Land of the Gods (With Dead Sea Extension, 14 Days)

Customer Reviews

• D

  dan

  · November 9th, 2022
  I consider myself seasoned traveler, with visits to 75 countries so far. I travelled with all major travel companies either by car, bus, or boat/ship on river/ocean cruises. I travelled with Trafalgar many times in the past. I do a lot of research before deciding which travel company I shall spend my money with. Itinerary is THE most important point in my decision making. Many travel companies promise heaven and deliver hell! Here is my experience with Trafalgar promises and advertisements: Let’s start with pre-departure info and requirements. Israel entry form, Jordan declaration form, Canada ArriveCAN and Mandatory health insurance WERE NOT REQUIRED NOR NEEDED! After we met Trafalgar car/shuttle driver in Tel Aviv, he took off, started walking faaast... and we schlepped our luggage behind him…. even in Africa or India, drivers ALWAYS HELPED WITH LUGGAGE! Not this one!! Welcome to Tel Aviv and meet your Travel Director welcome reception was delayed more than two hours, because travel guide was late. We were given “smokers room” which reeked/smelled like a pig stay/bar. Change was not possible; hotel was fully booked. I requested at least the air freshener, deodorizer, they promised, never delivered! Originally, we requested 2 beds, however, one queen bed was provided! To add an insult to injury, when I complained in the morning about that horrible night, hotel manager offered a “free glass of orange juice for my trouble??! Bus for Journey to Sea of Galilee didn’t have WIFI because it was not set up! Later we spent an hour in front of Jaffa Whale, trying to get whispers working, exchanging batteries, headphones, microphone. Guide didn’t bother to test/prepare equipment beforehand! Driver sold drinking water for 1$ and after I question it, guide explained that water is free and 1$ was the tip for driver!? Sail on the Sea of Galilee was the most embarrassing, pathetic experience. Boat sailed for about ten minutes into the sea and then captain started to sing, kept singing for more than hour, ship was not moving, sun was blasting. After more than an hour of his horrible singing, one traveler plucked up the courage and asked him to start sailing the bloody boat, instead of singing. He obliged and took us immediately back to shore! Next day the bus WIFI didn’t work again, and promises were made to have it fixed tomorrow... yada, yada...we We didn’t get to see Dome of the Rock up close because gates to Dome of the Rock were to close at 2pm and we wasted our time strolling thru market. Guide spent more time talking with bus driver than narrating history, sightseeing etc. Allenby Bridge to Jordan Crossing was a total disaster. We started early morning and after arriving at the border, guide couldn’t locate her Jordanian counterpart, our bus kept cruising back and forth in front of border crossing, we were told that we shall have to shlepp all our luggage by hand!… finally, we arrived at the passport/visa/fee payment building... nobody knew what to do... how to verify the passports. There were many lines for passport verification, visa payment, crossing fee... thanks god there were very few other travellers... so, after couple of hours of mayhem, we were cleared, and learnt that our luggage was actually transferred to Jordanian bus, but bus was too small for 23 people and unable to stove all luggage into the compartment hold of the bus, so some luggage was loaded into the bus itself! Intriguing problem was the repeated situation with drinking water not being included with quite amazing, sumptuous dinners. Guide explained that it was the confusion of hotel personnel with her requests?! I inquired three days before end of our trip about airport transfer and was told it was too early... then day before departure I was told that I was not on transfer list! Later I was told that I should join travelers leaving at 5am for their 9 am flights, but my flight was at 12:05pm!! After frantic e-mails to Trafalgar, I was assured that all should be ok. And it was. But I found it very unprofessional and petty to throw me under bus! Then the guide inquired about TIP!? OMG! Well, this trip was an adventure and exercise in stupidity, amateurism, and lack of professionalism! AC worked on and off, after repeated requests, driver obviously hated AC. His window was opened all the time. He was speeding and passing other traffic over speed bumps, run red lights, sneezed, coughed without covering his mouth and was quite annoyed when travellers begged to stop for washroom stop! Both buses were never cleaned, not to mention disinfected... what happened to all of them covid enhanced procedures?? Drinking water was sold, instead of being included... Emergency washroom was locked, and comfort stops were 2-3 hours apart, and some toilets were just extremely dirty holes in a ground... no tissue. (Two ladies soiled themselves after requesting, pleading with guide to stop…) That never ending annoying reminders about tips, gratuities, baksheesh were tiresome! I highly recommend to Mr Gavin Tollman (CEO & President, Trafalgar) to inspect/audit Trafalgar tours promises!
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  Trafalgar commented on this review

  Our team thanks you for sharing your detailed review of the Land of the Gods trip here with us. We are truly saddened to read that this itinerary had not lived up to your expectations on this occasion, and that this had been due to a few different... Show more
  Trip date: October 2022