Jules Verne Reviews 

Recently returned from a tour of Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo. The hotels and 2 guides were good but the tour manager, driver and the coach were not up to the standard I expected.

Overall a very enjoyable holiday. The Cabin bathrooms were a tad on the tight size literally nowhere to hang towels. The food was excellent throughout and all staff welcoming and cheerful.
My two criticisms were:
1. late boarding time of 5pm on arrival after setting out from home at 5am and having arrived circa 12:00 then effectively having to waste 5hours before boarding.
2. Not being offered an excursion refund having given a day's notice when advised the walking tour would be difficult keeping up for anyone with mobility issues.

Algeria is a little-visited but fascinating country. Tourists are still few. The highlights tour enabled us to see some magnificent Roman sites, the best of four important cities and some typical villages. The itinerary was well planned with no bus trips longer than 3/4 hours - just as well as the landscapes can be a bit dull and the villages and small towns are almost universally ugly and disfigured by endless half-finished brick and concrete buildings. With one exception - Constantine - the hotels were comfortable and with good service. The food is disappointing - not a patch on Morocco - but we did have one very enjoyable and tasty meal in a Berber village. Our guide Sammad was exceptionally good - young, friendly, helpful, very knowledgeable about almost all aspects of his country and its history and totally fluent in English and French - still very widely used and understood. He ensured that our group got on well and that we all got the best out of an inevitably crowded schedule.

Jules Verne does not care about its customers. I recently completed a tour with them to Tuscany and wrote a lengthy detailed report to them about my experience both the good and the bad. Only after nagging this company to get back to me about the negative part of my experience, they finally responded 3 weeks later with a response that demonstrated to me they only provide lip service as to the glowing standards they advertise of their Tour Managers. On this tour to Tuscany they obviously subcontracted the services of a Tour Manager. Sara was her name. She was a pathetic excuse for a Tour Manager. I do not even know how she remains employed in this role. And to add insult to injury Jules Verne did not take my feedback which included detailed examples of the incompetence of Sara with any concern. They told me I should use a different tour operator in the future. A reputable company would have offerred some form of compensation. Not Jules Verne. Do not be fooled by their fancy word salad advertising. For the cost of their tours you do not get the expected high level of service from the Tour Managers they contract.

The country is beautiful, our guide and driver were professional and very solicitous having a small group of elderly travellers whose mobility prevented full enjoyment of the tour. The boat trip on Lake Skadar was the highlight for me. Tivat airport definitely needs both terminals to be in operation as the "queue" for security took well over 2 hours.

Rhodes Island Explorer trip. Well organised tour, not too strenuous and as usual with JV the guide, Maria, was excellent. The hotel however is not 5 star, it's noisy, we asked to move room, fire exit held open with a stone 24/7 posed a security issue, A.C. in second room not working. During heavy rain water ingress all over the hotel, lobby, library and 11th floor restaurants etc... It is also situated on an extremely busy/noisy road. The place needs a lot of TLC and maintenance. Food was okay but there are plenty of restaurants nearby serving good food at better prices.

We had another wonderful trip with VJV, this time through Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland.

Beautiful cities, fascinating castles, churches and palaces. Stunning architecture, especially in Riga and plenty of very delicious local dishes.
The hotels were nice and very well located, making it easy to explore the cities by ourselves.

The itinerary was thoughtfully organised and balanced between sightseeing and free time. The local guides were absolutely lovely and knowledgeable. Our "Baltic mum" Vaida Jusaite, looked after us throughout the trip, making sure everyone was well taken care of. Our driver was brilliant too!

The only minor niggle was the coach, which felt a little on the small side for our group. However, every cloud has a silver lining – I got fewer reflections in the windows which meant better photographs along the way. As keen photographers, we certainly appreciated that unexpected bonus!

We've travelled with VJV many times before, and there's a reason we keep coming back. VJV certainly know how to make a holiday memorable!

Overall it was a good holiday - food etc, Lovely staff on boat But be prepared to getup early as trips started out most days at 8.30am and one trip at 8am. If you get breakfast then you rise early.

The trip was plagued with problems- a traveller ready before the guide showed up making their own way to the hotel; left behind luggage that was meant to arrive next day on a cancelled plane; hotel staff who tried to charge for an included meal; wine that showed up by desert; a hotel bump into somewhere half renovated; a hotel room down an unlit corridor; travelling over the mountains in the pitch dark; worst of all a traveller's fall and broken nose. The result - we never saw the highlight of the trip. Add to this a lack of information from the guide - both the usual history and cultural background of the country and the important practical stuff about journeys and lunch and comfort breaks and changes to which meals we had to pay for and to expect a kilometer of walking with baggage at a border crossing.... BUT Tajikistan is truly beautiful and the cities are full of bling- just maybe find a different tour.

0verall - excellent hotel, in terms of service and location. good balance between organised time and independent time. Very helpful and knowledgeable guide.
Just one suggestion to make the holiday even more enjoyable - we felt that a social gathering on the evening of the first day would have helped the guests get to know each other, and made it a more sociable holiday. Because we chose to be independent on most days we would have welcomed more opportunity to mingle with the other Jules Verne guests - maybe an optional pre-dinner get together in the bar each evening.

Lake Maggiore is a beautiful location and Pallanza in the Verbania district is a charming Edwardian style town. We had great trips arranged through Jules Verne and a superb guide called Elena - who was both very knowledgeable and extremely helpful. Restaurants in Pallanza were good with lots of choice.
The only disappointment was the 4 star hotel which should have been graded 3 stars. The bedroom view overlooking the lake was beautiful, but the room itself was pretty basic with no balcony and an ineffective old shower. We asked for an upgrade to a room with a balcony (as some of the group were allocated this), but there were none available. The hotel although looking majestic from the exterior, had no facilities - no bar, lounge, garden or pool, just a large grand breakfast room. We were thankful that the weather was good, otherwise on free days we would have been stuck in our room lying on beds as there wasn't even an armchair to sit on.
Transfers were efficient with another helpful guide to aide us at the airport.
Overall a good holiday let down by hotel choice.

This was my first trip as a solo traveler, although not my first with Voyage Jules Verne. Naturally, I was a little apprehensive initially at the thought of visiting India but that disappeared immediately on landing at Delhi. The guide was waiting for our small group and from that minute until our departure every detail was taken care of. The staff, the booking process and the content of the trip could not have been better.

Fabulous holiday touring the Silk Road with Jules Verne. Everything was perfect. Faridun Ravshanov excelled as our tour leader throughout the whole trip. Nothing was too much trouble for this young man who delighted in providing us with the history, culture, anecdotes, and fun on our travels. His generosity knew no bounds. Excellent hotels, food, coach transportation, bus drivers, locals guides all made the trip very memorable. Would love to return at some point.

Fabulous experience once in Peru and great tour. Tour Guides were all good very caring, considerate and knowledable. Could have done with a chill day in the middle at the best & only hotel that had a spa, sadly did not get a chance to use the facilities as we were out early and back late each day while there. Other hotels could have been better quality, would probably not have chosen them if booking direct, and we kept getting interconnecting rooms which were noisy so impaired sleep, but all clean and comfortable and staff very good and efficient. Tour group was fantastic, lovely mix of people, like minded travellers, friendly and interesting. Mix of couples and singles, note to self and any singles booking to check on the make up of the group before committing. Flight out was such a tight connection even the airline did not think I would make it so a bit of a stressful 1st travel day, made it by the skin of my teeth! FYI Flight Team at JV!!
All in all though a wonderful experience.

Excellent tour to a truly beautiful part of the world. It was well organised, visiting all of the must- see places along the Dalmatian Coast and led by our excellent Tour Manager, Gerry, who made us feel well looked after with his organisational skills, knowledge and friendliness. Great boat with a friendly, hard working crew. Good food and wine. Recommended.

Faultless except for the delayed flights. Our guide was marvellous.

Although peppered with mishaps, this was overall an enjoyable trip as the group were friendly and a very good dynamic was soon established and cemented by our excellent and super-efficient tour manager Martin.

Martin had a busy week ironing out the, mostly avoidable, problems we encountered, some from Jules Verne, some from CroisiEurope and a major one from Nature as the Rhine water level became too low to carry on the cruise. We were then transferred to another ship that was too long to enter the lock to Heidelberg and looked in places like being partially updated so it turned into a floating hotel moored by some office blocks and our cruise became a series of long coach trips. Surely this should have been apparent and anticipated by CroisiEurope and communicated to Jules Verne and another course of action taken? But probably too expensive for all parties concerned. We were told we were the last ship on the Rhine so other companies had already removed their vessels from operation days ago so a reasonable alternative solution should have been put in place much earlier instead of winging it and then just parking us up.

The pre-cruise communication from Jules Verne was inaccurate, slapdash, confusing (incorrect destination/country, typos, misspellings, tickets/no tickets, escorted tour then not, rep in Paris then not) and in my case patronising. The communication and organisation from CroisiEurope were lacking.

However, the excursions to Luxembourg, the Winery, Trier, Koblenz, Rudesheim, the Caves, Heidelberg and an extra excursion to Spier were very enjoyable, once we got there, although a little more free time in some places would have been appreciated. The visit to Reichsburg Cochem Castle was a CroisiEurope organisational shambles but the guided visit was proactively salvaged by Martin. The food and wine onboard the ships were delicious, served by a pleasant crew and the cabins comfortable and well appointed.

The atmosphere within our group was excellent. We were a small group of like-minded travellers who enjoyed each other’s company and sense of humour. Martin, our Jules Verne Tour Manager, was the icing on the cake. Proactive, efficient, helpful, insightful, friendly and great fun. Without him being there as a contact between Jules Verne, CroisiEurope, the transport companies and the local guides, it would have been quite a different story. He definitely saved the good spirit of the holiday and helped us every day along the way. This was very much appreciated by all.

In my opinion as a long-term customer of Jules Verne, on this occasion, the poor quality of information provided and organisation were not commensurate with the high prices now commanded by the company.

It was a good group of people and we had an excellent tour leader who was proactive in ironing out some problems. VJV cannot be held responsible for the low water in the Rhine - but communication about it could perhaps have been better. Could we have been informed in advance that we should expect to miss a day and a bit of sailing on the Rhine and offered alternatives?

An interesting and enjoyable itinerary although sometimes too rushed, for example the wonderful Bishkek art museum; the guided tour was good but timing meant too little free time to look at the historic collection of paintings. Long road journeys as outlined beforehand and often only an overnight stopover; I would have loved an extra night at Lake Issyk Kul to relax and swim from the lakeside beach; we arrived late afternoon and enjoyed the pier while tasting local brandy supplied by our excellent guide, Aidana! Although the food at that hotel was very poor by Kyrgyz standards, the view across the lake and the clear waters were so inviting. Both guides had good English although different characters, at times the approach of one was too much like talking to teenagers as opposed to a mature group of experienced travellers. Food was plentiful for meat-eaters; it's time that VJV and all these specialised travel firms explained about "vegetarian diet" to their local suppliers; that it's not just vegetables + salad; at times ridiculous and I got fed up looking at our shared table groaning with meat (half a sheep, several chickens + the best part of a cow) while I got the same courgette + tomato. I complained and some action was taken; having paid the same as everyone plus hefty solo supplement, it's irritating and unnecessary, hence rating only 3 stars. Accommodation varied; Almaty hotel seems to have problem with hot water. Note that breakfast coffee was extra charge except in Almaty and Bishkek; this should be included in the pre-travel info in order that guests exchange sufficient cash on arrival. The road journeys offer wonderful views and the numerous visits were all interesting, both city and rural. The drive back into Kazakhstan is incredible although the timings seem incorrect as we arrived late at Lake Kolsai, ending up rushing to get to the dinner reservation. The hotel there was poor; very noisy guests having a party, poky rooms and horrible breakfast; a family guest house would have been more suited to that rural environment. Transport in minibus was spacious as we were only 9 guests; the drivers were good, especially Norbeck in Kyrgyzstan. Itinerary includes the last day in Almaty free but the art museum is closed on Mondays and would have been a highlight. Add an extra day at Lake Issyk Kul to enjoy the scenery and then arrive into Almaty on Monday, Tuesday free day and depart Wednesday would improve this trip. Both countries offer beautiful scenery and fascinating historic sights/sites. Welcoming of visitors and certainly headed for development as they seek to expand their tourism sector; a bit more time to explore as well as cover the miles would be good.

The Victoria Falls and Botswana-wildlife safari was the most amazing holiday . The hotels and the two safari Lodges we stayed at were superb . The iconic Victoria falls hotel and the two lodges Chobe SafariLodge and Dinare SafariLodge were fabulous . The staff could not do enough for you . The Rangers who took us out early morning and late afternoon worked really hard for us to see the big cats Lions , Leopards and Cheetahs . Saw plenty of amazing elephants. Victoria falls was full of water . The best time to see Victoria falls in all its glory is July .
I would highly recommend this tour . You will not be disappointed. Every time I travel with Jules Verne’s they do not disappoint me . Salute Jules Verne’s for their high standards and customer service. 👏👏👏