Eastern Europe with Grand Circle Travel

My wife and I took a group of 15 friends on a tour of Eastern Europe, Oct. 21-Nov. 8, ’03. We planned “extended stays” so that we could spend some quality time in the cities we wanted to visit; we also do not like to repack every day. We stayed in Warsaw, POLAND, for three nights; Kraków for four nights, and Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC, and Budapest, HUNGARY, for five nights each.

We chose Grand Circle Travel (347 Congress St., Boston, MA 02210; phone 800/221-2610) because it best fit our needs. Grand Circle did a wonderful job, provided a great tour director and picked top-quality hotels with fantastic locations. They included a “dine around” program, and we expected the restaurants to be second-rate but were pleasantly surprised at their choices — excellent menus at restaurants with great ambiance.

Grand Circle did a phenomenal job of bringing our group into contact with the local population. All in our group were delighted at the extent and quality of the contacts. They arranged home visits with meals and also had at least one lecture in each city, the lectures given by real experts: college professors, economists or Americans living abroad.

The optional side trips were well planned and reasonably priced. Almost everyone raved about the “Danube Bend” tour and also the visit to the Wielicza Salt Mine in Poland. Of course, most of the tours were included as part of the base price of the trip ($1,995 from the East Coast, including air, for the 19-day package). The included excursions to Auschwitz and Czestochowa were especially appreciated.

All in all, it was an excellent trip. The weakest parts were the “welcome” and “farewell” meals, both served at hotels and bordering on the bland. Maybe it was a case of my Arizona taste buds demanding more excitement.

Grand Circle far surpassed almost every expectation of everyone in our group, which is extremely important to the “group leader.” The last thing we wanted was a lot of complaints from group members. We had none. Everyone expressed a willingness to travel with Grand Circle again, and so we will.

I will be happy to answer questions about our Eastern Europe trip and our experience with Grand Circle. My e-mail address is nhelber@cox.net.

NORMAN HELBER
Scottsdale, AZ