Audley Travel Traveller Reviews

We chose Audley Travel through their Brochure which promised bespoke holidays. We outlined our itinerary which was Nepal, Bhutan and India. Realising that this was quite a complex booking we were tolerent of errors which our specialist made during the booking process. The mistakes are well documented by email. However once the deposit was in place and the details confirmed we did not expect any further amendments. As we were away for five weeks we decided to book business class for all flights to enhance our luggage allowance. By chance we noticed that the flight to Shimla only permitted 10 kilos. Our specialist seemed unaware of this. As we were carrying 25 kilos each various unacceptable alternatives were put to us. In the end we were driven to Shimla which was time consuming. One hotel had to be changed thus disrupting our programme and there was a general malaise once the deposit was paid. Two weeks before departire we were informed that one hotel had double booked and we would either have to change rooms after one night or move to another hotel. After one week the original arrangement was put back in place. The whole process was very stressful for what was a very expensive tour. On tour our business class ticketing was economy on one return flight so after arguing for one hour and speaking to the local rep who blamed Audley we paid for the upgrade using our dollar cash. We contacted our agent and the refund was transferred to our account prior to us returning home. Several hotels stated that we did not have full board where it had been arranged in Bhutan but we sorted this out locally. On our tour we met a number of people who were travelling with Cox and King who were very happy with their choice. In fact at The Claridges in Delhi we were down graded to an internal room whilst Cox and King clients were upgraded to a suite overlooking the lawn. We did protest and were eventually moved to a room overlooking the pool. The company also needs to update the country booklets which are out of date in many areas. Whilst we made the best of the tour and the car drivers were fine the same agents work for all the major tour companies. A couple of guides did give us the name of other tour operators who they felt were superior. One other flight was economy only as described by Audley. Of course at the airport we discovered business class was available and upgraded ourselves. The toy train also has a first class carriage which again we were told was economy only so we were squashed into a cramped carriage whilst the first class carriage was only half full. At the end of the day Audley produces nice brochures, costs average hotels in to the quote and the client then upgrades which pushes up the cost. We would not use Audley again under any circumstances. As an aside from people we met traveling with other operators only Audley used Jet Airways for the international flights as they cost far less to them than BA, Emirates or Virgin. Jet Airways were regularly in the papers due to being on the verge of bankruptcy. This added to the stress. Audley charges high prices but is low on quality.

As above

We did a two week trip of Southern Madagascar visiting mainly National parks to see the Chameleons and Lemurs and other extraordinary wildlife then we relaxed for a week in Mauritius. We had a bespoke tour with private driver and guide in Madagascar and stayed a few nights at each location. There were some long days travelling and some arduous forest walks which were exciting and energetic on our searches for animals. Mauritius was our relaxing week but we still did a Southern tour, Northern tour, a helicopter flight and I did one scuba dive! A wonderfully friendly country and a fabulous hotel with gorgeous pools and beach.

From the planning through to the end of the trip Audley Travel was excellent. The Audley Travel staff were totally professional and helpful in every way before, during and at the end of the trip. The preparation notes are the best I've ever had. We turned up in Madagascar fully prepared for every eventuality! All the locals employed by Audley were professional, helpful and fully engaged in their work and made us comfortable and happy along the way. The standard of hotels and food available in every location was outstanding - better than I could have hoped for in a country as poor as Madagascar. The hotel in Mauritius was lovely and fulfilled all our requirements thanks to the Audley staff ensuring we made the best choice. A highly professional, slick operation and I'm already recommending Audley Travel to everyone I know who enjoys travel.

With nio idea of where to go but a vague idea of the type of family holiday we wanted, Audley took the time to talk to me in detail about what each family member would like to experience and then came up with a tailor-made itinerary combining city (Kuching), wildlife (jungle) and luxury beach resort in Borneo..

Every little detail was thought through and taken care of by Audley; airline e-tickets, private transfers, private trips to amazing places and stunningly-located villa suites on the beautiful Gaya Island resort. It was the special family holiday we hoped for and which far exceeded our expectations. Can’t recommend highly enough.

In July 2000 we traveled to Vietnam to adopt our daughter. At that time, we promised ourselves that we would return on her 18th birthday to show her the country of her birth. We saved for this trip for 18 years. When it came time to book the trip we worked with Audley travel. Their Vietnam specialist helped us craft a vacation that would give our daughter a sense of her country of birth and the culture and the people there. What they put together for us far exceeded our expectations – it was a marvelous trip. Our trip was capped off by our finding our daughter’s birth family and reuniting with them. Audrey’s travel operators helped us meet with the family and spend two wonderful days with them. Well done Audley, we can’t praise you enough for what you did for us!

We had three tour operators during the course of our travels. Every single one of them were kind polite and knowledgeable and were totally focused on meeting our travel needs.

Spent a total of three weeks traveling in Australia and New Zealand.Used Audley travel based on positive reviews.Happy to report they met all of our expectations.Tours and hotels were all top notch. My wife and I told Allie at Audley travel the places we wanted to go and the type of activities we enjoyed doing and our budget.They put together an amazing itinerary and every detail was arranged.Nothing was left to chance.In the end,everything went as planned.So thank you to Allie and your great team over at Audrey Travel

Audley travel will definitely be used in our future travels

We didn’t want 12 days all inclusive on a beach in Varaderro, so our agent recommended 3 nights Havana, 3 nights Trinidad, 2 nights Vinales and finally 2 nights Cato Levissa. it was an amazing trip, all destinations fascinating, welcoming, enjoyable. Holiday exceeded my expectations and I hope to return one day. Cuban people are amazing. .

Very professional from the outset. I have no hesitation in recommending them and hope to use them again in the future. Complete peace of mind.

From the magnificent Taj Mahal to resting on the beaches of Goa, a wonderful trip to India which only touched on a few parts of this amazing country. The hotels were excellent and exceeded our expectations.

Holiday arranged at short notice with Audley producing an itinerary that was just right for us. All the arrangements, guides, reps, transport etc went exactly as planned. Their expert knowledge of India was invaluable in ensuring we had a memorable holiday. Would recommend without hesitation.

Booked a big birthday holiday for my wife consisting of a three week tour of both islands using intercity coaches, taxis/private car services and domestic flights. Special trips in the different resorts, wine tastings and gourmet food were features of our amazing trip.

We knew it was going to be a tight fit in all locations in three weeks, but the Audley itinerary was spot on. Excellent hotels bar one in Queenstown (The Rees Hotel) and great wine tastings.All flights and transfers bar one (private transfer from Blenheim to Kaikoura) worked really well and Air New Zealand Premium Economy were amazing. We now have some wonderful memories of this wonderful holiday and country. Unfortunately at the booking stage some errors were seen with flight and arrival times, we ended up with three holiday consultants during the booking process and pre-arranged transport to one destination had not been booked at all, though we were able to sort this out easily at the time. One pre-arranged trip had to be cancelled at the last moment due to weather conditions and this was understandable but disappointingly Audley Travel have not yet been forthcoming with a refund of the £600 cost. It would have been nice if someone from Audley had stayed in touch with us whilst on our trip.

I booked a surprise Wedding Anniversary holiday for my wife. Wanted to go somewhere special and not be in a crowd. Came across Audley Travel website and before I knew it Hayley from Audley travels got in touch and we started looking into & discussing our itinerary. We ended up putting together a tailor made itinerary to Cambodia within our budget and timescales. All along Hayley stayed in touch via phone & email and as this was a surprise trip for my wife, Hayley ensured it stayed that way right up to the end. Our trip went as planned and of course my wife had a lovey surprise and we thoroughly enjoyed our trip as planned.

Hayley who is a specialist for Indochina & Indonesia Senior Specialist with Audley Travels, did a lovely job in organising our itinerary and trip. She also assisted in re-arranging our itinerary slightly when I asked without any problems. Communication was excellent which was reassuring considering we were going on a long journey. We were also reassured that there will be someone we can get in touch in Cambodia and also be able to contact someone in UK if need be. Thank you Hayley & Audley Travels for making this special trip go without a hicth.

Self-drive 4/5 week tour of New Zealand. All flights, transfers and tours were efficiently organised and went smoothly. Pre-holiday organisation was very good, thorough and helpful. Client-profiling and itinerary suggestions could have been better but client assumes some responsibility for not doing enough “homework” too. Audley does need to consider client profile to be a need-to-improve. It isn’t until the holiday is under way that problems with itinerary detail become obvious. In our case, hotels that had no restaurant, despite itinerary stating they had, restaurants and attractions that no longer existed indicated a lack of recent checking which was poor. Also one given route had been totally closed for a year - necessitating an extra hour,s detour. Itinerary checking needs to be more fastidious. Some hotel locations - e.g. central Auckland - were totally inappropriate. Some were a nightmare to find (e.g. Citylife Wellington) and one was just wrongly designated (Heritage, Hanmer Springs is NOT First Class). However, overall it was a good holiday. A shame that easily-rectifiable checking-errors prevented it from being an excellent one.

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