Home > Compare Tour & Adventure Operators > Collette vs Insight Vacations
Collette vs Insight Vacations
Compare the travel styles, pricing, destinations and popularity of Collette and Insight Vacations.The Low Down
While new to the Australian market in 2017, Collette have actually been operating since 1918. Offering coach touring and small group explorations around the world, you won't find too many Aussies and Kiwis on their trips yet, but clients of ours that haven taken the plunge over the last season have come back with very positive reviews. Collette is very popular in the US and now has offices and support in Australia, Canada and the UK too. Collette market their trips as 4 star accommodation with 5 star service and inclusions - so if that sounds like your cup of tea, then how about this - Collette also includes a roundtrip home to airport chauffeur service for those within a 40km radius of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, Darwin, Cairns and Hobart airports.
Upmarket coach touring, with 4.5+ star accommodation, maximum group sizes of 40 on a full size coach and more leisurely paced touring itineraries. The pricing of Insight's trips tends to attract travellers in their 60's and 70's. If you're tall, then you should seriously consider Insight, as their coaches been reconfigured to allow up to twice as much legroom as on a standard coach. Insight have recently launched trips through South America, and expanded their range of Gold Luxury Vacations, where you can expect the ultimate in luxury and refinement.We find that the feedback we get back from past clients is sometimes a little critical, and we feel this is because of the very high standard some of our clients are expecting due to Insight's positioning in the market. On every multi-day journey, there will always be little annoyances, but as a whole package the team here definitely recommend Insight worthy of your consideration. If you've travelled with any of its sister brands like AAT Kings, Trafalgar or Uniworld further savings are available.
Stats
No. of Trips
186
No. of Departures
5,156
Avg. Trip Length
11 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$513
Accommodation
4 Star
Budget
Premium
No. of Trips
430
No. of Departures
5,114
Avg. Trip Length
12 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$661
Accommodation
4 - 4.5 Star
Budget
Premium
In Their Own Words We asked the travel companies themselves why you should travel with them
At Collette, we consider everyone who travels with us to be our personal guest. Every moment matters to us because we know it matters to you. This may be because at heart we are a family owned company that has been in business for 100 years. It may be because our team are passionate about sharing their own love of travel and uncovering mysteries.
Choosing Collette comes with benefits that take your guided travel experience to another level. Our inclusive tours provide you more value for your money and more of what makes travel special. Let us show you the world!
At Insight Vacations we have been creating magical travel experiences for over 40 years, showcasing the most outstanding destinations and curated experiences in Europe and North America.
Why are we different to any other operator? It’s our unique Insight experiences. It’s our authentic and varied dining options, it’s travelling in smaller groups on customised coaches with twice the legroom, it’s staying in the right hotels in the right location, all brought together seamlessly by our exceptional travel directors. In essence: All the sights, and the insights….up close and personal…in comfort and style.
Travel is such a joy and a personal passion for myself and every member of our team. We’re so proud of the quality, service and value we provide and invite you to try it for yourself. Talk to Global Journeys to find out more about travelling in style and booking your next holiday with Insight Vacations.
Recent Reviews
4.5
A fast paced tour showing what Italy has to offer. Commencing in Rome we basically had 2 nights stay at Sorrento, Florence, Venice and Stresa. We had stops along the way to such places as Pompeii, Pisa, and Verona. My highlight was the 1 hour bus trip each way up to Simplon Pass in the Swiss Alps whilst staying in Stresa. We had 42 in our group and ...read more it was a very friendly tour consisting of 35 Americans and 7 Australians. Clarissa was our fantastic Tour Leader and Gian Carlo was our excellent coach driver. You have to be reasonably agile and fit for this tour as there is a lot of walking on uneven cobblestone streets and paths. Although there was a lot of distance covered every couple of days, it was a great tour and we would travel with Collette again.
I’ve just returned from a 14 day Collette tour of Ireland. An initial google search led me to Global Journeys, and a very efficient agent, Rachael, was assigned to look after me. The planning and booking process was smooth and any queries I had, Rachael was very timely in her response. The tour itself was amazing. No words to describe the beauty of ...read more Ireland and the friendliness of its people. Our tour manager and driver were excellent. I highly recommend Global Journeys to organise your dream holiday.
Collette are a US company and cater to those needs of that market, so accommodation was in general of very good quality and the lovely group of people were almost all well travelled and return clients. There was care taken with food and water quality, and excellent qualifed Egyptologist guide in Egypt who gave us an excellent experience. The quality ...read more of the Nile cruise was outstanding, a beautiful ship with great food, no comparison with the other ships we saw doing the same route except possibly the dedicated river cruise companies. Worth noting that while this was peak season, supposedly cooler it was unseasonably and often unbearably hot, often 45-47 degrees, which produced a real aircon problem at our Nubian hotel. And the crowds were horrendous everywhere- our guide did a good job of getting us places when crowds were minimal. His expertise and kindness were exceptional.
The Jordan guide was fairly uninterested in our group - it was just a job for him, he never knew our names or tried to help anyone having difficulties, resulting in some dissatisfaction, but he was competent. The wonders of Egypt are amazing, but there is a cost in patience and resilience - the pace is pretty relentless at times, getting around to everything, and there are relentless vendors and demands for tipping. Our guide really tried to mitigate this and it was a quality experience, helped by only 23 people, who were all such enjoyable companions.
The Jordan guide was fairly uninterested in our group - it was just a job for him, he never knew our names or tried to help anyone having difficulties, resulting in some dissatisfaction, but he was competent. The wonders of Egypt are amazing, but there is a cost in patience and resilience - the pace is pretty relentless at times, getting around to everything, and there are relentless vendors and demands for tipping. Our guide really tried to mitigate this and it was a quality experience, helped by only 23 people, who were all such enjoyable companions.
This was such a great tour. The accommodation was excellent with a friendly and cultural feel. Lots of great meal inclusions which was a surprise. The included activities were varied and fun. This was really due to the tour guide, bus driver, local guides and of course our fellow passengers. I would recommend this tour in a heartbeat!
The whole trip to Norway was one long highlight. There was so much to see and do that we were happily exhausted at the end of each day. We have never taken so many photos. Everywhere you look is another photo opportunity. The food was too good.
The highlights of the trip for me were the spectacular mountain scenery of Oregon, the scenic journey down the coast from Newport, the jetboat ride along the Rogue River, and the walk through the amazing Redwoods at Humbolt Redwoods State Park, California. All the hotels on the tour were of a high standard and well-located, particularly the hotel in ...read more San Francisco, which was very close to Union Square and the cable-car terminus.
Our guide could not have been more well-informed and helpful. Well done Janice. Ditto Tim our driver. As a suggestion, it would be helpful to know before departure that only a quite small carry-on is possible on the coach. A standard airline carry-on is too large. Luckily I had a small backpack with me for daily needs. It was great that we could charge phones onboard.
Our guide could not have been more well-informed and helpful. Well done Janice. Ditto Tim our driver. As a suggestion, it would be helpful to know before departure that only a quite small carry-on is possible on the coach. A standard airline carry-on is too large. Luckily I had a small backpack with me for daily needs. It was great that we could charge phones onboard.
4.5
This tour was an excellent way to see Spain and Portugal and made even more delightful by our Tour Director Denise Lamas whose knowledge of the countries and their history and customs was exceptional as well as her kindness and friendliness to all. There were 36 on the Tour and as a solo traveller I was given a friendly welcome by all. Easter week ...read more in Spain was very special and in spite of the crowds there was an atmosphere of unity everywhere. The highlights of the tour were the visit to Seville and the perfume of the orange blossom, the snow capped Sierras and the Alhambra, the lunch with village ladies in their homes and of course the amazing Segrada Familia by Gaudi in Barcelona. I would recommend this tour to anyone who would like to visit Spain and Portugal.
This was the most wonderful, enjoyable and most memorable tour. While some of the organised guides could have thought about our need to eat...and shorten their chat...other than that...wish there was some more free time as quoted, in Lucerne...before the shops shut. 🥲 Faith was by far the best tour guide!
Travelling with Insight was totally stress free. Our fabulous tour director saw to every little detail and his suggestions for restaurants and optional tours were spot on. The hotels we stayed in were great and our group got along really well. It was relaxing , fun and informative at the same time. I wouldn’t hesitate to book with Global Journeys and ...read more Insight for future adventures.
Insight Vacations through Spring Tours provided a memorable 12 day, small group, Splendours of Egypt tour that included 7 days cruising on the Nile in a boat with a capacity of 120 passengers. While the MS Nile Odessa is a bit dated the river cruising experience was enjoyable, noting it is the Egyptian civilisation sites that were our primary reason ...read more for travelling to Luxor and Aswan. While a day trip to Abu Simbel (from Aswan) was an option extra - we highly recommend it - the Abu Simbel site will blow your mind - Ramses the Great (Ramses II) had a taste for grandeur. Our Tour Director was exceptional, which makes a huge difference to one’s experience. The pace of the tour was excellent - nay faster and it would have been less enjoyable and unable to spend sufficient time each site to appreciate them for what they are - marvels. Finally thank you the Hannah and the team at Global Journeys.
Interesting, packed journey through some of the stunning smaller centres of Italy 0 Pam and Janet, NSW, Australia, Sep 2023
Our guide Federika Nandini was a delight, who kept a keen caring eye over all. Our driver was careful and managed to manoeuvre a large bus on some tight and potentially dangerous roads. Local guides were excellent. There was a considerable amount of walking each day which will test the less fit. Hilltop towns are just that and are challenging on the ...read more knees! Meals provided were usually over catered and in noisy interiors. Optional excursions were varied . Some lovely hotels were included but not able to be enjoyed as we didn’t stay long enough to enjoy.
Wonderful tour through beautiful Türkiye with the best tour director and driver. 0 Susan, NSW, Australia, Sep 2023
Highly recommend a small-group tour with Insight Vacations. It was a worry free holiday with great accommodation and food. The tour director was fabulous and the coach was super comfortable with WiFi and bottled water.
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