AITO: The Association of Independent Tour Operators
Experience Travel Group

Experience Travel Group Traveller Reviews

Reviews of Experience Travel Group

Overall Company Rating
99%
Excellent 744
Good 33
Average 2
Poor 3
Terrible 0
Reviews Submitted: 782
Reviews Accepted: 781
Reviews Rejected: 1
781 reviews
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Essential Sri Lanka - Deluxe by Mr D R 17, 17 Mar 2017
Holiday Rating:

An Experience we will never forget.

An excellent visit and tour of Sri Lanka

An excellent visit and tour of Sri Lanka

Rating for tour operator:

EXtremely helpful and we were given superb personal attention/service

Experience Travel Group responded to this review on 20 Mar 2017:

Dear David,

Great to hear that you enjoyed your holiday. We appreciate yoru posting this review and, of course, your kind words too. We'd love to help you again in the future.

All the best,

Sam
Co-founder & MD

Myanmar Classic Highlights by Mermaid , 15 Mar 2017
Holiday Rating:

Experience travel provided us with the perfect holiday experience

Travelling in Myanmar seeing highlights and off the beaten track destinations with excellent guides. All transfers and transport worked perfectly. The guides, drivers and transfer representatives looked after our comfort. Our stay in the Maldives was magical.

Travelling in Myanmar seeing highlights and off the beaten track destinations with excellent guides. All transfers and transport worked perfectly. The guides, drivers and transfer representatives looked after our comfort. Our stay in the Maldives was magical.

Rating for tour operator:

Experience travel responded to our requirements by providing a varied and interesting itinerary. They anticipated our accommodation needs perfectly. All our flights and transfers worked like clockwork - completely stress-free. They were brilliant.

Experience Travel Group responded to this review on 16 Mar 2017:

Dear Margaret,

That really is great to hear. Thank you very much indeed for your comments and for taking the time to post this review.

All the best,

Sam
Co-founder & MD

Essential Sri Lanka - Deluxe by Mr F, 14 Mar 2017
Holiday Rating:

Experience Travel really lives up to the name

We wanted to go to Sri Lanka and do something different and we certainly did that. We stayed in mostly boutique hotels and were extremely well looked after by both the hotel staff and by our guide. The views from our hotels were breathtaking and were like scenes from a movie. We visited some real off the beaten track places too, including 2 farms where at one of them the farmers wife cooked us a tradition meal on an open wood fire. We also went ...

We wanted to go to Sri Lanka and do something different and we certainly did that. We stayed in mostly boutique hotels and were extremely well looked after by both the hotel staff and by our guide. The views from our hotels were breathtaking and were like scenes from a movie. We visited some real off the beaten track places too, including 2 farms where at one of them the farmers wife cooked us a tradition meal on an open wood fire. We also went on a river trip where we seemed to be far away from it all and were treated to seeing a great diversity in river dwelling creatures. We also visited some ancient archaeological sites that really gave us a good feel for the history and past culture of the island. It was worth every penny for an experience that we will never forget.

Rating for tour operator:

Their organisation was superb. I discussed with our consultant the sort of things we wanted to do and she came back with a choice of options. When we settled on a set of activities and hotels I was given a full itinerary breakdown so I knew exactly what we were doing. We had one of their guides with us for 10 of the 14 days and he went out of his way to ensure we were always looked after. He even arranged to the hotels to make sure they had my favourite sambal dish available. A real well oiled machine of a travel company that do out of the ordinary experiences.

Experience Travel Group responded to this review on 16 Mar 2017:

Dear Michael,

That's fantastic feedback - so great to hear. Really pleased you had such a good holiday and obviously arranging 'out of the ordinary experiences' is what we are all about. Do please recommend us to others and we'd love to hear from you to organise a return trip or to one of our other destinations.

Kind regards,

Sam
Co-founder & MD

Experience Travel Group by Steve, 13 Mar 2017
Holiday Rating:

Exploration of southern India

The tour contrasted the city sights of Kochi with wildlife visits to the interior of Kerala and a little of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Kochi is a vibrant and attractive coastal city. It has a fascinating Indian heritage overlaid with influences from Portugal, Holland, Britain and China as well as Christian, Moslem, Hindu and even Jewish religious traditions. We had a car and driver who took us on a semicircular route inland before returning once ...

The tour contrasted the city sights of Kochi with wildlife visits to the interior of Kerala and a little of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Kochi is a vibrant and attractive coastal city. It has a fascinating Indian heritage overlaid with influences from Portugal, Holland, Britain and China as well as Christian, Moslem, Hindu and even Jewish religious traditions. We had a car and driver who took us on a semicircular route inland before returning once more to the coast further north. The coastal areas were lush green and tropical. Further inland we moved into the steep and forested Nilgiri mountains followed by the dry forests of the Nagahole National Park. We saw wild elephants, bison, deer, boars, monkeys and, without trying too hard, 128 species of birds. These travels ended with a few days relaxation on the superb Lotus Houseboat exploring the backwaters near Neeleshwar.

Rating for tour operator:

The fact that this was our fifth holiday with Experience Travel says something important. They offer many well researched options. However, they are very flexible and have always listened to what we would particularly like to see and do. This means that each of our holidays with them has evolved into something quite special. Our stays have always been in smaller 'boutique' or independent hotels. All have involved touring with excellent local drivers and guides This will not be or last holiday with Experience Travel

Experience Travel Group responded to this review on 13 Mar 2017:

Hi Steven and Joanna,

Great to hear you enjoyed another trip with us. We love doing holidays for you as they are so interesting to think about and prepare for. We like to be challenged! Very pleased to hear it isn't your last holiday with us and very much look forward to planning the next.

All the very best,

Sam
Co-founder & MD

Essential Sri Lanka - Deluxe by Neil & Fiona, 13 Mar 2017
Holiday Rating:

absolutely amazing.first timers into Asia

Just blew us away. beautiful country Sri Lanka & Beautiful people.

Just blew us away. beautiful country Sri Lanka & Beautiful people.

Rating for tour operator:

ETG. don't look any further.they look after you from start to finish.great team and also have a base in sri lanka . they are never a call away.

Experience Travel Group responded to this review on 13 Mar 2017:

Hi Neil,

That's great to hear - thank you. We do belive that our base in Sri Lanka gives us a very clear advantage over the alternatives as there is always someone on hand to answer questions and generally ensure that your experience is the best it can be. We appreciate your highlighting this.

Please do tell others about us - word of mouth is vital to us as a company.

Kind regards,

Melissa Nicholas
Product Director

Boutique Sri Lanka & Maldives by Ataraxia, 12 Mar 2017
Holiday Rating:

Superbly professional and personally designed Sri Lanka cultural triangle and Maldives itinerary

A thoroughly enjoyable 13 night trip around the cultural triangle in Sri Lanka with a few days unwinding at the Adaaran Resort Rannali in the Maldives. Very well balanced blend of luxury and boutique style hotels and villas with very friendly staff. The driver/guide was excellent - knowledgeable, good English and a safe driver.

A thoroughly enjoyable 13 night trip around the cultural triangle in Sri Lanka with a few days unwinding at the Adaaran Resort Rannali in the Maldives. Very well balanced blend of luxury and boutique style hotels and villas with very friendly staff. The driver/guide was excellent - knowledgeable, good English and a safe driver.

Rating for tour operator:

From booking, everything worked smoothly and was taken care of by professional staff who knew the destinations. The quality and presentation of the documentation was excellent

Experience Travel Group responded to this review on 13 Mar 2017:

Dear Paul,

That's great to hear. Thank you for taking the time to post this great review. Much appreciated.

All the best,

Sam
Co-founder & MD

Essential Sri Lanka - Deluxe by Penny S, 12 Mar 2017
Holiday Rating:

We had a wonderful holiday in Sri Lanka.

We had a wonderful two and a half weeks in Sri Lanka visiting Colombo, Kandy, The Hill Country, Uda Walawe and the south coast near Galle. We were looked after so well everywhere we stayed , the staff were friendly and the food fantastic. We enjoyed all our excursions and guided tours and our driver Iresh, who was with us for nine days, went out of his way to help and advise us. Thushni the Experience travel rep in Sri Lanka was efficient and ...

We had a wonderful two and a half weeks in Sri Lanka visiting Colombo, Kandy, The Hill Country, Uda Walawe and the south coast near Galle. We were looked after so well everywhere we stayed , the staff were friendly and the food fantastic. We enjoyed all our excursions and guided tours and our driver Iresh, who was with us for nine days, went out of his way to help and advise us. Thushni the Experience travel rep in Sri Lanka was efficient and helpful too on the few occasions we contacted her Our favourite hotel was Horathapola Estate, a Coconut plantation near Colombo - perfect in every way as a starting point and we would have happily stayed there longer. We ended our stay at the luxurious Why House near Galle and were grateful for five days relaxation in such lovely surroundings.

Rating for tour operator:

Our Experience Travel advisor was Becky Grainger and her help and advice at every stage of the planning and booking was excellent and particularly thoughtful. The itinerary was perfect for us, with good spacing between our stays and we especially relished the last five or six days of being 'at leisure'. Overall our holiday in Sri Lanka was all we had hoped it would be and we would recommend Experience Travel Group without any hesitation.

Experience Travel Group responded to this review on 13 Mar 2017:

Dear Penny,

Great to hear that you had such a great trip. Always great to read that there was a good balance of activity and relaxation as that is sometimes a tricky balance to achieve in Sri Lanka. We very much look forward to hearing fro you again in the future.

All the best,

Sam
Co-founder & MD

Experience Travel Group by Sri Lanka Honeymoon, 10 Mar 2017
Holiday Rating:

Incredible country and people, let down by our guide

We had an amazing honeymoon in Sri Lanka. We managed to spend a couple of days in the cultural triangle, a couple of days in tea country and a few days on the south coast so felt we really got a flavour of the country however feel there's so much more to see. The people are so friendly and happy to share their culture with tourists. The food was delicious - we now need to seek out all the Sri Lankan restaurants in London. Unfortunately ...

We had an amazing honeymoon in Sri Lanka. We managed to spend a couple of days in the cultural triangle, a couple of days in tea country and a few days on the south coast so felt we really got a flavour of the country however feel there's so much more to see. The people are so friendly and happy to share their culture with tourists. The food was delicious - we now need to seek out all the Sri Lankan restaurants in London. Unfortunately our guide let the agency down as he'd lost his passion for the country and job and we didn't get the personal experience that we thought we had booked or that others seemed to get on their trips. Definitely not a country ticked off but a country added to the 'need to revisit' list.

Rating for tour operator:

We chose a luxury operator and they definitely delivered when it came to to the accommodation - although we did pay for this(!) however the driver they employed really let them down as he had lost his passion and love for showing off his incredible country and wasn't happy to go off the beaten track at all to enable us to see the real Sri Lanka as opposed to the sterile tourist route.

Experience Travel Group responded to this review on 16 Mar 2017:

Dear Abi,

I know Lauren has spoken to you about your issue and that we've apologised directly for the poor service you received from our chauffer guide. As the Managing Director of Experience Travel Group, I'd like to offer my personal apologies too. We pride ourselves on having the best group of guides in the country as well as directly employed local managers who can deal with issues as they come up, so this is the last thing we'd want to hear.

He is also a long standing employee and one who has received really fantastic feedback in the past (happy to supply on request), so we were all the more shocked to read this review.

We have taken immediate steps to remove him from our roster. If he completes some re-training and regains his spark for the job - we'll look at re-employing him due to past excellent service, but not until then.

We're pleased that you enjoyed your holiday in all other respects and that we got the overall design right for you. We'd love to make it up in a future holiday either to Sri Lanka or another destination we cover. Please contact me directly if you'd like to discuss any further.

Kind regards,

Sam
Co-founder & MD

Sri Lanka Laid Back - Deluxe by Kim Admin, 10 Mar 2017
Holiday Rating:

Smiling just remembering it all.

From start to finish it was just what we wanted, the only downside was one hotel was too far away from where we wanted to be( Nuwara Eliya was booked so we stayed about an hour or so away) however our driver ensured we still got to visit the Hill Club! Nothing was too much trouble for the people at the hotels or associated with our holiday.

From start to finish it was just what we wanted, the only downside was one hotel was too far away from where we wanted to be( Nuwara Eliya was booked so we stayed about an hour or so away) however our driver ensured we still got to visit the Hill Club! Nothing was too much trouble for the people at the hotels or associated with our holiday.

Rating for tour operator:

Sara was helpful, friendly and efficient. She called when she said she would, made amendments to accommodate our changing ideas and was knowledgeable and helpful throughout the whole process of booking and up to departure.

Experience Travel Group responded to this review on 13 Mar 2017:

Dear Kim,

Great to hear you had a great holiday. We generally avoid booking hotels in Nuwara Eliya itself as the standard is not brilliant generally speaking. However, we should have explained that more clearly in advance.

I'm glad you still got to enjoy the experience that is the Hill Club! I'll pass onto Sara your positive comments too as she'll be pleased.

All the best,

Sam Clark
Co-founder & MD

Undiscovered Northern Kerala by sandino, 10 Mar 2017
Holiday Rating:

We had a wonderful holiday

Our visit to India was the first time we had travelled in Asia and we had both been a little nervous as to quite what the trip may involve. In fact the reality was that we had no need for nervousness as everything we had been promised in terms of the quality of accommodation and care combined with the range of experiences offered all were excellent. We had an absolutely wonderful time and the memories we come back with are the lovelyy and enriching ...

Our visit to India was the first time we had travelled in Asia and we had both been a little nervous as to quite what the trip may involve. In fact the reality was that we had no need for nervousness as everything we had been promised in terms of the quality of accommodation and care combined with the range of experiences offered all were excellent. We had an absolutely wonderful time and the memories we come back with are the lovelyy and enriching souvenir that India has left us

Rating for tour operator:

I would recommend the Experience travel Group to anyone. They did everything they undertook to do and did so with great courtesy

Experience Travel Group responded to this review on 10 Mar 2017:

Dear Tony,

What a lovely review! So glad you had a brilliant time in India. Most people are nervous about India before visiting and then pleasantly surprised. We hope to hear from you again to visit other areas of India or further afield in Asia.

Many thanks,

Sam Clark
Co-founder