Eastravel Traveller Reviews

We were met at the airport and transferred to our hotel in Muscat, the driver waiting patiently whilst we got through customs and immigration. Our hire car arrived on time the following day and was handed over with the minimum of fuss. After that, we did a bit of driving! Day 2, the first day with the car was spent exploring the Muscat/Muttrah capital area and the rocky coastline to the SE. Day 3 saw us heading SE towards Sur and then on to Ras al Hadd and the Turtle Sanctuary at Ras al Jinz. You need to book your own visit to the latter - cost RO7 each. Well worth it to see the egg-laying Green Turtles at night. Day 4 was a drive to the pools/falajs of Wadi bani Khalid in the mountains and then on to Bidiyyah before heading into the Wahiba Sands for an overnight at a Bedu Camp, albeit the 4-star version of it! I had looked at Satellite images to supplement the A4 map supplied and was pretty certain I could have got to the camp unaided. However, we met a couple of locals at the petrol station we stopped at before going off-road who offered to guide us out there for a fee (RO25). With hindsight, this was probably a good move since they knew the way and we could travel swiftly and in the knowledge that there was ready help available should there have been an upset. There wasn't. Once Morag got used to the car sliding across the sand (bit like driving on ice) we had a fun time. Bogged down in the sand going up a dune on one occasion but freed ourselves by engaging 4WD. Climbed huge sand dunes to see the sunset, excellent accommodation and evening meal and listened to the Bedu music group in the restaurant. Day 5, drove the 40km back to the main road in the company of another self-drive party - safety first again, then to Nizwa stopping at Izki to see the (totally deserted) Al Nizar Fort. Day 6, exploring the Souks of Nizwa (there was only one in 1984), the Fort and were invited home by an Omani gentleman in one of the shops to his home to "meet the family". I had learnt a little Arabic whilst there last time - that little led to a totally unexpected adventure. More of a compound than a house and with Mum, Dad, 8 brothers, 4 daughters, several daughters-in-law and more small children than could be counted, we enjoyed traditional Omani hospitality. Dates, Cardomom Coffee, lunch (we were only supposed to drop in for a half-hour!), tea and fruit. We left later wondering if it had happened and weighed down with kilos of dates and bananas. Day 7, left Nizwa, drove to Bahla to see the fort, then al Hamra and thence via Wadi Ghul up into the mountains to stay at an "Eco-Resort" in the Jebel Shams adjacent to the Oman Grand Canyon, about 5000 feet up. We've seen the US version, the Omani one is as spectacular and less-distant. Day 8, Drove from Jebel Shams back to Al Hamra then back up the mountain to Sharafat al Alamayn at 6500 feet. Spectacular views of the Jebel. This is also where the tarmac runs out and we were to descend about 3500 feet in 7 miles before we got to the first flat bit in Wadi bani Awf. The drive of my life. Steep descent, hairpin bends, single track in places and near-vertical drops for a good portion of the way. Oh, and there is traffic coming up as well. Passed a couple of mountain villages and a green football pitch (I kid you not, en-route. Once back on tarmac we continued down the Wadi and then headed to the Fort at Nakhal before our final overnight in Muscat. Brilliant holiday but too short. Morag wants to go back and I saw more in those few days than I had in 3 years living out there.

I had worked in Oman in the mid-1980s and had had a good time in the 3 years I spent out there. I broached the idea of taking Morag out there last year and having done some internet research of the various companies offering packages out there, decided upon Eastravel. The booking process was simple enough, we booked a self-drive tour and I found the exchanges I had via the phone and e-mail with Eastravel to be reassuringly personal - how many tour operators have YOU contacted where you have been able to speak to the same person each time who knows the details of the booking and of any changes which might be necessary. I would be more than happy to use Eastravel again in future. The vouchers for accommodation and the 4x4 hire arrived in good time, as did paper copies of the directions from place to place. These were poor. This is not a criticism of Eastravel but Google Maps, though in fairness the Omani road network is evolving so quickly there ARE no totally up-to-date maps. Our way round this was to use the detailed regional maps in a guide book and by looking at satellite images available on the web.

Third time we've used Eastravel to go to Thailand and the best so far. Would recommend both the company and Koh Samui to everyone

Told Eastravel roughly what and where we wanted to go on holiday and a budget cost. We sat back, they came up with various options. One of which was the Coconut Beach resort in Koh Samui which we chose.

A Trip to Australia via Hong Kong and back via Singapore. A bit unlucky with the weather in Hong Kong, only there 3 nights but rained off an on all the time we were there. Onto Sydney, really enjoyed the brief stop in Sydney, really hot but had a great time being a tourist. Stayed at the Pitt Street Meriton Apartments which we cannot praise highly enough. The main focus of our holiday was to visit friends in Cairns, we hired a car and had fantastic time, loved Cairns a really laid back city and the pool on the Esplanade is a fantastic way to cool down and it's free! Also did a Fitzroy Island tour, beautiful with a taste of snorkeling on the inner reef. This wetted our appetite so immediately booked a day tour to the Outer reef, the highlight of the holiday. Also managed to do a lot of sight seeing including the Koranda scenic railway and Skyrail tour. Once leaving our friends in Cairns we headed further North up to Cooktown, although this was a nice drive, on hindsight it was probably not worth it for a one night stay. On the way back down heading south we stopped off at Cape Tribulation where we had a couple of great nights at the Ferntree Rainforest Lodge. Next on route was a couple of nights at The Ramada Hotel in Port Douglas, loved both the hotel and Port Douglas had a great vibe in the evening. So nearing the end of our holiday we broke the flight back to the UK by stopping off at Singapore, this was well worth while and really loved the trip to the Gardens by the Bay, stayed for the nightly light show which was another high light of the holiday.

East Travel helped us plan the holiday and were a great help with their detailed knowledge of all the places we wanted to visit. They worked hard to find us the best, cheapest and most suitable flights, the beauty of using them was their ability to reserve flights whilst we were building our itinerary and only when we were happy with the complete package did we have to commit to a deposit. Further through the process they were extremely helpful in answering queries and helped with booking seats on some of the flights. Every aspect of our holiday with flights, pick-ups, hotels and tours worked seamlessly, another great reason for using the agent as the local tour operators they use need to be reliable and trusted to deliver such an excellent service. My thanks goes out to the team for making this a memorable holiday of a life time.

My wife and I stayed in Siem Reap for 2 weeks which by judging from comments made at the hotel and from other travellers is very unusual. We went on several temple tours and also visited one of the national parks. The Cambodia Landmine Museum is a real eye-opener.

We have booked with Eastravel about 12 times now and have always found them to be professional and cost conscious. They always seem quite able to come up with whatever we want.

We had an amazing time over Xmas and New Year and even though we were only there for 10 nights we covered a fair few places. Bangkok, Krabi, Phi Phi and Phuket and I would most defiantly go back. Everything was arranged amazingly accommodation was perfect location was perfect and transfers were always on time. Would use Cathy again.

Please see above

East Travel put together a personalised package for myself and a friend to travel across South Africa. All of the hotels chosen were excellent and the 2 different local tour companies who drove us around were also excellent.

I have taken a number of personalised trips with East Travel and have found them to be extremely professional and friendly. They have selected superb hotels and excursions for us to take and I have highly recommended them to family and friends.

We flew out to Muscat where we picked up a hire vehicle and had 7 days driving through Oman. The main places we visited and stayed overnight were: the Raz Al Jinz turtle reserve where we saw turtles making their nests and laying eggs on the beach, the Wahiba Sands desert, Nizwa, the spectacular Jebel Shams mountains, and Salalah. There were plenty of interesting places to visit en route. The Friday morning goat market in Nizwa was a highlight for us. We also did an overnight trip out into the Empty Quarter desert from Salalah with a local guide which was a better experience than the Wahiba sands 1000 nights camp which, although a comfortable camp with good facilities, suffered from too much light pollution to stargaze. Oman was an easy country to get around. Driving was relatively easy - the roads are in good condition and the drivers generally courteous. All the accommodation we stayed in was comfortable and the Omani people friendly and helpful.

Eastravel managed to secure us a good priced flight and hotels for the expensive Christmas and New Year period. They also suggested a good alternative side trip into the desert from Salalah. We booked our own hotel in Salalah as the large more up-market tourist hotels along the coast were not to our liking. We drove our hire vehicle the 1000km to Salalah - we recommend anyone doing this checks their hire agreement allows sufficient mileage. Eastravel did put together a good itinerary for us, and responded to our requests to change things around and they also kept us informed of any changes. Everything ran to plan on our trip and we really enjoyed our experiences in Oman.

Wonderful trip thanks to the attention paid to our initial requirements. Great arrangements made. The whole adventure could not have been better organised. Great choice of stop over accommodation in Singapore and good flight times booked

Tour operator only had the long haul bookings and stop over hotel to arrange. This was done with great efficiency good communications and much good will.

After leaving a sub zero snowy Britain we arrived in the comforting heat of Singapore, where we stayed three great nights at the Marina Mandarin Hotel, situated close to Gardens by the Bay. From here we flew to bustling George Town in Penang and stayed at the beautiful Blue Mansion....a must see for anybody visiting Penang, tours of the hotel are daily. We then took a short flight to Langkawi for a relaxing week at The Andaman Hotel, set in a quiet bay with the rainforest as a back drop. We shared the hotel with much wildlife; monkeys and flying lemers provided a daily distraction. We had such a great holiday with fond memories and would like to have another trip like this in the future.

Dorothy and the team at Eastravel provided a friendly and knowledgeable service. All three hotels that were recommended exceeded our expectations. Our holiday could not of been better, flights and transfers ran smoothly. I highly recommend Eastravel and will definitely use their services again.

Eastravel were very helpful working through a detailed itinerary with us. All bookings were fine and everything went smoothly. I would recommend them with pleasure