TOO MUCH SITTING (National Holidays)

Member Name: Kiwimagic

Product:	National Holidays
Date:	28/06/09 (147 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: NICE HOTELS

Disadvantages: TOO MUCH SITTING, BADLY ORGANISED, EXPENSIVE MEALS

I have recently been on a National Holidays coach 'holiday' to Italy - it was not a holiday by any stretch of the imagination. It was tedious just sitting for day after day and it has taken a week for my ankles to reduce to size but my legs are still aching. I left from Goole at 6.45 and after a pickup at Wakefield we all changed coaches at Blythe Svcs and then continued to Dover. (Why they did not use the overnight ferry from Hull and have everybody relaxed on arrival in Europe is beyond me). the coach broke down before Dover and we had a 2.5 hour delay until moving into another and catching the next ferry. We continued to be 2.5 hours late the entire way to Hotel Miro, Montecatini Terme. Great place to stay, very central hotel, cheerful staff, and very helpful =I would go again, but only if I went by train or flew. Very early starts every day except the last, ie 7.30 breakafast, 8.00 start to go to Florence, 5.30 breakfast 6.00 start to go to Rome. Late arrivals at the hotels all days except the trip to Pisa which I declined to go on because of too much walking after the previous four days. Late means after 10/00 pm and in one instance it was 12.15 before we got into our rooms. the hotel we stopped at in Metz was the Campanile Metz Nord, very clean, good breakfast, I didn't try the restaurant as we arrived a bit too late. Food was expensive on this trip as we stopped at Autostrada cafes, ie motorway stopovers and they can be very expensive and hardly nutritious. Overall rating for the holiday I would give 6 our of 10, would not use them again unless it was a short break to say Ostend. I am surprised that nobody has come down with Deep Vein Thrombosis.

Summary: Is a sutable trip for 30 year olds but anything older need to be advised of health hazards.