What It's Like to Travel With Collette

Karen Cristello

Jun 27

5 min read

After my first-ever group tour in Vietnam with G Adventures, I was curious how another tour company would compare. So this summer I booked Collette’s Majestic Cities of Central & Eastern Europe: Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest and Krakow, with quick stops in Dresden, Bratislava and Slovakia’s Low Tatras along the way. Here’s what it’s like to travel with Collette: the group, the guides, the food, the pace and who I think it’s best for.

A Quick Primer on Collette

Collette dates back to 1918, when Jack Collette took a busload of Bostonians on a three-week trip to Florida, and it’s still family-owned today. Its tours tend to attract mature, well-traveled people who want the sights without the hassle. Mine was a small-group Explorations tour, capped at 24 people; Collette’s larger tours can run about twice that size.

Many Collette itineraries include an Impact Moment, a visit to a local social enterprise. Ours was a Viennese coffee house where the baked goods are made by local grandmas, connecting retirees with locals and travelers. (More on that below.)

What sets Collette apart? It hits a sweet spot between budget and luxury, with seamless logistics and plenty of time with locals, from a Berliner who lived through the Wall to a Czech cooking instructor.

The Group Dynamic

There were 23 of us, mostly in our 50s and 60s. Most were couples, plus a mom and daughter, a family with two boys (about 12 and 14) and three solo travelers, including me. Six were from Australia; the rest of us were from the U.S. Everyone was respectful and pretty well traveled, so dinners were full of good stories.

Every group has its characters (one hilarious guy, one slightly oblivious one), and a couple of slower walkers meant some waiting. Overall, it was a good group and we got along great.

For me, 24 is the upper limit. Bigger groups can be cheaper and a fun way to meet lots more people, but I like leaving a smaller footprint on the places I visit. It really comes down to your people tolerance. Speaking of which, I paid extra for a single room and was glad I did. As an extroverted introvert, two weeks is too long to share with a stranger.

Our Tour Manager, Driver and Local Guides

Javier, our tour manager, was organized, patient, knowledgeable and very funny, which is important when leading 23 people through five countries. Marcin, our driver, handled an American-sized coach like a pro. We also had 11 local guides along the way. Most were excellent. One knew his stuff but kept calling tourist things “crap” to seem chummy, which took the shine off his tour.

Meals and Hotels

Breakfast was included daily, we had dinner together half the nights, and all but one lunch was on our own. I thought that was a good balance. Group menus were limited (understandable), and it was a lot of meat and potatoes: tasty but rich. Highlights included a Czech cooking class in Prague (I love cooking classes and we had so much fun!), the kitschy-fun Marchfelderhof outside Vienna (red carpet, wandering accordionists, schnapps in a test tube!) and the best dang pierogi of my life in Krakow. And the portions in this part of the world are enormous. I never finished a meal.

Hotels were modern, clean and well located, ranging from compact (fine for one, tight for two) to roomy. My favorite was the Imperial Riding School in Vienna, which is an Autograph Collection (Marriott) property.

Pace and Free Time

Not counting travel, the welcome day and the departure day, this was about 11 days of touring. It was go-go-go (I averaged around 15,000–20,000 steps a day!), which I liked, but with only two or three nights per city. The activity level is rated 3; the walking was easy for me (and I'm not an athlete!), though travelers with health issues found it harder.

We had five free afternoons, plus downtime on the coach and the train to Vienna to read, write or watch the scenery. We had a "choose your activity" morning in Budapest (thermal bath or Terror Museum) as well as two optional activities (extra cost). Nearly everyone added the optional evening Danube cruise, and Budapest lit up at night is stunning. About two-thirds of the group also did the optional Schönbrunn Palace concert. I’d still have liked three days (three to four nights per city), but it was a great overview.

What Surprised Me

The coach, for one. For 23 of us, we had a full-size coach built for about twice that many. I always had a free seat next to me (score!), but it struggled on some of the narrower streets.

The Impact Moment was the other. On my G Adventures trip, we met the people behind the social enterprises and heard their stories. Here, the grandma bakers weren’t part of it, so it felt like a regular café stop. The cause is great; the experience just wasn’t very impactful. (The Sacher torte was excellent, though.)

Collette vs. G Adventures

Both take care of the logistics, and the sights you see are largely the same either way. The difference is the feel. G Adventures leans more adventurous, with more local transport, hands-on community experiences and a wide range of travel styles and ages. Collette is more polished and comfortable: nicer hotels, a big coach, luggage handled from bus to room and more included meals, with an older, well-traveled crowd. It really comes down to your travel style, and both companies do what they do well.

Tips If You’re Booking Collette

Arrive early. I flew in two days ahead to shake off jet lag and explore Berlin on my own. Stay late if you can, too. I would have loved more time in Krakow, but alas, work called.
Share food preferences in advance. Group menus are usually set, so if you’re vegetarian or pescatarian, say so before you go.
Plan for several currencies. Germany, Austria and Slovakia use euros, but Czechia, Hungary and Poland each have their own. ATMs weren’t always handy, and withdrawals often came in big bills. Make an ATM stop your first task.
Stock up on small bills for tips. Americans tip local guides and housekeeping as you go (Aussies can prepay), so having small bills in each currency saves a lot of stress.
Keep an open mind. Guides share their own views on history, politics and religion. If you disagree, ask questions rather than argue. You’re there to learn.

So, Who Is Collette For?

Collette is a great fit if you want a well-organized, comfortable trip with a varied mix of activities (history, museums, a cooking class, a river cruise, thermal baths) plus free time to do your own thing. It’s less ideal if you want a slow pace or lots of unstructured time. Mature younger travelers can enjoy it too (the two boys on our tour said they were having a good time, and did converse with all the adults, which I thought was awesome), as long as they’re comfortable with an older crowd.

Would I travel with Collette again? Absolutely.

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Ready to see Central and Eastern Europe, or anywhere else Collette goes? Contact me, and I’ll help you find the right tour.

Read about What It's Like to Travel With G Adventures.

Read more about this trip: Berlin and Dresden, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Krakow & Auschwitz, and Bratislava and Low Tatras.

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