Albatross Tours Reviews 974

We have just completed the Italian Grande tour for the second time. The first was in 2019. To our surprise there were some small changes in places to see and stay. Both tours were simply brilliant, great tour guides, Antonia (1st) and Helen (2) who we got to know both well. The same fantastic coach company and driver. If you love Italy as we do, Albatross is the only way to see it. We have completed 7 European, Ireland and Uk Albatross tours now. Just BRILLIANT.
Regards Michael and Annette

Well organised, an excellent tour director and fellow passengers. Plenty of free time, combined with organised walking tours, points of interest and various palaces, cathedrals, gardens, etc.

I did back to back Albatross tours and they were fabulous. The tour guides were great, especially Gilberto who conducted the Swiss New year Adventure. The hotels and food were excellent. Everything ran smoothly.

We had a wonderful tour

The tour was good, but I found the rooms in some of the hotels were not very good and whilst the hotels were lovely, I sometimes felt that we were treated differently because we were part of a tour group. Inferior rooms, seperate dining areas and a general vibe from some staff in bar areas etc.

Helen our tour manager and our driver could not do enough to make sure we had a great time

The Tour Guide Deborah was very sympathetic for my husband's illness. Our doctor advised us not to go on this holiday, but we did anyway. Arranged taxis, helped with our luggage. Helped me with arranging shower facilities as I couldn't access the bathtub. Informed us of an unfinished Pieta by Michealangelo which we should visit in Milan & we did. Other members of the bus tour very friendly & accommodating.

The trip was amazing and our tour guide Helen Sheenan was exceptional best tour guide I have encountered. Nothing was too much for her she really delivered her knowlege of the countries etc was only too happy to assist with everyones enquires. I plan on doing further trips with albatross tours hopefully having her as the tour guide.

The trip was amazing, maybe a little rushed when changing trains at times.

The tour was fabulous…..exactly what we wished for a white Christmas!! Ernst our tour guide was excellent likewise our bus driver Christos…….thoroughly recommend 👏

Some tours are simply outstanding, and this Albatross Tours journey through the Italian Lakes and Tuscany was one of them – made exceptional by our guide, Helen Sheehan. We stayed several nights in beautiful hotels, allowing time to explore the lakes and places like Cinque Terre from Genoa, Pisa from Lucca, and the elegance of Verona and Bellagio at an unhurried pace. Helen handled every detail effortlessly – luggage, timing, safety, even restaurant tips – so all we had to do was enjoy the scenery, food and atmosphere. Her humour, knowledge and genuine care turned great days into unforgettable ones. She made us feel informed, relaxed and completely looked after. With amazing destinations and a guide like Helen, travelling really doesn’t get much better. That’s Albatross Tours for you.
- Posting on behalf of Julia Zaetta.

What a marvellous to Schloss Hornberg with our amazing guide Darren. The hotel was stunning, and the visits to other towns were out of this world.
Our guide was friendly, and extremely knowledgeable about all of the historic aspects of each town and local customs.
All of our instructions were clear and Darren was able to overcome any language barriers with his excellent German.
We will definitely be booking with Darren again hopefully in the future and look forward to our next trip.
Thank you Darren, we are truly grateful.

The Goodin Family.

A German Christmas. What a truly amazing tour this was! Every part of the tour was well organised and well implemented with a variety of activities, food, experiences and free time. Darren Wheatley, our guide, was brilliant. He was extremely knowledgeable, friendly and approachable with nothing being too much trouble. Darren gave us an incredible amount of information, all given in an interesting and clear way. He prepared us for all experiences and activities making it easy for us to navigate new cities. I would love to do another tour with Darren as our guide. Sebastian, our driver, was extremely competent and I felt very safe with him as our driver. He became part of our group participating in activities along with the rest of us which allowed us to get to know him well. The planned activities were amazing with a lot of variety. Each day was a new and wondrous delight! The itinerary was perfect and not too strenuous. The Hotel Schloss in Hornberg was the perfect place to spend 6 nights over Christmas. The hosts were delightful passionate and friendly. The room was well heated and took in views of the valley. And the food! Wow! What a feast we had every night. We even had snow on ChristmasEve and Christmas Day. This was the most perfect tour I have ever done. Thank you Albatross!

My Albatross 8 day German Christmas Holiday Tour of 2025 ranks as my best Christmas experience EVER! Our Tour Manager Darren Wheatley was absolutely BRILLIANT in every way. Extremely experienced, passionate about his job, amazing knowledge of every single thing we did and saw and happily passed his knowledge on in a friendly way. Albatross thought of EVERYTHING vto make this a wonderful Christmas experience...with snow the icing on the cake! The Hotel Schloss in Hornberg and its amazing staff were brilliant! Unfortunately, there is no lift in this Hotel, so I had to climb 49 steps to my room .. but it was worth it. Darren went the extra mile to make sure we had a truly memorable Tour, even taking us to a Ski Resort, so we could have a little play in the snow. For me, as I am deaf in one ear, Darren's diction and the excellent sound system on the superb coach, made it easy for me to understand every word. Thank you Darren. Your Nottingham accent is perfect. Sebastian our driver was excellent and I felt safe at all times even when the roads were a bit icy. All in all, Albatross is the BEST Tour Company of any of the 6 Tour Brands I've used across 14 Yours in the last 11 years. I highly recommend them because they know exactly what Australian travellers like. Thank you to everyone from a very satisfied client.
Jennifer Evans

German Christmas Holiday - The journey plan was well thought out and orchestrated by our tour guide Darren. The places we visited were a good mix of Christmas and local views. The main hotel of our stay was fabulous, wonderful views, snow and the hotel hosts had a pleasant mix of talent to entertain us in the cold Christmas evenings. I would highly recommend this Christmas tour with Albatross.

Albatross Tours is the first bus tour company we have used in Europe and, based on now three tours with them, the latest being 2025 Bohemian Christmas Markets, will continue to utilise their tour options.
Our tour leader Helen was experienced, had knowledge of local history and had everything under control. She made us feel welcome and communicated in a friendly manner with everyone. Clear, precise information was provided by her on the bus, at hotels and via WhatsApp. Our tour itinerary “Christmas Markets”, was a very enjoyable experience.
The hotel accomodation and quality of meals was very good.
During the tour my wife developed a cold, reducing her ability to continue participating in a guided tour. Thankfully, Helen made alternative transport arrangements back to the hotel for her, a gesture very much appreciated.
Our included dinners were always of good quality enabling our group to experience local restaurant locations and traditional cuisine. In particular, our final night’s dinner in a German cellar featuring a traditional ambience and the cuisine was enjoyable.
We have always recognised the quality of buses and the experienced bus drivers utilised by Albatross, as with Josip, our tour driver. His skillfull driving ensured our safety was paramount.
In closing I commend Helen for being an excellent host and providing us with a memorable tour experience.

Bohemian Christmas Markets Tour

The tour was everything that was promised. The Tour Leader Helen was knowledgeable and helpful in every way. Josip the bus driver was hands down the best driver of any tour I have been on - calm, composed and a great sense of humour. The local guides - Tomas in Berlin and Ana in Nuremberg were fantastic. There was the perfect balance of group time and me time, and while focussed on the Christmas markets there was a good mix of other activities to break things up. Only issue was no snow (which Albatross cannot be blamed for!)

Could bw much inproved. There was a group with a travel agent within our group. It had its own culture and for most part stayed within their group.
The second day had far too much walking. The national park walk whilst long and crowded from large ship groups, but was an excellent walk.
To get to one old city on a free evening was far to long and steep to walk there and back
Meals were mixed in quality but there were some highlights.
The first two local guides were excellent. The accompanying tour guide was a little repetitive in her commentary
The wine tasting and lunch was OK.
One lunch had excellent food cooked in a special way in clay ovens
Unfortunately small group tours to Crotia, Bosnia Hertzagovia and Montenegra are being spoilt by the influx of large groups from large ships. Trying to get access to a toilet without having fo buy a meal is a problem
The scenery was excellent and the coach and driver excellent. Lots of available seats to move around.
3/4 night hotel stays is good

Great value for money, as hotels were very good quality, Tour manager very knowledgeable and organised, and the tour covered many places. Also driver was excellent and I felt very safe. Loved the small group size of 24 on our tour and not too many early starts. Would not hesitate to travel again with Albatross. Well done!

Tour director at times not helpful
Food in hotels we stayed in were terrible
Some day trips we spent to long travelling in the bus
My guaranteed tour was cancelled 6 weeks prior to the start date we not assistance to cancell pre booking I had made.
No apology received from Albatross for cancelling guarantee tour.
Lucky I was able to change to the next tour date.