Colorado Rockies

based on the itinerary we did not stop at Estes Park or Boulder, we were only at Garden of the Gods for apx 20 minutes. There was no entrance fee to Mesa Verde NP due to govt shutdown, but we never got a refund of that $. Tour Manager said the itinerary was an 'older version'. Tour Manager had bus stop twice at a grocery store for comfort stop as well as 'get something for dinner and take it to your room and put it in your microwave'. Really? Tour Manager had no back up plan when he didn't have the bus driver go to the stops and we had extra time left over....we just went back to our hotel! The Tour Manager did not deserve a $90/pp tip from a bus of 40+ people and it was to be in cash so he didn't have to pay taxes on it. Who gets $3,600 + in cash for 8 days of work??? He was polite but you would never had known he was a seasoned Tour Manager of 28+ years. I feel everyone needs some type of compensation/credit for another Collette tour. I'm a seasoned traveler and my head just shook from side to side with things that occurred.

The trip was well planned. The tour guide was not well prepared for hiccups along the way. Barry had no secondary options planned for miscues in the itinerary. He took us to grocery stores to use the restrooms. My favorite part was the farm to table dinner after the train ride. The story that preceded our meal was great! The timing of the trip was perfect for viewing the fall colors of the Aspen and Birch trees.

Eating at the farm family restaurant!

Went to the top of Pikes Peak. Pretty and nice weather.

We spent way too much time on the bus; there was a lot of back tracking on this bus tour. This was our first bus tour and we won't take one again. The tour manager did not add much value; he was not local to the area and seemed to be just looking stuff up on the internet (we could have done that ourselves). We were expecting a lot more local culture experience than was provided.

Bikes, peak was my favorite high

Wonderful trip to National parks and monuments in Colorado. Collette does an exceptional job in planning, organizing and educating with this tour and others.

Heather Larson is the best tour manager I’ve ever had. She’s a wealth of information involving dates, names entertwined with history of the area all in story form committed to memory, making it easy to follow and interesting. I would suggest smaller meals at the end of the day, way too much food!

Heather Larsen ( tour guide ) and Glen ( driver) were the best most informative people.