Name: Dubrovnik Explorer
Brand: Great Value Vacations
SKU: N/A
Price: 2005 USD
Availability: LimitedAvailability
Rating: 4.1 (1 reviews)

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European Tour Packages With Airfare Culture Trips &...

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European Tour Packages With Airfare

European Tour Packages With Airfare Culture Trips & Packages

Read 22 traveler reviews on tours to European Tour Packages With Airfare Culture Trips & Packages.Compare trips from over 14 companies. Pick your...

Sri Lanka - fabulous trip but very poor Tour Rep
Just returned from a 12 day escorted tour to Sri Lanka (24 Feb - 8 March). The trip was excellent. The hotels were fabulous. Our guide Ravi was very good and very knowledgeable.

Riviera Travel

Bruges Tour

If I could leave zero stars I would. The ONLY thing that made this trip worth booking through affordable world was that we didn't have to worry about transportation. But wait, we did! I booked the Greece trip through them. It was 10 days from Athens, mykonos, santorini. Unfortunately two of our first days were completely travel days because our first layover was delayed which caused us to miss both flights and be stuck at both airports for 5+ hours each one. I knew ahead of time and notified affordable world because as their policy states, they can't do anything if anflight is delayed but will do their best to accommodate of we notify them ahead of time, which I did. When I did I was told to notify them when I got to next destination (Turkey). I said I wouldn't have service in Turkey and that is why I'm notifying them now. The representative ignored me and just said to see what happens. We ended up getting to our hotel at 4am when we had to be up at 6am for our tour of Athens. Our tour guide skipped several spots on the tour and left us to fend for ourselves to get back to hotel when we had no map or WiFi. Then on our ferries, I upgraded each one to VIP as I read many reviews that said to do so, and my husband and I were seated on the opposite side of the boat from each other! In what world does that make sense when you need to book it for two people on the first place that you don't even get seats next to each other on top of paying more for VIP?!?! This happened on EACH of the three ferries! Now affordable world ignores my messages and won't respond with anything other than they are sorry but it's not their fault. Please do yourself a favor and book with a more reputable company like gate 1 travel!

Affordable World

Greek Island Escape

Country Walkers

Voyages Jules Verne

Senior Discovery Tours

Newmarket Holidays

EF College Break (EF Ultimate Break)

Great Value Vacations

Indus Travels

Keytours Vacations

Odysseys Unlimited

Travelsphere

I've been on two trips with Great Value and loved the experience, however, our last trip has been a NIGHTMARE. From no communication from Great Value, to finding out unknown issues with multiple phone calls with different answers, to having to cancel our trip altogether and only getting half our money back. It has been incredibly frustrating. If we weren't as proactive about calling them 7 different times, we would have ended up in our destination with no rental car or way to get ourselves home, and now we are out almost 2K!

Further explanation: 
We booked an Ireland/Scotland trip. We would fly into Edinburgh-spend 3 days then fly over to Dublin-spend 3 days, then fly home out of Dublin. 

In the past we have extended our trip to stay a few more days, which is what we did on this planned trip. However, this time we found our own airfare as it was dramatically cheaper than having them book it for us. We were told this was fine and that everything else would be in place and ready for us. 

We called back to tell them the new dates and that we would be arriving 3 days earlier, so we would want our rental car earlier and we would pay for the extra days. They told us that was no problem and that we would get a confirmation soon. 10 days went past and we never saw anything from them. We called the rental car agency and they hadn’t heard of us. So, we called Great Value back.

This is where things get really fun…. We were then informed we couldn’t extend our trip and that all our airfare will be canceled. According to them, if we miss the first flight all other flights associated would be canceled by the airline. Which when we asked them to work with the airlines to make sure things wouldn’t get canceled, they said they don’t do that. A travel booking agency doesn’t do that…Seriously?!

So, we have no way to get to Ireland once we get to Scotland. Cool, so we can’t even use the other half of our pre-paid trip. Trying to salvage the trip, we asked if we could use our hotel vouchers in Scotland and just say in Scotland the whole time. We were then told, “no, Ireland vouchers are for Ireland only.” Cool, so we paid 1K each for 3 accommodation vouchers, no flights, and a rental car that they NEVER booked. 

Finally, at our wit's end, we asked to cancel. We were then informed that we would only get half our money back and even then, we only get credit back with them... In the end, I’ll never use Great Value again. They are so disorganized, unhelpful, and their customer service is far from friendly when you have a real problem. Seriously, find a different company.

Explore Ireland & Scotland

The only positive thing about this entire trip was our tour guide who was knowledgeable and kind despite all the horrible things that happened during the trip. 

To start, EF puts you on the worst flights imaginable. My first flight (out of 3) was cancelled the night before I was supposed to leave and EF refused to help me. I spent 8 hours on hold with the airline to get booked on another flight. I made it to my second flight and was denied boarding for no reason (at the fault of the airline). I called the 24/7 EF emergency line and they said they could only help me during business hours from Mon - Fri between 8am - 5pm ET. I later learned they helped someone else on my trip over the weekend, which was outside their "business hours." The emergency line is useless and the people who answer the phone are incompetent. I was stranded in another country for 24 hours with no assistance from EF and still had not made it to my destination. They refused to help me with the airlines, booking a hotel for the night or meals. When I finally made it to my destination, I had missed 2 days of the trip. 

The hotels on the trip are the worst I've stayed at in my entire life. They are dirty and in extremely inconvenient locations. The restaurants we were taken to were not great - I could have found better on my own and you're stuck in a bus with 40 other people for the majority of the trip. We spent more time on a bus than actually touring the cities. 

On my trip home, I barely made my connecting flight and was lucky because I would've been stranded AGAIN in a foreign country. Others on my trip dealt with lost luggage, more cancelled flights, being stranded or left on their own to figure it out. I understand a lot of these issues were airline related, but it's also because EF puts you on the cheapest possible flights, which means you get the worst service and no one cares about you. It's truly remarkable how little EF cares about their trip attendees. 

Once I arrived home, I called EF to talk about my experience and to discuss reimbursement for the two days I missed. I had also purchased the travel insurance. I was told to file a claim and that "they rarely decline claims." The girl I spoke with said she'd talk to her supervisor and get back to me. I followed up three times and haven't heard from her in 5 months. She completely ghosted me. I filed a claim and followed up with them multiple times as well and just today, again 5 months later, received an email saying my claim was denied. 

This company has the WORST customer service I've ever experienced and they DO NOT care about you or your safety during their trips. They want your money and that is all. I spent an additional $1,000 on a hotel and food while I was stranded because the city I was in was completely sold out on hotel rooms - money I will never see again in addition to what I spent on the trip itself. Even if you are a poor college student, you deserve a way better experience than this company provides. 

DO NOT USE THEM!!

Italy & the Greek Islands

Went on one tour to Italy and Greece. I believe that one was planned out as well as it could have been. We missed excursions we already paid for and was told too bad, no refund. Then Barcelona was extremely dissapointing. I got home and cancelled my third tour. I would not recommend for several reasons.. Rude unhelpful tour guide, not being fed when that's all the group wanted, ended up walking around the entire city on foot but only had three special passes included that made the trip something other than just walking around and getting a normal sight seeing experience. While going to another country is amazing, do not let it blind you to the work this company does! Both trips EF tours was the worst part and interfered with my experiences. I think a little re-evaluation of tour guides is needed.

I think a little re-evaluation of tour guides is needed.

This trip was the most poorly organized and executed trip I have ever been on. I have attended other trips by other companies in the past and always had a wonderful experience. 

Prior to leaving on our trip we had researched rbe hotels listed and had some concerns about the one we would be using in London: the Copthorne Tara. Reviews mentioned blood in beds, floors, general uncleanliness and even MAGGOTS IN THE BEDS. We called EF with our concerns and were essentially dismissed. This was our first sign to run. 

The flights on the way to the trip were just fine, but our accommodations in London were extremely subpar. We checked in at 1pm and our hotel room was not ready until almost 6pm. Other people from our trip arrived and checked in after us and had their rooms ready before us. Once we entered the room we were greeted with the smallest single beds I have ever seen. The room was a room with a adjoining door, this door was broken and did not lock, which is a major security concern for two young women alone. We found blood on our wall and in one bed as well as a curtain. When this information was shared with the front desk we were met with complete apathy. There was no urgency and no concern. A girl on our trip ended up with bedbugs from this hotel, and the rest of the trip we spent in fear that we too would become contaminated. The air conditioning in the room was broken and when we shared this with the front desk we were told someone would be up to address it which never happened. At once point the temperature in our room exceeded 90 degrees Fahrenheit when the weather outside did not go above 70. We shared this as a concern about the heat being activated and were told there was none in our room.

The girl that ended up with the bedbugs was told that they would contact a doctor for her l- they called a doctor once and he never arrived. She finally had to resort to calling back to the USA with a tele health appointment in order to be sure that the rash she had was bedbugs. She was confirmed with rjem and covered all over with bites. She had to miss most of her trip cleaning her belongings and the trip did nothing to assist. 

Then we went to Paris. The hotel there was no better. Cleanliness and concern and consideration lacking. Each night from midnight to two am there was a intense clanking outside our bedroom that came from the GRAVEYARD we were next to. When we complained about the noise again we were met with zero concern. The beds were just as small, and I had an allergic reaction to something in their linens. 

Amsterdam was the only hotel that was nearly worth our money, but on the way there my friends luggage was stolen. When this was reported to the THALYS employees they did absolutely nothing and did not even check the train to see if the luggage had been moved. We made a police report and reported it with EF but there was again no urgency.

The trip home was also a mess. We arrived at the Amsterdam airport 4 hours before our flight (as requested by the airport) and were told we were unable to check in or check our luggage for two more hours. We waited two hours in line and then checked in. We then waited over two and a half hours for security and almost missed our flight, which when we expressed this concern to the airline, and to the airport employees we were regarded with disinterest. We had to run to make it to our flight only to find out our plane had not arrived on time. 

Our flight was then delayed over two hours on the tarmac and when we finally took off, we realized we would miss our next flight because we only had a two hour layover. The only reason we managed to make our flight was because the wonderful employees of Dublin airport and their assistance. We ran to our flight again and made it with less than a minute to spare, the doors closing behind us and the plane taking off minutes after we sat down. The travel time that was estimate to take a total of 17 hours for the two flights and all the in between times  turned into close to 24 by the end of the time when we arrived home. 

Through all of these issues our tour guide was downplaying the seriousness of all these issues. She refused to believe that our friend was actually infested with bedbugs, and did not get a doctor involved, making them call an emergency service in the United States. In addition she told our friend with this affliction to lie to the rest of the trip and not tell us that she had the bedbugs because she did not want to cause a panic. This is a violation of medical codes and could cause serious harm to others. When we had our issue with the stolen luggage she did not want to accompany us to make a police report and only did so after I asked her to come with us. 

For a company charging for an “upgraded trip experience” and for the additional money we paid, we did not receive any of the upgraded “4-5 star accommodations”. I want my money back. I look forward to receiving a refund for the “upgraded” part of the experience, and will be sharing the service I received widely throughout my networks.

Amsterdam, Paris & London

I booked a trip with EF Ultimate Break in October for a trip leaving in May. Of course, that trip was rightfully cancelled because of COVID19. What isn’t right is that this company refuses to give refunds for the trip they themselves cancelled. Our options are an expiring trip voucher or to take a refund minus a thousand dollars. I even paid for their insurance and they’re refusing to give a full refund. They’re taking advantage of a pandemic to steal money from young travelers who trusted them with thousands of dollars. They don’t care about their customers and they are not to be trusted with anyone’s money.

A company taking advantage of a bad situation

DO NOT use this travel agency! 0 star. We had so many issues on our trip that was supposed to be a trip of a lifetime for my boyfriend and I. All started as soon as we landed in London, and the agency was 4 and half hour late to pick us up. They never answered calls while we sat there waiting and even there "emergency" line went to voicemail. It was impossible to get ahold of them to find out when or if we were getting picked up from airport like supposed to. We were told unlimited usage with cards for subway system at each location. That was untrue, we had to put our own money on subway cards after only riding on the subway a couple of times. The hostels are nowhere near the action/touristy places. Windows that do not open, no AC. The so called extra "excursions" to pay for you can do yourself for half the price. I calculated out the cost of everything the trip pays for and compared it to what we paid for trip and they have an outrageously greedy profit margin. Use a local travel agent in your town and pay 100 dollars to set everything up for you. You are getting completely ripped off by this company that is supposed to cater towards young adults. Their "tours" of the city they will tell you are 4 or such hours long when in reality each of our tours were 1.5 hours. After getting back from trip I called the company to talk about how disappointed we were, and were completely talked down to, each personnel would take shots at our intelligence, condescending and blowing off our concerns entirely. It took an entire week for me to get a call back from them to talk about a resolution to all the things that went wrong. Their answers to the huge airport was that it was our fault, I actually had a panic attack at the airport which I told them and they responded with " well alot of people have panic attacks and did you take your medication" . We had several long distance international calls that added up to over 50 dollars because we were trying to get ahold of them while being forgotten in foreign country. They denied every single we brought to their attention. And after that we were offered a measly 26 dollar refund. And this post has only touched the surface of all the issues with the trip and with the contacting of EF and how they treated us. We are so disappointed and upset that we went through this company for our trip and used a company that disregards mental health and a company that has ZERO care for any of its clients.

European Tour Packages With Airfare Culture Trips & Packages Tour & Trip Reviews

Sri Lanka Trip

Terrible