Michele C.
We did the Heart Of Europe Circle tour…
We did the Heart Of Europe Circle tour in April of 2023. The places we visited were absolutely beautiful. Where it fell apart is we were dropped at the city center and given free time. We had no explanation of what to do or see. The only time we had a local guide was in Austria. The rest of the time our tour guide, Barbara, told us she was not licensed to tour us in the areas. Why no local guide then? Very disappointing. The hotels and meals were great. Out bus driver, Leeka, was outstanding and very thoughtful in every way. All of our stops were at gas stations for bathroom breaks. We were always told to grab food for lunch, snacks, etc. Our only sit down meals were breakfast and dinner. Anything else was grab from the gas station. Our guide couldn’t even tell us for sure if they were pay restrooms and the amount. This was my first trip with Image Tours, and unfortunately will be my last. I’ve been in many bus tours, and this was not up to par.
Response from Image ToursOct 13, 2023
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to respond to your comments. Barbara has been guiding with Image Tours for many years and consistently receives high ratings from all passengers, including other passengers from the tour on which you traveled, many specifically noted the great information she provided as the group traveled from city to city. Nonetheless, we are sorry that certain aspects of the tour experience did not meet your expectations. Indeed, when traveling through seven countries, for the best comfort of the travelers, we routinely use roadside stops for toilet breaks, however there is always free-time during city visits where food and beverages can also be obtained. From experience, however, our guides have found that many people don’t wish to use their sight-seeing time for a sit-down meal and prefer to just grab something “on the go” thus perhaps you perceived this suggestion from Barbara as the only option. I am sorry if that was the case! in fact, there are only two days during the tour where we schedule lunch at a roadside stop (Day 6 en route to Italy, and on day 10 while traveling through France.) We also regularly inspect these two stops to confirm a wide assortments of local foods. Again, I apologize if you perceived this as a daily occurrence. We will certainly discuss your comments with all of our guides and will consider them as we plan future tour arrangements.