Home > Compare Tour & Adventure Operators > CIE Tours vs Trafalgar
CIE Tours vs Trafalgar
Compare the travel styles, pricing, destinations and popularity of CIE Tours and Trafalgar.The Low Down
CIE Tours are specialists in guided coach tours through Britain and Ireland. With over 80 years of history the team at CIE certainly have the local ties and experience to deliver you a top notch touring experience through Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. They have recently dipped their toes into new regions within Europe, including Iceland, Italy and Spain.CIE are relatively unknown in the Australasian market but are very popular in the rest of the world, so you're fellow travellers are likely to be from all around the world, but perhaps with more American's onboard than Antipodeans. With itineraries designed to be fully inclusive, putting your hand in your pocket for optional day trips and activities is not something you need to worry about.
Accommodation on each trips sits at the 3 to 3 1/2 star level, with breakfasts (along with many lunches and dinners) also included. There's a maximum group size of 44, but look out for selected departures on selected trips that are designed for small groups. Also keep a lookout for CIE's Last Minute Deals which run year round and offers savings of up to 15% off the normal retail price.
Over 350 coach tours around the world, and one of our clients most popular Operators, Trafalgar is part of the Travel Corporation, which includes under its umbrella the sister brands of Insight Vacations, AAT Kings, Uniworld, Contiki & Costsaver. With a worldwide presence and local operations in Australasia for many years, you'll enjoy the company of many nationalities aboard your coach, including those from Downunder. Sitting between Insight and Costsaver, Trafalgar pride themselves in touring innovation, introducing 'Insider Experiences' (where you get to know and dine with the locals) and travel styles to suit those that prefer smaller groups or those that prefer a more leisurely itinerary.Look out for Trafalgar's Early-payment savings where you can save up to 10% on your trip as well as further savings if you are a past passenger on any of the aforementioned sister brands.
Stats
No. of Trips
72
No. of Departures
3,794
Avg. Trip Length
9 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$568
Accommodation
3.5 - 4 Star
Budget
Premium
Trip Styles Coach Tours
No. of Trips
364
No. of Departures
9,415
Avg. Trip Length
11 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$560
Accommodation
4 Star
Budget
Premium
In Their Own Words We asked the travel companies themselves why you should travel with them
When you travel with CIE Tours, you will get the warmest of welcomes and all the benefits of our 87 years of experience. The itineraries are locally crafted - we set our own high standards for delivering excellent holidays with state-of-the-art luxury coaches; the best hotels; carefully chosen authentic experiences and entertainment.
Our outstanding local tour directors are ready to share their knowledge, stories, passion for their home places - they are our greatest assets. Many of our tours spend 2 nights in each location, and our flexible itineraries include a great balance of escorted and free time. We include full breakfasts, most dinners and some evening entertainment. No one has to worry about paying for optional extras on the trip. It’s all included, no hidden extras.
We know how much these trips mean to you and we want to ensure that this is a trip you will treasure forever.
We are the world’s leading and most awarded travel brand spanning all 7 continents of the globe. From the iconic to the unexpected our guests connect to the real depth of the places we go. They will break bread with the locals at our exclusive Be My Guest experiences and unlock local secrets of our Travel Directors and Local Specialists. Everything is taken care of, so they travel with true ease and get the real thing without worrying about a thing.
We consider how we can positively impact the communities we engage with. Through our JoinTrafalgar initiatives powered by TreadRight, guests don’t just leave footprints on the ground, but leave a lasting legacy for the betterment of locals and the future of their communities.
It’s 72 years of destination experience and feedback from over 5 million happy guests that fuels our innovation to continually delivery simply the best holidays.
Recent Reviews
4.6
If you’re looking for a great experience look no further than Global Journeys. Could not fault our experience. From the time of booking till we landed on Australian shores again,fabulous! Rachael McSorley our Travel Advisor looked after us so well. We were kept up to date evert step of the way. And CIE Classic Irish tour was all we hoped and more! ...read more
CIE are a great tourist organisation. All costs were in the price quoted , no added extras like some tourist organisations. The tour covered big and small venues, cities and towns whilst the places used for accommodation were of great value. I would recommend CIE.
Loved every minute of the trip. Sam our driver was amazing. Jaquie our guide was fabulous. Couldn't recommend them any more. Would do it again in a heartbeat. A must do trip to add to your bucket list.
Stunning scenery in the wilds of Scotland, with some logistical challenges. 3 Norm, VIC, Australia, Aug 2023
This was an excellent itinerary to see the stunning landscapes that Scotland offers. Isle of Skye, Glencoe and Orkney were standout locations, The trip also had a liberal dose of castles and stately homes, both functioning and derelict. The tour guide provided an immense amount of history and perspective, to bring locations alive with their significance. ...read more Overall a very worthwhile experience.
On the downside, the tour company, CIE, chose to deliver our 'welcome pack' to the first hotel, rather than to our home. This appears to be their practice for Australians. This was in the least inconvenient as it meant we would not have the benefit of the provided backpacks for our outward journey. All other participants, who were from the USA, had their packs delivered to their homes. The impact was exacerbated by the packs not being there when we arrived, so we were without backpacks, name-tags, maps etc for the whole trip. It was only after pestering our guide that we finally received our packs on the very last day of the trip.
Our other concern was that the the quality of some of the hotels was below our expectations, with cramped rooms and bathrooms lacking power outlets etc, This is understandable in small remote towns, but the worst examples were actually in Glasgow and Inverness. We shared those hotels with other tour companies, such as Trafalgar, so we were not alone in the experience. The multiple tour groups also made meals, especially breakfast, a bit of a bunfight and far exceeded lift capabilities. We chose to walk up 5 flights at one stage, Would we do it again? Probably not with CIE. Their offices are in Ireland and USA and they appear to be not well geared for Australian participation.
On the downside, the tour company, CIE, chose to deliver our 'welcome pack' to the first hotel, rather than to our home. This appears to be their practice for Australians. This was in the least inconvenient as it meant we would not have the benefit of the provided backpacks for our outward journey. All other participants, who were from the USA, had their packs delivered to their homes. The impact was exacerbated by the packs not being there when we arrived, so we were without backpacks, name-tags, maps etc for the whole trip. It was only after pestering our guide that we finally received our packs on the very last day of the trip.
Our other concern was that the the quality of some of the hotels was below our expectations, with cramped rooms and bathrooms lacking power outlets etc, This is understandable in small remote towns, but the worst examples were actually in Glasgow and Inverness. We shared those hotels with other tour companies, such as Trafalgar, so we were not alone in the experience. The multiple tour groups also made meals, especially breakfast, a bit of a bunfight and far exceeded lift capabilities. We chose to walk up 5 flights at one stage, Would we do it again? Probably not with CIE. Their offices are in Ireland and USA and they appear to be not well geared for Australian participation.
Very organised. tour. Excellent hotels. Would book with Global Journeys again. My travel advisor Jemma Rosen was excellent answering concerns I had.
Amazing journey through Scottish Highlands and Isles, getting to see parts of Scotland that I would normally not have considered going to. Went in May and weather was fantastic. The accommodations (with the exception for the Balmacara Hotel) were very ordinary and well below expectations. Whilst I would recommend this trip, I would hope that the tour ...read more operators review the accommodation options and provide better options in the future.
4.6
Amazing, enjoyable experience from beginning to end. Tour guide, hotel and itinerary were excellent. Will hope to travel there again.
We have just returned from a fantastic Trafalgar tour of the east coast of USA and Canada. We had a terrific time! The itinerary was pretty packed, but we still had plenty of time to ourselves to explore, and never felt pressured to hurry along. There was a great mixture of things to see and do and plenty of rest breaks. October was a great time ...read more of year to visit Canada with all of the autumn colours. The tour guide we had was marvellous. She was enthusiastic, friendly, fun, knowledgeable, and would help out in any way she could. She made a good trip even better. Global Journeys did a great job booking the tour, including a great price, and gave some great advice and information about flights, extra days, visas etc. We highly recommend them to all of our friends.
Memories for a lifetime with the Trafalgar coach tour. Extremely well organised by Sam from Global Journeys. All aspects from booking, deposit, and final payments were well managed. The itinerary from Trafalgar was like the greatest hits - all of your favourites. The accomodation was top notch and in the centre of town, close to all attractions. The ...read more coach driver and tour guide were great, a good team and really knew their destinations. With 3/4 of the coach being Aussies, you knew you were up for a fun time. Ages from 19 - 70 something, we all got along well. Thoroughly recommend this Grand European tour. Thanks to all.
The tour was fabulous. Our tour director Ozlem was the best and the company was the same. I highly recommend this tour. It was superb.
We were so busy seeing the varied highlights of Croatia with a taste of Slovenia. Our guide was unbelievably good and the insights into Croatia and Slovenia's past were so informative. The historical "Old Towns" were so quaint and so different to home.
This was our first Trafalgar tour and it certainly will not be our last. A great tour director passionate and knowledgeable about his country, a great selection of hotels and activities ,and added tours that were good value and flexable. We thoroughly enjoyed the entire trip and would have no hesitation in touring with Trafalgar again.
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