The Riviera Difference
A Free Night
Overseas travel is tiring. To help with the jet-lag, if you want to arrive the day before the tour starts, no problem. On some tours it’s on us, and we even include breakfast the next morning, please see Dates and Prices section for details.
International Branded and Boutique Hotels
At Riviera Tours our overwhelming aim is to get ‘under the skin’ of a destination and you will see these hallmarks emerging throughout our organization. First, every Tour Operator will tell you, they are proud to partner with well-known international hotel brands like Hilton, Crowne-Plaza and Inter-Continental. We are too, and we include many of these excellent suppliers in our tours. But to help achieve our aim, we mix major international hotels with stylish boutique-style properties. Why? Because their ambience is so refreshingly different and individual, the experience will be more representative of the country you are visiting. Dining in boutique hotels tends to be generally more regional and you cannot beat the service levels of good, ownermanaged businesses. The result is that your experience is very representative of the country you are in and our guests appreciate this contrast.
Not 'On The Go'
We avoid long motor coach journeys by making extensive use of Europe’s excellent (and the world’s finest) railroad network. For instance, Madrid to Seville by motor coach is eight hours, but by train, it is just over two, giving you more time to immerse yourself in the local culture and color. We consistently think of your comfort! When flying to Europe in particular, airline schedules ensure you fly overnight, landing early the next morning. When you arrive at your hotel, you usually have to wait until the afternoon to check-in. With Riviera, when you arrive on the start date of your tour, your room is available immediately so you can take a shower, freshen up and rest a little. A small point perhaps, but when you arrive we guarantee you will appreciate it.
Pre-Booked Visits and Excursions
Your vacation time is special and you do not want to spend it in lines, so we pre-book visits and guides. So for example, while the Vatican is one of the most visited places in Europe, with us, you will experience a private guided tour with state of the art wireless headsets around these amazing buildings. We do this so you can learn and ask questions as you wish, providing you with an in-depth and intimate sightseeing experience, which will be truly memorable.
Fine Dining
We consider dining to be an integral part of any vacation. Certain destinations like France, Spain and Italy are inseparable from their love of fine cuisine. People from all backgrounds are eager to share their considerable knowledge with visitors. You can be in the simplest of bars and find the locals arguing passionately about the attributes, or otherwise of various restaurants, recipes, cheeses and wines! It’s almost a religion! To experience this heritage, on many tours, we visit several internationally recognized restaurants, acknowledged by Zagat and the world’s ‘foodie’s bible’, Michelin, as some of the finest establishments of their kind. You won’t find these places overrun with tourists, just people who appreciate fine dining at the highest level.
Find out more about Riviera here.
