The Excellence of Casterbridge’s Comprehensive Tour Services

As groups return from their great concert tours, we are always heartened to read the latest comments about the services we provide on every Casterbridge Concert Tour. We hope that you find these comments useful as you prepare for your 2010 and 2011 travel.

Venues & Performances

“The performance venues were classy and the audiences were great. We could not have asked or hoped for a better trip overseas”
T.C. – Wisconsin – Performing Tour to Great Britain

“Just a brief note to thank you for all you, and Casterbridge Tours did for us. We consider this was our best trip ever, and we were all delighted with your planning. Everything about it was superb. Thank you for the two wonderful venues, Bath Abbey and Christ Church Cathedral. This was our fifth trip with Casterbridge. We have always been more than satisfied”
A.K. – Virginia – Performing Tour to Britain

“We’ve never had as good publicity as what Casterbridge provided! This trip has brought the band together on a personal level, something that has never happened before. The trip may be over, but the spirit of being a group and not just a collection of musicians who rarely talk to each other lives on. Thank you, and when we plan our next big trip to Europe, we will be sure to contact you!”
D.C. – Virginia – Performing Tour to Britain

“ We thoroughly enjoyed that beautiful theatre and the audience was wonderfully supportive. Undoubtedly, St. Saviour was all of our favorites. The acoustics were magnificent and the audience! What more can I say? We were so pleased with the full house and positive response from both of the concerts. Although we had 40 strings, St. Savior’s acoustics enabled us to sound twice as many. Simply magnificent! I will continue to use Casterbridge for our trips and will continue singing it’s praises to my colleagues. Thank you again for all of your patience, time, and expertise.”
L.S. – Florida – Performing Tour to Prague

“I just wanted to let you know how pleased I was with the concert venues on our recent England concert tour. The audiences were very appreciative, and of course singing in Bath Abbey and Christ Church Oxford thrilled everyone. Our final concert appearance at the Royal Military School of Music is an experience that none of us will ever forget. Thanks for your help. We were extremely pleased with every aspect of Casterbridge Tours during our trip. I certainly will be using your company again. The tour certainly met and exceeded my expectations. The venues and pacing of the trip were excellent. Everything was handled very smoothly and efficiently.”
M.L. – Delaware – Performing Tour to Britain

“At St. Peter’s in Vienna we had a great crowd and a fabulous place to sing in. The advertising seemed to really draw in the crowds.”
J.B. – Virginia – Performing Tour to Italy & Austria

“An incredible experience. Our assistant at St Giles said that this was the largest audience she’d seen at a lunchtime cathedral. She said that usually people wander in and out, but for this concert they filled the church and stayed. The crowd throughout the tour were exceptional. This seems to be what Casterbridge Tours does best and will definitely be attractive when we look at our next international tour. Great concert venues.”
J.S. – Texas – Performing Tour to Ireland, Wales & Scotland

“Words cannot express my gratitude for the effecient way you and Casterbridge set up, arranged and delivered such a magnificent tour. The kids will always remember Greece, their tour guide Alexandros, and their outstanding concert venues with great affection. You guys are awesome.”
J.F. – Pennsylvania – Performing Tour to Greece

Arrival Days

Quite nice to hit the ground running (Winchester & Stonehenge)!
M.M. – Maryland – Tour to England

Happily met by Alan Collier and Noel, the bus driver – lunch in Chartres was an added bonus and a welcome lunch stop.
L.T. – Virginia – Tour to France

The trip got off to a perfect start on the arrival day. Our walk in the fresh air at Runnymeade was exactly what we needed! Also Andrew’s unscheduled visit in the late afternoon to Corfe Castle was a wonderful remedy to our jet-lagged bodies. The students were intrigued and rejuvenated!”
R.M. – South Carolina – Tour to England

Meals

“Thanks so much for the good, varied menu and steering the students away from American style fast food-like restaurants with hundreds of other students! The Italian-style menus were quite good and I received many compliment. Again, Thanks for the no-fries dinners.”
V.D. – California – Tour to Italy

It was nice at Le Chat qui Peche to have the opportunity to taste some typical French dishes and enjoy the ambiance of a small restaurant.
J.W. – New York – Tour to France

Excellent in all respects. Karine (TM/G) worked hard to ensure variety and especially regional dishes – so important to authenticity to the trip.
A.S. – Connecticut

All meals were excellent, and the “family touch” given by Maria Teresa Milla (tour manager/guide) and her family was great. The cooking classes in her house gave a special flavor to the trip.
S.M. – Massachusetts –Tour to Peru

“Stacey, thank you so much for all your work concerning our trip. It was wonderful! Your restaurant and food arrangements were the best ever, and in general the hotels were fine. The Salamanca one was wonderful!”
R.P. – Tennessee – Tour to Spain

“ The restaurant in the Hotel Girasole was excellent. The food was superb and different each night. Everyone enjoyed the food the most. “
V.S. – Virginia – Tour to Italy

“Obermuhle Hotel in Garmisch: both food and accommodation were excellent.”
P.W. – Texas – Tour to Germany

Transportation

“Oh, what a marvelous trip!!!! It was absolutely wonderful!! Everything ran like ‘clockwork.’ Every bus was on time as were the escorts. It was amazing with all the different people, buses, locations, etc. that everything was so smooth. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!
A.F. – Illinois – Tour to Greece

“Our bus driver, Antonios, also deserves special credit for being safe and reliable. All of our hotels were very nice and centrally located, which was a big plus as well. Thank you for all of your help”
J.S. – New Jersey – Tour to Greece

“I would appreciate it if you could pass on to the bus companies my gratitude for the two outstanding bus drivers they assigned to our group. Roberto and Guiseppe were terrific. They went above and beyond any bus driver that I have worked with in the past. They had a positive attitude and a phenomenal personality. Some days were very long for them, but they always smiled and never gave anything less than perfection.
Stacy Gole – Georgia – Tour to Italy

“Nice pace for first day and Alessandro was a perfect driver, he was a peach! He took excellent care – drove safely, stopped for bathroom when needed, kind to the kids. A very nice man.”
D.B. – Ohio

“ We all loved Norman [our driver] – he was very much a gentleman. He also made sure that we, and our belongings, were as safe as possible. Our traveling with [him] was very comfortable. He kept the bus tidy and drove very smoothly. “
K.R. – California – Tour to Britain

“Our driver Salvatore was very smooth, patient and professional.”
M.H. – Virginia – Tour to Italy

“And our buses were in the right place at the right time, which is a victory in itself in Honduras.”
M.P. – Maryland – Tour to Honduras

Hotels

“We thank you heartily for helping us make this tour. Compared to other larger tour companies, yours was a step up in quality in hotel and food and ticketing. I’m very thankful that I chose to follow Ian’s advice and book with Casterbridge!”
K.R. – California

“I couldn’t recommend our hotel in Tela more highly. It was a very nice facility and location, had a helpful staff and a solicitous owner. “
M.P. – Maryland – Tour to Honduras

“Our first hotel in Sicily was awesome! Near the beach, clean and pretty rooms, and great food! Our Driver was Incredible and superb in every way!”
S.R. – Virginia – Tour to Sicily

“Our hotel, the Brebant, was ideally located, with a metro entrance a few steps away. The rooms were comfortable, well heated, and the staff very helpful and courteous. Breakfast was great.
M-F.S. – California – Tour to Paris

“ Thanks to Casterbridge, it was a fabulous, fantastic trip full of fun and VALUE. The quality of our accommodations and the attractions we visited were far beyond our expectations.”
S.D. – North Carolina – Tour to England

Guides

Our tour manager, Jose was the best. I can’t say enough good things about him. He lead us everyday with a positive attitude and a great deal of vigor. I hope that I will have the fortune of working with him again in the future.”
S.G. – Georgia – Tour to Spain

“We were blessed with having such a wonderful guide as Philippe. Not only was he very knowledgeable about Paris, he had a great rapport with parents and children alike. He was always poised, polite, upbeat and very patient and flexible.”
M.F.S. – California – Tour to Paris

Again, your selection of a guide, in this case Rolando, proved to be instrumental in making the tour so delightful. Rolando is one of the loveliest human beings I’ve ever met, and I know that I speak for the rest of the group in saying so. Not only is he desirous to please, he is also tremendously knowledgable about what is and is not possible to accomplish within a day or evening. He knows Italy like the back of his hand, and his love of the country is evident and contagious. He possesses a precious sense of humor that kept all of us highly amused, but we also knew when he meant business. We were in very good hands indeed! “
P.H. – Alabama – Tour to Italy

“We had a terrific trip, and I have nothing but praise for Sergio. The students loved him, and I was impressed by how committed he was to helping all of us make the most of our time in Italy and France.”
D.M. – Tennessee – Tour to Italy & France

“The infrastructure is still very rudimentary compared to Europe and for this reason you need to travel with a really good guide who is flexible, resourceful and creative. Fortunately for us, you found us just such a guide who was all those, plus hard working and invariably cheerful.”
H.E. – District of Columbia – Tour to Peru

Everything was wonderful. I just want you to know that once we landed in Italy this trip was a success largely due to the incredible guidance from Giulio. He is a “class act” and very hard to top. There aren’t enough adjectives in the dictionary to describe his personality, intelligence, and patience. If all of your tour managers were like him you would probably be the only tour company in Europe!!!! He greeted us with a tremendous smile every morning and said goodnight to us with that same smile. It was truly sad saying goodbye to him at the airport. He will be missed by everyone. All of the students have already come to my classroom this morning telling me that they can’t wait to travel again next year with me and that they are praying that Giulio will once again grace us with his company.”
S.G. – Georgia – Tour to Italy

I also wanted to let you know what a true treasure Ciaran Moss is. Ciaran keep everyone smiling with spirits high. He really made the trip for us. I knew from last year that he was a wonderful guide. Now that I know how truly fantastic he is.”
M.W. – Iowa – Tour to Spain

“Our tour manager Paola was a wonderful choice. Paola was at our disposal – fixing rooms, rearranging schedules and helping get medicine from pharmacy for kids. Everything I asked for happened and Paola was very kind in arranging for different times when we needed to change admission to museums due to the museum strike – we needed to get new admissions the next day and Paola succeeded in rearranging two museums to allow us to visit both places! She was great! I want her for our next trip. Wonderful!!!!! Students got a chance to draw from the masters – fantastic experience for us all.
D.B. – Ohio

“We had a wonderful trip. Our tour guide, Fiona – a young woman I had worked with before – was exceptional. Thanks for all of your help. “
J.W. – Illinois – Tour to Italy

Our tour manager, Manuela, was superb. She made our trip very memorable. Manuela was very accommodating and went out of her way to make us happy. She is very knowledgeable and had everything organized so that the trip went smoothly. All of the students liked her and related well with her. I would recommend her to anyone. I would definitely use her again. I know that each time I use Casterbridge, I will receive the same quality of service, which is excellent. I don’t think that I would ever use any other company.”
V.S. – Virginia – Tour to Italy

“Our trip was wonderful. Ciaron Moss was amazing. We definitely want to request him again for next year’s trip.”
R.D. – Tennessee – Tour to Italy

“The trip to Greece was great. Our tour guide, Gina Encomidou, was excellent – the best tour guide yet. You should always use her for your Casterbridge tour groups when you can.”
J.Y. – Connecticut – Tour to Greece

“Our tour guide, Valena, was outstanding! She seemed to know everything about Greek culture, language, mythology, art, archeology, and architecture.”
J.S. – New Jersey – Tour to Greece

John (Guide) is well versed in French history and has an easy rapport with the students. They all hugged him at the airport on Monday and were genuinely sorry to leave him! .”
C.B. – Massachusetts – Tour to France

The trip was perfect!!! Fiona, our guide, was one of the best things about the tour. She helped us out and made us feel 100% safe. Thank you!!”
S.M. – Virginia – Tour to Greece

“Overall, the tour was wonderful – beyond my expectations, really. Thanks for a life-changing experience. Our guide Richard greeted us with a friendly smile (which followed us consistently throughout the trip). He was clear, helpful and accommodating – as well as extremely competent.”
K.R. – California – Tour to Britain

“I’m very impressed with our tour manager, Douglas. He knows groups, he did his research and he was very good with the students. Very easy to work with: we spent time each day planning and reorganizing and it was a pleasure to do. I learned a lot about dealing with groups watching him work.”
K.H. – Michigan

Iain is an excellent tour manager, especially with a predominantly adult group. He was very easy to work with in keeping the itinerary going smoothly.”
B.B. – North Carolina

“Our tour manager was wonderful! Flexible! Friendly! Caring! Everything anyone would want in a guide. The local guides in Pompeii, The Vatican and Arles were all excellent.”
P.W. – Washington DC – Tour to Italy

Our tour manager Manuela was wonderful. We enjoyed spending the week with her. She was friendly, professional, adept at handling Italian restaurateurs and good at planning times. We especially enjoyed her showing us her hometown and taking us, at our request, to her father’s wine shop. I would love to have her again for a trip guide.
M.H. – Virginia – Tour to Italy

We wanted to express our appreciation for our guide, Jaroslav. He did an excellent job getting us around the cities and pointing out the important historical significance and musical importance of what we saw. He did all this with a sense of humor, a willingness to be flexible to our needs and a caring attitude. In general, we enjoyed this tour very much and learned a great deal.”
R.W. – California – Tour to Eastern Europe

“The trip was great! Everyone wanted to stay longer and see more of the country. We simply cannot say enough about John (guide); he was amazing. The instant rapport developed between he and the group made the trip even that much more special. For the week we were in England, it felt as if we were traveling as a family of fourteen. I have been taking students on trips for over ten years, and I honestly must say this was the best of the lot. John and Darren made the trip. Thank you for an amazing trip, it was an experience none of us will ever forget.”
M.W. – Illinois – Tour to England

“We had a terrific trip, and I have nothing but praise for Sergio. The students loved him, and I was impressed by how committed he was to helping all of us make the most of our time in Italy and France.”
D.M. – Tennessee – Tour to Italy & France

“Thanks for a wonderful tour. Every detail and connection was excellent. Kudos and hats off to Sergio! He is the best guide that I have ever had in my 25 years of touring abroad with students.”
R.C. – Georgia – Tour to Italy

“ It was a fantastic trip, masterfully hosted by John Lionet, a wonderful guide who was well in tune with the needs of the group and the travel philosophy of our school.”
J.B. – Virginia – l Tour to France

“Just wanted to let you know that Spencer did a terrific job. He really had a servant’s heart, and that put him in good stead with the students!!! I really want to use him next year.”
M.B. – Indiana

“Our tour manager had an excellent ability to get around and organize everything. He was charming, wonderful and we would love to do another tour together. We were really impressed with the 2 Uffizi guides.”
D.G. – California – Tour to Italy

“Our tour manager Carlos was an excellent guide, very knowledgeable and great with the kids.”
L.B. – Spanish Teacher, Maryland – Tour to Costa Rica

“Luisa (Guide) was just wonderful. She communicated very effectively with me every step of the way and had an excellent rapport with the students. We often modified plans en route to suit the energy and interests of the students and she was very helpful in that regard – offering suggestions and alternatives.”
C.B.M. – Virginia

“ We indeed had a very nice time and the guide, Nelly Zanolli-Turner, was wonderful. The girls absolutely adored her!!”
C.J. – Massachusetts

“Karine (our guide) is extraordinary! We intend to personally recommend her to future groups from our school. Excellent rapport with the kids. Extremely accommodating and resourceful, we were never disappointed. She overcame all obstacles, we will miss her!”
J.S. – Connecticut

“Mr. Anthony Russell is a perfect tour guide. He provided factual and interesting information, but also gave students the chance to think for themselves.”
C.P. – Iowa – Tour of England

“I have had firsthand experience with 5 of your guides (and 2 by second hand), and I can say without fear of exaggeration that John Lionet is the best. I cannot imagine anyone better. He was not only careful with the obvious but was able to give a sense of calm in stressful moments. He was kind, thoughtful, precise yet never overbearing.”
C.M. – North Carolina – Tour to Spain

“Anthony was a truly exceptionally well-educated guide! His knowledge was an enormous asset to our students and us as leaders. He made our trip memorable, enjoyable and a wonderful learning experience.”
C.S. – Virginia

I would sign on my students for any tour led by Tom Parsons. He is magnificent! Don’t let him get away. Tom is a rare gem! He bonded with the group, worked incisively to adjust the itinerary to our exact needs, added cultural tidbits (including a Latin reading at Pompeii) and humor.”
D.N. – Virginia – Tour to Italy

Local Guides

“We had a great time and by now you should have received a glowing report on the trip and our guides Sev, who was our trip guide, and Jan, our Florence guide.”
H.J. – North Carolina – Tour to Italy

“She also picked excellent local guides. Both Wilber and Vanessa knew their history, but where also able to convey information in such a way that these sixteen 15/16 year olds found it interesting and listened.”
H.E. – District of Columbia – Tour to Peru

Our Pompeii guide was the best we’ve had in my 33 years of travel! The students adored her. Our Rome guide was also superb!
S.R. – Virginia – Tour to Sicily

“Our guide at Westminster Abbey was very informative. She had a great sense of humor as well.”
K.R. – California – Tour to Britain

“Our tour manager was wonderful! Flexible! Friendly! Caring! Everything anyone would want in a guide. The local guides in Pompeii, The Vatican and Arles were all excellent.”
P.W. – Washington DC – Tour to Italy

“Daniella, the local guide at Capri was excellent; she offered extra information with enthusiasm.”
M.H. – Virginia – Tour to Italy

 
 
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