away from the major sites. A taxi from the Louvre back to our hotel cost 26 euros and took almost 45 minutes. On balance this tour was not too bad but wasn't as good as it should have been.

taste of france

when we signed up the tour was a 3 it should have been rated a 4 with lots of walking.not for senios we all were way behind our tour director and some times could not hear him talk

walking walking tour

every where we went we walked and walked mthis tour not for the seinor group

A Taste of France: Burgundy & Champagne

Overall, a very good experience. The group dinner in Lyon (Welcome Dinner) was exceptional, with the remaining evening meals ranging from very good to mediocre or less, the fair well restaurant in Paris should be dropped. It felt like the type of place that would serve a high school senior trip, such as Mama Leone's in New York before the play. The tasting tours were very enjoyable with the best being the Chablis experience with the owner, who was great fun. I never knew that there were so many Notre Dame Cathedrals, previously thinking that Paris and the university were it. But seriously, the Cathedrals that we visited were very interesting and the local guides added a great deal of information and understanding to the group. I highly recommend this trip.

Educational and fun

Jean Jacques was an excellent tour director, very well informed, who went out of his way to make sure that everyone had a good experience. Group was small (14 people) which allowed us flexibility in restaurants, etc. Local guides were excellent, and choice of itinerary contained many original destinations not on a standard tour. Medieval town of Perouges was a favorite for several people, and getting to know the city of Lyon was very interesting. Most travelers had been on several other tours, so knew what to expect. All in all, a great experience!