Road ScholarReviews of roadscholar.org

I’ve traveled twice yearly with small group adventure travel groups for over 40 years however this was my first Road Scholar trip and I experienced difficulties immediately. Neither the airport transfer nor a prearranged meal materialised on day one which set the tone for what became a running joke with mistaken meal orders the rule rather than the exception. Transportation was also problematic with a surly female bus driver who made racist and, homophobic comments some of which were directed at road scholar participants and the tour guide being “too woke”. This bus driver point blank refused me entry to the bus to rest because I was nursing an archilles injury citing the need to take her break in private. As a solo traveller I was paired in a room with an older woman who insisted on lights out around 9.00pm each night and lights on at her discretion. This wore thin after 5 nights so I enquired about the spare room on the manifest as a couple had cancelled at the last minute leaving a spare room for the entirety of the trip. Rather than offer me the room which I would have happily paid the a rack rate for, the guide cancelled all future bookings for the spare room depriving me of an option to upgrade. It is unclear whether Roads Scholar got a windfall from this action as they do offer a “cancel for any reason” insurance policy offering a credit for a year. Either way, there was no alternative accommodation offered to make my trip more enjoyable. The positives of the trip included the knowledgeable guest lecturers, a high tea at Lake Louise, a boat trip to the grizzly bear sanctuary and whale watching however the group was too large which made for a sometimes slow and cumbersome pace exacerbated by 12 to 16 hour travel days backed up by early starts. One thing I did enjoy was lively conversation with some like minded individuals.

I’ve just returned from a Road Scholars’ trip to Croatia. Take this with a grain of salt. It’s not their fault that every town is crowded with tourists. Crowded. HOWEVER: poorly designed programming is. Every where we went we saw the same things. The town square, the old monastery, now a museum, the castle and it’s many steps up the wall… we were told in the catalog we’d enjoy Adriatic specialties. On My Barbara there were 27 of us. The food was pedestrian at best. The few times I was able to eat in restaurants it was fine to excellent. But the concentration was to keep our group together. Fortunately the fellow scholars were a cool bunch. And I made good friends which I plan on keeping. It was not expensive, but ultimately boring with few delightful aspects especially for a seasoned traveler like me. The benefit if you are single traveling alone - you aren’t.

we have taken 3 trips with Road Scholar. Our first was a trip to Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands. Absolutely wonderful. Alistair, our historian, Roz, our tour logistics director and Stevie the bus driver were all terrific. Going above and beyond. Entertaining and fun. The sights themselves breathtaking. Next was a November visit to Athens then Crete. We only had one guide there but she was great. There were a few communication snafus but nothing terrible. Again, a great itinerary and fun group. Our last one was a train trip throughout Switzerland. Fantastic trip. Nina and Sergio were so organized and helpful. we had free time on a couple of days and they volunteered to take us to a glacier nearby on their own time. All but two in the group chose to go. They offered to guide us on a lake and castle trip on another of the free days too! They were not obligated to do this. such dedicated and sweet people made the trip even more enjoyable. Super with communication too. If you are over 55 and like educational type trips with incredible itineraries travel with Road Scholar is very rewarding. We do book our own flights however because we tend to visit something nearby before or after the tour.

I enrolled early in the French Art Voyage because of the caliber of the sites visited: no visit to the overly crowded Louvre but rather to Monet’s Giverny and Cezanne’s studio. A preliminary itinerary I just received has no mention of Giverny so I went online to be sure it was still open. It is. I checked Cezanne’s studio and found it closed for renovation. I called Road Scholar to ask why Giverny was canceled and did they mean Cezanne perhaps. A customer service rep was clueless. I spelled Giverny to her twice. She put me on hold for 15 minutes, returned and said someone would contact me. I told her to wait a minute. I had more. Was Cezanne’s studio to be canceled as well.? Five days later I get an email from Judith telling me Giverny was not officially on the itinerary, Cezanne’s studio had to be removed due to renovation and I could not see the Mona Lisa!!! I responded saying I sensed some bait and switch also reminding her I NEVER asked about the Mona Lisa. She replied telling me how to arrange Giverny for myself and reiterating that I could not see the Mona Lisa!!!! I have experienced ageism but not gaslighting like this. I am not an old fool who imagined Giverny on the itinerary. I am not an old fool insisting on a Mona Lisa that was not. Road Scholar has no business marketing to elders with staff like this.

Although the trip was lovely in many ways, the guide spent the entire tour touting his own ludicrous "theories" (the ancient Egyptians saw dinosaurs, they traveled to Australia, they had technologies more advanced than we have in the 21st century) rather than presenting supported educational information. I paid for an educational tour, not misinformation and pseudoscience. I complained to Road Scholar during the tour. They offered a modest credit for future travel, but did nothing about the problem. I complained after the tour, and they didn't respond at all. In addition, the guide announced to the entire group that I had made a complaint about him--utterly inappropriate. Again, when I informed RS about this, they didn't respond. This experience and the lack of response from RS are the reasons I will choose another tour company in the future.

When I signed up for the Wonders of Costa Rica at a slower pace. The hotel listed in the itinerary for day 8&9 was a 4 star hotel on the beach called the Punta Leona. I'm not sure when but Road Scholar changed the Punta Leona hotel for the 3 star Villa Lapis Jungle hotel. I was shocked when we drove up to this dump. Others in the group wanted to leave and find another hotel. I had black bugs under that shower mat and the shower did not drain, Spiders on the wall and roaches coming out of the cracked in the bathroom. The bed was a thin mattress on a board and was hard as a rock. The food they put out was covered with a wrap but 15 minutes after the plastic wrap was removed it was covered with fruit flies. I passed on the open food bowls. The walls were real thin and the neighbors were real noisy until 11:30 pm. Others in the group complained about the late night noise, spiders and toilet seat being broken. I'm not sure where this place gets 3 stars. After I saw the roaches, I give it a 1 star. Road Scholar put us up in beautiful hotels and then they take us here. You can do better than this Road Scholar. The end the story, Road Scholar customer service called me about my concern and said they have never used the Punta Leona, (I sent her my itinerary that said PUNTA LEONA). She also said they haven't had any complaints about this Villa Lapis dump. After her call, I'm not sure if I'll ever travel with Road Scholar again. Enough said....

Same complaint as everyone else. While I can see why the Cancel for Any Reason clause may be necessary for the business model, the problem is that THIS IS NOT EXPLAINED CLEARLY TO THE PROSPECTIVE TRAVELER at the time the trip is purchased. My sister and I each had separate phone conversations with Road Scholar before we purchased our trips, and we both came away thinking we would get refunds if we canceled for a reason not covered by the insurance. Re the reply from Road Scholar: your agents are implying things that are contrary to the written rules! One tends to believe someone from the company that you are having a personal conversation with.

If you want a real review and not their good reviews on their website, read this. Their customer service is horrible and they try to get as much money as possible by telling you you need insurance, but then if you cancel, you’ve lost more money from insurance than you have from the trips cancellation. It really is a scam! And they’re scamming older adults!