Trafalgar Travel Reviews 177

Booked a trip through Trafalgar to Germany and Austria for July 7/2020. Started paying 4/2018. Paid final payment on 11/2019. Total of $9,476.16. Trip was cancelled due to Covid. We were given the option of a refund or if we let the money ride, no matter the cost of the trip when it finally happens, we would owe NO MORE MONEY. Initially booked the trip with 3 extra days at a cost of $720. With Covid still prevalent, we cancelled the 3 extra days early on. Have been trying for months to get the refund of $720. After waiting hours on the phone for a Trafalgar customer service agent, our travel agent explained that there is no money in our account for a refund. The Trafalgar agent said, "The airplane tickets were more money." What about the promise of "if you let the money ride?" Trafalgar had our money for over 2 1/2 years. We could have at least earned a bit of interest if it was in our possession. First and Last trip with Trafalgar. Don't trust them.

Should have read reviews before we traveled, have had same experience as many of the reviews, will never travel with Trafalgar or its other companies, they canceled a guaranteed departure ,then said they reimburse for expenses incurred with our having to rebook,absolute nightmare dealing with customer NO service. Trip was to Italy less than stellar, good but not great, go with anyone else.
Hope this saves future headaches for fellow travelers.

Back from our trip with Trafalgar (Scotland's Highlands Islands and Cities. Our accommodations were maybe two star and not designed for individuals over 50 as most had no elevators. Rooms were very small and not really designed for two individuals.
Our guide for the tour was very knowledgeable on the subject matter but was not responsive to individual requests. Our driver was excellent. On some days we spend a excessive time on the bus or ferries getting from one location to another. Tour description does not fully explain the amount and difficult in walking required for this tour.

Absolutely worst tour company

On a recent trip to Portugal:

I fell on the second day no report was given to me for my insurance company even when I asked for it. Wellness director was not worth her being on the tour

Optionals were shoved down your throat and if you did not go the travel tour Director made it known to others that you weren’t going. And he made it bad for you on the tour. Optionals very expensive and the local tour guides were mediocre at best

Food was pitiful especially at the locations where they said dinner was included

Solo travelers were made to feel a second class citizens getting bad spots in restaurants and being asked to move so couples can sit together

Never ever recommend Tralfagar to anyone single or a couple or friends

I’m writing a review of what really happens on Trafalger tours. My husband and I were on a 14 day Trafalger tour of Ireland called “Amazing Ireland”. We were on a bus with a number of people who were coughing and were repeatedly assured that it was just allergies. On the 6th day, I fell ill and tested positive for Covid-19. In Ireland, testing positive means that you are supposed to self-isolate for 7 days. Trafalger then pretty much abandoned us. The hotel Trafalger had booked for us refused to keep us saying they were full, meanwhile advertising vacancies online. Trafalger would not go to bat to help us. Their so called Trafalger Guest Support first emailed a great sounding note confirming our hotel room number, offering to help find other accommodations, and suggesting that we get in touch with our insurer and the airline. When we spoke directly with the Trafalger guest support person, he said that he wasn’t familiar with the area and would just be looking online for places and that we could do that ourselves. Trafalger said we should get a cab on the down low and quietly transfer to another hotel. They did not help us relocate or find a hotel. They suggested not to speak to the other Trafalger guests, even others who had tested positive (with whom we might have been able to problem solve). The Trafalger trip director said he would tell the group the next day, that there was no need to upset them before then. Trafalger was very happy to accept the substantial payment for our trip of a lifetime, that ended after only 6 days, but ensured no refunds would be issued. So we are now abandoned by Trafalger, left to our own devices, isolating in a hotel room (that we had to find ourselves), on the opposite side of Ireland from our final destination. No arrangements were made by Trafalger to support us or help house, feed, or transport us. We have also not heard a further peep from the Trafalger Guest Support person, nor the Trip Director (since he replied to a text asking him to give the other Covid guests our phone number). We’re very disappointed in Trafalger, to say the least, and recommend never to sign up for a Trafalger tour. Trafalger simply wants your money, and don’t really care at all about supporting their guests.
Trafalgar recently replied to my review on another site, stating that our concerns have been addressed. They haven’t!

Western Frontiers 5/10/22 – 5/19-22

Let me preface this by stating that this was the fourth time we traveled with Trafalgar but it will most certainly be the last. In 2019 we booked and paid for a trip to Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg for April 2020. Then the pandemic hit and we rescheduled our trip three more times before scheduling something in the states out of concern for quarantine measures. Had our money been refunded we most certainly would not have an issue with using Trafalgar in the future but now we will go elsewhere. After keeping our money for 2 and a half years we chose to go on their Western Frontiers trip. It was certainly not up to the standards that we had come to expect and Trafalgar offered nothing in return for keeping our money for so long. The least they could have done was honor pricing in effect at the time of our payment.

Food

Food was average at best. The “Welcome Reception” was at a decent looking restaurant in Las Vegas but consisted of about a half dozen different vegetarian appetizers, none that was fit to eat. The breakfast buffets each morning had a limited selection usually with scrambled eggs, potatoes, and bacon or sausage but little else.. It wasn’t until our last stay in Rapid City that you could have toast. These were feasts compared to the breakfast at Mountain Modern Motel (see below).

Hotels

The Mountain Modern Motel puts the Hole in Jackson Hole. It appears this motel caters more to skiers and climbers as the room is set up with hooks and areas marked “gear”. Rather than an actual bathroom sink it is equipped with a large kitchen style sink outside the actual bath area in somewhat of a kitchenette area. The floors squeak with every step you take and if you are unlucky enough to be on the first floor you can hear the floor squeak above you with every step they take. Apparently there is some remodeling going on at the motel as the restaurant was closed. As a result our breakfast consisted of an egg, a slice of cheese, and your choice of a slice of ham or sausage on a steamed hamburger bun and coffee. If we had been traveling on our own we would never have chosen to stay there. The remaining hotels were adequate but nothing to write home about.

Stops

The dinner show in Bryce Canyon was good as far as the entertainment was concerned but the dinner left a lot to be desired.

The Buffalo Bill Center in Cody was a waste of three hours. I’m sure that the crew needed time to take care of logistics but when you take a trip of this nature you take it to experience the natural beauty and landscapes of the area you are in, not to spend three hours in a museum. You had the option of walking into town but it was a little bit of a hike and it looked like rain was on the way.

Postponements over and over. No help in refunds. Late payments to Air Carriers. No communication. Run away.

DO NOT RECOMMEND!!! Trafalgar cancelled my trip too Santa Fe (which is understandable and accepted as their may not have been enough people booking, or COVID or whatever). The 90-100 days quoted to get a refund for the trip the company cancelled is NOT ACCEPTABLE. It has now been six weeks and Trafalgar still has my $3300. Calls to the service center take HOURS on hold. Horrible customer service. Horrible refund policy. Definitely disappointed.

This review is to help make others aware that if you have a trip booked with Trafalgar your trip and money may be at risk. Here is what has happened with my trip.

I booked a “Real Britain” tour with Trafalgar, a nine-day trip through England and Scotland. The trip was booked in August of 2021, and I have paid in full. Two days ago (59 days before our trip), I received an email from Jackie Di Lecce telling me my trip was withdrawn (Trafalgar speak for cancelation). There was no indication that the email was from Trafalgar. I might have just skipped over the email, but it had my booking number. I looked at the Trafalgar web site to check my status. Everything looked OK. Still showed number of days till the trip. No message or any indication that anything was amiss. I decided to call Trafalgar and find out what was happening. After a long time on hold a person named Francisco Mora finally came on the line. I explained about the letter and the web site. He told me that the letter probably came from their Withdrawal Team. He also confirmed that our trip had been withdrawn. He explained that I had the option of booking the same trip on a different date or I could get a refund. He also informed me that the refund would take 90 days. I explained to him I needed the money to book a tour with another company. He put me on hold and when he came back, he told me they were going to be able to expedite the refund. Now it was only going to be 30 days. I told him I needed to research tours offered by other companies before I made my decision. I asked if there was a phone number that I could call without the long wait. He said he would send me an email with details and his phone number. I received his email. No number and it only said "This is my email, feel free to ask me any questions you may have. Thank you." I sent him a reply asking to have validation on Trafalgar letter head verifying that the refund was in process. I also asked why the website still showed the trip as active and again about a contact number. In his response, he did not answer about the web site and told me there was no such number.

So here I am less than two months from our trip, and it’s canceled. I have purchased airfare and a river cruise through Europe based on the Trafalgar tour start date. I have found a few other tours that might work but the dates are not the same and will require additional nights of lodging or air fare changes.

Bottom line: I will never book with Trafalgar again and I am making it my personal mission to alert everyone of the risks when booking with Trafalgar.

Trafalgar cancelled a trip for Canada that we had paid for in full as the borders were closed and asked us to take a credit towards our next trip. That was in 2019. We finally applied that credit for a trip to Greece and plus an additional $1550.00 on June 30, 2021. By July 31, 2021 the CDC was warning that Greece was Level Red and we should not travel to Greece. Our trip was scheduled for August 30th. We were unable to give them 30 days cancellation notice and now not only are they charging a 50% penalty they want us to take another credit. We asked if we could postpone our trip to next April and they said No. we’ve done a couple of other trips with them and I considered them to be a class act. It troubles me that they are not worried about our welfare and I have to ask “are they about to close their business?” I will never travel with them again based on how they’ve treated me and others during this worldwide pandemic!

Trafalgar is a poorly managed company, refuses to return money after they cancelled trip. We are unable to book this event again due to large travel group so $30,000 has been robbed by TRAGALGAR TRAVEL. STAY AWAY!!

Trafalgar will only issue a credit voucher for any trip that they cancel. They WILL NOT REFUND your money if the trip is cancelled for any reason. Make a careful decision before giving them your money.They canceled our trip 3 months out and we have a voucher to use by 2022 or loose it too.

My travel agent booked an April tour of Bohemia through Costsavers which is a less expensive division of Trafalgar. I was notified that due to the COVID-19 position of many countries, this tour was cancelled. Trafalgar stated that it is NOW their policy not to refund paid tours but to apply a credit a customer can use toward future tours and if those future tours cost more, the traveler would pay the difference.
I talked w/a rep with Trafalgar who said Trafalgar will not refund what I paid for my tour but would only apply amount to future tours. They told me that even tho I have travel insurance, cancel for any reason, that the insurance would only reimburse me for 70% of what I paid for this trip they cancelled, not me.
My only alternative is to ask my credit card company for intervention in order to obtain a full refund.
I have travelled with Trafalgar before, fortunately did not experience any problems. Because of this problem, and their unwillingness to apply good customer service, I will not travel with them again once this issue has been finalized.
I highly recommend Globus Travel as they put their customers first, and understand how important it is to make their customers whole when a tour cancellation is the company's choice, and not due to the customer.
A side note is to be sure you select the best travel insurance company to protect you as well, and do not always go with the company your travel agent or the travel company suggests - as it may not be in your best interest.