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
Sort by:
Experience Travel Group by HiteshS, 20 Dec 2014
Holiday Rating:

A trip of a lifetime to Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos

The trip was well paced allowing for sightseeing and relaxing, covering all the important sites and culture of the countries. You could immerse yourself into the cuisine and the welcoming attitude of the people and appreciate the struggles that they had lived through in recent memory as well as recall the magnificent historical architecture.

The trip was well paced allowing for sightseeing and relaxing, covering all the important sites and culture of the countries. You could immerse yourself into the cuisine and the welcoming attitude of the people and appreciate the struggles that they had lived through in recent memory as well as recall the magnificent historical architecture.

Rating for tour operator:

Excellent advice and information from the outset and all the ground arrangements were spot on. Would definitely travel with them again.

Experience Travel Group responded to this review on 20 Dec 2014:

Thank's so much Hitesh - we look forward to arranging another holiday for you in the future.
Best,
The Experience Travel Group Team

Myanmar Classic Highlights by WorldExplorer, 19 Dec 2014
Holiday Rating:

Magical Myanmar

Two weeks in Myanmar flew by too quickly. Pagodas, bamboo forest, mountain passes, floating gardens, fiery chilis, beautiful smiles...a mosaic of memorable experiences!

Two weeks in Myanmar flew by too quickly. Pagodas, bamboo forest, mountain passes, floating gardens, fiery chilis, beautiful smiles...a mosaic of memorable experiences!

Rating for tour operator:

Experience Travel has treated us so well. This was our second tour and they proved that the first wonderful trip (Sri Lanka) wasn't just luck - they are extremely good at what they do. Flexible itineraries, amazing experiences and accommodations. They're our secret to coming home from our travels with incredible stories to share.

Experience Travel Group responded to this review on 20 Dec 2014:

Delighted to hear it Susan - that's a great write up. Have a great Christmas!

Experience Travel Group by susieO, 7 Dec 2014
Holiday Rating:

Fantastic cultural experience in IndoChina

An amazing 24 days using 22 forms of transport, witnessing the history, culture, food, lifestyle, peoples and diverse scenery of 2 very beautiful countries - Cambodia and Vietnam. Unforgettable with a rich variety of activities and experiences from museums and palaces to motorbikes, river gorges, markets - rural, floating, russian.... schools, villages, tea plantations, the Chinese border, sunsets, sunrises......

An amazing 24 days using 22 forms of transport, witnessing the history, culture, food, lifestyle, peoples and diverse scenery of 2 very beautiful countries - Cambodia and Vietnam. Unforgettable with a rich variety of activities and experiences from museums and palaces to motorbikes, river gorges, markets - rural, floating, russian.... schools, villages, tea plantations, the Chinese border, sunsets, sunrises......

Rating for tour operator:

Excellent from start to finish. We met them at a travel fair, started talking. They listened to what we liked doing, made some suggestions and after a little discussion we fixed on our ideal itinerary. So ideal that our trip for 2 grew. 2 friends came with us and our friends sister and 3 friends did the trip in the opposite direction at the same time and they organised us meeting up in the middle

Experience Travel Group responded to this review on 07 Dec 2014:

Dear Susie,
Just the kind of trip we really enjoy putting together! Thank you for your ind words, glad you enjoyed it!
The Experience Travel Group Team

Experience Travel Group by jimbo, 2 Dec 2014
Holiday Rating:

Fantastic holiday, great organisation and service

Visiting temples in Cambodia, a cruise down the Mekong, visiting the Cities of Hanoi and H.C.M. City with excellent local tours and 3 day Junk cruise on the Halang Bay

Visiting temples in Cambodia, a cruise down the Mekong, visiting the Cities of Hanoi and H.C.M. City with excellent local tours and 3 day Junk cruise on the Halang Bay

Rating for tour operator:

Promptly dealt with all queries and put together all our requests in an efficient manner making their own recommendations as appropriate.

Experience Travel Group responded to this review on 02 Dec 2014:

Hi Jim,

Great to hear and your feedback is much appreciated. We hope to hear from you again.
Regards,

The Experience Travel Group Team.

Experience Travel Group by Natasha, 27 Nov 2014
Holiday Rating:

Whistle-stop tour to Laos

We had only a long weekend but really, really wanted to visit Laos so asked whether we could cram some "Indochine" atmosphere into a long weekend?

We had only a long weekend but really, really wanted to visit Laos so asked whether we could cram some "Indochine" atmosphere into a long weekend?

Rating for tour operator:

Experience Travel put together a package with wonderful old colonial hotels, interesting sights, local guides, a perfect mix of frenetic rushing to see as much as possible and relaxing under the frangipani trees.... When we wanted to take the slow boat down the Mekong they gently suggested that we'd be disappointed if we found we had almost no time in Luang Prabang because we had taken so long getting there, and of course they were right.... We were so glad that we followed their advice! Perfect mini-holiday.

Experience Travel Group by WildWestShep, 24 Nov 2014
Holiday Rating:

A real mix of styles giving a fabulous all round experience

This was our 3rd main trip to Sri Lanka, so we'd seen the main sites and wanted to look at some of the less visited areas, and maybe see more of the wildlife. Nick recommended a real mix of accommodation - feet in the sand boho, tented safari, our own tree house in the jungle, luxury beachside and laid back house party style. Once on the island our local guide was enthusiastic, patient, knowledgeable, reliable ...everything you could want. ...

This was our 3rd main trip to Sri Lanka, so we'd seen the main sites and wanted to look at some of the less visited areas, and maybe see more of the wildlife. Nick recommended a real mix of accommodation - feet in the sand boho, tented safari, our own tree house in the jungle, luxury beachside and laid back house party style. Once on the island our local guide was enthusiastic, patient, knowledgeable, reliable ...everything you could want. Most of the animals seemed to have gone on holiday from Wilpattu when we visited - maybe they'd gone for a long weekend to Yala - but that didn't matter as the experience with Leopard Safaris was something special in itself. It was a simply wonderful trip

Rating for tour operator:

Experience Travel certainly know Sri Lanka, and take time to talk through what sort of things you like and don't like, so they can build a truly memorable trip for you. Booking this holiday was so simple for me, yet it can't have been easy to pull everything together - which is testament to the service from Nick and the team.

Experience Travel Group responded to this review on 25 Nov 2014:

Hi Rachel

Thank you for the very kind words, i am so glad that you enjoyed your holiday and everything went to plan.

I will pass on the particular praise to Leopard Safaris and the wonderful service that they give.

Thanks

Nick

Experience Travel Group by phlashnmair, 23 Nov 2014
Holiday Rating:

A heady mix of Thailand and Laos

From the tumultuous streets of Bangkok, to the charm of Luang Prabang and the remote serenity of hill-top villages near Chiang Rai, this was another trip to be treasured. A real mix of places to stay as well - the top-class Ariyosam Villa, an eccentric tent eco-lodge in Laos, the centrally-located Tamarind Village in Chiang Mai and a chilled (if expensive) beach resort on Koh Samet to end the three weeks in style. This was a properly "bespoke" ...

From the tumultuous streets of Bangkok, to the charm of Luang Prabang and the remote serenity of hill-top villages near Chiang Rai, this was another trip to be treasured. A real mix of places to stay as well - the top-class Ariyosam Villa, an eccentric tent eco-lodge in Laos, the centrally-located Tamarind Village in Chiang Mai and a chilled (if expensive) beach resort on Koh Samet to end the three weeks in style. This was a properly "bespoke" arrangement and could so easily have failed to "gel." However, the contrast between energetic bike rides, local cooking classes, leisurely boat journeys, hill-treks and lots of time to explore, based on what local guides suggested, proved to be a magical blend. ]

Rating for tour operator:

Laos and northern Thailand were the pieces missing from our S E Asia jigsaw so we asked Experience Travel to propose a tailored package linking both countries. We couldn't fit in everything we wanted, but their consultant came up with a compelling highlights-with-extras package by reversing the normal direction of travel from Chiang Mai to Laos. Instead, we travelled up the Mekong into Thailand, stopping overnight at two very different lodges. Despite the potential risks of using more than half-a-dozen local companies (overseen by two larger local firms), everything worked seamlessly and we always felt secure and safe despite wandering more than a few yards off the beaten track.

Experience Travel Group responded to this review on 25 Nov 2014:

It sounds like you had such a great trip Phil and thanks so much for the fantastic feedback! It was a pleasure putting it together for you and really am happy you will have a lot of memories to treasure from it, all the best for now, Matt

Experience Travel Group by STEVE57, 20 Nov 2014
Holiday Rating:

HOILDAY TO REMEMBER SO MANY GOOD POINTS

WENT TO SAIGON HOI AN AND HANOI AND STAYED ON A JUNK BOAT IN HALONG BAY 3 DAYS IN EACH. HAD STREET FOOD ATE THE LOCAL FOOD ALL THE TIME JUST THE BEST FOOD YOU WILL EVER EAT.

WENT TO SAIGON HOI AN AND HANOI AND STAYED ON A JUNK BOAT IN HALONG BAY 3 DAYS IN EACH. HAD STREET FOOD ATE THE LOCAL FOOD ALL THE TIME JUST THE BEST FOOD YOU WILL EVER EAT.

Rating for tour operator:

REALLY WELL PLANED OUT TOUR FOR SOMEONE LIKE ME WHO HAS LITTLE EXPERIENCE OF ASIA

Experience Travel Group responded to this review on 20 Nov 2014:

Thank you very much Stephen, for posting this review. Glad to hear you loved the street food. Not getting any argument from us there!

All the best,

Sam

Experience Travel Group by lmm10, 18 Nov 2014
Holiday Rating:

Amazing

We had been wanting to go to Myanmar for some time and when we eventually went, I was worried that it might be a let down - but it wasn't! We started in Mandalay, which was lovely, then moved on to Bagan which was truly amazing and then onto Inle Lake which was stunning! Everything exceeded our expectations so then having a few days on the beach to chill was great and even then the beach was so beautiful. Our last stop was Yangon and we doubted ...

We had been wanting to go to Myanmar for some time and when we eventually went, I was worried that it might be a let down - but it wasn't! We started in Mandalay, which was lovely, then moved on to Bagan which was truly amazing and then onto Inle Lake which was stunning! Everything exceeded our expectations so then having a few days on the beach to chill was great and even then the beach was so beautiful. Our last stop was Yangon and we doubted that could match the others and although it was a city and dirtier thatn the other places we had been it had a character all of its own and we had a great time there in spite of the heavy rain. All the people we met both locally and the guides and drivers were so friendly that it was indeed the trip of a lifetime.

Rating for tour operator:

This was the first time that we had used Experience Travel and we were very pleased with them. They really listened to what we wanted out of our holiday which included more local experiences and included a walk through a village and some food related activities such as a cookery class locally. They worked hard prior to our departure to get the hotels that we wanted and were contactable over the weekend when we discovered a problem with our visa just before our departure. This, combined with all the amazing sights of Myanmar and excellent guides and ground arrangement made a wonderful holiday.

Experience Travel Group responded to this review on 19 Nov 2014:

Hi Loyita

I am so glad that you enjoyed your holiday and that it live up to your expectations. i know that it meant a lot to you in returning to your childhood and that always makes it extra special.

I do look forward to hearing from you again soon.

Thanks

Nick

Experience Travel Group by Gingernut, 18 Nov 2014
Holiday Rating:

Varied Interesting Exciting Trip (could) Not Ask (for) More .....VIETNAM

We had the most amazing holiday in Vietnam. The itinerary had been well planned and was efficiently carried out. The hotels and boats, without exception, were all clean and comfortable with the most delicious buffet spreads for breakfast. The transportation was efficient,clean and comfortable. The knowledgeable guides spoke good English and could not do enough for us. The scenery was varied and breath taking at times and the history fascinat...

We had the most amazing holiday in Vietnam. The itinerary had been well planned and was efficiently carried out. The hotels and boats, without exception, were all clean and comfortable with the most delicious buffet spreads for breakfast. The transportation was efficient,clean and comfortable. The knowledgeable guides spoke good English and could not do enough for us. The scenery was varied and breath taking at times and the history fascinating, although a little harrowing. The food was so tasty that I have even bought a cookery book! The weather was kind to us too. Brilliant! The best trip was the Vesper tour at night in Saigon...........crazy but so much fun.

Rating for tour operator:

We chose Experience Travel Group to book this trip for us on a recommendation from friends who had had a brilliant stress free holiday in Vietnam. The operator who helped us plan our trip was very patient with us and not at all pushy. She had first hand recent knowledge of Vietnam which was invaluable when selecting our route, choosing our hotels and excursions. I would definitely recommend this company to anybody who wishes to travel to this part of the world without any hesitation.

Experience Travel Group responded to this review on 19 Nov 2014:

Dear Helen,

Thank you so much for taking the time to give us this feedback. We love Vietnam too so very glad you enjoyed it so much and as for Vietnamese food - what can we say!

Your kind comments about us are so much appreciated too.

All the best,

The Experience Travel Group Team.