Home > Compare Tour & Adventure Operators > Cosmos vs Trafalgar
Cosmos vs Trafalgar
Compare the travel styles, pricing, destinations and popularity of Cosmos and Trafalgar.The Low Down
A lot of our clients aren't too fussed about their accommodation (as long as it's clean and comfortable) and are more interested in the destination. Over 1,200 past client reviews with an average 4.5 out 5 star rating, is impressive. Why? Great value and interesting itineraries. Part of the Globus Family, there are further great discounts to be had.Accommodation is 3 to 3/12 star, but a lot of our clients are pleasantly surprised at the quality. Hotels are often located out of the city centre, so prepare your trip budget to allow for transfers or taxis if you want to explore the cities on your own. Allow extra funds for some meals and excursions not included in more premium inclusive itineraries. Like our past clients, we feel very comfortable recommending Cosmos.
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
200
No. of Departures
3,680
Avg. Trip Length
13 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$371
Accommodation
3 - 4 Star
Budget
Affordable
Trip Styles Coach Tours
No. of Trips
381
No. of Departures
8,034
Avg. Trip Length
11 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$558
Accommodation
4 Star
Budget
Premium
In Their Own Words We asked the travel companies themselves why you should travel with them
At Cosmos, we like to think of ourselves as experts in ‘thrillology’ – the art of bringing you an experience, time and time again. With over 50 years of ‘wow’ under our belts and no sign of slowing down, we know how to curate value touring holidays that you’ll never forget; creating the experiences you’ve always dreamed of and showing you the ones, you never thought of. Our job is to take care of the planning and logistics, so that all you have to focus on is living your dreams!
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
4.5
Cosmos as usual offered a comprehensive circuit of Germany featuring impressive major cities, historic villages and countryside. Lots of walking was needed which enabled a sound appreciation of the sights. Early rises and punctual departures maximised our sightseeing. Kristina the tour guide was always pleasant and well organised. G our driver was totally ...read more professional. Highlights were Berlin, Dresden and Bavaria -we were in awe of post war re-construction. Thanks to Georgie Walpole for the effective booking arrangements. Highly recommended.
We had a group of 40, with most being Australian, with a few English and Americans. The region is covered in olive groves and vineyards, although we did drive through some pretty farming country on our way back to Naples. There were many lovely old town centres to explore, and I particularly loved seeing the Truli houses in Alberobello. Be prepared ...read more for quite a bit of walking on cobbled streets (often quite steep), in the old towns on this tour. On a couple of occasions we were given time for lunch and to explore on our own after our guided walking tour, but many felt these breaks were too long. Be warned that in Italy there are very few public toilets, and even if an actual tourist attraction has onsite toilets, they often don't work. When you do manage to find a public one, there's often a huge queue and you have to pay (anything from 50c -1.20 Euro). The recommendation from the tour guide was to sit down to eat or have coffee at a cafe, as they always have a free toilet.
Optional tour - "Apulian Delights" Farm Fresh Dinner & Pizzzica Show - I had expected that going to a farm we would be shown around the farm itself, but we were just given a short tour of the farm buildings and a brief history, followed by a dinner made from farm fresh ingredients, with about 3/4 hour of music & local dances - guests were encouraged to join in the dancing. Although I enjoyed the evening, I felt it was a bit pricey for what it was.
Optional tour - Caves of Matera with Altamura - took 2 hours to drive there, but the countryside was pretty on the way there. I enjoyed the walking tour of Matera to see the ancient cave houses, (we even saw a movie being made there), but felt that the walking tour of Altamura was a bit of a let down. I very much enjoyed the day, and felt this tour was worth the money.
The accommodation on the tour was fairly good, except for the location of the Holiday Inn in Naples - it's in the central business district, which isn't in a very pleasant area, with empty and derelict buildings surrounding it, and no food shops anywhere near. If you're a solo traveller I wouldn't recommend walking to the railway station on your own. Naples is very dirty, with garbage and graffiti absolutely everywhere, so except for using Naples as a base for visiting Pompeii, I personally wouldn't recommend spending much time there.
Cosmos no longer pay for portage, so you have to take your own suitcase to and from the bus each day, so I recommend you don't have a big or heavy one. Our coach driver was very good and I felt safe in his hands, as he maneuvered the huge bus through tiny streets and tight corners in the old towns. Our tour guide hasn't being doing it for very long, and to me it showed, (other tour members agreed with me). Unfortunately she wasn't as flexible as she should have been with passengers who requested a bathroom stop, or those who were struggling doing all the walking.
All in all an interesting and enjoyable tour, but not the best Cosmos tour I've been on. Thanks to Tracey for helping me organise the trip. I look forward to booking my next tour through Global Journeys again.
Optional tour - "Apulian Delights" Farm Fresh Dinner & Pizzzica Show - I had expected that going to a farm we would be shown around the farm itself, but we were just given a short tour of the farm buildings and a brief history, followed by a dinner made from farm fresh ingredients, with about 3/4 hour of music & local dances - guests were encouraged to join in the dancing. Although I enjoyed the evening, I felt it was a bit pricey for what it was.
Optional tour - Caves of Matera with Altamura - took 2 hours to drive there, but the countryside was pretty on the way there. I enjoyed the walking tour of Matera to see the ancient cave houses, (we even saw a movie being made there), but felt that the walking tour of Altamura was a bit of a let down. I very much enjoyed the day, and felt this tour was worth the money.
The accommodation on the tour was fairly good, except for the location of the Holiday Inn in Naples - it's in the central business district, which isn't in a very pleasant area, with empty and derelict buildings surrounding it, and no food shops anywhere near. If you're a solo traveller I wouldn't recommend walking to the railway station on your own. Naples is very dirty, with garbage and graffiti absolutely everywhere, so except for using Naples as a base for visiting Pompeii, I personally wouldn't recommend spending much time there.
Cosmos no longer pay for portage, so you have to take your own suitcase to and from the bus each day, so I recommend you don't have a big or heavy one. Our coach driver was very good and I felt safe in his hands, as he maneuvered the huge bus through tiny streets and tight corners in the old towns. Our tour guide hasn't being doing it for very long, and to me it showed, (other tour members agreed with me). Unfortunately she wasn't as flexible as she should have been with passengers who requested a bathroom stop, or those who were struggling doing all the walking.
All in all an interesting and enjoyable tour, but not the best Cosmos tour I've been on. Thanks to Tracey for helping me organise the trip. I look forward to booking my next tour through Global Journeys again.
My husband and I had a great holiday/tour throughout Canada with Cosmos. We call it a tour as you are up early and on the go, not much time for sleep ins. We appreciated the stays of 2 nights, as it gave us a chance to relax and explore. Our tour guide Sharon, was always on hand to answer any questions and give advice when needed. Sharon was very helpful ...read more and full of knowledge. The Rocky Mountaineer Gold Leaf was exceptional - staff are wonderful and the scenery stunning.
There are some places we would of preferred to have had a 2 nights stay, eg Whistler. When you do a bus trip, you get to see a lot of wonderful things but it is only a taste of the beauty of the places you visit. The hotels I thought were quaint and clean and all that we needed to rest at the end of the day. Our only hotel which was not to our satisfaction, was the Sandman City Hotel in Vancouver, old decor with dirty carpets. We would happily book again with Global Journeys, we both had an amazing time.
There are some places we would of preferred to have had a 2 nights stay, eg Whistler. When you do a bus trip, you get to see a lot of wonderful things but it is only a taste of the beauty of the places you visit. The hotels I thought were quaint and clean and all that we needed to rest at the end of the day. Our only hotel which was not to our satisfaction, was the Sandman City Hotel in Vancouver, old decor with dirty carpets. We would happily book again with Global Journeys, we both had an amazing time.
Well organized tour of the Canadian Rockies and Alaskan Cruise. 1 Bruce and Lyndall, VIC, Australia, Aug 2024
This tour was a good balance between group sightseeing and built-in free days to explore on our own. Special mention goes to our bus driver Mike who drove us safely on winding mountain roads and through tight city traffic, and also our tour Leader Ken who kept us entertained and informed throughout or trip. We learnt so much from him about Canada that ...read more we never would have known had we travelled on our own. Our accommodation was clean and comfortable, with some locations actually well exceeding our expectations.
The weather this time of year was mostly sunny with only a couple of rainy days, and the Autumn leaves were just starting to change colour. We were unfortunately not able to visit Jasper as planned due to the recent wildfires, but Cosmos strived to compensate us with another night in Banff and a complimentary lake cruise, which we appreciated.
We enjoyed our Alaskan cruise with Holland America, and we were impressed by how clean the ship was and how smoothly everything seemed to run. Our travel advisor Maisie from Global journeys was easy to communicate with and responded quickly to any questions we had. We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Cosmos and look forward to travelling with them again some time in the future.
The weather this time of year was mostly sunny with only a couple of rainy days, and the Autumn leaves were just starting to change colour. We were unfortunately not able to visit Jasper as planned due to the recent wildfires, but Cosmos strived to compensate us with another night in Banff and a complimentary lake cruise, which we appreciated.
We enjoyed our Alaskan cruise with Holland America, and we were impressed by how clean the ship was and how smoothly everything seemed to run. Our travel advisor Maisie from Global journeys was easy to communicate with and responded quickly to any questions we had. We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Cosmos and look forward to travelling with them again some time in the future.
We were very happy with the service provided while on our Canadian Masterpiece Tour. Everything was as described in the itinerary. Our tour director and bus driver went above and beyond their duties to ensure we saw everything and to ensure our satisfaction. The service on the Rocky Mountaineer was also exceptional. We would organsie our travel with ...read more Global Journeys again.
I feel the Vancouver section of the tour should have been completed before the cruise and included Whistler or Capilano as this was a highlight - we did this ourselves, I also feel like we were dumped before the cruise and tour should have included sights of Vancouver. The accommodation in all places was excellent , the train journey to Edmonton was ...read more excellent and the food on the train was amazing. I felt parts of the tour overall were a little rushed. When we arrived in Vancouver we had a day before the cruise and 2 days after, I feel we should have had all the days before the cruise and there were places to see that should have been included like Capilano or Whistler. Overall it was a wonderful holiday.
4.5
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.
I would definitely travel with Trafalgar again, well organised and interesting tour taking in all the Italian highlights. Had a great tour director (Sasha) who was accomodating and knowledgeable.
Our trip The best of Germany and Austria was amazing. We travelled at a lovely pace with time for showers and change of clothes before dinner. Plenty of options to choose from. Absolutely loved the shows combined with the dinners, they are always an ice breaker, getting to know your group. This trip will not disappoint. Our travel director Erik was ...read more wonderful always available for anyone that had a query or a problem they needed help with. As always only the best of coach drivers.
The trip right from booking via Hannah to the tour guides was simply superb. Would highly recommend both Global and Trafalgar to anyone. We are already thinking about next European trip.
The itinerary was relaxing. I had good amount of time to walk around and enjoy my lunch leisurely. Appreciate a leisure travel with only 3-5 hours driving on the road everyday, and yet I got to see many scenic places. Hotels were good to average, nice to stay for 2 nights at all places, except the first night in Dublin. Provided meals were ok, Be my ...read more Guest meal was pretty good and felt homely. Tour Director and driver were experienced and awesome!
Popular Trips
19 Days Vancouver to Vancouver
Operator: Cosmos
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