Greece: In the Footsteps of Paul the Apostle Starting From $3,759 pp* Featuring a 3-night Greek Islands & Turkey cruise

Always receive a quick response!

This was a great tour and we saw a lot. This was a very fast paced tour with really no down time to shop or just take a breath and enjoy the sights. Pretty much all 44 of us on this trip thought it was too fast.

The whole trip went well and we loved Greek trip guide who stayed with us the whole time. He made it all enjoyable.

We enjoyed the trip and had a lot of fun and saw a part of the world that goes back to ancient times

Collette is so fun to work with. Their customer service is outstanding.

Discover Greece was an amazing tour. Our tour manager, Savvas Papasavvas, was outstanding! I really got a sense of the culture. Traveling in the footsteps of St. Paul made the New Testament come alive for me.

i cant believe your response didn't even include an "we're sorry" you didn't enjoy your experience with Collette in your response

very poor accommodations. quality of meals poor. Site visitation time vs travel time very poor--spent much more time on tour bus than actually touring sites

Booked travel to arrive before the start date. Planned our pre tour hotel to be in close proximity to the tour hotel. A few weeks before the tour started we were told that the hotel has changed and the new hotel is 45 mins away from the original hotel. Asked Collette to assist us in getting from our hotel to the new hotel. They simply said they would not, since we did not book the pretrip through them. We later received an offer to transfer us with the main group from the airport to the new hotel for $50.00 a person, but we would need to get to the airport first. (We would have to drive pass the new hotel to get to the airport). We found our own way to get to the new hotel. The "You are on your own" attitude really made us feel like our patronage is not valued.

The tour could of been completed with in a few days. The cruise portion was less than desirable as the ship seems outdated. As with most Collette tours, you are rushed from location to location. If you want to be relaxed this is not the tour for you. The hotel accommodations are misleading as Collette tends to get a vast discount on the rooms which puts you in the most undesirable rooms in hotels, by elevators, no view, smaller than normal rooms, etc. The best part and probably the best part of all Collette tours are the guides. They are enjoyable to be with and make undesirable accommodations, cranky cotravelers, and mediocre food selection a distance memory. On this trip Savvas Papasavvas was awesome, he always had a smile and kept the groups spirit's high.

Everything & everyone I dealt with were very professional & pleasant, except for Lucy, the tour manager. I left a review with her in a sealed envelope. Hopefully it was received by the company. She was very abrasive towards me, my kids, & others on the tour. It made the tour very stressful at times. It will probably take me a couple of years to pay off this trip, but I was trying to make a really great memory for our family. My husband & kids' father passed away 2 1/2 years ago & we've had to move 3 times in 2 years. Only 1 year before my husband died, my youngest son was very sick & almost died. We've been through alot! And I really wanted a trip that was joyful, relaxing, inspiring, & educational for me & my kids. Lucy was like a tyrant with her schedule. The 1st morning I had to use the restroom, when it was time to get on the bus. So I was 5 minutes late. She loudly reprimanded me in front of the group & then brought it up again a few more times throughout the day. She sternly stated that if I or anyone else was late again, she would leave us & snapped, "I'm not joking!" At one of the stops, my son had to use the restroom, while the tour was still happening. The group was ready to move to the next stop, but he wasn't back. Lucy refused to let me wait for him & said that she would wait. Me & my other son reluctantly continued with the group to the next stop. He had tried to find the group after the restroom & had gotten lost. When we found him over an hour later, he was visibly shaken & fighting back tears. Lucy walked up to him & said, "I'm not even gonna say to you what I want to right now cuz it wouldn't be nice! Now get on the bus! NOW!" My other son, who is autistic, was shaken up too about his brother being lost & left. On the next tour, I told them it was time to head back to the bus, after some brief free time, he began to run because he was scared of getting left like his brother. I screamed for him to stop, but he was in a panic & almost ran right out in front of a car. So you can imagine my anxiety level was through the roof! I felt so stressed & frustrated that I was going to be paying on this experience for a couple of years & it was bringing more stress into our lives instead of less. My autsitic son also misplaced his Vox & Lucy kept insisting he better find it. We searched & searched to no avail. I finally pulled Lucy aside, after days of this going on & on, & told her to stop harrassing him about it. That I would just pay for it. Before we got on the bus to head back to the airport, I tried to give her cash for it & she insisted I had to give her my CC#. I felt very uncomfortable with that, but I did. I hope she can be trusted with that. Other people in the group pulled me & my kids aside, asking if we were ok, as they were also disturbed by her treatment of us. Also there was another lady on the tour that she kept reprimanding over asking "too many questions". Everytime she had a question, Lucy would roll her eyes & say, "How did I know that YOU would have a question?". At the end of the tour, she "congratulated" us for being a group that "wasn't too hard to deal with" & said that she was relieved that nobody on this tour had oxygen tanks (as if that's something someone would actually CHOOSE for themselves!

The tour was planned out pretty well, as far as the sited we visited. I was amazed at some of the beautiful places we were able to tour. But there was one night where we were expected to pay for our own food & were taken to a restaurant that was a little pricier than I would've chosen as a single mom paying for myself & 2 sons. We were also only given a choice between 2 dishes. This seemed out of line for us being responsible to pay for it ourselves. Also I was told that there would be gluten free options for my son. But this proved to be not the case at most places. The worst experience was on the airplane. The only thing they had available in the 14 hours of flying was a small bowl of fruit, small amount of chicken, & a small salad. They also only provided 2 small cups of water to drink. He ended up fainting, which scared all of us. Luckily he was ok the next day. But a stewardess actually came to me & said that we could've told them ahead of time about his gluten intolerance & they would've made sure he had plenty. Well, I thought they were informed by you, my tour company that I had informed about it. So not happy about that! Throughout the tour, every restaurant server we encountered were completely oblivious to his need to be gluten free. The only places he could really eat well were the breakfast buffets at the hotels. We made due & he didn't starve, but for the amount of money paid, being able to have decent meals shouldn't have been a challenge. That was a completely unnecessary stressor. I would like to complement you on the site tour guides chosen, especially the one for Ephesus. They were very informative, patient, & kind. The cruise was a bit of a disappointment. The desserts were delicious, but the buffet meal food offerings weren't so much. Some of it was good. But the majority was very bland. It was also not open throughout the day. I've never experienced that on a cruise before. Also it was cold & the buffet was only available to eat in outdoor dining area. That was not pleasant. The cruise shows at night were excellent, as also were the live musicians playing throughout the day! I really enjoyed the entertainment part of it.

Very responsive to traveler needs.

We loved the sites selected and the hotels that we stayed in.

I filled out the for given us at the end of the tour. I thought all was done well. I really liked the eating places chosen. They felt like you were among the locals rather than a tour group place. Our guide Lambros was very nice, helpful, informative etc. The on location guides were good too. In spite of all the rain we had a very good trip.

The whole trip went well and was interesting. Our guides did a good job. Our accommodations were nice. They were not excessive. I like that. I do not like to pay and arm and a leg for a place to sleep. If it is clean and comfortable, that is enough.

Good dinner choices!

Felt rushed in a few places....but we saw a great deal!

I enjoyed the trip somewhat, but we thought it was only our church on the trip together. Since there were others included on the tour not from our church, our pastor did not have the time or opportunity to teach as we thought he would be able to teach.

We got on the bus in Greece and reazlied there were at least 10 people included on our tour not from our church. This kept our pastor from being able to teach to the depth we were hoping.

All transportation arrangements to and from airports was excellent, friendly drivers and very efficient.

We didn't get enough free time to shop or just relax. We were going the entire time--completely exhausting.

Our tour guide was exceptional, however, there was very little free time. Too early for excursions.

Most memorable experience was on the first night at the Greek restaurant...festive, inviting. exciting.

Wonderful trip! Would have liked just a little bit more free time. Schedule a bit hectic.

The day we toured the Acropolis!

Locally our tour guides and guide for the trip in Greece and Rome were excellent. Our bus drivers did an amazing job. Because fellow travelers both going to Greece and returning home from Greece had difficulties with connecting flights due to errors on Collette’s part I would not recommend travel for friends. Their trouble with flights make me fearful to ever use Collette again.

Trip was good and I enjoyed the sights.

They provided redundant, inaccurate, and irrelevant information from their representative and in their trip booklet.

The buses were not maintained. For example trash found, pieces of cup holders missing, no internet capability. I felt the tour guide at times focused on his personal life too much. Also since this was a biblical tour I felt his scope of knowledge was only Greek Orthodox, rather than the broader scope of Christianity.

The organization in Greece was not great. Cruise ship delivered us to port of interest in the late afternoon (around 5:00 p.m.) By the time all who had reserved the sightseeing (like Santorini), disembarked, and got to the site, it was getting cooler and darker. Difficult to see much and very little time to enjoy it. The first stop, day before, was Mykilos, which again was to have been around 4:30 - 5:00 p.m., but bad weather caused a cancellation. Finally, a number of the tourists were not able to see or travel to many of the sites because of difficulty in walking, climbing and stamina for such a rigorous trip. Should have been coded a 4 as difficult. Two of the hotels also had very uncomfortable beds. Countryside of Greece was beautiful (from bus), but most of Greece was covered in grafitee. One day in Turkey (Ephesus) was a longer day, great site and much cleaner area (Turkey). This was a very expensive trip with long hours on the bus. Truthfully, I would not recommend it. I have taken several other Collette tours and have really enjoyed them.

See prior notes on Greece, particularly cruise portion, which could have been much better - poor planning of visits to islands. Most cruise ships sail at night and give you the full day to tour. We spent most of the day on the ship and only had a few hours to tour - when weather permitted. Hotels and ship were clean and most were comfortable (beds). Food was good but not exceptional, esp. ship. Beautiful countryside, Ephusus was very interesting and cleaner than Greece (Athens in particular).

Crystal cruise line was a disappointment. Ship large meeting room was too small to accommodate number of guests waiting to be called for disembarkment and/or tender pickup. Also food on ship was very unsatisfactory. We always felt rushed, but had to wait.....whether on ship or bus. Stops were interesting, but so full of people wanting to sell us something. Perhaps that’s just Greece, but I do recall Italy being similar. Our guide - Kerri, was wonderful along with some of the local guides. Bus driver, Yanis was excellent. Perhaps it was time of year, or just poor planning. I always felt rushed & didn’t really “feel” the ambiance in each stop as I had expected from my Italy tour in 2018.

Crystal cruise line was a disappointment. Food was terrible.

informative, professional

Our tour mgr, Kerrie, was fantastic. But there was too much included in our 11 days. I am physical and mentally fine with a fast pace but it is just not the way I want to spend a vacation. Early mornings and late nights were necessary to get everything in. I would have rather seen less and not have been so rushed. Only 2 hours at Ephesus was such a disappointment. I was terribly disappointed with the Greek cruise ship. It is very old.

COURTESY AND RESPONSIVE

LOVED THE PEOPLE I WAS WITH AND TOUR WAS WELL PREPARED.

I did not care for our guide. She really did not prepare/explain the agenda and /or sights we were going to see each day. I know she was not feeling well and maybe she should have requested someone else take her position.

Going to Ephesus!!!! Actually never should have gone to Santorini. We had very rough seas getting on the tender and as a result were very late leaving the ship. It was after 7:00 PM when we arrived on Santorini and then we left at 8:30 PM. It was dark and and a total waste of time. Money for this extra trip should be refunded.

Very service minded. Nice quality travel company. But, 3 of the 4 Greek islands were scheduled after dark. It was more historical sight seeing, sadly very little opportunity for prayer or reflection on the great writings of St. Paul.

Good accommodations from home pick up to all transfers. 3 of the 4 Greek islands were scheduled after sunset. There were more “Footsteps” of sightseeing than St. Paul reflection. Overall a good experience mostly because of the tour manager Papasavvas.

We really enjoyed this trip, although it was more strenuous than expected. Accommodations were great, food was outstanding on land portion of trip. Our guide was fabulous.

Tour was fabulous, and helped to understand the trials of St Paul. A bit disappointed in the food onboard ship. Good, but not up to quality of other cruises.

Trip to Greece was great. I learned so much and am sharing it with my 6grade World History class. Following in the footsteps of St. Paul added so much to the tour. The thing that was really a horrible event was our last dinner which happened to be at our hotel. We had "leftovers" from the group before us. Food was cold. It was not a nice thank you dinner. I have traveled several Trafalgar tours and our farewell dinners are usually out at a nice restaurant. Gifts are presented to repeat travelers or to each person. You really need to improve here!

Super tour. Guide, super tour. Terrible last dinner which I. Already. Wrote about. One.more thing. How come we don't get a souvenir group photo. Put it in a cardboard folder with Colette ads over it. I think your tours have so much in them. I love how much we do and see and how great the local guides are. Looking forward to Oberammergau next spring.

A lot. I thought the hotels were poor and the idea of a different "leader" at every stop was ridicules. The cruise was so-so, old boat.

It was like a race to cover as much ground as possible.

Very efficient. Tour guides all knowledgeable and experienced. Pacing and activities suited to our age group. The best of all tours I have ever taken and I travel a lot.

I was very pleased with the logistics arrangement, the professionalism, caring and knowledge of the tour director, the places we visited and the local tour guides .

My Wife and I had a very enjoyable trip to Greece. Or Tour Guide as outstanding and all guides at locations were also wonderful. All locations were very exciting with great hotels and meals. Only item to note in future is to make sure we have adequate time to catch next flight. Catching flight in Amsterdam to come home was very close; but, we did make the connection

I enjoyed Cruise to Creta to meet owner of vineyard; Kavala; Philippi; and Meteora.

We covered alot in a very short time. I wish I had the money to travel all of the time! Our tour director took very good care of us. She also made sure I got the diet I needed even though that was not really her job!

The Greek Isles are beautiful. I especially loved Patmos. Our guide was a true believer who share many wonderful details with us.

Great trip, well organized, no travel interruptions, good tour guides, and great trip manager.

Evening meal first night in Athens

The destinations were great and the tours were good. However, the booked flights didn’t make sense and the hotels were not too good.

The destinations were great. Best was Patmos.

Well organized tour and excellent tour manager who was very knowledgeable and competent. She had to deal with sickness, an accident and a hospital visit. The sites we visited were awesome and we saw so much in a few days.

Ephesus was the highlight for me and I wish we could have spent more time there and at Kusadasi.

Hi..Overall the accommodations, food, and tour guides were great. The only hotel I felt was substandard was the Hotel Famissi...the hallway rug was old and stained and my bed was not level. The only other drawback for me was that the tour was too fast paced. More time would have been better on Santorini and in Ephesus...the side trip to the Turksh rug demo was interesting but too long for those of us who had no interest in buying rugs. Personally, I will not repeat such a fast paced tour. Joanne

See the previous statement under Collette experience.

I enjoyed every tour, however scheduling tours after 5 pm was not a good idea. Many areas were not well lit, and it was difficult to walk in the dark when your tour guide walked quickly, and did not always count clients before moving. More than once he let people behind, and had to take time to find them.

I enjoyed dinner, and entertainment in the Plaka, in Athens.

The Collette team on the ground in Greece was wonderful. I went through an agent so I had no direct experience with Collette other than their in country manager in Greece. She was wonderful

The site seeing locations were wonderful. The hotels and cruise boat were okay I would not choose them again

Had an amazing tour with Collette.Collette employees were very helpful and knowledgeable especially the tour guides, tour director and bus drivers. Loved the transfers from our home and airport. Would certainly recommend Collette to other travellers and hope to book another tour with them again.

Tour was awesome - loved the cruise to the Greek islands plus the land tour in Athens - very interesting

Lucy did a wonderful job of taking care of all of us. It was very educational as well as beautiful.

There was a wide variety of experiences.

Organized, provided excellent level of service with guides knowledge, accomadations, food and transportation .

Tour stops very great. The amount of ground covered and the knowledge we obtain about each site could not have been reached on our own. The absolute best was seeing the tall natural stone monoliths at Meteora with the monastery’s built in top.

Collette picked me up at my home. That was so wonderful to not have to drive myself to the airport and leave my car there. Collette had many extras in terms of sight seeing that added to the trip. We had a thorough outline of Paul's journey, but it was nice to see the sights along the way like the monasteries, and Olympic games and marathon sights, etc. The individual guides at each stop were very informative. I enjoyed it all.

Great .