Experience Travel Group Traveller Reviews

From the first pick up on arrival in Vientiane in Laos to our final departure our holiday went smoothly. There was no uncertainty, our pick ups were there waiting for us. The holiday was a mix of experiences. We wanted to see Laos in some detail (of course we didn't achieve this: it has much more to offer than the 10 days we were there), we needed to meet up with our daughter in Chiang Mai and finally we wanted some rest and recreation on a beach in Thailand. We left most of the details to Experience travel. In total we were away for three weeks. The holiday itself broke up into separate experiences: all delightful in their own way. In Vang Vieng we enjoyed cycle rides, kayaking as well as visiting one of the local cave beauty spots. We then journeyed through beautiful mountain scenery to Phonsavan which we used as a base to visit The Plain of Jars. This was well worth a visit, Phonsavan itself was not. This is a pity as the surrounding mountains and the jars are well worth the time spent to get there. Our next destination was the old capital of Luang Prabang. Our biggest regret here was that we didn't have as much time as we felt this place deserved. We only had two days here and although Experience travel had packed in a lot for us to see and do what we also needed was some time to just wander and soak up the atmosphere of the place. This has always been a problem with our holidays: we have never wished to cut anything out but so often would have liked more time at each place. The next phase was a flight to Chiang Mai where we were meeting up with our daughter and the plan was for my wife and daughter to find a dyeing course on which to enroll. The Rachamankha had been chosen by Experience for us. One small criticism I have of the otherwise excellent details sent out by Experience is that often the photos included fail to do justice to the quality of the places they chose for us. The Rachamankha was worth a look round in its own right as a piece of architecture. We were very pleased that this had been chosen for us. Part of our time in Chiang Mai was to involve a trek out from the Lisu Lodge. This was another location were the photos failed to convey the beauty of the location and the comfort of our stay. The trek up the mountain was demanding was worth the sweat and the candle lit meal prepared by our guide at the end of a long hot day will be as memorable as the stunning view out over the mountain from the toilet! The final phase of the holiday was a beach holiday in Khao Lak as reward for that hot sweaty climb and descent. The choice of accommodation was excellent and had we wanted there would have been plenty of tours that we could have undertaken.

Once again we left things to the last minute, handed over a vague idea of what we wanted to do and the places we wanted to visit and then left it to Experience Travel to sort out the details for us. Once again they delivered the goods. The places we stayed were exactly as we expected and in quite a few cases exceeded our expectations. Tours and pickups occurred exactly when they were supposed to and there was always the feeling that if something went wrong there was a team behind us ready to sort things out in the best way.

We had an excellent and thoroughly enjoyable holiday experience in Sri Lanka which provided an interesting and varied travel experience

Experience Travel Group provided an excellent high quality service throughout

We have just returned from a tour of Sri Lanka, our second holiday booked with ETG. Again, we have been highly satisfied with the professional and efficient service we've received and and thoroughly enjoyed our holiday. The itineraries we have followed on both our holidays have been well thought out and the hotels, guides, drivers and experiences exceptional. I can't recommend ETG highly enough.

On both our holidays booked with ETG, we have been highly satisfied with the professional and efficient service we've received and and thoroughly enjoyed our holiday. The itineraries we have followed on both our holidays have been well thought out and the hotels, guides, drivers and experiences exceptional. I can't recommend ETG highly enough.

We had a wonderfully relaxed and informative cultural tour of Sri Lanka. A beautiful country, charming people and no administrative hiccups in a complicated itinerary.

Everything was organised with outstanding efficiency and imagination to provide us with an amazing tour of Sri Lanka

WELL ORGANISED MIX OF CULTURE ADVENTURE & RELAXATION WITH 8 DAYS IN SRI LANKA AND 6 IN THE MALDIVES ON MEERU ISLAND

THEY DID AN EXCELLENT JOB

It was simply one of the best trips we've ever done, and we've done plenty. We don't normally ask ana gent to do the whole trip for us. But this trip we did, and it worked

I had never used Experience Travel before, but would definitely do so again

Experience Travel helped us select a great mix of scenery, hill county, beach and other interesting places to visit. Excellent hotels, not all expensive, and reliable travel arrangements. Very good and up-to-date local knowledge

Good local knowledge. Reliable arrangements. Interesting recommendations - often a little bit different.

We are lucky enough to have travelled to many countries in the world, mainly as independent travellers. This holiday is up there with the best of them! We enjoyed every minute. The organisation was excellent so we didn't encounter any annoying glitches along the way. We saw and learned so much on our travels in a variety of different settings, yet we never felt rushed in any way. All the hotels were luxurious and very special for different reasons. The elegant Ceylon Tea Trails was our favourite for its scenic setting, excellent food and gracious staff. For most of the tour we had Rabel our trusty driver, who negotiated the chaotic traffic with skill and proficiency. He was a fount of local knowledge and proved to be flexible and helpful when we had to rearrange our plans because the tea factory was closed. For us however, the highlight of the holiday was camping in the jungle with Leopard Safaris. It was not at all scary- well, maybe just a little bit at night! The accommodation was perfectly comfortable and we loved the romantic ambience, especially sitting round the fire at night. The staff couldn't have been kinder or more welcoming and the food was great. All in all a wonderful holiday. Thank you ETG.

This was the first time we have used ETG but I'm sure it won't be the last! From the very first contact with Nick we got a good feeling about this company. He helped us put together a tour that perfectly met all our requirements, and he was happy to tweak the plan until we got it right. His personal knowledge of the places on our route proved invaluable. All queries were answered promptly and in a very friendly manner so we felt like valued clients. Our tour ran like clockwork from start to finish and overall exceeded our expectations. On reflection, it was probably not ideal to travel over the Christmas holiday period for several reasons, not least the fact that the game park Willpittu was very crowded, but that was our choice and in no way reflects on ETG as this was pointed out right at the start. We would not hesitate to recommend ETG to anyone seeking a tailor made and memorable experience.

This was our third tour with Experience Travel. From the moment we began planning our trip they were, as expected, responsive, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and very easy to talk to. We planned a great tour with a mix of activities and some beach time. All the hotel, tours and activities met our high hopes and expectations and in some cases exceeded them. Our consultant suggested am amazing food tour on Vespa scooters in Saigon, which just was the most fun ever and a real must do. We experienced one major hitch in our travel plans when a flight was cancelled late at night from Hanoi to Hue. Whilst other travellers faced the prospect of a miserable night in Hanoi airport or a bus ride to Hanoi to search for accommodation, our local contact arranged for us to be whisked to a wonderful hotel and rescheduled our travel plans to avoid a 3 am start next day. It was service above and beyond all expectations. It is easy to review a smooth holiday well, but this kind of care makes Experience stand head and shoulders above other travel companies. We really can't recommend our whole Experience experience highly enough.

They are knowledgeable, enthusiastic, responsive and nothing ever seems to faze them. Their planning is flawless and as stated above they really deliver when things go awry. I would not hesitate to recommend them. They are brilliant.

Our two weeks in Sri Lanka with Experience Travel exceeded all expectations. We stayed in five different hotels as we toured around southern Sri Lanka, and were driven around by our guide Upul who was fantastic on every level. Experience Travel did everything they could to make our trip run smoothly and they bent over backwards to accommodate all our requests. Our two boys of 12 and 10 say it was their best holiday by miles and we could not recommend them more highly. We had an amazing time and will definitely use ET again.

fantastic! They were incredibly professional and helpful and did everything they could to make our trip perfect. The help on the ground in Sri Lanka was as good as those in the office in London.