Globus Family Rolls Out Cosmos Lite

The Globus Family of Brands has introduced a new kind of tour package under the Cosmos brand, its budget line of escorted touring. The new product, Cosmos Lite, is a stripped-down version of a regular Cosmos tour designed for people who like the structure and support of a guided tour, but want maximum freedom and flexibility at the destination.

The product fulfills a specific market segment for the Globus family, which already covers a broad range of travel styles with its Globus and Cosmos escorted tours, Monograms independent package product, and Avalon river cruises.

Cosmos Lite is distinct from all of the above and is a worthy attempt to strike the balance all tour operators are striving for between structure/support on one hand and independence/flexibility on the other.

The Cosmos Lite packages include the following:

• City-to-city transportation on deluxe motorcoaches with complimentary WiFi
• Accommodation in a comfortable, safe hotel
• Daily breakfast
• Guidance and support of a tour director
• MyCosmos optional excursions available for purchase
• Use of the CosmosGo mobile app

In the Cosmos Lite style of touring, travelers journey from city to city in a group with a tour director on a motorcoach. Then, they are taken to their hotel and set free to explore on their own at their own pace.

Although they are completely free to structure their exploration however they want, they have the guidance and support of the tour director to whatever extent they need it. And, they are plugged into the entire Globus destination management infrastructure.

Guests are given a menu of many choices of optional activities, providing a variety of ways to experience the destination, but with the security of knowing they are all vetted by the tour operator and its destination management partners. The list of options is large and varied, including guided city tours, cooking classes and bike tours.

The itineraries are designed to combine major cities with lesser-known destinations. The product designers have also tried to include multi-night stays to give guests a chance to stretch out, get comfortable and start to feel at home in the destination as they explore it.

For 2019, the company has rolled out 10 itineraries in the series: “Spanish City Explorer” (nine days from $899), “Spanish Heritage Explorer” (eight days from $699), “Portugal Explorer” (seven days from $749), “Italian Explorer” (eight days from $899), “Northern Italy Explorer” (eight days from $899), “Veneto Explorer” (seven days from $899), “Danube Explorer” (eight days from $899), “England Explorer” (seven days from $899), “Ireland Explorer” (seven days from $849), and “Scotland Explorer” (seven days from $899).

“Free of commitments and full of possibilities,” is how Globus CEO Scott Nisbet describes the new product in a company statement. “Cosmos Lite’s á la carte touring invites travelers to design each day with free time, me time or see time.”

The pricing of the tours includes the use of the new CosmosGo app, which provides information about entertainment, sightseeing, restaurant and shopping recommendations, all vetted by the tour operator. Guests gain access to the app at the time they receive their travel documents about 30 days prior to departure time, so they can use it to plan ahead. The app includes GPS directions, but use of the app and access to the information does not require access to an internet signal.

One more feature that will be appreciated by many weary tour-takers: Most departures are no earlier than 9 a.m.