Why Quo Vadis?

RELAXED PACE:

We aim to provide tours that are of a slower pace –  not to see 12 countries in 8 days through the windows of a coach! More three night stopovers, shorter drives and more free time to truly explore and savor the tastes of the places visited.

With our “Dalmatian Rhapsody” tour and cruise traversing only five countries in 24 days, we truly get to visit and explore in far greater depth the areas that most other tours will just “see” through the windows of the coach as they are driving past on to the next destination. This trip also includes an incredibly relaxing 7-night mini cruise thorough the Croatia islands!

On our 24-day “Splendours of Scandinavia” trip, instead of shortening the trip and having longer drives, we decided to stretch out the trip and include three internal flights. This reduces a lot of the long drive days that usually tire out the guests whee they say more-or-less the same scenery day after day.

MORE INCLUSIONS:

In our experience many people arrive on the first day of their tour not realising there are many other things they need to pay for. Unlike most other operators we also include all tips in your tour price for hotels porteage, the Tour Driver and the Tour Director.

At Quo Vadis Holidays our aim is to include many unique experiences as included in your tour price so you’re not constantly reaching into your pockets and purses to pay for hidden extra activities whilst on your holiday!

4 STAR:

Many tour operators use 3 star tourist class hotels that are on the outskirts of the cities and sometimes nowhere near the cities visited at all. At Quo Vadis Holidays our aim is to provide truly European 4 star plus hotels that are located IN the cities we visit wherever possible. We have chosen what we consider to be the best hotels with the best locations so that as much as possible you can make your way easily back to your hotel in your free-time at your own leisure without having to worry about coach pick-ups, taxis or public transport.

In the larger cities where it is physically impossible to be close to everything at the same time we carefully consider all elements of that city to choose the best of sightseeing, shopping, hotel quality and nearby local dining possibilities.

In some cases we choose higher quality over location as to be too central can sometimes also mean older hotels and noisier locations. It’s all about finding the best option in each city. In some cases we will do the reverse and choose location over quality to keep you in amongst “the action”!

At times we choose absolutely unique accommodation such as the famed and iconic glass igloos and log cabins of Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort in northern Finland or the northernmost and largest ice hotel in the world located at 70ºnorth in Alta, Norway. These are all part of our bucket-list ticking Northern Lights Trip.

LATER STARTS:

The earlier you get up the more you will see and the less traffic you will deal with – TRUE! However at Quo Vadis we realise that you have worked very hard to come away and have a holiday and not feel like you’re on an army boot camp! Our aim is to have as many 9am or later starts as possible. In some cases we even try to give no specific wake-up/departure time at all and provide you with a full day at your own leisure. On our European Apéritif Tour,  14 of the 21 days are 9am starts or later. There are however of course some very important days when to maximise your holiday experience we need an early start. On those days we generally still leave only around 8:30am which by most touring standards is quite late.

LONGER STAYS AND MORE FREE-TIME:

In our experience many guests on tour always note in their questionnaires at the conclusion of their tour that they wished they had had more time in certain places. With our itineraries we aim to solve that by including more three night stays and allowing more free time in cities. We start in Paris so that we don’t lose a day travelling from London and it also allows guests to tack on extra days in that amazing city at the start if desired. We apply the same thought-process at the end in Rome. We avoid the long haul back to London thereby saving yet another day of travel on the last day of tour – add more time in Rome at the tour end if you choose.

At Quo Vadis we include many highlight local specialty dinners. On the nights when there are no optional excursions or Highlight Dinners, instead of providing a simple, often uninspiring hotel meal we prefer to give you in most cases a free evening so you can choose to enjoy a local dinner somewhere of your own choice. Perhaps stroll Montmartre in Paris to find that little French brasserie that serves snails and frogs legs or experience true 1kg Bistecca Fiorentina in Florence in a little rustic trattoria. Perhaps try a Michelin star restaurant in Lyon or opt for simple crêpes with local wine at a little French stall. The choice is yours!

SMALLER GROUPS:

Most coaches in Europe are set-up for 51 seats and sometimes more. At Quo Vadis Holidays we provide more boutique style tours and so limit the number of guests to around 18-20. This means a far more intimate experience rather than feeling like you’re just one of the flock of sheep being herded around. We typically use mini-coaches such as Merceded Benz “Sprinters” for our transportation which means better access to those hard-to-get places off the well beaten path.