- SAVE $400 Per Couple On Select 2012 Globus North America Tours
- Save $500 Per Couple On Globus 2012 Tanzania Tour
- SAVE $400 Per Couple Off The Air-Inclusive Price Of Any 2012 Globus South America Tour
- SAVE $200 Per Couple On 2012 Globus Air-Inclusive Asia Tours
- Save $500 Per Couple On Globus Tours All Air Inclusive 2012 Europe Tours
- Globus Year Round Discounts
Latest Articles
Monday, September 26, 2011
Globus Hawaii
Monograms Independent Travel
Central and South America
Globus Africa
NEW! 2012 Now Open for Sale! The wonder that is Africa. Whether you want to shop in the bazaars of the bustling African cities, ride a camel in the African desert, or quietly spy a leopard in the wild, you'll find the experience you're looking for on one of our many vacations in Africa. Other Tour Operators may drive you by the major sights. But on a Globus Africa guided tour, we take you inside the world's most awe-inspiring places—to relive the stories that bring your destination to life.
NEW! 2012 Now Open for Sale! White-sand beaches are just the beginning of what awaits you in the 50th state. Globus Hawaii vacations takes you to the most popular islands, including Oahu, Hawaii, Maui and Kauai, where you'll see lush valleys, tour vast canyons, volcanic craters and historic monuments.
NEW! 2012 Now Open for Sale! Now your vacation can be exactly what you want it to be, fun! Globus Journeys and Monograms handles all the details, so you can feel comfortable and confident in your destination, even if it's your first time there.
NEW! 2012 Now Open for Sale! Cruise down the Danube, Rhine, Nile or the Yangtze on a Globus River Cruise. River cruising is a way to see an abundant amount of cities with included shore excursions, meals, local guides and accommodations.
NEW! 2012 Now Open for Sale! From romantic Rio de Janeiro to the intriguing Amazon Jungle, enigmatic Machu Picchu to the fascinating Galapagos Islands, you're sure to have a South America vacation like no other with Globus.
NEW! 2012 Now Open for Sale! There's no better time than now to tour the United States and Canada, a wellspring of natural beauty, tranquility and hospitality. Globus Journeys United States and Canada vacations offer a multitude of possibilities, from well-preserved National Parks, New England's Fall Foliage to the Canadian Rockies.
NEW! 2012 Now Open for Sale! Globus brings you the best in faith-based travel, which joins the religious aspect of each trip with the wonderful traditional sites and activities of each destination. Globus Journeys will combine your next vacation experience with the opportunity to grow and deepen your faith.
Saturday, July 09, 2011
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is a series of military drum performances done by International and Commonwealth military bands, as well as the British Armed Forces. It is performed annually in Edinburgh, Scotland. It takes place through the month of August during the Edinburgh Festival.
The first tattoo, called “Something About A Soldier” was performed at the Ross Bandstand in Edinburgh in 1949. The first official Military Tattoo, however, started in 1950 with only eight items in the program. It was done at the Edinburgh Castle, and brought nearly 6,000 people in to watch. In 1952, the stands were upgraded to allow an audience of to 7,700. This allowed up to 160,000 people to view the live performances each year.
Presently, on average, over 217,000 people come to see the Tattoo live yearly on the esplanade of the castle. For the last decade, the tickets have sold out in advance. The Tattoo performs every night of the week, and twice on Saturday all through August, and to this day has never been cancelled due to weather. There aren’t any performances on Sundays. Every performance has Pyrotechnics, but the second Saturday showing includes a fireworks display. 100 million people watch the performance every year on television, and it is broadcast in 30 different countries.
Many different groups have performed at the Tattoo over the years, including African tribes and international military regiments. The Band of the Royal Netherlands Grenadiers were the first regiment outside the UK to take part in 1952. A ‘lead’ service performs each year, alternating between the Royal Air Force, the Royal Navy, the British Army, and the Royal Marines.
The Tattoo also performs in order to generate money to donate to charities. Over the years, they have given over €5 million to numerous charities. Charities that the Tattoo support includes any that help people with disabilities, homelessness, poverty, and unemployment. Some of the charities that benefit from the help of the Tattoo include the RAF Benevolent Fund, the Army Benevolent Fund, and Seafarers UK. The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, is the official patron of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
This year, the Tattoo will be performing from August 5th to August 27th. On Friday, August 5th, the performance will begin at 8:30 pm. Otherwise, the performances will take place Monday through Friday at 9:00 pm. Saturday performances will be at 7:30 pm for the first, and 10:30 pm for the second. There are four different ways to book tickets to attend the Tattoo: postal bookings, over the counter, Internet bookings, and over the telephone. For telephone and Internet reservations, there will be a €4.00 fee for each transaction completed. Internet and telephone reservations will not be accepted on the day of the performance. Depending on the seating you want, ticket prices range from €25 to €55. An extra €3.00 will be added for the Saturday 10:30 pm performance due to the fireworks display.
Why not book your Europe tour for 2012 that includes the Edinburgh Military Tattoo and take advantage of early booking deals where you save 10%?
Globus Tours 2012 Trafalgar Tours 2012 Insight tours 2012
Friday, April 08, 2011
Planning a trip to France with the kids? Why not select from our list of France family tours? Family tour itineraries are chocked full of sightseeing, learning activities and fun. In addition to these tours being family oriented, they’re some of the most proficiently planned and guided vacations ever seen!
Hands down, our most popular selling family tour this year has been Globus Tours' From the Colosseum to the Eiffel Tower. Start in Rome with a welcome dinner and guided sightseeing that features visits to the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Square and Basilica, and the Colosseum, where you get a family picture with a gladiator (if available). On to Pisa to see its Leaning Tower, then to the spa resort of Montecatini. In Florence, visit the Academy of Fine Arts with Michelangelo’s celebrated David and admire the cathedral and sculpture-studded Signoria Square. Enjoy a pizza party lunch at a local restaurant and see how they are made! Enter Venice in style by private boat, savor an authentic pasta dinner at a local restaurant, create your own Venetian mask, and follow your Local Guide for a visit to St. Mark’s Square, Doges’ Palace, and the Bridge of Sighs. On to charming Lake Maggiore, then cross Simplon Pass, ride a mountain train, and arrive in Zermatt for free time at the base of the Matterhorn. Continue to Montreux at Lake Geneva. From Lausanne, ride the high-speed TGV train to Paris for included visits to Notre Dame Cathedral and to the top of the Eiffel Tower. A farewell dinner at a local restaurant celebrates the success of an unforgettable vacation!
Other popular family tours in Europe include London & Paris: A Tale of Two Cities. The price includes 6 nights hotel accomodations at superior first class hotels, full breakfast daily, 2 three-course dinners and some sightseeing. Spend a magnificent week in London and Pairs with prices for the adults from $1,669 pp and children $1,500 each.
Trafalgar Tours offers a similar trip with 4 nights in London and 3 in Paris on their Magic and Make Believe tour. If you have two weeks, Trafalgar tours has a vacation called European Wonderland where you begin in Rome and visit Florence, Venice, Lucerne, Paris and end in London.
Why not browse our full selection of family tours that include Europe, the United States, Canada and South America?
Thursday, January 06, 2011
What a Stress Free, Hassle Free way to travel to Europe?
Leave all of the travel details to a tour operator. They provide you with comfortable transportation, several meals, a rich sightseeing program and much more.
Traveling can be stressful, especially if you are traveling to a country where English is not their first language. Something amazing happens when you feel comfortable. Your senses have the luxury to stray from the detail and worry, finding in their place anticipation and wonder. You'll feel comfortable staying in first class hotels located in clean, safe areas.
Save time and money. Spending hours in line to get into major attractions such as the Louvre or Vatican Museums can take all day. Groups have a separate entrance, and get to go in with little or no wait so that you have more time to enjoy the sites, and more free time in the city.
Nothing introduces you to the true flavors of your destination like fine local cuisine. Included three course dinners are carefully planned to avoid the repetition of entrees. From the tapas bars of Spain to the vineyards of Italy and France, the tour operator will include on your trip optional specialty dinners and plenty of free time to venture out on your own. For the evenings when dinners are not included, your tour director will have a number of suggestions for favorite nearby restaurants. After all, one of the best ways to learn about a foreign culture is to eat like the local do!
The tour buses are air conditioned are are equipped with emergency washrooms. The bus normally accommodates 53 seats, but they install fewer seats (44) for extra leg room.
If buses are not for you, tour operators have many other options including city stays, rail packages and river cruises through Europe.
There are hundreds of tour operators you can choose from, however some have been in the business for over 50 years and have proven over time that they offer consumers the best value and service. Check with a travel agent if you need assistance finding a reputable operator.
Here is our network of Europe travel destination sites:
| England Tours | France Tours | Greece Tours| Ireland Tours | Italy Tours | River Cruise | Russia Tours | Scandinavia Tours | Spain Tours
We also have specialty European Tour Operators sites:
Contiki Tours | Cosmos Tours | General Tours| Gate 1| Globus Tours | Insight Tours | Tauck Tours | Trafalgar Tours
Friday, October 29, 2010
Many clients come to us asking for advice on whether to take a Europe cruise or a land tour. Many people feel a cruise is the better choice. The answer, at the risk of being evasive is yes and no. It's like comparing apples and oranges, and although both taste great, they are quite different.
A rather simplistic answer could be that you won’t really see Europe on a cruise ship. You’ll see piers and ports which are usually industrial areas that you will want to hurry through to catch the tour bus that will take you on a tour of the region for a few hours. So you’re back to the land tour option, and a brief one at that. For example, a cruise of the Mediterranean stops in Rome, well that’s not true. The port of Rome is really the city of Civitavecchia, which is 50 miles from Rome and takes about one and a half to two hours by bus. So, if your ship is in port for 12 hours you will be spending almost a third of your precious time ashore traveling to and from the ship. You will have time to see a few, (very few if you are traveling in the summer months,) of the sights and perhaps enjoy an espresso or gelato before your bus ride back to the port. Another popular port of call is Barcelona, where you are usually in port for 6 to 8 hours. The port is close to the city, but it is not nearly enough time to see and taste what this wonderful city has to offer. Other cruises, begin in Barcelona, but include no time to enjoy the city - you arrive into the airport and transfer straight to the ship. Another popular cruise port is St. Petersburg, Russia. Most ships stay around 12 hours, which only gives you time for a run-through of the Hermitage, a glimpse of Peter-Paul Fortress, a blini and then back to the ship.
Shore excursions on cruises can also be quite expensive. To spend the day in Rome could easily cost $150 to $200 USD pp. If you are taking a cruise that has several ports of call, you could be talking about spending as much on your sightseeing tours as you did on your cabin.
Now don’t misunderstand me, I love cruising! The leisurely dining, great entertainment, breakfast on the balcony, cocktails at sunset, unlimited ship-board activities, unpack once for the entire trip and sleeping in the same bed every night are all wonderful, but not, in my opinion, a way to really get the flavor and see a country. Cruises also offer a wonderful advantage to families by having programs to keep the children occupied on sea days versus trying to entertain them on a bus.
On the other hand, land tours are not the total panacea. There’s that suitcase to pack and unpack every few days and a different hotel. Depending on the itinerary, you would experience long bus or train rides between your highlighted cities. The plus side is that there will be much more time for sightseeing. and if you plan properly and in advance, free time to visit areas on your own, unhurried and in depth. A ten day tour of Italy for example, will typically visit at least the three major cities of Rome, Florence and Venice, giving plenty of time to visit museums and cathedrals, small shops and mysterious back streets, as well as wonderful restaurants & trattorias. However, keep in mind that unlike your cruise ship, not all (if any) of your meals will be included in the price. Talk to a travel agent to find the best tour option for you. Many itineraries have now been designed to give you up to 3 nights in each city so there is less packing and unpacking. You can also choose to travel in smaller groups of under 24 people to ensure more personalized service, or rather than by bus, travel by train. Also look at itineraries closely to see how much sightseeing is included versus having to purchase optionals.
There is one way to combine your apples and oranges and make a nice fruit salad, which is the packaged “cruise-tour” offered by many of the best ship lines and some tour operators. This is your chance to combine the best of both. Depending upon the cruise and the area involved, you can tour for five, six or seven days, then board your ship for a wonderful restful sail, and even make brief visits to other cities.
No matter how you travel, Europe is filled with gems, amazing history, architecture and cuisine, so you are sure to enjoy your vacation. The key is knowing what to expect in advance so you are not disappointed.
Europe cruise versus a Europe tour? Well, what ever "floats your boat." Bon voyage and/or happy touring!