This trip gave me a true overview of all the wonders of Norway. The tours of the major cities, Oslo and Bergen, gave me a sense of "urban" life in a country where I believe about 90% of the country is uninhabited! The railway rides, long but necessary to see different parts of the country, were comfortable and provided gorgeous views of the mountains. The Flam Railway provided spectacular scenery, but was certainly the most tourist-crowded part of the trip. Our guides, Ana and Arthur provided a fantastic combination of local knowledge (Ana) and vast historical knowledge (Arthur). The glacier guides were equally fabulous, both knowledgeable and with great concern for our comfort and safety. The hotel at Nes Gard was quaint and at a gorgeous location, and the dinners were superb. The one negative of the trip is that the hiking was much more arduous than it was described in the trip description on line. While the glacier hike was "invigorating," it was, in fact, quite strenuous hiking up hill over slippery, smooth rock faces, crossing streams and climbing over boulders. The "stroll along the footpaths" in the sheep pasture was a rather steep uphill jaunt, first along a country road, but then through marshy pastures, through brush and rocky sheep trails, with numerous steep crossings of streams. Fortunately our diverse group was able to make most of the walks, with shorter distances for some and more strenuous excursions for others. But those interested in this trip should be aware of how strenuous some of the hiking may be. I'd suggest that Classic Journeys rank the hiking (i.e., easy, moderate, challenging, etc.) so potential travelers can make a judgement as to whether it is right for them. However the trip was truly one of the most enjoyable of the six Classic Journeys we have done. We had a great time.

Our CJ guides were excellent and helped make the tour memorable and enjoyable. The choice of trails was excellent and gave us a wonderful glimpse of all the different areas of Glacier National Park. I would highly recommend it.

Your guide was well trained and very knowledgeable, couldn't have been more helpful and reliable. She made the trip a great experience.

A family trip to Puglia led by Ulisse. We learned a lot, ate very well slept in outstanding hotels and experienced things that many on their own would have missed.

Classic Journeys is always first-rate. Our guides were friendly, knowledgeable and on top of everything, the accommodations were great, and we always feel well taken care of.

The guides were great. Lots of variety of experiences. Easy and more difficult walks were offered each time possible. They were filled with patience for each day.
Well done. Nancy

Ulisse was a great guide with lots of knowledge of the area. Loved all the hikes and high quality hotels with. The trip was well planned and seamless- really fun small group- perfect size- 10 of us. The food and wine was delightful and pizza making super fun in a beautiful setting

The tour guides; Ulysses and Sergio were incredible. The way the tour was laid out was exceptional -- we saw alot of the island we would not have seen without doing this tour. The variety the tour offered was engaging, unique, and offered a little for everyone.

Great trip accommodations food and especially the other travelers and guides-something for everyone

Outstanding tour guide, interesting itinerary and excellent/comfortable hotels. Well administered as well.

I believe that the guide makes the trip and Alex is a great guide! He loves his job and is eager to share his love of and knowledge about Italy. We had a variety of experiences from walking, to wine tasting, to touring two unique islands.

Great trip. One week was good amount of time to do everything. Great food great tour guide. Thanks

Our tour of Provence was planned well and met expectations from website. The guides were knowledgable and friendly. The driver was safe and pleasant, Hotels and restaurants were all good. Special tours (winery, olive oil press, chef, truffle farm, Van Gogh hospital) were excellent.

Our two guides were wonderful. The places we stayed were first rate, especially the lovely chateau for two nights. We had some out-of-the ordinary experiences, such as a visit to a truffle farm.

This is my third CJ tour. The tour guides are consistently supportive and informative. The hotels are first rate and dinners are also in very good restaurants. The walks are sometimes a bit challenging but never exhausting for this septuagenarian. Destinations are worth the effort.

I have used Classic Journeys Walking Tours 5 times for European tours and have never been disappointed. These tours provide amazing unique experiences. The food is delicious and meals very generous. Wine supplied with these meals is of a very high quality. Accommodation is excellent. The tour guides are very knowledgeable and friendly. I enjoyed the walking component very much. I was a solo traveller and enjoyed immensely the companionship of my fellow travellers

Our two guides.....Norma and Margaret were both excellent......energetic, knowledgeable, upbeat.

The three hotels were all lovely.....modern conveniences with old charm.

I expected more walking, but the walks we did have were all enjoyable.

Oh, our driver, Tony, was a real plus.

The “Scotland walking” trip was represented to me as an active trip and it wasn’t. I was concerned about how active it would be and was told this by my Classic Journeys representative:

“We are a cultural walking tour operator, so guests join our trips knowing there are active experiences. Our travelers expect to walk at least 3-4 hours a day, with opportunities to walk more before or after the day’s activities if desired, or less if they would like.
For this departure, we currently have 15 guests reserved, with ages primarily in their 50s, 60s, and 70s, plus one guest in their 20s. Once we reach 11 guests, we bring on an additional guide and vehicle (a Mercedes Sprinter-type vehicle) to maintain a small guest-to-guide ratio.
In terms of pacing, we offer a flexible approach—some guests choose to participate in all the walks, others may opt for a partial walk, and a support vehicle is always nearby if needed. With multiple guides, we can naturally accommodate different walking speeds, so faster walkers won’t feel held back.
Feel free to let me know how this sounds or if I can answer any other questions!
Kindly,
Vanessa”

This was a total misrepresentation. There was one big bus, not any smaller vehicles and that limited the flexibility of the group. We never walked 3-4 hours a day. The longest day was about 2 hours of walking . We spent a lot of time on the bus. Although the company has done this trip many times our locally hired guides (not Classic Journeys regular employees) did not know how to lead a group. They once told us luggage was to be out at 8:15 and we were to be on the bus at 8:30. They didn’t know that luggage for 17 people would take over 45 minutes to get out and loaded. They also never held an “introductory moment” with the guests. Never any snacks for the group. The list goes on and on. We were told at one point that the faster group had a 6 mile hike and needed to be done in 2 hours and 15 minutes to board the bus. We were happy to go fast to complete this but it was less than 4 miles that we completed way earlier than the slow groups hike was completed so there we were waiting around.
The hotels were also sub par, especially for the cost of this trip.
I often do active vacations with tour groups: Ciclismo, Butterfield and Robinson and Backroads which I recommend. Classic Journeys was pricey so I expected a certain level of quality which was not achieved. I wouldn’t go on another trip with them for free! My vacation time is too valuable and I don’t want a “sit on a bus” tour!
I suggest anyone wanting an active trip to go to with another company.
Shelly

Our tour guide Marinella was wonderful, taking care of the many details needed to have our trip flow smoothly! We visited unique places such as a monastery and backyard of another tour guide for a fabulous lunch. Cheese maker and phyllo dough maker, wonderful dinners, great scenery, interesting historical sites!

A 5 star family outdoor adventure from start to finish! Even the power outage on North Rim Lodge was a great time. Words cannot describe the natural beauty we experienced and even photos can not capture it. It just becomes part of each of us. Here’s to Classic Journeys and especially Monique for creating this opportunity for our family.