Trafalgar Travel is a travel company specializing in guided tours and vacation packages for a diverse clientele, including families, couples, and solo travelers. With a focus on immersive travel experiences, the company offers a range of options, including family tours, food travel, and river cruises, designed to cater to various interests and travel preferences. Customers can explore destinations across the globe, unlocking unique cultural experiences beyond typical tourist attractions.
The company emphasizes convenience, allowing customers to secure their vacations with a small deposit and offering a full refund within 60 days for cancellations. Trafalgar Travel aims to make travel accessible and enjoyable, providing members with exclusive discounts and early access to new trips and offers. With a commitment to sustainable travel and a customer-centric approach, Trafalgar Travel seeks to enhance the journey of every traveler while promoting responsible tourism practices.
Trafalgar Travel receives a mixed response from customers, with many praising the quality of the tours and the expertise of the tour directors. Reviewers highlight specific trips, such as the US Scenic Park Explorer and the Best of Croatia and Slovenia, as "awesome" and "exceptionally well planned," noting the knowledgeable guides and well-organized itineraries.
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However, a significant number of customers express dissatisfaction with the company's customer service and hotel arrangements. Complaints include issues with booking processes, unexpected cancellations, and inadequate support when problems arise, leading to frustration among long-time travelers. Additionally, some travelers report that the included meals and activities did not meet their expectations.
Each source counts by its number of reviews. Only reviews written by people are scored.
Rating, volume, share of the score, six-month trend and fake-review risk for each source
Source
Rating
Reviews
Weight
6-mo
Fake risk
★
Trustpilot
Imported Trustpilot reviews
2.2
130
100%
-0.9
● Low
2.2 / 5 overall
=
130 reviews across 1 scored source
How fake risk works ⓘ
Reputation trend
Monthly average rating from reviews written by people · latest review Jul 2025.
Last 3 months
2.7▼ 0.9
12-month avg
2.7
All-time
2.2
Category avg
4.0
Monthly averageCategory average
Monthly average rating and review count
Month
Average
Reviews
Aug 24
4.0
2
Sep 24
1.8
6
Oct 24
2.8
4
Nov 24
1.0
2
Dec 24
1.0
1
Jan 25
2.3
3
Feb 25
4.3
6
Mar 25
4.0
1
Apr 25
1.0
2
May 25
2.2
5
Jun 25
1.0
1
Jul 25
3.8
4
What people praise & complain about
Share of positive (4–5★) and negative (1–2★) reviews mentioning each topic · based on the 130 most recent reviews.
Top praiseof 29 positive reviews
Helpful support21%
6 mentions
Customer service17%
5 mentions
Easy to use7%
2 mentions
Prices & value7%
2 mentions
“This tour was exceptionally well planned”
On “Helpful support” · Jul 16, 2025
Top complaintsof 91 negative reviews
Payment issues42%
38 mentions
Customer service27%
25 mentions
Refund26%
24 mentions
Cancellation22%
20 mentions
“Disappointed”
On “Payment issues” · Jul 20, 2025
How it compares
Same method for every company: overall rating, legitimacy checks, the average rating of reviews mentioning each area and the 6-month trend · Travel Agencies.
Overall rating and review count for this company and similar companies
First, our trip to Sistine Chapel and Vatican museums was cancelled which was only one of a couple tours included because of modified museum hours. I had to pay $350 to get tickets to go myself. You ride on a coach alot and when they say you see things, it is from the bus window. Small seats, provided no water and discouraged from using toilet. We were supposed to clap for driver because he did his job and not leave anything for him to clean. We were TOLD where to sit each day, they wanted luggage out an hour before departure time which means you had to get up two hours before breakfast. one hotel was 4 stars, rest were 3. Plan on spending ALOT of money to see things; everything costs more money spent $500 on tours. Food was OK at best. went on leather tour and glass blowing tour. These were sales pitches from store. We did see glass blowing 5 minutes then sales pitch for 15, same with leather store and gold store was not demonstration at all, it was them showing you pieces you can buy. Travel director sent out messages on whats app each day and was reachable. I got an attitude at first because I questioned vatican being closed but could get tickets. She told us we would go back to hotel so we could change, then said no, she changed her mind and so e were gone 12 hours from room and not prepared for day no apologies, just more like...that is that
I booked the 7 day Italian Holiday Trafalgar Tour for April 2025. I paid an extra $249 for the travel insurance in case of interruptions. Day one was supposed to be a tour of Rome, but the Pope’s funeral occurred and all sites/museums were closed. The following day we moved on to Venice. I filed a claim with Trafalgar Aon Affinity insurance for a 1/7 refund ($311) for that lost day. The claim was denied. Greedy management, don’t recommend Trafalgar.
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We have just completed our Splendor of Japan, including Hiroshima. The itinerary and hotels were excellent.
The cause for the 2 stars...we were assigned a tour guide that barely spoke English. She continually took the easy way out, never assigning bus seats. She told us that her boss told her, contrary to every trip we have been on, that she DID NOT HAVE TO ASSIGN SEATS ON THE BUS! She repeateadly talked about herself and her family instead of the sights we traveled past or to. When questioned about something, if you were not sitting upfront, you did not know what she was replying to. When asked about where we were, or what we were seeing, she needed to ask the bus driver. She often recruited other guests on the bus to speak into the microphone and try to assist her in providing an English explanation. When gathered outside she would begin an explanation, in hard to understand English before the entire group had a chance to gather. She was requested to start over again many times. There was a parallel tour, nine days, and on one occasion we had the benefit of that tour guide explaining tea rituals. He was articulate. He even apologized to his group for repeating what he had prepped them on, as he filled in the prep work that our guide did not do.
And that's not all? Nope! While on route, our guide was filmed asleep in her seat on the bus.
Costco has a lot of explaining why they suggested we use Trafalgar.
Added, May 30...
...we have since contacted Costco and Trafalgar. Trafalgar customer service DOES NOT TAKE PHONE CALLS...email only! Friends we met on the trip continued on to China with Trafalgar and told us the Trafalgar quality had returned on that trip. Nice to know they can deliver sometimes. Just too bad they DO NOT TAKE CALLS. We booked Eastern Europe with a reliable competitor....THEY TAKE CALLS. BTW; The picture of our tour director fast asleep on our bus is slowly making it's way thru our groups. Quite the conversation piece.
Shame Trafalgar is a Costco recommendation...Costco must be asleep on this one, lol.
Friends and I just returned from Trafalgar's Great Italian Cities tour. The positives were our travel guide, Laura, who was fun, knowledgeable, engaging, and really good at "herding" 40+ people with a range of personalities, needs and mobility. We saw a lot, and packed in more than we would have done on our own. The local experts who gave us tours of various cities and attractions were, for the most part, excellent. Two of the three hotels were ideally situated, close to city centers, and were all very nice. Now for the drawbacks....we had a lot of issues leading up to the tour date, with hotels not being confirmed, inability for Trafalgar to book us an extra night at the first hotel so we could arrive a day early (we were able to book it w/o a problem on our own), canceling our Vatican tour (which we also had to book on our own). Also, the group meals that were included, and two that were optional that we paid extra for, ranged from just palatable to awful! Most of our tour were Americans. I guess Trafalgar thinks Americans prefer dry, baked chicken legs for their main course! Of real disappointment was one of the optional meals, on Burano. The fish was unpalatable; and guests who had chicken or beef said they were inedible. The best meals we had were during our free time, when we found our own restaurants. I'm glad to have finally tried a bus tour, but I will never take one again and certainly won't be recommending Trafalgar!
Most our hotels were downgraded and were on the outskirts of town. We were supposed to stay on Murano Island, a converted monestary, and in a lakeside hotel. Didn't happen. The last hotel was in the middle of nowhere in Rome with no easy access to downtown or the airport. The dinners provided were minimally OK.
The Itinerary was changed and we were provided the times only the day in advance.
Also, they had Optional Tours that one had to purchase that were scheduled when one was traveling from one city to another. if you didn't purchase it, what did you do, especially as one had little notice of the time.
The total of the Optional Tours amounted to an additional 50% of the tour cost if one purchased them all.
I would not book with this company again.
Overpriced Traffalgar Contrast of Switzerland tour
We just finished the Contrasts of Switzerland tour. This tour is basically some coach tickets and hotels. You are just traveling in regular coach class. Nothing special about the tour and unlike bus tours they don’t provide any information about the area while you are traveling on the train. Just book the train tickets and hotels on your own and you could save lots of money. In my opinion this tour is a ripoff.
We have not commenced our Great European Tour to depart London on 19/5/24 and already have had poor customer service and disappointment. Our travel agent in Australia received an email stating that the hotel in London had changed. Our agent last October tried to reserve a room at The Tower Hotel but it was booked, so booked a room at Lalit within walking distance and non refundable.We now find out the new hotel, Thistle Marble is over 30mins away by taxi. The travel agent and I both requested either a shuttle or taxi to collect us but were rudely declined.
Trafalgar is not a company that cares about it's customers at all. I paid for insurance for my Italy trip and paid to upgrade my flight both ways. On my way to Italy I was downgraded by United last minute.....literally 5 minutes before boarding. We won't even get into how awful United has been during this, but I thought for sure Trafalgar would make sure everything was made right....HAHAHA.....nope! Yes, I know United only gave them a 1/4 of what I paid for, for my flight, but Trafalgar should make sure their customers are treated right after such a horrible experience during a trip. I own a business and if I have to take a slight loss to make sure my customers are taken care of then thats what it takes. I have lost THOUSANDS and Trafalgar does nothing to make it better. What an awful company and they will never see another dime from me. Not like they care tho.....too busy just trying to take everyone's money.
Do not add the Glacier Park option to your Canadian Rockies trip unless you want to spend lots of money for a subpar option. Initially, we were scheduled to stay at a hotel in the park. A few weeks before the tour start date, we were rescheduled for yet another Hilton Garden. Although a nice hotel, it was outside of the park. I did not pay an exorbitant add-on fee to stay at another Hilton. I could have tolerated that if we had had time in the park to walk and take a hike. On the day we toured the park, we waited approximately 6 hours to take the tour bus to Sun Road, which was nice but did not allow any time to hike to the iconic lake at the top of the road. Why was our bus tour scheduled so late in the day when we arrived at the park early in the morning? Whoever scheduled this part of the trip had little or no scheduling experience or is incompetent. And Trafalgar's answer to the complaint was to offer a percentage discount on another one of its trip. Never again. I specifically signed up with this company because it was the only one that offered the Glacier option. Such a disappointment.
Wish I had read the reviews before booking with Trafalgar - I will NEVER travel with this tour company again. In September 2023 myself and a travel companion traveled to Northern Spain. The experience for the most part was awful. Some hotels were lovely, some meals were good, wine was plentiful but other hotels and meals were terrible. Biggest complaint was the pressure and fast paced walking to keep up with the tour director. It was rush, rush, rush with little to no time to explore, take pictures, etc. There were 52 passengers on the bus and little time to use the restrooms when we stopped, get a refreshment or look around. The whole trip was exhausting and grueling and it was clear the tour director just had a schedule to keep (not his fault). I was so glad when the tour came to an end.
Crap Attituded. Spent around $5k for a tour group and now they won't refund 59 euro / $65 USD.
I took a Trafalgar tour in September 2023—The best of Germany and Austria tour.
First let me say the tour itself was very, good.
(Okay some of the hotels needed some reconditioning).
I can't say enough good things about the Tour Guide and the Bus Driver. They were great!
I arrived in Frankfurt two days before the tour began. I paid $65 for a Trafalgar car service to get me from the airport and take me to the hotel.
NO-SHOW CAR SERVICE! Called the DVS car service phone number; it was either printed wrong on the voucher or the number was no longer in service.
I Called the Trafalgar Euro Guest Service phone number from the airport. A nice young lady tried to reach the car service and could not reach them either. I was told to take a taxi or whatever means to the hotel and keep the receipt.
Called Trafalgar from the hotel and spoke to a nice young man he told me I would be reimbursed for the $65 for the DVS car service and for me to email the Taxi receipt with the cost of the taxi to Trafalgar's Guest Relations department which handles these issues.
I got back to the States and sent in the Taxi receipt for the 59 Euro / $ 65 USD taxi expense to... their guest relastions.
I received an email back that read...
"We are unable to refund your taxi costs as this was purchased outside of your package with us. With this in mind, we are more than happy to reimburse the costs paid to us prior to departure". That's the $65 car service that I didn't receive.
Outside of my tour package??????
I wrote back asking Janis... "How was I supposed to get to the hotel"?
Janis replied with...
You independently purchased and utilized the taxi service so this amount cannot be refunded by us.
Along with...
We have refunded the monies owed to you for the service that was not provided and consider this matter closed. What great public relations. Of course, there is no phone number to call and speak to someone in the Guest Relations Department. Only email. Why do you think there is only email?
My Germany and Austria trip now leaves me with a little sour taste. I'll get through it, it's only $65. It just pisses you off when your told one thing and then get a bit screwed by Janis in Guest Relations. Along with their attitude. If I had spoken to someone or had a kinder email (not the typical corporate email attitude),
I probably would not be writing this review.
I'm looking into another tour for the spring of 24. I am not sure I will look into Trafalgar again.
I just returned from Trafalgar's Italy Belisimo. A word of warning for those of you thinking of booking this tour. This trip was a constant go, go, go. Many days we spent 10 hours touring, which includes traveling on the bus for long hours, walking, way too many water taxis in Venice, and city tours that were a waste of time and my money. All of the hotels are very old. This is not a trip for those who cannot walk at least 8-10 miles a day. Even the younger people on my tour were exhausted. So many stairs, with no elevators. Rome is dirty and crowded. Venice...what can I say. We had to depart our bus to take a water taxi to the gondolas (which was only a 10 minute ride through the canals with rude gondolas drivers), then a water taxi to the hotel, which is on an island in venice. this hotel has no elevators, so be aware and no ground floor rooms either. All in all I counted 9 water taxi rides in Venice to get where we were going. I slipped getting into one of them and sprained my ankle. Florence was busy and not worth the visit. Yes some sites were beautiful, but I felt this trip was rushed from day 1. Hardly any down time. 10 days of constant on the go is exhausting. I also did not like the fact that at many of our stops Trafalgar steered us to shops that they have a contract with. In other words, they offer you a discount, but their merchandize is out of my price range, especially the leather shop in Florence and the glass blowing shop in Venice. Many times the tour would run out of time to get to our hotels before we made our dinner stop. So instead of going to our hotel, we had to arrive at dinner hot, sweating, and smelling. Gross. I would not recommend this trip.UPDATE: read trafalgar’s response. I am tired of their platitudes and the company response. I have done 4 other tours with them and each time I contacted them about the various flaws and problems with their tours. they refuse to change. I’m not buying the line about hotels in Europe not up to my standards. There are plenty of hotels in Europe that are far better than what you provide on the tours. You state that I do not have to visit the shops you recommend. The only reason I went in there was because they offered free bathrooms if you listened to their presentations. Really? Trafalgar do you think I am stupid? I see what you are doing with these tours. Charge your guests outrageous prices but skimp on everything else. This is my last tour with you. By the way do you read the reviews? They are not kind . Don’t insult my intelligence by giving me this sort of response. I am done with you.
Never will we travel with Trafalgar again. Paid top price and got budget tour from Madrid to Barcelona bus tour. Very little stopping to take pictures and shown very little tourist attractions. All about going from start to finish and nothing in-between. So disappointed after travelling hard way around the world.
Trafalgar charged us for pre paid gratuities. Suggest you don’t pay these in advance to Trafalgar. We found Trafalgar asked for almost NZ$80 ( allowing for local currency exchange rate) more than the tour leader and driver expected or would have got. So far Trafalgar hasn’t responded to our request for a refund of the overpayment. Also the ‘included’ meals at local venues were very poor quality with the exception of one. Only one hotel had air conditioning. Very few USB charge points on the bus worked. However The tour itinerary and tour leader were great.
Currently on day 3 and I have pulled out of all main tours as this whole experience is not worth the money or my time currently questioning to sort myself out transportation wise. ( long synopsis ahead)
First of we are adults I get there are kids on the tour but you can’t take us to the beautiful places and give us 1 hour “free time” so pretty much the option is eat or do the sits you can’t do one or the other
Myself and family have paid an astronomical amount thinking this would better for the older members in our group but on 2 occasions in 3 days random tour guides have just left and not let the elders keep up
Secondly we have these optional tour guides come on and we don’t have to tip but they just stand at the entrance of the bus and make you feel guilty if you don’t ??
Thirdly the fine print always seems to be corporate way of sneaking around ethical decisions , so you pay roughly $3000 euro for the tour thinking it’s all catered then on day 2 you get a piece of paper that sums up if you want to do optional tours (that on the brochure made it seem you can just do these as it’s all paid for) you have to pay so only half your day is set up for and you have to pay for the optional which is about $1000 euro to do the activities.
Overall shocking experience I couldn’t recommend this lower the reason I have given 2 stars is the hotels are lovely but they are all out of the main areas so you have to use Trafalgar as it’s to expensive to Uber or taxi and when asked why so far “ we just feel it’s better and to much tourist in the main area “ ok then , then what are we ??? Just randoms stuck in the outskirts
GO WITH G ADVENTURES. They are 10000x better
After booking single accommodations the agent told me no single rooms were available for the Scotland tour. I was left with the impression that if I wanted to go on the tour I had to book shared accommodations. It turns out there were at least 5 other singles on the trip and I was the only one that had to share a room.
I was travelling with a couple of friends so it was very awkward having to tip toe into the room every night not to disturb my roommate. This is totally unacceptable and after complaining I have not heard anything not even an apology for this treatment. Considering I was the one that suggested Trafalgar tours to our group of 4 I can’t believe the lack of concern for my experience. I will no longer recommend Trafalgar tours
I’ve traveled to over 30 foreign countries. This is the first time I’ve tried Trafalgar. Initially, signing up and paying for the trip went fine. But the customer support is awful. I’ve waited days for return emails and hours on end for return phone calls. Their recordings apologize for slow service but that only goes so far. They need to ramp up their staff to handle their sales volume.
I waited 3 1/2 hours for a return call about a mistake on my itinerary and apparently the customer service person didn’t like my issue because he hung up on me.
I called back and have waited almost another 3 hours for a return call. They told me it would be 66 minutes.
I consider myself seasoned traveler, with visits to 75 countries so far. I travelled with all major travel companies either by car, bus, or boat/ship on river/ocean cruises. I travelled with Trafalgar many times in the past. I do a lot of research before deciding which travel company I shell spend my money with. Itinerary is THE most important point in my decision making. Many travel companies promise heaven and deliver hell! Here is my experience with Trafalgar promises and advertisements:
Let’s start with pre-departure info and requirements. Israel entry form, Jordan declaration form, Canada ArriveCAN and Mandatory health insurance WERE NOT REQUIRED NOR NEEDED!
After we met Trafalgar car/shuttle driver in Tel Aviv, he took off, started walking faaast... and we schlepped our luggage behind him…. even in Africa or India, drivers ALWAYS HELPED WITH LUGGAGE! Not this one!! Welcome to Tel Aviv and meet your Travel Director welcome reception was delayed more than two hours, because travel guide was late. We were given “smokers room” which reeked/smelled like a pig stay/bar. Change was not possible; hotel was fully booked. I requested at least the air freshener, deodorizer, they promised, never delivered! Originally, we requested 2 beds, however, one queen bed was provided! To add an insult to injury, when I complained in the morning about that horrible night, hotel manager offered a “free glass of orange juice for my trouble??!
Bus for Journey to Sea of Galilee didn’t have WIFI because it was not set up! Later we spent an hour in front of Jaffa Whale, trying to get whispers working, exchanging batteries, headphones, microphone. Guide didn’t bother to test/prepare equipment beforehand! Driver sold drinking water for 1$ and after I question it, guide explained that water is free and 1$ was the tip for driver!? Sail on the Sea of Galilee was the most embarrassing, pathetic experience. Boat sailed for about ten minutes into the sea and then captain started to sing, kept singing for more than hour, ship was not moving, sun was blasting. After more than an hour of his horrible singing, one traveler plucked up the courage and asked him to start sailing the bloody boat, instead of singing. He obliged and took us immediately back to shore!
Next day the bus WIFI didn’t work again, and promises were made to have it fixed tomorrow... yada, yada...we
We didn’t get to see Dome of the Rock up close because gates to Dome of the Rock were to close at 2pm and we wasted our time strolling thru market. Guide spent more time talking with bus driver than narrating history, sightseeing etc.
Allenby Bridge to Jordan Crossing was a total disaster. We started early morning and after arriving at the border, guide couldn’t locate her Jordanian counterpart, our bus kept cruising back and forth in front of border crossing, we were told that we shall have to shlepp all our luggage by hand!… finally, we arrived at the passport/visa/fee payment building... nobody knew what to do... how to verify the passports. There were many lines for passport verification, visa payment, crossing fee... thanks god there were very few other travelers... so, after couple of hours of mayhem, we were cleared, and learnt that our luggage was actually transferred to Jordanian bus, but bus was too small for 23 people and unable to stove all luggage into the compartment hold of the bus, so some luggage was loaded into the bus itself!
Intriguing problem was the repeated situation with drinking water not being included with quite amazing, sumptuous dinners. Guide explained that it was the confusion of hotel personnel with her requests?!
I inquired three days before end of our trip about airport transfer and was told it was too early... then day before departure I was told that I was not on transfer list! Later I was told that I should join travelers leaving at 5am for their 9 am flights, but my flight was at 12:05pm!! After frantic e-mails to Trafalgar, I was assured that all should be ok. And it was. But I found it very unprofessional and petty to throw me under bus! Then the guide inquired about TIP!? OMG!
Well, this trip was an adventure and exercise in stupidity, amateurism, and lack of professionalism! AC worked on and off, after repeated requests, driver obviously hated AC. His window was opened all the time. He was speeding and passing other traffic over speed bumps, run red lights, sneezed, coughed without covering his mouth and was quite annoyed when travelers begged to stop for washroom stop!
We were with a group of primarily older couples guided by a much younger marathon runner tour guide for our Exploring London Tour. 1. Daily activities schedules were not provided to members of the group but were posted only in the hotel lobby. Guide provided updates once by email at 11:27 p.m. while most were sleeping. 2. No rating of difficulty for daily excursions whether included or paid additional excursions was provided. Our guide was much too fast making the excursioins either moderate or difficult at best. 3. Much too long on busses with inadequate convenience stops for older people. Parking was an issue at many venues where significant distances had to be covered just to get to the area that was of interest. Routes were changed with little or no notice and one venue on a paid excursion was closed. 4. No effort to provide transportation to closed venue the next day nor was any refund offered, however, on other days the bus was re-routed to accommodate drop-offs of others near venues not included in our tour. 5. One older gentleman was left behind because our guide did NOT count those on the bus prior to telling the driver to go ahead and depart. Gentleman had to take a cab back to our hotel. 6. Hotel accommodations were much less than expected. Tower Hotel, located near the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge, is very dated with bath tubs that were literally unsafe for seniors. No air conditioning or heating control available in individual rooms. Rooms were much too warm to sleep well at night. Hotel offered a fan which we accepted but no fan ever showed up at our room.
Expected a much better and well prepared overall tour package from a tour company as old and experienced as Trafalgar.
Trafalgar Travel is a travel company specializing in guided tours and vacation packages for a diverse clientele, including families, couples, and solo travelers. With a focus on immersive travel experiences, the company offers a range of options, including family tours, food travel, and river cruises, designed to cater to various interests and travel preferences. Customers can explore destinations across the globe, unlocking unique cultural experiences beyond typical tourist attractions.
The company emphasizes convenience, allowing customers to secure their vacations with a small deposit and offering a full refund within 60 days for cancellations. Trafalgar Travel aims to make travel accessible and enjoyable, providing members with exclusive discounts and early access to new trips and offers. With a commitment to sustainable travel and a customer-centric approach, Trafalgar Travel seeks to enhance the journey of every traveler while promoting responsible tourism practices.
