Go West Tours--Great Ocean Road trip?
Has anyone who has taken the Great Ocean Road trip gone with Go West tours? If so, would you recommend this company? I want to go with a small group and it seems that Gray Line tours only has groups of 48 people. Go West tours has groups of no more than half that size. Just wondered if anyone can recommend Go West for this trip.
Thanks.
Ruby and Edd
Thanks.
Ruby and Edd
0
Comments
Not sure if you saw my recent posting about using "Viator" for the Great Ocean Road tour. I looked on the Go West website and the description of their tour looks identical to what Viator lists for their "Great Ocean Road Small Group Eco Tour from Melbourne". And the Viator rate was cheaper.
It is possible that "Viator" uses Go West for this tour, but I am not sure.
When are you going to Australia? We are on the tour that begins Feb. 9th.
If you travel before we do, I would like to hear about your Great Ocean Road Tour experience.
Sue
We are on the Nov. 3 tour so time is fast approaching for us to leave. Needless to say, I'm quite excited! I have communicated with the concierge at the Langham in Melbourne. He recommended Gray Line for both the Philip Island and the Great Ocean Road tours. When I asked about Go West, he recommended Gray Line. He also indicated that if I wanted to go with a small group tour, I should check out Bunyip tours. He said that the Gray Line tour buses are much more comfortable for such a long drive...the small group tours do allow you to see a little more, but you still see all the main points with Gray Line, he said. Gray Line's tour are on 48 passenger buses. If you go with Bunyip or a smaller group, the concierge will arrange it but you will need to charge it on your credit card to secure the booking. Check out Bunyip tours, Go West, and Gray Line and let me know what you think.
Has anyone gone with Viator on these trips?
Hi Sue, We took the Spotlight on Australia last April. We booked our trip to Philip Island with Gray Line tours through the concierge at the Langham. Although we used a credit card to secure the reservation our card was not charged until we checked out of the hotel. (They told us there would be a 24 hr cancellation fee but we did not have worry about that). We had arrived in Melbourne at 11 PM after a 30 hour total travel time from SF. We slept in the next morning spent the late morning and afternoon just walking about the city and were ready for our 1/2 day tour to PHiip Island. We opted for the VIP tour, which is definitely more expensive that the general tour. The bus that takes you to the site is large, comfortable and fully equipped. The bus ride accommodated others who were going to Philip Island, but not necessarily on the VIP tour.
Since our weather in April could have been cold at the beach, we appreciated the fact that our viewing station was inside (10 people only) and had a perfect view of the penguins. The general tour sit on bleachers in a open stadium. The viewing station also provided binoculars. In our minds it was definitely worth the extra money. A nice perk of the VIP tour is the pre-parade ranger talk and hot coffee/cocoa, coldcuts snacks that are provided in the ranger office. Because we were inside for the viewing, we did not need blankets.
ON the way to Philip Island, we stopped at a demonstration farm for lunch (at our expense) and a sheep shearing demo. WE also stopped at a Koala Preserve to see Koalas up close, but not to touch. On the way back to the Langham after the Penguin Parade it was dark and quiet so we were able to sleep. We did not feel the need for dinner then, but we did take advantage of the Gelato place in the shopping center near the Langham. Some of the other people on our Tauck tour took the Gray Line to the Great Ocean Road and they were very satisfied.
Since you have already made the decision to tour with Tauck, you know that you usually get what you pay for.
Have a great time on your trp. Sherry