Andante Travels Reviews 

I am in my 80s and use two walking poles to take the strain away from my arthritic knees and hips. I felt that the tour manager and guest lecturer really cared about my physical welfare and were willing to point out walks and climbs that they thought I might not manage. I have already paid the deposit on an Andante tour for next year as i know I will be safe and enjoy all that I learn and experience.

Sites
Staff
Fact that was no flight

Didn't visit the Crypts as someone didn't bother getting reservations on time. Spent 90 minutes in each of three museums regardless of their sizes. English speaking guides didn't bother to interpret French signs for us there. Guide almost put us on wrong way bus. We largely covered regular tourist spots. Nothing hidden about "Hidden Paris"

The members of staff who dealt with me was very helpful, for example in reminding me that a special offer was still available . This enabled me to make a significant saving on the booking I was about to make and for which I was about to pay in full

Most of all Oliver - always interesting and amusing. Very good balance of history and wildlife. Hotel was pleasant. Company - lots of very interesting people.

Food mainly good, but some rather odd meals!

This is the second time I have been asked to review this trip. I will start by saying pre-Covid, Andante was a first rate tour company. After Covid the price of tours tripled and the quality halved. The Ice Age Art tour was interesting. The field expert was lackluster, snobbish and a slob in appearance. The tour manager was frazzled and short tempered.
I should've known this tour was going to be a disaster when I booked it from the US side of the website. Accompanying flights were not an option, yet on the UK side they were. I found out I could join the flight offered to the UK group purely by chance. The flights already booked by the UK group had to be changed. I was accidentally included on that email. That is how I found out. That is SLOPPY on the part of Andante. I managed to get on the flight to and from the destination by pure chance. I will never use Andante again. To be that neglectful to not offer the same travel options to US travelers as were to UK travelers was the moment I knew Andante was no longer top quality as it had been in the past. For the price Andante charges that kind of sloppiness should not have happened.

This is the second time I have been asked to review this trip. I will start by saying pre-Covid, Andante was a first rate tour company. After Covid the price of tours tripled and the quality halved. The Ice Age Art tour was interesting. The field expert was lackluster, snobbish and a slob in appearance. The tour manager was frazzled and short tempered.
I should've known this tour was going to be a disaster when I booked it from the US side of the website. Accompanying flights were not an option, yet on the UK side they were. I found out I could join the flight offered to the UK group purely by chance. The flights already booked by the UK group had to be changed. I was accidentally included on that email. That is how I found out. That is SLOPPY on the part of Andante. I managed to get on the flight to and from the destination by pure chance. I will never use Andante again. To be that neglectful to not offer the same travel options to US travelers as were to UK travelers was the moment I knew Andante was no longer top quality as it had been in the past. For the price charged that kind of sloppiness should not have happened.

Our Sicily trip with Andante was great. The sites we visited were well beyond the usual stops. Our terrific guide Tony was very knowledgable and interesting. This tour greatly surpassed another we did with different company previously in all respects. Marina, the tour manager, was super and helpful. Dining and accommodations were excellent. For real history and archeological perspectives, Andante’s Sicily is the right choice!!!

Fabulous programme, superb management and excellent, highly expert guide.

Only problem was not giving out the flight booking code so we were forced to find a staff member at Heathrow to give a boarding pass - not easy these days.

Speaking to the staff on the phone is excellent but some of back office (operations group) make errors on the actual detailed information sent out afterwards. However contacting the staff by telephone has resolved all the issues

We had a jam packed tour of fascinating and important, very ancient, archaeological sites. It was managed with convenience and comfort with excellet food. Our guide was thoroughly expert and very approachable. I would have liked him to tell us even more.

As usual the expert guide and tour managers were exceptional and the places visited extraordinary.
However the local guides were varied: Carmen at the Villa at Otrang was at one side of the scale (excellent) whereas Sveltana in Luxembourg left something to be desired-she garbled at times, walked as she spoke and/or failed to pause when traffic or noisy groups of children passed so that it was difficult to follow some of her explanations.
On a negative side, the return plane home was late in the day, could an earlier one not have been booked as it made the last day as if we were filling time. Also why did the feedback survey arrive just 2 days into the trip and 5 before the end of it?

I have done several trips with Andante before. They are normally very good. I did the trip Beyond Pompeii.
Whilst the lecturer and the manager were good, the back office at home had not done their homework properly. A trip to the Capua Mithraeum was cancelled. A glass boat view of the underwater tuins in the bay of Baiae did not go ahead because it was too early in the season!
The hotel was a bit disappointing, poor regard to fire regulations. And we had to drag our luggage through the streets to the hotel, when the luggage could have been delivered by vehicle.
But I will be travelling with Andante again this Autumn!

everything - the sights, weather food, specialist tour leader, driver, local guide and the local specialist. All were first class. It is a memory to cherish.

After requesting a refund after andante cancelled my tour not once but twice (initially in September 2023 and rebooking for September 2024) I have still not received my refund. I have emailed them twice and been told the refund should have been in my account by the end of last week which it wasn't. Having emailed them again I have not even had the courtesy of a reply.

What are the chances of getting your money back from this company if you have to cancel your holiday? Currently no great chance. I had to cancel our Mediterranian cruise in June because my wife was suffering from cancer. I was told that the refund of £9000 would be paid within 3-5 weeks. Despite 3 phone calls to the company and promises that the issue would be escalated to customer care and the Chief Executive as yet I still do not have my £9000 back. We have used Andante for many holidays in the past but we shan't be using them again