Experience Travel Group Traveller Reviews

Fantastic experience with a great choice of hotels, quality trips and very knowledgeable guides. We combined Siem Reap with Saigon and, at the end, a rest on the beach at Phu Quoc. This worked well for us as all the early starts and the bust times were in the first two locations followed by an excellent on Phu Quoc at La Verandah resort hotel.

Very knowledgeable and helpful throughout the planning, especially in response to changing itineraries. Highly recommended.

We flew from Birmingham with Emirates, the flight times were excellent and the airline was one of the best Ive been with, we had economy seats which were roomy and comfortable. The seat back tvs were twice the size of usual airline tvs and there were so many programmes to choose from. Meals were good and drinks were included in the price. When we reached Sri Lanka we were met by our chauffeur who held up a board, he introduced himself and gave me his mobile - Thushani from the Sri Lankan branch of ETG was on the other end and welcomed me to Sri Lanka and told me if I had any problems to contact her. The vehicle was a large mini bus type vehicle with blacked out back windows and plenty of room. The aircon was going and it was lovely and cool. The first hotel was Amagi Lagoon in Negombo and as its name suggests was next to the lagoon, a quick 25 minute drive from the airport. Our chauffeur booked us in and left us for the night. It was a lovely comfortable hotel and and food was plentiful and unexpensive. After an excellent breakfast we departed for Ashburnham estate which was in the knuckles mountain range. It was a good 4 hour drive and we stopped a couple of times for a comfort break and to buy fruit. When we arrived at Ashburnham we were greeted by Laura and Ollie who made us feel like part of the family and we were upgraded to a suite which was fabulous. The next day we walked around the estate and were given a tour by the estate manager, we then walked down to their own waterfall and as we walked back up to the first level of the waterfall, Max our guide arranged for beer to be bought down which was very welcoming. Ashburnham is a lovely old colonial house and has only 5 rooms for guests, I would thoroughly recommend this hotel, just wished we had stayed longer. When we left Ashburnham we made our way to Kandy, again a long drive but interesting. We stayed at Sweet Cinnamon which was a really interesting octagonal bungalow, we were booked in by our chauffeur and he returned later in the evening to take us to the Kandian dance and then to the temple of the tooth. Whilst I enjoyed the dancing, I thought the temple was much to busy and manic and I was relieved to leave. I think it would have been good to go at a less busy time, but if you want to see the ceremony of the tooth then you have to go at that time. the next day we departed for Udawalwe national park, again a 3 to 4 hour drive. This was probably the least favourite of mine, as I wasn't keen on the safari and although the hotel was very comfortable, it wasn't an attractive place to look at, which surprised me as it was built in the national park. After the safari the next day we made our way to Unawatuna which is next to Galle. This was around 4 hours. We went on the only motorway in Sri Lanka which is about 50 miles long. The hotel was in a jungle setting and was really interestingly laid out. We had a lovely room overlooking the pool, with a huge bed with mosquito netting, great air con, very quiet. The staff at the hotel were very attentive, they made our anniversary very special, baking us a cake and putting out table out of the main dining area and near the pool. We had lobster thermidor and when we got back to our room Experience Travel had left us a bottle of champagne. All in all the whole holiday was fabulous, the planning was perfect, everything went like clockwork, the chauffeur, Ashara was excellent and again, nothing too much trouble. We were sad to say goodbye to him, I would highly recommend Experience Travel, their knowledge was excellent, I told them what I wanted and they managed to sort this perfectly, I was very pleased and so were the other members of my group. I would definitely use them again. Thank you Experience Travel for a fabulous holiday!!

Experience Travel are an excellent company. they listened to what I wanted from my holiday and delivered this. Each hotel was exactly what I would have booked myself, the Sri Lankan branch were equally good and extremely helpful. If I had had any problems I know they would have been there to help me. The vehicle we were taken on the tour in was modern, comfortable and roomy. All in all an excellent experience and one I would recommend.

A wonderful experience, well arranged by the Experience Travel Group which took into account all our plans and expectations for the country. We covered most of the country, stayed in a wide variety of hotels, had game drives in two National Parks and two interesting city tours. We learnt a lot about the country, from the effects of the long war to the crafts, skills and modern cities and really felt we had an "Experience" rather than just a holiday.

Experience Travel Group went to much effort to put together a varied, interesting and inclusive itinerary for us and took into account our likes and preferences. We had an outstanding driver/guide for whom nothing was too much trouble and superb "in country" support. Highly recommended.

The most fantastic and utterly spell binding trip on the Jayavarman ship along the Mekong river that by far exceeded our expectations. Followed by a fascinating trip from Saigon to Hanoi including a night in HaLong bay. And of course the temples... This was an incredibly holiday, informative and fun. We travelled for four weeks and I wish we had even more time! We worried about nothing. I barely carried my suitcase because the travel arrangements were so well organised. The tours were private, personal and exceptional. What more can I say - apart from where can we go next year?!

Extremely knowledgeable and extremely likeable.

I had always wanted to visit Cambodia to learn more about its troubled history. This was the most incredible experience and I learnt about Cambodia's amazing ancient power and its stunning temples, all living up to their world heritage status. The Khmer are wonderful gentle people looking forward in hope for a better future and to leave the legacy of the Pol pot regimes and its subsequent horrors in the past.We were treated always with kindness and warmth wherever we went and we went everywhere.

They arranged everything as I had asked them, down to the minutest detail and were on hand at all times to answer questions.

Bangkok, then to Northern Thailand, down the Mekong to Luang Prabang. Plane to Sien Reap then Phnom Penh and then to Krabi on Andaman Coast to chill out. We did alot of sight seeing and arranged experiences such as Thai cooking day, elephant riding, hill tribe visiting and temple visiting then hit the beach for the last 6 days. Great mix of experiences.

We packed a lot into to 25 days and everything worked like clockwork. Hotels were all very good and we had a great time- what more to say!

We managed to combine cultural highlights, with wonderful scenery, the tea trails experience, a few days at a beach and a look at Colombo without feeling exhausted thanks to excellent planning with some three day stops to unwind.

The whole team is very helpful and always available to answer queries. Special mention to Lucy who was our main advisor, but everyone was happy to help.

We took a fantastic trip to Sri Lanka. Planned it with Experience Travel. Nick was a great help and highly knowledgeable. Having got the skeleton together, Nick put the meat on the bones and came up with a stunning itinerary. High quality hotels and wildlife experiences that will live long in the memory. Everything flowed throughout the 17days and we came home with many happy memories. Thanks for making it all so easy

We took a fantastic trip to Sri Lanka. Planned it with Experience Travel. Nick was a great help and highly knowledgeable. Having got the skeleton together, Nick put the meat on the bones and came up with a stunning itinerary. High quality hotels and wildlife experiences that will live long in the memory. Everything flowed throughout the 17days and we came home with many happy memories. Thanks for making it all so easy

21 days in Thailand travelling from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi to Chiang Mai to Koh Yoa. We spent 5 days in Bangkok visiting the major sights and travelling around by boat, skytrain, underground, taxi, and tuk tuk. We had an excellent guide who went the extra mile to ensure that we saw everything on our list as well as several areas that were off the beaten track. We moved on to Kanchanaburi to visit the Railway Museum, Cemetary, River Kwai Bridge, and death railway - this was a very moving experience. We stayed 1 night on floating jungle rafts with no electricity which was quite different, and 3 nights at the Hintok River Camp (on the site of an old POW camp) where we looked after very well. The next stop was Chiang Mai for another 4 nights where again we had a very good guide who took us to the main sights. We stayed in the Tamarind Village boutique hotel which was excellent and very well located. This part of the holiday included a day at Lisu Lodge where we went on a bike ride to a tea plantation and learned a lot about growing, picking, and processing tea. The accommodation was a bit basic but we were extremely well looked after. Finally we flew down to Phuket and on to one the islands in the Andaman sea for 4 days R&R in a luxury hotel. All in all we had a great time and saw parts of Thailand that many tourists would miss. We found the Thai people very friendly and helpful. We would certainly go back in the future.

We have used Experience Travel Group before to arrange a holiday in Cambodia and Vietnam. They have an extensive knowledge of South East Asia and are prepared to use this to tailor make a holiday for their clients. Nothing is too much trouble and questions are investigated quickly and responded to promptly. We spent several weeks finalising our itinerary with Lauren Boyd and, with one minor exception, I don't think we could have improved on the schedule. The guides provided were first class and did everything they could to ensure that we saw everything we wanted as well as some parts that many tourists would miss. At every stage from initial contact through to our welcome home, we were treated as important clients and not just customers. We would wholeheartedly recommend Experience Travel Group to anyone visiting this region for the first time.

We booked our second holiday with Experience Travel Group, this time to Laos. The attention to detail pre travel was impressive, and even during the holiday, our agent always had our best interests at heart and genuinely cared that it was a holiday to remember. Any minor issues that we faced eg change in flight schedules were met head on and dealt with in a very positive manner. I had complete trust in this company to deliver a fantastic holiday and they did not disappoint. Their customer service is an example to all.

David Gookey has become a friend. He has at all times communicated changes and sought to ensure we had a brilliant holiday