The most popular time to visit Europe is between April and October – and indeed the shoulder months are often less crowded and better value. But Europe is a great destination any time! The experts in Europe are Transat – who offer flights to destinations right across Europe as well as tours, cruises and a la carte options to create your perfect European trip. Wonderful destinations like the Greek Islands, the Algarve in Portugal and the South of France await you!
Guided tours are great for first timers, people who don’t feel comfortable organizing travel themselves, or who have concerns about language barriers. They are also perfect for people who just want to relax and have everything done for them. Guided tours are a good choice if you have a limited amount of time and want to get the most out of your trip. With a guided tour you don’t waste a minute on things like navigating or buying entrance tickets. And they are a hassle-free way to see a large amount of a country, or even several countries, with someone else doing all the driving and a proven itinerary that makes sure you see all the important sights.
Not everyone wants to travel in a group and have all their time organized, and Europe is a good destination to choose for more independent travel. Europe is safe and civilized, so you can feel comfortable travelling by yourself. Hotels are of a high standard and transportation and particularly rail connections are a great way to get around. It is usually easy to find your way around and many people speak English and / or French.
You often hear the phrase “go as you please” and this is never more true than when you explore Europe with Transat. It can start with just a flight to one of 28 popular cities like Paris, Rome, Lisbon or Barcelona. Building on that, Transat has a number of different products that allow you to pre-book just the right number of services you want and to balance the amount of organization and free time to suit your travel style. You can simply book a la carte car rental, hotel bookings and excursions - or take advantage of single and multi-city packages that mean you are free to explore by yourself, but all transport and accommodation is pre-booked for you.
There is no better way to experience Europe than to live like a local. Transat offer unique stays in villas and apartment studios that include kitchens, which are a good choice if you want to stay longer and do some of your own shopping and cooking while abroad. You can find this option in France, Spain, Portugal and Italy. Self-catering long stays are very popular and very affordable through the winter months - the Algarve in Portugal, in particular, is a great alternative to seeking winter sun in Florida.
Mediterranean cruising is also an excellent way to see Europe. It is a good choice for first timers who want to see a lot of Europe, and perhaps decide where they want to return in more depth later. Europe is relatively compact, and travellers can see many cities or sites efficiently on a cruise. Cruising also attracts people who want to visit the great cities of Europe in a relaxing travel style without packing and unpacking - and it is great for families and groups.
You need not be afraid that you are seeing Europe “from the outside” on a cruise - most cruise ships sail at night and arrive in the next port of call early in the morning - allowing passengers a full day to see the sights. Most of Europe's major cities were built right on the water and your ports of call are all about the history, art and culture of the cities you visit. You spend less time on board than you might do on an ocean-going ship sailing in the Caribbean for instance, and a lot of the time you are off the ship on shore excursions, experiencing the destination. Even while you are on board, with Mediterranean-based cruise operators, your ship will also have a very European feel.
River cruising is also very popular - and it is a different experience again. River cruise ships are small intimate ships with generally less than 150 passengers. You gently glide along the river – with no risk of motion sickness – and watch Europe go by out of your window. Then when you walk off the ship you are right in the heart of some of Europe’s most magnificent cities.
Europe offers so much to see and so many ways to experience it! With many years of experience behind then Transat have created extremely flexible vacation options and excellent itineraries and excursions to ensure that you make the most of your trip.
Transat Trip Showcase
Transat, Canada’s leading vacation company, features more vacation options to Europe than any other tour operator: 28 destinations in all, including flights to Tel Aviv Israel.
Air Transat have just celebrated their 30th Anniversary and Europe is a very important part of their program – they fly over a million people each year. Transat’s top destinations in Europe are France, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Greece has also regained its popularity of old. Their new destinations added in the last few years include the Czech Republic, Croatia and Israel.
A huge advantage of flying with Transat to Europe is their linked flights from Western Canada. They have really expanded the flights from both Vancouver and Calgary, offering over 30 destinations now from direct flights to Paris and London to connecting via Toronto or Montreal to Rome, Athens, Dublin or Amsterdam. This is very useful if you have family or friends joining you on your European vacation.
Transat have a multitude of packages to Europe such as guided tours, multi city packages, and even one city packages. These offer vacationers a pre-booked package in Canadian dollars that can include pre-booked flights, accommodation, some meals and even sightseeing.
Guided Tours
Guided Tours are a good choice and a hassle-free way to see more of a destination. Typically, these tours run with a maximum of 48 passengers and include sightseeing, meals, air, and transportation in first class coaches.
A top selling tours is the 9-day Da Vinci tour, popular because it starts in Rome and ends in Venice, which saves visitors’ time and also includes Assisi and Florence as well. It’s a really a good choice for first timers wanting to focus on the main cities in just over a weeks’ trip.
Unforgettable Ireland is another top seller because it features all the main highlights in 9 days as well. Starting in Dublin it includes Blarney Castle, the Ring of Kerry, the Cliffs of Moher and the beautiful region of Galway, plus a lot more.
Group travel is increasingly popular, and Transat is the answer here too. In fact, they specialize in packaging trips for group travel. Church groups, wine groups, whatever they may be, can customize trips to the various destinations Transat offer. A great place to start is to look at the guided tours in the Transat brochure as a guide. Very often Transat group itineraries will mirror these itineraries because they offer everything most people want to see in that destination. However, Transat can make it a private departure for that group, including your own guide and driver. Transat specialists will work with their travel professional partners to build exactly what the group needs.
Cycling Tours
Transat also offer cycling tours for both avid and casual cyclists wanting to explore Europe in an up close and personal way. Routes include the canals of France, the Loire Valley, Bordeaux and even Costa Brava in Spain. Bikes can be rented but for avid cyclists Transat charge $30 per bike each way for those transporting their own bicycles. Their local company has been in business for over 50 years and is based out of Quebec: Velo Quebec has built packages that include everything from transportation, baggage transport, meals and GPX and maps.
Your Way Tours
Independent travellers to Europe can also take advantage of Transat’s expertise. Many like to have their flights and hotel booked but don’t really want too much to be organized, and they don’t want to travel in a group. Transat have a number of different products that can cater to these independent travellers, allowing them to pre-book just the right amount of services that they need.
Your Way tours are new tours for travellers who like some guided visits but worry that a coach tour will not give them enough flexibility or time on their own to explore and go out for dinner. These tours are perfect for travellers who like discovering a city at leisure - but wish that someone else would plan the transportation and accommodation for them. A guide will still accompany them aboard a coach transfer between cities but the moment they check into their hotel they are on their own to explore the city at their leisure. These tours are the half-way house between guided coach tours and doing it yourself. “Your Way” tours are available in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and Croatia.
City Packages
For those that like even less structure, there are city packages that include air, hotel, some breakfasts and train or ferry transfers between cities or islands, as in Greece. There is no group, no guide but the main services are booked for the traveller ahead of time and then they travel on their own in destination. These arrangements are available in Paris, London, and Tel Aviv for example. There are also multi city stays that include, as an example, 11 nights to Porto, Algarve and Lisbon in Portugal. Lastly, if travellers need just air only, hotel only, car rental and / or city excursions, these can all be booked with Transat too.
Villa and Apratment Rentals
Transat offer very affordable longer stays with Villa and Apartment rentals. Centrally located Citadine Apart’hotels in Paris include cleaning and linen change once a week. Transat also has apartments and condominiums in the Costa Del Sol and the Algarve, as well as 600 villas, apartments and country homes in beautiful Tuscany and Umbria in Italy.
Cruising
Cruising is another wonderful way to experience Europe and Transat has this covered, both in the Mediterranean and on the great rivers of Europe. Transat’s cruise partners are NCL, Costa, MSC, Pullmantur and CroisiEurope.
Top selling itineraries include Norwegian Spirit’s 12 nights Adriatic - an amazing itinerary including highlights like Dubrovnik, Venice, Split, Corfu and Malta. For first timers, the MSC Divina is a great choice with another memorable itinerary including Sicily, Sardinia, Valencia, Marseilles and Genoa.
River cruising is also offered with CroisiEurope, the largest river cruise line in Europe. Many people don’t know about them but they have been operating since 1976. All itineraries are English-speaking and they feature itineraries on the rivers of France and also the Douro River in Portugal.
Ask your travel agent for the Transat Europe 2018 brochure and go to www.transat.com to start planning your dream trip to Europe this summer.