Buzz's Adventure Tours
2 reviews for Buzz's Adventure Tours
What. A. Nightmare. After reviewing the marketing materials for this tour company, and speaking to the owner/tour guide on my college campus, I was fooled into thinking that this was the kind of tour I was looking for. I could not have been more wrong. David Bussing (a.k.a. Buzz) only seems interested in recreating a high school dynamic in his tour group where he's the big man on campus. Although everyone on my tour was in the early to late 20's, there was a LOT of high school type drama. I realize that some drama is to be expected from a group of young adults traveling together for a length of time, but Buzz openly encouraged and facilitated the childish behavior making it much worse than it should have been.
Furthermore, Buzz openly admitted to me that he had absolutely no interest in art, history, or culture. Why on earth is he leading a tour in Europe?! He knew little to nothing about what we were looking at --it was mostly photo ops simply to show that we had been there. He hands out little paper booklets with a vague description about each destination, and he responded "read your booklet" when asked for more information about a site. When we visited the pantheon in Rome, I had absolutely no idea what I was looking at. I hadn't seen a picture of it in years, all the signs were in Italian, and all Buzz would say was "didn't you guys read your booklets?"
The immaturity, drama, and lack of information were bad enough, but the final nail in the Adventure Tours coffin.... he's not a food person! Ah, shoot me now. I love good food, was visiting countries known for their cuisine, and I was stuck with him. He didn't leave enough time in the agenda for sit-down meals. It was mostly grab-fast-food-and-go the entire time. When we did stop at a real restaurant, it was substandard American food geared at tourists. Who eats at a place called The Yellow Bar in the middle of Florence? I mean, really. I had a couple good meals because my tour group actually mutinied a couple times, ditched Buzz, and went out for a decent meal.
I would advise you to avoid this Buzz's Adventure Tours at all costs. It's not worth it.
First of all, I have been on four of Buzz's adventures. I would not have gone back if Buzz was not professional and dedicated to giving you your money's worth. I have read other reviews and they talk about Buzz pocketing a lot of money. Well, last I checked it is a business right? I don't think the owner is going to put food on his table working for free! I had an exceptional time on all of my trips and feel that it was money well spent. Before deciding on backpacking Europe with Buzz, I looked at my other options and nothing compared. I was able to backpack Europe for 29 days with $4000 and that includes everything! I am sure you might be able to do it for less but you willbe sharing a bed with cows and sheep. Buzz was a great guide and helps spark an interest in taking other adventures. I definitely recommend!!!!!