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Audley Travel

Audley Travel Traveller Reviews

Reviews of Audley Travel

Overall Company Rating
90%
Excellent 40
Good 3
Average 4
Poor 5
Terrible 0
Reviews Submitted: 52
Reviews Accepted: 52
Reviews Rejected: 0
52 reviews
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Audley Travel by Vietnam trip - swindler tour guides, 6 Feb 2023
Holiday Rating:

Audley hires swindlers as tour guides who overcharge you for services others are providing and force you to go to stores and tell you to buy things and won't take no for an answer

We booked with Audley and they were fantastic until they had our money. However, one third of our trip was AWFUL and they literally had a tour guide for us for our four days in Hoi An who tried to (and succeeded) in ripping us off, upcharging us for services that he wasn't providing (merely translating), and essentially holding us captive and forcing us to go to a pottery village and wouldn't let us leave despite us saying we had no interest ...

We booked with Audley and they were fantastic until they had our money. However, one third of our trip was AWFUL and they literally had a tour guide for us for our four days in Hoi An who tried to (and succeeded) in ripping us off, upcharging us for services that he wasn't providing (merely translating), and essentially holding us captive and forcing us to go to a pottery village and wouldn't let us leave despite us saying we had no interest and didn't want to spend our money there. He forced us to go into at least six shops in that village alone telling us to buy something. Entirely unprofessional. We also almost missed our flight out of Hoi An because he insisted we didn't have to leave as early as everyone else said to leave (you could tell from his hungover face and Facebook pictures it was because he wanted to party the night before). Anyways, we didn't have our AIRLINE TICKETS until SIX minutes before boarding began and then he left us to fend for ourselves. We had to do our best to communicate with people in the security line to ask to go ahead of others so we wouldn't miss our flight. We raised these (among other) concerns with Audley Travel and were told that they would follow up and their local company would be reaching out. It's been three weeks, we have been back in the States for two weeks, and we have heard nothing. I suppose after getting $10k from you and us having no recourse they don't really care to follow-through or to ensure that we have a positive experience on our trip. I was in the early stages of planning a trip through Audley for my parents but notified them we will not be using them for that trip, and that we would be cautioning everyone else we know against using such an unprofessional company.

Rating for tour operator:

See the review above. With respect to Audley, I'm most disappointed in the lack of follow through in correcting or dealing with the unprofessional tour guide that we were stuck with for four days of our trip.

Audley Travel by Hassled in Hawaii, 13 Feb 2022
Holiday Rating:

Beautiful holiday in Hawaii

Booked a 16-day trip to Hawaii covering three islands, self-drive. Included numerous tours, I.e. helicopter tour, snorkel and sail tour, etc.

Booked a 16-day trip to Hawaii covering three islands, self-drive. Included numerous tours, I.e. helicopter tour, snorkel and sail tour, etc.

Rating for tour operator:

Used Audley Travel for a two-week trip to Hawaii. The agent was very knowledgeable about the destination and booked us on some very unique experiences that I would not have found on my own. While there were some issues, everything was either rectified or we were compensated for them.

Audley Travel responded to this review on 16 Mar 2022:

Dear Marilyn

Thank you for sharing your kind comments with us. We're delighted to hear how well your trip went and we hope you have some wonderful memories from your time in Hawaii. It's disappointing some issues were encountered but we are pleased to have been able to amicably resolve these for you.

We look forward to working with you again and to send you away on your next dream Audley vacation.

Best wishes
Audley Travel

Audley Travel responded to this review on 16 Mar 2022:

Dear Marilyn

Thank you for sharing your kind comments with us. We're delighted to hear how well your trip went and we hope you have some wonderful memories from your time in Hawaii. It's disappointing some issues were encountered but we are pleased to have been able to amicably resolve these for you.

We look forward to working with you again and to send you away on your next dream Audley vacation.

Best wishes
Audley Travel

Audley Travel by starant, 23 Sep 2021
Holiday Rating:

In the time of COVID, utilizing a reputable tour operator is crucial!

We were unable to proceed with our holiday due to COVID closures and canceled our trip.

We were unable to proceed with our holiday due to COVID closures and canceled our trip.

Rating for tour operator:

When Sweden closed to Americans, Audley offered credit. After cajoling and complaining, they refunded our money in full, hence I am editing my previously negative comments here. Consumers should be aware that travel insurance will not refund your money in the event an airline or tour operator offers credit for flights, hotels, tour plans, etc. even due to COVID. Whether or not one can use that credit is irrelevant to the travel insurance company because from their perspective, if credit is offered then the consumer has not incurred a loss. It is, therefore, imperative that one deal with a highly reputable tour operator, and in the end, Audley was that kind of tour operator. As a result, I would consider using them again in the future.

Audley Travel responded to this review on 03 Nov 2021:


Audley Travel responded to this review on 03 Nov 2021:

Dear Mr Tarant

Thank you for taking the time to graciously update your review. Delivering great client service is at the heart of what we do and are glad the team was able to resolve your concern to your satisfaction. We look forward to working with you again and to send you away on a dream Audley trip once the time is right for you.

Best regards
Audley Travel

Audley Travel by Kirk , 22 Feb 2021
Holiday Rating:

South African Adventure

Simply Incredible! We had an amazing trip organized and executed by the Audley team through out South Africa. We started our adventure in Cape Town, then made our way through the wine country (Stellenbosch and Franschhoek), and on to Swellendam, Oudtshoorn, Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, and finished off the southern itinerary on safari in East Cape. We then flew up to Mala Mala, stayed in Rattray's Camp, and had one of our best safari adventures ...

Simply Incredible! We had an amazing trip organized and executed by the Audley team through out South Africa. We started our adventure in Cape Town, then made our way through the wine country (Stellenbosch and Franschhoek), and on to Swellendam, Oudtshoorn, Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, and finished off the southern itinerary on safari in East Cape. We then flew up to Mala Mala, stayed in Rattray's Camp, and had one of our best safari adventures ever! We then headed back to Cape Town for some beach time in Clifton/Camps Bay, and some amazing food, before flying home. We have been to South Africa, as well as to several other countries in Africa over the years but this trip was so well organized, and enabled us to really soak in all that the people, culture, landscape, and animals were offering us. Thank you so much!

Rating for tour operator:

Best in class!

Audley Travel responded to this review on 23 Feb 2021:

Thank you for leaving such a wonderful review of your vacation in South Africa. We are delighted to hear you enjoyed the experiences we organised for you and that the service Audley provided was of high standard. We hope to hear from you again when you're ready to start planning your next adventure!

Audley Travel by Poollady, 12 Dec 2019
Holiday Rating:

They get a five for half right!

I returned last month from Japan and Vietnam. The Itinerary was Huge for twelve days. It was full of useless information, but lacking in facts that I needed. Japan was hit or miss, but Vietnam was great. In Japan, I was sent to a Ryokan in Hakone for fifteen hours. This was a three train, two bus trip each way. The place was Awful. This was two days wasted of a twelve day trip. I wrote them a three page letter that was never acknowledged. ...

I returned last month from Japan and Vietnam. The Itinerary was Huge for twelve days. It was full of useless information, but lacking in facts that I needed. Japan was hit or miss, but Vietnam was great. In Japan, I was sent to a Ryokan in Hakone for fifteen hours. This was a three train, two bus trip each way. The place was Awful. This was two days wasted of a twelve day trip. I wrote them a three page letter that was never acknowledged. This was an expensive trip for what I received.

Rating for tour operator:

I'm giving it average, because I enjoyed Vietnam. Japan was poorly organized. I have traveled most of the world in the last twenty years. There are much better people out there. I have also planned my own trips.

Audley Travel responded to this review on 23 Jan 2020:

We are so sorry that you didn't find the value in our service. In this case, it sounds like perhaps the services we offer were not a great fit for you as an independent and experienced traveler.

Following your conversation with a manger we are pleased that we have resolved this matter for you directly. Thank you for having an open conversation with us about your experience.

Audley Travel responded to this review on 23 Jan 2020:

As mentioned above, after speaking with a manger we understand that perhaps what we do as a company isn’t right for your needs as a traveler. We are sorry that you felt that we didn't meet your expectations but we are very pleased that we have resolved this matter with you privately.

Audley Travel by Richard , 26 Oct 2019
Holiday Rating:

A fantastic experience. Again from audley

Just returned from a 6week tour of Australia and Singapore. This is our third trip with Audley. It did not disappoint. The hotels were perfectly picked to maximise our time. The trips with out exception superb and the travel arrangements spot on to ensure that this was really a fantastic experience. The advice given was excellent in terms of time of year to visit, locations and what to do. I can highly recommend audley. We will be using their ...

Just returned from a 6week tour of Australia and Singapore. This is our third trip with Audley. It did not disappoint. The hotels were perfectly picked to maximise our time. The trips with out exception superb and the travel arrangements spot on to ensure that this was really a fantastic experience. The advice given was excellent in terms of time of year to visit, locations and what to do. I can highly recommend audley. We will be using their services again

Rating for tour operator:

Excellent

Audley Travel responded to this review on 28 Oct 2019:

Thank you so much for your feedback, it is great to hear you have had a wonderful trip to Australia and Singapore. I will pass this back to your specialist and their manager. We look forward to organising your next adventure.

Audley Travel by JetTravel, 1 Apr 2019
Holiday Rating:

New Zealand and Australia with Audley Travel

My husband and I recently used Audley Travel for a trip to Australia and New Zealand. The destination is great.

My husband and I recently used Audley Travel for a trip to Australia and New Zealand. The destination is great.

Rating for tour operator:

Regarding Audley, the hotels and most excursions were fine. However, you choose a travel agency for help with the logistics--easy directions, smooth travel, etc. This is not the case in our experience with Audley. First, Audley did not have us fly in a day ahead so that if any of the 4 flights to our initial destination was delayed, then we had a cushion. In fact the first flight was delayed. Any company that has been in this business as long as Audley should not have made this logistical mistake. In addition, it is extremely difficult to follow the directions Audley includes in their travel packet: key information is buried in non-essential information about the area, you have to flip back and forth in their book to find where you are supposed to be when. Critical information about hotels or transportation for example was spread out over multiple documents. For their prices, there is no excuse for this. As a point of information, both my husband and I are PhDs and we are comfortable dealing with complex information. Audley's documents are really bad, and this is s systemic issue. In other words, it is not the fault of one bad travel agent at Audley. It is the fault of the Audley process as a whole. At one of the hotels Audley uses, the person at the desk who was helping me with a very confusing Audley-booked excursion mentioned that about half the Audley clients had problems. The word she used for that half was "a disaster." I would highly recommend going with someone else who can make the logistics clear and easy to use. No travel agency gets credit for a great destination (no travel agency created the beauty of New Zealand or Australia). A good agency at minimum handle logistics well. Audley does not in my experience.

Audley Travel responded to this review on 02 Apr 2019:

Dear Mrs Stephens
Thank you for leaving your review. I am very sorry you did not have the experience with Audley you should have, it is very disappointing to read your comments on the logistics and our Travel Pack. Our paperwork is intended to make things easier and not confuse so we apologise for any inconvenience for this. We currently have an ongoing project on our documentation and your feedback is very important to us, therefore I have asked a manager from our New Zealand team to reach out to you to discuss all your feedback in more detail. I hope overall you had a wonderful holiday, it is as you say, a great destination!

Audley Travel by Mrs E A 19, 20 Mar 2019
Holiday Rating:

First Class Holiday

We have just returned from a First Class holiday to Vietnam organised by Audley Travel. Hayley Ryan organised it for us and delivered what she said she would. She even arranged a local sim for our phone just in case we needed to contact our guides. Hotels and tours were all excellent and within walking distance of restaurants and shops. Thank You Hayley for an excellent trip, we will remember it for a long time to come.

We have just returned from a First Class holiday to Vietnam organised by Audley Travel. Hayley Ryan organised it for us and delivered what she said she would. She even arranged a local sim for our phone just in case we needed to contact our guides. Hotels and tours were all excellent and within walking distance of restaurants and shops. Thank You Hayley for an excellent trip, we will remember it for a long time to come.

Rating for tour operator:

Audley Travel. Hayley Ryan was our tour adviser. She organised a wonderful holiday for us with fantastic hotels and tours nothing was too much bother for her. She kept in touch regularly with us and was very helpful in explaining everything.

Audley Travel responded to this review on 25 Mar 2019:

Thank you for your review it's great to read you had a fabulous trip, and one which you will remember for a long time! We have shared your comments with Hayley and the team.

Audley Travel responded to this review on 25 Mar 2019:

Thank you again and we look forward to helping you organise a future adventure!

Audley Travel by Mike, 1 Feb 2019
Holiday Rating:

Thailand

We visited Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket.

We visited Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket.

Rating for tour operator:

We hired Audley Travel to assist of with planning our trip to Thailand. The agent assigned to us for the most part put together a good itinerary with a few notable exceptions: 1) he failed to inform us that each of our planned excursions from the hotel averaged 11/2 travel hours or more in each direction 2) he didn’t make the effort to secure requested seating on flights and 3) made multitlple clearical mistakes in the intinerary. We requested the best hotels and they were all very good. However, for the fees paid the trip felt “packaged” and not custom.

Audley Travel responded to this review on 01 Mar 2019:

Dear Andrew, thank you so much for your comments and I am happy to read overall you had good time in Thailand. We tailor our itineraries based on our clients requirements and our expertise, so it is disappointing to read the elements which did not live up to expectations. I understand a manager has been in contact with you to discuss your experience thoroughly.

Audley Travel by CATH, 21 Jan 2019
Holiday Rating:

FASCINATING VIETNAM

Audley Travel organised the most efficient and perfect tailor made itinerary for our family Christmas-NewYear holiday to discover a most inspiring Country and People.

Audley Travel organised the most efficient and perfect tailor made itinerary for our family Christmas-NewYear holiday to discover a most inspiring Country and People.

Rating for tour operator:

Harriet at Audley Travel from our very first conversation listened and understood to perfection what our family was looking for and came up with a very professional exciting and just perfect tailor made itinerary which came up to expectations throughout our tour.

Audley Travel responded to this review on 21 Jan 2019:

Hi Catherine, thank you so much for your review I'm so pleased you had a lovely Christmas and New Year with your family, in Vietnam.

Reviewer's images:
Audley Travel responded to this review on 21 Jan 2019:

I have shared your comments with Harriet and her manager, it's great to hear Harriet created the perfect trip for you and your family and we look forward to you travelling with us again soon.