Eastravel Traveller Reviews

We spent 23 days in Sri Lanka. 17 of them with our driver guide Farzan who we cannot speak highly enough of. We covered a lot of the island from Jaffna in the north to Yala , Tangalle in the south and finishing in Bentota. Everything went so smoothly and this being our third year running to some of the properties we were made to feel so welcome. We will be returning as still so much to see.

East Travel have been amazing over many many years . Planning is probably the best bit of a holiday and can take a while . Many email exchanges , changing various bits until the jigsaw finally comes together and the day the ticket envelope arriving makes it all real. Red Dot the company they use in Sri Lanka are brilliant too.

Bit if a whirlwind ‘tour’ of India travelling from Darjeeling through Delhi and down to Kerala.. Saw many of the famous monuments but also enjoyed meeting the people and seeing how they lived , poor to rich. A huge gulf between those in poverty and those more affluent. Lovely people. Tried different foods. Enjoyed buying some of their goods such as jewels, beautiful rugs and Pashminas. All in all a wonderful experience which went too quickly!

Right from the planning of the trip to arrival in Delhi everything was very well organised. The reps, guides and drivers all very efficient and obliging. Felt very safe and supported all the way. We so admired the driving. Driving in India’s towns and cities is a challenge to say the least. Cars were comfortable. Drivers/ guides were never late and usually quite early All hotels chosen were very good and a couple quite spectacular.

we were made very welcome by all involved . greeted with smiles and mingalarbar by all. Our guides drivers and reps were all punctual and patient. The accommodation was as good if not better than many we have had all around the world being in beautiful settings and spotlessly clean. First rate adventure.

Had everything arranged so well . We blinked and our driver and guide were there , never waited once , Although they were patient enough to wait for us and greet us with a mingalarbar and a smile

Having researched places to go and places to stay I spoke to Eastravel who organised all the logistics of hotel, car and internal flight bookings. All bookings worked smoothly including pick ups and transfers. Had a fantastic time with a 4x4 car travelling around Northern Oman including deserts and mountain off road tracks.

Organised all logistics really well, with good communications at all stages. I'd be delighted to recommend them.

Having researched places to go and places to stay I spoke to Eastravel who organised all the logistics of hotel, car and internal flight bookings. All bookings worked smoothly including pick ups and transfers. Had a fantastic time with a 4x4 car travelling around Northern Oman including deserts and mountain off road tracks.

Organised all logistics really well, with good communications at all stages. I'd be delighted to recommend them.

Vietnam - all the h’s - Halong Bay, Hanoi, Hue, Hoian, Ho Chi Minh. Variety of lovely hotels, from international chain to family run old French colonial and couldn’t fault any of them. Well informed English speaking tour guides and local drivers at all locations booked for us by Eastravel and provided by Indochina Services Cambodia - Siem Reap.. Finished on a high at Viroths - a truly amazing hotel where nothing was too much trouble. Dining at their off site restaurant was a wonderful experience.

Eastravel, Ipswich. On the ball from the get go with loads of suggestions for our itinerary.. Accommodated our various requests for tweeks (and even managed to organise a fantastic Vietnamese cookery lesson). Their suggested hotels were all amazing, with Viroths in Siem Reap being the best of a truly good bunch. See attached photos.

Rail journey from Taipei down the West side to Kaohsiung and then back to Taipei via Taitung up the east side The east side provides superb views of the mountains and coast from the train First stop was the Grand Hi Lai hotel in Kaohsiung which is a superb 5* hotel Highlight of the trip was staying at the Silks Place Hotel in the mountains Approximately one hour by Hotel coach from Hualien station but worth the effort as the views are superb

Superb service and everything organised down to the last detail

After a week in Thailand taking in the MotoGP I flew from Phuket to Jakarta and twenty minutes later my wife landed from London via Dubai. The only glitch was that her luggage missed the connection in Dubai but was already on its way on the next Emirates flight and was delivered to our hotel in the early hours of the morning. Our guide and driver met us at the different terminals in the vast airport and reunited we were on our way into the city. We stayed at The Hermitage and it was a superb hotel in the style that we like and which Eastravel knew we would like. A morning tour of old Jakarta and the first of many wonderful lunches we set off for Bandung on our overland tour of Java. Bandung reminded me of South America which was strange for a number of reasons not least because I have yet to visit South America. We stayed at the Intercontinental which was fantastic and spent a day walking around the crater of a volcano, tea plantations, taking a bath in a thermal spring and enjoying another Indonesian lunch in a local restaurant. We caught a train early the following morning bound for Borobudur. Staying at the Plataran Resort a kilometre or so from Borobudur we had a very early start to watch the sunrise from the temple - an amazing experience. We were back at the Plataran for breakfast and then enjoyed a lazy afternoon in its rather lovely spa. Our next stop was Yogyakarta. Enjoyed a gamelan orchestra and shadow puppet performance in the evening and almost as impressive was the somewhat unexpected religious rally we had to negotiate on the way to the gamelan. Visted the Kraton in Yogyakarta before having a very lazy day as it was my wife’s birthday complete with a lovely cake and bottle of wine presented by the wonderful staff at the Melia Hotel. We think Eastravel may have had something to do with this. The next day we took a few flights to get back to Phuket for some rest and recuperation. Borobudur had been on our wish list for some time and to have the opportunity to see it alongside plenty of other wonderful places in a wonderful country was simply awesome. Eastravel organised all of our flights and our overland tour of Java. It exceeded everything we expected, again.

Have used Eastravel for our travels since 1989. Independent, tailored, knowledgable and fun, they deliver everytime.

Thank you for arranging our fascinating holiday in Taiwan. Your itinerary was perfect and it gave us the opportunity to explore this beautiful island. All your arrangements – flights, hotels, trains, shuttle buses, tours, etc – worked like clockwork and enabled us to relax and enjoy our trip without worries. Your suggestions and ideas were much appreciated and enabled us to make the most of our trip. The scenery across the island was spectacular –- from the coastal regions to the high mountains in the clouds -- and we have so many wonderful memories: the bustling city of Taipei and Walter who took us on the morning tour; travelling the Pingxi Railway Line and hopping on and off the train at stations to explore the mining towns and watch the launch of the sky lanterns; the peace and beauty of Sun Moon Lake; the twisting road to Alishan through the tea plantations and into the mountains through the clouds; the early morning ride on the 4.50 am Alishan Forest Train to watch the sunrise at Chu-Shan (6.23 am) and, after breakfast, we spent the rest of the day hiking along different forest trails. In Kaosiung, we took the ferry to Cihou and explored the fishermen’s quarter; the next day we visited a fish market, walked around Central Park and then saw “The Dome of Light” glass ceiling installation at Formosa Boulevard MRT station. Kenting was delightful: a member of the hotel staff gave us a guided tour of the marine coastal park and we walked the trail around Frog Rock. The following day we walked for 5+ hours in the National Park and were fortunate to spot two families of wild macaques. The railway ride on the Tze Chiang Line was wonderful and, although it was a very windy and damp day, we enjoyed the views from the train. The onsen in our room in Chihpen. The twisting road along the Taroko Gorge to Silks Place was memorable for the views in spite of the rain, but we were fortunate it was fine for our tour to Changchun Temple, our walk along the Swallow Grotto Trail and at Cimu Bridge. Afterwards we climbed up to the beautiful Buddhist temple and pagoda on the hillside overlooking the Gorge. Our tour with Frank from Taipei along the northern coast to Keelung and Yehliu Geo Park, where the rain ceased as we walked among the amazing sandstone formations. So many incredible sights: the temples, the markets, the scenery, the flora and fauna. A memorable holiday. Your choice of hotels was excellent: from the amazing Lalu overlooking Sun Moon Lake to Caesar Park with its friendly and charming staff. Silks Place in Taroko with its beautiful garden – and aboriginal music in the evening. Royal Chihpen with our own onsen. Alishan House, where the staff wore Halloween costumes. Quote Hotel, a convenient city hotel. And the Grand Hi-Lai with wonderful views over the port from our room on the 19th floor. All the hotels were so different and this added greatly to the enjoyment of our holiday. We loved the Taiwanese food and that it changed with our location around the island. We found the Taiwanese very friendly and we met so many lovely people. Thank you again for your extremely thorough and comprehensive arrangements for our remarkable holiday. Xie, xie.

Dorothy, Cathy and Angela arranged a wonderful Tour by Rail around Taiwan, with an itinerary tailor-made for us. Their attention to detail was second to none and all their arrangements - flights, hotels, trains, shuttle buses, tours, etc – worked like clockwork and enabled us to relax and enjoy a fantastic and carefree holiday.

In September 2018 we were lucky enough to travel to Bali staying at the Bali Tropic Resort and Spa in Nusa Dua and the Alila Manggis in Candidasa. Both resorts were lovely. The Bali Tropic was all inclusive and the staff were wonderful. We stayed in a room in the main block and had a wonderful four poster bed, balcony and large bathroom with bath and walk in shower. Only criticism was that sometimes the choice for vegetarians was a little limited/samey. If you eat meat and fish there was always a very good selection. This was a fairly quiet resort with evening entertainment limited to small live music ensembles. The Alila Manggis was simply amazing. Calm, serene, wonderful staff, wonderful room, wonderful food (although maybe a little expensive). It is the place to go if you just want to relax but if you want thrills and nightlife this would probably be a little too quiet for you.

Always keen to answer questions and sort out problems. Nothing ever seems to be too much trouble.