Antarctica &amp; the Arctic Only ground transport Tours &amp; Trips

none

4.8/5 Excellent

Small Ship Cruise

Lodging level

Premium - 4 star

Physical level

Easy

Trip pace

Flexible schedule

Visits

Ushuaia

Highlights

See Wandering albatrosses, Grey-headed Albatrosses, Black-browed albatrosses, Light-mantled Sooty albatrosses, Cape petrels, Southern fulmars, Wilson’s Storm petrels, Blue Petrels and Antarctic petrels.
Visit the old British research station, now living museum and post office at Port Lockroy on Goudier Island.
Enjoy the landscape surrounded by alpine peaks during zodiac cruises.
See Humpback Whales and Minke Whales
See feeding Humpback whales

Themes

National Parks, Nature & Wildlife, Small Ship Cruise

What travelers are saying

"I booked an Antarctic Peninsula trip two years ago through Oceanwide Expeditions that I have been looking forward to for a long time. My goal is to scuba dive on every continent, so I added on the dive package and started training. I shelled out a few grand for a drysuit and other cold water diving gear (freeze resistant regulators, etc). I booked trips to bump up my number of drysuit dives so I’d be ready for Antarctica. Probably more important than the training was the financial outlay. I spent nearly $8500 USD on an 11 day Antarctic cruise that was supposed to depart in February. I spent another few thousand dollars on flights to, from and within Argentina and hotels throughout my trip. Mind you, I’m not exactly rolling in money; I’m an Army officer and I had to save up to afford this trip of a lifetime. I had to jump through a lot of hoops to get my international leave approved, but I got that done and was ready to fly to Buenos Aires on February 4th, and then on to Ushuaia to meet my ship my dives were logged, my gear was ready, my arrangements were made and my money was spent. On January 10th, Oceanwide sent an email informing all passengers that they were cancelling all of their itineraries for the season due to Omicron. I’ll admit, I was furious. I don’t want to get into a COVID debate here, but this trip has given me something to look forward to throughout the pandemic. I booked in March of 2020 while I was locked down during my last deployment as the world shut down for COVID. I was concerned about the trip, but Argentina eventually opened their borders as their vaccination numbers skyrocketed. It looked like the last impediment was out of my way, only to have the company pull the rug out from under me because of the mildest strain of this virus we’ve yet seen. The initial email offered to rebook passengers on next year’s cruises, but I had no interest in this for a few reasons- 1. As a service member, I don’t have the luxury of taking a month of leave whenever I want. I don’t know what obligations I will have a year from now. 2. I don’t trust that the world will be any better off in terms of government and corporate reactions to COVID a year from now. This isn’t going away, new variants will continue to emerge, so if the company is cancelling for the season over something as mild as Omicron, I have little confidence that whatever variant we see in February 2023 will be any better. 3. The company cancelled all itineraries in the 2020-2021 season and I’d imagine they did the same in the 2019-2020 season. They ran a couple in November-December 2021, but have cancelled for the rest of the 21-22 season. They have had no significant cash flow for nearly two years. I don’t want this company to hold on to my money for another year because I’m not confident this company will still exist in a year’s time. Here comes the really frustrating part- I replied to the initial email from their home office on January 10th explaining my position and requesting a refund. I received no reply. On 12 January I emailed the American office of the same company explaining the situation and again requesting a refund. I again received no reply. Between 14-16 January, I called both the American and home (Dutch) offices of the company. In both cases, the employees politely apologized and told me they’d look into it and get back to me. I never received any further communication. On 19 January, I emailed both offices reiterating my request for a refund and expressing my concerns at their lack of communication and requesting a response by the end of the week, or else I would pursue other means of recourse. I received no response. Last night, I again emailed both companies with a final good faith attempt to allow them to resolve the situation. I figured I’d give them the morning to respond, but they have not responded. It looks like I will have to dispute this through my credit card and bank and fight to get back my own money. TL;DR Oceanwide Expeditions accepted payment of $8500 for an Antarctica Cruise then cancelled the cruise and will not respond to any requests for refunds. This shady conduct is more than enough reason to avoid this company."

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10 days From$10,250

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West Greenland | Hike, Photo & Sail

none

4.8/5 Excellent

Small Ship Cruise

Lodging level

Standard - 3 star

Physical level

Moderate

Trip pace

Flexible schedule

Visits

Ilulissat Icefjord, Nuuk

Highlights

Visit Jakobshavn Isfjord is a World Heritage Site
An opportunity to observe a population of birds typical to the High Arctic, with species such as Long-tailed Skua, Turnstone and Grey Phalarope
Discover fantastic landscapes of the Sermilinguaq Fjord
Visit the museum which has a remarkable collection of Inuit mummies

Themes

50 plus, National Parks, Nature & Wildlife, Sailing

What travelers are saying

"I booked an Antarctic Peninsula trip two years ago through Oceanwide Expeditions that I have been looking forward to for a long time. My goal is to scuba dive on every continent, so I added on the dive package and started training. I shelled out a few grand for a drysuit and other cold water diving gear (freeze resistant regulators, etc). I booked trips to bump up my number of drysuit dives so I’d be ready for Antarctica. Probably more important than the training was the financial outlay. I spent nearly $8500 USD on an 11 day Antarctic cruise that was supposed to depart in February. I spent another few thousand dollars on flights to, from and within Argentina and hotels throughout my trip. Mind you, I’m not exactly rolling in money; I’m an Army officer and I had to save up to afford this trip of a lifetime. I had to jump through a lot of hoops to get my international leave approved, but I got that done and was ready to fly to Buenos Aires on February 4th, and then on to Ushuaia to meet my ship my dives were logged, my gear was ready, my arrangements were made and my money was spent. On January 10th, Oceanwide sent an email informing all passengers that they were cancelling all of their itineraries for the season due to Omicron. I’ll admit, I was furious. I don’t want to get into a COVID debate here, but this trip has given me something to look forward to throughout the pandemic. I booked in March of 2020 while I was locked down during my last deployment as the world shut down for COVID. I was concerned about the trip, but Argentina eventually opened their borders as their vaccination numbers skyrocketed. It looked like the last impediment was out of my way, only to have the company pull the rug out from under me because of the mildest strain of this virus we’ve yet seen. The initial email offered to rebook passengers on next year’s cruises, but I had no interest in this for a few reasons- 1. As a service member, I don’t have the luxury of taking a month of leave whenever I want. I don’t know what obligations I will have a year from now. 2. I don’t trust that the world will be any better off in terms of government and corporate reactions to COVID a year from now. This isn’t going away, new variants will continue to emerge, so if the company is cancelling for the season over something as mild as Omicron, I have little confidence that whatever variant we see in February 2023 will be any better. 3. The company cancelled all itineraries in the 2020-2021 season and I’d imagine they did the same in the 2019-2020 season. They ran a couple in November-December 2021, but have cancelled for the rest of the 21-22 season. They have had no significant cash flow for nearly two years. I don’t want this company to hold on to my money for another year because I’m not confident this company will still exist in a year’s time. Here comes the really frustrating part- I replied to the initial email from their home office on January 10th explaining my position and requesting a refund. I received no reply. On 12 January I emailed the American office of the same company explaining the situation and again requesting a refund. I again received no reply. Between 14-16 January, I called both the American and home (Dutch) offices of the company. In both cases, the employees politely apologized and told me they’d look into it and get back to me. I never received any further communication. On 19 January, I emailed both offices reiterating my request for a refund and expressing my concerns at their lack of communication and requesting a response by the end of the week, or else I would pursue other means of recourse. I received no response. Last night, I again emailed both companies with a final good faith attempt to allow them to resolve the situation. I figured I’d give them the morning to respond, but they have not responded. It looks like I will have to dispute this through my credit card and bank and fight to get back my own money. TL;DR Oceanwide Expeditions accepted payment of $8500 for an Antarctica Cruise then cancelled the cruise and will not respond to any requests for refunds. This shady conduct is more than enough reason to avoid this company."

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10 days From$3,850

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Central Spitsbergen, Aurora borealis

none

4.8/5 Excellent

Small Ship Cruise

Lodging level

Standard - 3 star

Physical level

Easy

Trip pace

Flexible schedule

Highlights

Visit the Svalbard Museum
See Arctic Fox and reindeer.
See remains of their huts - for example, at Ahlstrandhalvøya
Visit to Barentsburg, the only inhabited Russian settlement in Spitsbergen

Themes

National Parks, Nature & Wildlife, Small Ship Cruise, Sailing

What travelers are saying

"I booked an Antarctic Peninsula trip two years ago through Oceanwide Expeditions that I have been looking forward to for a long time. My goal is to scuba dive on every continent, so I added on the dive package and started training. I shelled out a few grand for a drysuit and other cold water diving gear (freeze resistant regulators, etc). I booked trips to bump up my number of drysuit dives so I’d be ready for Antarctica. Probably more important than the training was the financial outlay. I spent nearly $8500 USD on an 11 day Antarctic cruise that was supposed to depart in February. I spent another few thousand dollars on flights to, from and within Argentina and hotels throughout my trip. Mind you, I’m not exactly rolling in money; I’m an Army officer and I had to save up to afford this trip of a lifetime. I had to jump through a lot of hoops to get my international leave approved, but I got that done and was ready to fly to Buenos Aires on February 4th, and then on to Ushuaia to meet my ship my dives were logged, my gear was ready, my arrangements were made and my money was spent. On January 10th, Oceanwide sent an email informing all passengers that they were cancelling all of their itineraries for the season due to Omicron. I’ll admit, I was furious. I don’t want to get into a COVID debate here, but this trip has given me something to look forward to throughout the pandemic. I booked in March of 2020 while I was locked down during my last deployment as the world shut down for COVID. I was concerned about the trip, but Argentina eventually opened their borders as their vaccination numbers skyrocketed. It looked like the last impediment was out of my way, only to have the company pull the rug out from under me because of the mildest strain of this virus we’ve yet seen. The initial email offered to rebook passengers on next year’s cruises, but I had no interest in this for a few reasons- 1. As a service member, I don’t have the luxury of taking a month of leave whenever I want. I don’t know what obligations I will have a year from now. 2. I don’t trust that the world will be any better off in terms of government and corporate reactions to COVID a year from now. This isn’t going away, new variants will continue to emerge, so if the company is cancelling for the season over something as mild as Omicron, I have little confidence that whatever variant we see in February 2023 will be any better. 3. The company cancelled all itineraries in the 2020-2021 season and I’d imagine they did the same in the 2019-2020 season. They ran a couple in November-December 2021, but have cancelled for the rest of the 21-22 season. They have had no significant cash flow for nearly two years. I don’t want this company to hold on to my money for another year because I’m not confident this company will still exist in a year’s time. Here comes the really frustrating part- I replied to the initial email from their home office on January 10th explaining my position and requesting a refund. I received no reply. On 12 January I emailed the American office of the same company explaining the situation and again requesting a refund. I again received no reply. Between 14-16 January, I called both the American and home (Dutch) offices of the company. In both cases, the employees politely apologized and told me they’d look into it and get back to me. I never received any further communication. On 19 January, I emailed both offices reiterating my request for a refund and expressing my concerns at their lack of communication and requesting a response by the end of the week, or else I would pursue other means of recourse. I received no response. Last night, I again emailed both companies with a final good faith attempt to allow them to resolve the situation. I figured I’d give them the morning to respond, but they have not responded. It looks like I will have to dispute this through my credit card and bank and fight to get back my own money. TL;DR Oceanwide Expeditions accepted payment of $8500 for an Antarctica Cruise then cancelled the cruise and will not respond to any requests for refunds. This shady conduct is more than enough reason to avoid this company."

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7 days From$2,650

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Around Spitsbergen

none

4.8/5 Excellent

Small Ship Cruise

Lodging level

Standard - 3 star

Physical level

Easy

Trip pace

Flexible schedule

Visits

Spitsbergen

Highlights

Visit the Svalbard Museum
Visit a large colony of Kittiwake which nest in a canyon
Seeing Bearded Seal and Polar Bear.
Visit to Barentsburg, the only inhabited Russian settlement in Spitsbergen, or to Colesbukta, an abandoned Russian coal mining settlement.

Themes

National Parks, Nature & Wildlife, Small Ship Cruise

What travelers are saying

"I booked an Antarctic Peninsula trip two years ago through Oceanwide Expeditions that I have been looking forward to for a long time. My goal is to scuba dive on every continent, so I added on the dive package and started training. I shelled out a few grand for a drysuit and other cold water diving gear (freeze resistant regulators, etc). I booked trips to bump up my number of drysuit dives so I’d be ready for Antarctica. Probably more important than the training was the financial outlay. I spent nearly $8500 USD on an 11 day Antarctic cruise that was supposed to depart in February. I spent another few thousand dollars on flights to, from and within Argentina and hotels throughout my trip. Mind you, I’m not exactly rolling in money; I’m an Army officer and I had to save up to afford this trip of a lifetime. I had to jump through a lot of hoops to get my international leave approved, but I got that done and was ready to fly to Buenos Aires on February 4th, and then on to Ushuaia to meet my ship my dives were logged, my gear was ready, my arrangements were made and my money was spent. On January 10th, Oceanwide sent an email informing all passengers that they were cancelling all of their itineraries for the season due to Omicron. I’ll admit, I was furious. I don’t want to get into a COVID debate here, but this trip has given me something to look forward to throughout the pandemic. I booked in March of 2020 while I was locked down during my last deployment as the world shut down for COVID. I was concerned about the trip, but Argentina eventually opened their borders as their vaccination numbers skyrocketed. It looked like the last impediment was out of my way, only to have the company pull the rug out from under me because of the mildest strain of this virus we’ve yet seen. The initial email offered to rebook passengers on next year’s cruises, but I had no interest in this for a few reasons- 1. As a service member, I don’t have the luxury of taking a month of leave whenever I want. I don’t know what obligations I will have a year from now. 2. I don’t trust that the world will be any better off in terms of government and corporate reactions to COVID a year from now. This isn’t going away, new variants will continue to emerge, so if the company is cancelling for the season over something as mild as Omicron, I have little confidence that whatever variant we see in February 2023 will be any better. 3. The company cancelled all itineraries in the 2020-2021 season and I’d imagine they did the same in the 2019-2020 season. They ran a couple in November-December 2021, but have cancelled for the rest of the 21-22 season. They have had no significant cash flow for nearly two years. I don’t want this company to hold on to my money for another year because I’m not confident this company will still exist in a year’s time. Here comes the really frustrating part- I replied to the initial email from their home office on January 10th explaining my position and requesting a refund. I received no reply. On 12 January I emailed the American office of the same company explaining the situation and again requesting a refund. I again received no reply. Between 14-16 January, I called both the American and home (Dutch) offices of the company. In both cases, the employees politely apologized and told me they’d look into it and get back to me. I never received any further communication. On 19 January, I emailed both offices reiterating my request for a refund and expressing my concerns at their lack of communication and requesting a response by the end of the week, or else I would pursue other means of recourse. I received no response. Last night, I again emailed both companies with a final good faith attempt to allow them to resolve the situation. I figured I’d give them the morning to respond, but they have not responded. It looks like I will have to dispute this through my credit card and bank and fight to get back my own money. TL;DR Oceanwide Expeditions accepted payment of $8500 for an Antarctica Cruise then cancelled the cruise and will not respond to any requests for refunds. This shady conduct is more than enough reason to avoid this company."

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15 days From$6,250

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Scoresby Sund - Aurora Borealis

none

4.8/5 Excellent

Small Ship Cruise

Lodging level

Premium - 4 star

Physical level

Easy

Trip pace

Flexible schedule

Visits

Reykjavík

Highlights

Experience the cruise through m/v Ortelius
Visit Akureyri
Have an opportunity to see different type of birds and polar region animals.
Enjoy the nature in Greenland scenery

Themes

National Parks, Nature & Wildlife, Small Ship Cruise

What travelers are saying

"I booked an Antarctic Peninsula trip two years ago through Oceanwide Expeditions that I have been looking forward to for a long time. My goal is to scuba dive on every continent, so I added on the dive package and started training. I shelled out a few grand for a drysuit and other cold water diving gear (freeze resistant regulators, etc). I booked trips to bump up my number of drysuit dives so I’d be ready for Antarctica. Probably more important than the training was the financial outlay. I spent nearly $8500 USD on an 11 day Antarctic cruise that was supposed to depart in February. I spent another few thousand dollars on flights to, from and within Argentina and hotels throughout my trip. Mind you, I’m not exactly rolling in money; I’m an Army officer and I had to save up to afford this trip of a lifetime. I had to jump through a lot of hoops to get my international leave approved, but I got that done and was ready to fly to Buenos Aires on February 4th, and then on to Ushuaia to meet my ship my dives were logged, my gear was ready, my arrangements were made and my money was spent. On January 10th, Oceanwide sent an email informing all passengers that they were cancelling all of their itineraries for the season due to Omicron. I’ll admit, I was furious. I don’t want to get into a COVID debate here, but this trip has given me something to look forward to throughout the pandemic. I booked in March of 2020 while I was locked down during my last deployment as the world shut down for COVID. I was concerned about the trip, but Argentina eventually opened their borders as their vaccination numbers skyrocketed. It looked like the last impediment was out of my way, only to have the company pull the rug out from under me because of the mildest strain of this virus we’ve yet seen. The initial email offered to rebook passengers on next year’s cruises, but I had no interest in this for a few reasons- 1. As a service member, I don’t have the luxury of taking a month of leave whenever I want. I don’t know what obligations I will have a year from now. 2. I don’t trust that the world will be any better off in terms of government and corporate reactions to COVID a year from now. This isn’t going away, new variants will continue to emerge, so if the company is cancelling for the season over something as mild as Omicron, I have little confidence that whatever variant we see in February 2023 will be any better. 3. The company cancelled all itineraries in the 2020-2021 season and I’d imagine they did the same in the 2019-2020 season. They ran a couple in November-December 2021, but have cancelled for the rest of the 21-22 season. They have had no significant cash flow for nearly two years. I don’t want this company to hold on to my money for another year because I’m not confident this company will still exist in a year’s time. Here comes the really frustrating part- I replied to the initial email from their home office on January 10th explaining my position and requesting a refund. I received no reply. On 12 January I emailed the American office of the same company explaining the situation and again requesting a refund. I again received no reply. Between 14-16 January, I called both the American and home (Dutch) offices of the company. In both cases, the employees politely apologized and told me they’d look into it and get back to me. I never received any further communication. On 19 January, I emailed both offices reiterating my request for a refund and expressing my concerns at their lack of communication and requesting a response by the end of the week, or else I would pursue other means of recourse. I received no response. Last night, I again emailed both companies with a final good faith attempt to allow them to resolve the situation. I figured I’d give them the morning to respond, but they have not responded. It looks like I will have to dispute this through my credit card and bank and fight to get back my own money. TL;DR Oceanwide Expeditions accepted payment of $8500 for an Antarctica Cruise then cancelled the cruise and will not respond to any requests for refunds. This shady conduct is more than enough reason to avoid this company."

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8 days From$3,900

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Alpine Peaks of Spitsbergen - Ski & Sail

none

4.8/5 Excellent

Small Ship Cruise

Lodging level

Premium - 4 star

Physical level

Easy

Trip pace

Flexible schedule

Highlights

Enjoy the ski climbs on mountain tops which are in average 700-850 m high and downhill skiing
Visitthe greater region Kongsfjorden, Isfjord and Prins Karls Forland.
Enjoy the availability of landing sites, encounters with wild animals (polar bears) on land, and the avalanche situation.

Themes

National Parks, Nature & Wildlife, Small Ship Cruise

What travelers are saying

"I booked an Antarctic Peninsula trip two years ago through Oceanwide Expeditions that I have been looking forward to for a long time. My goal is to scuba dive on every continent, so I added on the dive package and started training. I shelled out a few grand for a drysuit and other cold water diving gear (freeze resistant regulators, etc). I booked trips to bump up my number of drysuit dives so I’d be ready for Antarctica. Probably more important than the training was the financial outlay. I spent nearly $8500 USD on an 11 day Antarctic cruise that was supposed to depart in February. I spent another few thousand dollars on flights to, from and within Argentina and hotels throughout my trip. Mind you, I’m not exactly rolling in money; I’m an Army officer and I had to save up to afford this trip of a lifetime. I had to jump through a lot of hoops to get my international leave approved, but I got that done and was ready to fly to Buenos Aires on February 4th, and then on to Ushuaia to meet my ship my dives were logged, my gear was ready, my arrangements were made and my money was spent. On January 10th, Oceanwide sent an email informing all passengers that they were cancelling all of their itineraries for the season due to Omicron. I’ll admit, I was furious. I don’t want to get into a COVID debate here, but this trip has given me something to look forward to throughout the pandemic. I booked in March of 2020 while I was locked down during my last deployment as the world shut down for COVID. I was concerned about the trip, but Argentina eventually opened their borders as their vaccination numbers skyrocketed. It looked like the last impediment was out of my way, only to have the company pull the rug out from under me because of the mildest strain of this virus we’ve yet seen. The initial email offered to rebook passengers on next year’s cruises, but I had no interest in this for a few reasons- 1. As a service member, I don’t have the luxury of taking a month of leave whenever I want. I don’t know what obligations I will have a year from now. 2. I don’t trust that the world will be any better off in terms of government and corporate reactions to COVID a year from now. This isn’t going away, new variants will continue to emerge, so if the company is cancelling for the season over something as mild as Omicron, I have little confidence that whatever variant we see in February 2023 will be any better. 3. The company cancelled all itineraries in the 2020-2021 season and I’d imagine they did the same in the 2019-2020 season. They ran a couple in November-December 2021, but have cancelled for the rest of the 21-22 season. They have had no significant cash flow for nearly two years. I don’t want this company to hold on to my money for another year because I’m not confident this company will still exist in a year’s time. Here comes the really frustrating part- I replied to the initial email from their home office on January 10th explaining my position and requesting a refund. I received no reply. On 12 January I emailed the American office of the same company explaining the situation and again requesting a refund. I again received no reply. Between 14-16 January, I called both the American and home (Dutch) offices of the company. In both cases, the employees politely apologized and told me they’d look into it and get back to me. I never received any further communication. On 19 January, I emailed both offices reiterating my request for a refund and expressing my concerns at their lack of communication and requesting a response by the end of the week, or else I would pursue other means of recourse. I received no response. Last night, I again emailed both companies with a final good faith attempt to allow them to resolve the situation. I figured I’d give them the morning to respond, but they have not responded. It looks like I will have to dispute this through my credit card and bank and fight to get back my own money. TL;DR Oceanwide Expeditions accepted payment of $8500 for an Antarctica Cruise then cancelled the cruise and will not respond to any requests for refunds. This shady conduct is more than enough reason to avoid this company."

By Adventures within Reach

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7 days

Inquire

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Antarctica Aboard the Sea Spirit or Ocean Diamond

preferred

5/5 Excellent

54 reviews

Small Ship Cruise

Lodging level

Luxury - 5 star

Physical level

Easy

Trip pace

Flexible schedule

Visits

Antarctic Peninsula, Shetland Islands, Tierra del Fuego National Park, Ushuaia

Highlights

Sail in all suite ship or a high-value larger luxury vessel.
Sail Antarctica in comfort on a classic itinerary.
Many voyages feature optional adventure activities like camping and sea kayaking!

Themes

National Parks, Nature & Wildlife, Small Ship Cruise

What travelers are saying

"Just got back from an incredible adventure. Bhutan was more than I could have ever expected. There was an abundance of good travel karma throughout the trip. The guide, Bhim, was great, very accommodating, and personalized the trip in many amazing ways, and though him I got to know the people and the culture close up and personal. The whole thing went off without a hitch. Bhutan was the most amazing place I have ever been."

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11 days From$6,150

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Arctic Circle Express

By Great Rail Journeys

none

4.2/5 Great

55 reviews

Group Tour

Lodging level

Standard - 3 star

Physical level

Easy

Trip pace

Balanced schedule

Highlights

Stockholm
Inland Railway across the Arctic Circle
Lapland
Ofoten Railway to Narvik
Rauma Railway

Themes

Cultural, National Parks, Nature & Wildlife, Train & Rail Journeys

What travelers are saying

"This was their July 22 Cruise “Delights if the Danube” Absolutely awful company, great at taking your bookings and money but it then ends there. We paid a premium rate for what they listed as “Delights of The Danube” river cruise. They changed our ship, so we did not get what we paid for, and no pool as we originally specified. The drinks in the drinks package had very little choice. One draft beer is all that is available, and that is pretty poor as it is, you can’t even buy bottled beers or any other draught beer as that one is your only choice. Wines at meal times are either red, white or Rosa, no choice, just those three.The ship they put us on “boasted” a new wine bar, it didn’t serve any wines or beers at all the entire week, it wasn’t even stocked or manned, but it did have a kettle and tea or coffee !!!. The trips ashore are advertised to deceive you, this is appalling. Some of the trips are over two and a half hours each way on a coach, and the shorter ones are rushed, don’t be fooled by their misleading advertising. The train journeys are an absolute nightmare, even though we booked first class there and back. You have to rush between connecting trains while dragging your luggage with you, and the connecting times are tight, we felt so sorry for those less able who were severely stressed. On part of the journey we were told that 1st class was not available, we were put in filthy overcrowded carriages, with our luggage carriages away, and professional thieves operate on these trains. Some of our fellow passengers, on our cruise, were robbed on the way to the cruise and the way home. Great Rail offered us the paltry sum of £30 compensation for this. Once we got on the cruise we were excited, but that quickly changed, we spent the first two days moored up overlooking an industrial estate, yes an industrial estate, that’s what Great Rail advertise as a “Delight of the Danube”. When we complained and asked why are we on an industrial estate,we were told “because it’s cheaper than mooring up in a city or town”. We complained to the reps on the cruise, as did numerous others, only to be told that they don’t actually work for Great Rail, they are sub contracted free lancers, and that we would have to take it up with Great Rail upon our return. After numerous phone calls and e-mails we have been offered a derisory amount on one of their vouchers, which only benefits Great Rail, why would we want to go back with such an incompetent company? The communication with Great Rail is appalling once they have your money, be warned. Overall I have to say that Great Rail are appalling, amateurs playing in a market they simply don’t understand, their advertising is very misleading, that’s putting it politely!! The tone of their responses are arrogant, they simply ignore many of the points raised, and they honestly don’t seem to care, they are all image and no substance."