SOTC group tours - review

DieselFan · 24th April 2009, 15:39

Hi,

I am planning to take SOTC group tour to Europe and would like to have reviews and experiences you may have with this tour operator.

Eddy · 24th April 2009, 16:09

I have had a good experience with a tour organised by married2speed on the forum. Although mine was a domestic tour, I think Sukhpal is a Europe expert. You can take his help if you want to.

Enjoy the journey !!!!

crn12 · 24th April 2009, 16:25

Im in the travel technology, my understanding on who is best can be limited, however here goes the list according to my friend who has about 25 yrs of exp in Airline industry

1) Raj
2) TC / Kuoni
3) SOTC
4) Cox&Kings

hrishig · 24th April 2009, 16:55

Try kesari tour. They are from bombay.

phamilyman · 24th April 2009, 17:29

Why no DIY? Europe is QUITE friendly for DIY. Rent cars or use public transport/trains. And you save a tremendous amount.

Unless you're going with aged parents that is.

abhinav.gupta88 · 24th April 2009, 17:50

I have been with SOTC group twice .
Once to Singapore/Malaysia.
Once to Dubai/Mauritius.

My experiences have been good both time.
Even Cox and Kings is pretty good too.

arindamray · 24th April 2009, 18:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Why no DIY? Europe is QUITE friendly for DIY. Rent cars or use public transport/trains. And you save a tremendous amount.

+1 to that.
I have done two holidays outside India - Singapore/Malaysia and Switzerland. Both were DIY, and the best part of it is the tour starts way ahead, when you start to plan.

Technocrat · 24th April 2009, 18:20

What I would like to know is why do you want to go with a big Operator?

A few years back when I was planning for my Honeymoon(Malaysia) I did this

1) Talked to Big players & see what hotels are offered at what rate & itinery

2) All of them will have some common hotels(if most of the big players select a hotel then chances are that its a good one), so select what fits you best & draw a rough travel plan

3) Approach any local(but reputed) travel operators show them this itinery & bargain for best price.

4) I did this & got the package which was atleast 25k cheaper than the big brands

I hope this helps

Centro-P · 24th April 2009, 18:31

My parents and I went with SOTC to Europe a few years ago. It was an excellent experience. You get Indian food wherever you go. The tour guide was very helpful and friendly and quite knowledgeable about places. The hotels they put us in were very nice. But as the tour progressed the rooms got smaller and smaller. The only thing I didn't like was that the tour of cities like London/Paris were through inside the bus only. But of course you can pay an extra $200(or something like that) and get an extra 2 days accommodation in these cities and can travel around in your own time.

Overall it was a very satisfying experience. Gives you a big picture on how things work over there so you can go there on your own the next time.

CorsaLove · 24th April 2009, 19:47

Almost all the people that I know and me too have used only two of the best travel tour operators in the country.

Raj Tours
Makemytrip

Makemytrip gives a lot of options and is as good as a DIY tour and hence the costs are very less. They are very well organized and you would not have any disconnect with their people no matter which country you are in.

Only one suggestion, if you want to try Makemytrip, talk to the Delhi office directly. No other branches have much knowledge and take time to respond to you for every query.

Raj on the other hand has everything organized and very well guided tour with all inclusive. They are the only ones who even include entry tickets if applicable anywhere or else you would have to carry a lot of cash in the foreign currency.

Let us know what you decide and have a nice trip!

married2speed · 25th April 2009, 03:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eddy

I have had a good experience with a tour organised by married2speed on the forum. Although mine was a domestic tour, I think Sukhpal is a Europe expert. You can take his help if you want to.

Enjoy the journey !!!!

Thanks E.

Quote:

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Why no DIY? Europe is QUITE friendly for DIY. Rent cars or use public transport/trains. And you save a tremendous amount.

Unless you're going with aged parents that is.

Nahin dost.... FIT travel is expensive than Group travel but then it has it's own benefits as well but it depends on as to what are you looking for and what all is "included"

Quote:

Originally Posted by DieselFan

Hi,

I am planning to take SOTC group tour to Europe and would like to have reviews and experiences you may have with this tour operator.

Hey DF
SOTC, C & K and TC all 3 are equally good in terms of group travel and equally competitive. What I would suggest is, contact all 3 of them and get them to send you the itineraries you have in mind. Compare the hotels each one of them is offereing along with the list of the resteraunt's where they'll be arranging your meals etc etc. At the end of the day, whichever one is giving you a good deal and a nice "handling" experience, go with it.
That being said, Group travel would mean that the entire group travels together, which at times may be not upto your liking. You may wish to spend more time at an X place while the group may want to move on. Hence, people prefer to travel at their own pace.
That being said, if it's a guide that you need which'll give you the sense of "security", that can also be arranged in a FIT travel ,
If you need any help , don't hesitate to drop me a PM.
Hope the small insight helped
Have a nice journey
M2S

DieselFan · 25th April 2009, 07:55

Thanks all for valuable suggestions. keep it flowing. I would prefer a group tour now as a first europe tour then the next time onwards I will do on my own the places I like. This is a sampler tour which I taking.

ece2k2 · 11th October 2018, 15:48

Guys, is sotc a reliable tour operator for the European region?

View Poll Results: Who is the best tour operator to Europe in India
SOTC is best among tour operators from India	2	22.22%
Cox and Kings are better than SOTC	0	0%
Thomas Cook are better than SOTC	1	11.11%
Other tour operators are better - please mention which in the thread.	6	66.67%
Voters: 9. You may not vote on this poll

24th April 2009, 15:39	#1
DieselFan Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,584 Thanked: 259 Times	SOTC group tours - review Hi, I am planning to take SOTC group tour to Europe and would like to have reviews and experiences you may have with this tour operator.
	() Thanks

24th April 2009, 16:09	#2
Eddy Team-BHP Support Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Singapore Posts: 9,547 Thanked: 14,420 Times	I have had a good experience with a tour organised by married2speed on the forum. Although mine was a domestic tour, I think Sukhpal is a Europe expert. You can take his help if you want to. Enjoy the journey !!!!
	() Thanks

24th April 2009, 16:25	#3
crn12 BANNED Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 186 Thanked: 18 Times Infractions: 0/1 (5)	Im in the travel technology, my understanding on who is best can be limited, however here goes the list according to my friend who has about 25 yrs of exp in Airline industry 1) Raj 2) TC / Kuoni 3) SOTC 4) Cox&Kings
	() Thanks

24th April 2009, 16:55	#4
hrishig BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Pune Posts: 466 Thanked: 183 Times	Try kesari tour. They are from bombay.
	() Thanks

24th April 2009, 17:29	#5
phamilyman Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 5,976 Thanked: 4,673 Times	Why no DIY? Europe is QUITE friendly for DIY. Rent cars or use public transport/trains. And you save a tremendous amount. Unless you're going with aged parents that is.
	() Thanks

24th April 2009, 17:50	#6
abhinav.gupta88 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Delhi , India Posts: 4,093 Thanked: 341 Times View My Garage	I have been with SOTC group twice . Once to Singapore/Malaysia. Once to Dubai/Mauritius. My experiences have been good both time. Even Cox and Kings is pretty good too.
	() Thanks

24th April 2009, 18:20	#8
Technocrat Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: GTA Posts: 14,815 Thanked: 2,704 Times	What I would like to know is why do you want to go with a big Operator? A few years back when I was planning for my Honeymoon(Malaysia) I did this 1) Talked to Big players & see what hotels are offered at what rate & itinery 2) All of them will have some common hotels(if most of the big players select a hotel then chances are that its a good one), so select what fits you best & draw a rough travel plan 3) Approach any local(but reputed) travel operators show them this itinery & bargain for best price. 4) I did this & got the package which was atleast 25k cheaper than the big brands I hope this helps Last edited by Technocrat : 24th April 2009 at 18:22.
	() Thanks

24th April 2009, 18:31	#9
Centro-P BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Toronto Posts: 66 Thanked: 2 Times	My parents and I went with SOTC to Europe a few years ago. It was an excellent experience. You get Indian food wherever you go. The tour guide was very helpful and friendly and quite knowledgeable about places. The hotels they put us in were very nice. But as the tour progressed the rooms got smaller and smaller. The only thing I didn't like was that the tour of cities like London/Paris were through inside the bus only. But of course you can pay an extra $200(or something like that) and get an extra 2 days accommodation in these cities and can travel around in your own time. Overall it was a very satisfying experience. Gives you a big picture on how things work over there so you can go there on your own the next time.
	() Thanks

24th April 2009, 19:47	#10
CorsaLove BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 392 Thanked: 18 Times View My Garage	Almost all the people that I know and me too have used only two of the best travel tour operators in the country. Raj Tours Makemytrip Makemytrip gives a lot of options and is as good as a DIY tour and hence the costs are very less. They are very well organized and you would not have any disconnect with their people no matter which country you are in. Only one suggestion, if you want to try Makemytrip, talk to the Delhi office directly. No other branches have much knowledge and take time to respond to you for every query. Raj on the other hand has everything organized and very well guided tour with all inclusive. They are the only ones who even include entry tickets if applicable anywhere or else you would have to carry a lot of cash in the foreign currency. Let us know what you decide and have a nice trip!
	() Thanks

25th April 2009, 07:55	#12
DieselFan Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,584 Thanked: 259 Times	Thanks all for valuable suggestions. keep it flowing. I would prefer a group tour now as a first europe tour then the next time onwards I will do on my own the places I like. This is a sampler tour which I taking.
	() Thanks

11th October 2018, 15:48	#13
ece2k2 BHPian Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Coimbatore Posts: 524 Thanked: 357 Times	Re: SOTC group tours - review Guys, is sotc a reliable tour operator for the European region?
	() Thanks