My wife and I went on this Topdeck tour for our honeymoon, and could not have been more pleased with how the tour went - it was fantastic.
Our trip leader Helio and bus driver Atilla deserve a special mention as two of the key reasons the tour was so great.
Helio was extremely friendly, outgoing and positive, and created the perfect tour vibe for the group. His in-depth knowledge of every stop on the tour was very useful in helping us learn more about each stop and finding good sights, restaurants and activities. He was very safety conscious and made sure that all guests kept safe and were always accounted for. Though we encountered very little issues at all on the tour, Helio was always diligent about checking in with restaurants, hotels and other suppliers with any concerns and ensuring all guests were well looked after. All in all, the tremendous success of the tour is almost entirely down to Helio and his fantastic work over the 2 weeks.
Atilla was extremely professional, friendly and brought a great vibe to our bus trips. He was always on-time, helpful in managing luggage on and off the bus, and drove the bus punctually and safely always.
Helio and Atilla together arranged several surprise stops for the tour group on long drive days, all of which were very welcome and were thoroughly enjoyed by all – helped make the tour that little bit more special. If we were to tour again, we would request Helio and Atilla!
In terms of the tour itself, each stop was meaningful and included great things to do. Though the weather was not fantastic for some days on the tour, there were always things to see and do – aided by Helio’s advice, especially in the rain. The add-on Topdeck experiences were great, with plenty of choice across the tour on extra things to do. There were a few one-night stops on this tour (ie. arrive at a city in the afternoon/early evening, and then depart the next morning). For these few stops, it would have been better to arrive at each city slightly earlier in the day (ie. midday or earlier afternoon), to be able to get some daylight hours in each stop (with the sun setting so early in winter). There were a few stops where we didn’t really get to see the city during the day at all. This was not to the fault of the trip leader or driver – in fact they did their best to get us into each city as early as possible to maximise our time as outlined by the tour. All that being said – being a short tour hitting a lot of places, we were aware that there would be these quick stops, and we were still able to make the most of our time in those places.
Other Topdeck inclusions across the tour were generally good. The walking/orientation tours were great to get familiar with the cities. The several included dinners were hit and miss, some were good, and some were average-poor and not the best choices of restaurant. It seemed some of the chosen restaurants were not keen to cater for our group size, dietary requirements etc. Though none of this affected my wife or I, some other guests with dietary requirements were not given a comparable meal to other guests. Helio was very good in attempting to resolve these issues at each restaurant when encountered, as they were not of his doing at all. It may be worth looking for restaurants better suited for large groups and able to cater for all dietary requirements.
The hotels we stayed in were overall quite good – generally spacious and comfortable enough, most being in an ideal location close to public transport/walking distance to activities/sights. Breakfast was provided in all hotels which was very handy, with most buffets being quite good. Some positive mentions – the hotel used in Switzerland was great with plenty of space in the room and a fantastic breakfast. The hotel used in Salzburg was the best of the tour, a very nice room and bathroom and general facilities – it was a shame we were only in Salzburg for one night to enjoy the nice room. The hotel in Amsterdam was also quite nice with a good quality room (though a few other guests reported problems with their rooms, we had no issue) with a nice breakfast and bar available. A few small mentions following to possibly improve for future departures. The hotel used in Venice was let down by a poor breakfast buffet (most “hot” food was cold and generally poor options compared to the rest of the tour) and the room being the poorest quality compared to the rest of the tour (poor bed, aircon not working well) – though just comfortable enough to get by. The hotel used in Rome, while a nice hotel and room, was in a poor location and a ~30 minute walk to the nearest metro stop (there was a bus stop close by that we did not use). The walk in the evenings from the metro stop back to the hotel did feel slightly unsafe at times, as it felt like you were walking through a more run-down part of town – possibly made to feel worse than it was due to the long walk. Overall, the hotel experience across the tour was positive, with the few slightly-negative experiences not really affecting the overall experience.
All in all, this tour was fantastic and an experience we will never forget. None of the very minor issues noted have affected our overall takeaway experience from the trip. Helio and Atilla again deserve a special mention in contributing immensely to the great success of the trip. We will definitely tour with Topdeck again.
