Satisfied with SOTC Europe Tour in 2007. Review on SOTC, Mumbai

Read with Caution: This is a very old Review from Summer of 2007. The current scene could be very different from 2007.

Our Bookings were via the SOTC Bangalore Office. Me and my friend(Single guys in our twenties then) booked SOTC European Tour(around 10 days) from Italy to UK via Switzerland, Germany and France. Despite some Negatives(listed below); We would rate our overall experience as Positive and satisfactory.

The reason we selected SOTC was

1. Fast-paced Itinerary which we wanted(not suitable for all)

   
   




2. Places covered that suited our interests(Sorry we are not interested in Disneyland)

   
   




3. Price

   
   

Positives -

1. Sightseeing in Italy, Germany, Switzerland and France were as specified in the Brochure and managed very well

   
   




2. The dedicated SOTC Tour Guide's performance was satisfactory - no issues here

   
   




3. Hotels were good, but typically well outside cities. As we were anyway tired after an entire day's sightseeing and needed the Hotels only for sleeping and refreshing; we did not have any issues with this

   
   




4. Indian Dinner was included in the Tour in Indian Restaurants and we found the arrangements and Vegetarian Options satisfactory

   
   




5. Tour Bus was comfortable and satisfactory for the long journeys sitting

   
   




6. Tour Flights were on Al Italia Ex-Mumbai. We are from Bangalore and we booked the BLR-BOM tickets ourselves

   
   

All the Negatives happened during the last day of sightseeing - Rest of the 8 days of sightseeing were great.

Negatives -

1. While the Brochure mentioned that we will be crossing the English Channel from France to UK by Ferry; we ended up crossing it via the Chunnel Train(Tour Bus inside Train). SOTC had not informed us about this change while Booking. I was disappointed about not being able to see the white cliffs of Dover.

   
   




2. Before getting the bus into the Chunnel Train, we had to get through the UK Immigration Control in France. There was an 3+ Hour delay waiting in the Bus in a hot summer day burning valuable SightSeeing Time. This delay was supposedly due to some paperwork issues caused by SOTC. So we lost 4 Hours from London Sightseeing(which was planned for a day only). Many of the Stops in London were changed to view / click photos from Bus.

   
   




3. The Bus Driver was from Italy(starting point of tour) and was struggling to drive in London Traffic(which is crazy when compared to driving in rest of Europe). Ideally a different bus(with Right-Handed Steering) and an UK Driver experienced in navigating London Traffic was needed only for the UK part of the Tour.

   
   

Other points to note(SOTC is NOT responsible for these issues)

1. Co-Tourists: Almost 90% of the Co-Tourists were not timely - Delays every morning in getting ready and finishing Breakfast; Not sticking to Sightseeing Schedule and returning to Tour Bus consistently late. These Co-Tourists did not have the sense that taking more Time in Location 1 will result in less sightseeing Time in Location 2. I was totally disappointed and ashamed of my fellow Indians for not co-operating with the Tour Manager and with each other.

   
   




2. Our London timing was bad. Tour De France was starting from London right on the day we reached London. So many roads were closed leading to terrible traffic in a few clogged Roads. Time wasted in London Traffic resulted in lesser time for Sightseeing in London.