Wild Frontiers Traveller Reviews

Unforgettable!!! Having been a world traveller for over 50 years this is the best holiday I have ever had and enjoyed it so much that we stayed 5 days extra. I will also be going on Wild Frontiers Mongolian tour next year. The Itinerary, information and organisation provided by Wild Frontiers could not be faulted and the tour guide, Patrick, deserves a medal for the way he dealt with all the inevitable problems that come with crossing land borders and a mixed group (there is always a problem......) My only request is that could the tour be made longer so that there is more time in Kashgar. Keep it up Wild Frontiers!I may even do the same trip again some day.

Could not be better. Answered all my queries (even the stupid ones)promptly and sent follow up questionnaire and the price was good. I intend using them for my next Central Asia tour in 2014.

This should have been an amazing trip -- the countries visited are of outstanding beauty, history, culture and wonderful people. And yet, despite this, I struggled to enjoy this trip because sooooooooo many things went badly. And the things that went poorly were completely avoidable if, in my opinion, Wild Frontiers took the time to do some basic and fundamental planning. I was prepared for hardship on this travel (this is Central Asia!) but I wasn't prepared for the disorganisation and unprofessionalism of the tour operator.

In my opinion and based on my experience, I thought that Wild Frontiers did a shameful job with regards to the Silk Route trip in August 2010. While I could lay a lot of the issue at the door of the 'expert guide', I think this would be hiding the issue that Central Office sent someone who was neither an expert in the region nor experienced enough to lead the group nor in the condition to guide a group of 13 travellers for 21 days. First, the guide really didn't know the region and thus always deferred questions (even basic ones) to the subcontracted local guides. Some guides were excellent whereas others were average/poor. As such, it was disappointing to get generic answers about the history and culture of the wonderful places we were visiting. Second, the WIld Frontier tour leader really wasn't a leader but rather someone who responds to issues. In other words, rather than being proactive and prevent simple issues from escalating, the leader was more reactive. As such, on this trip, we had a lot of little issues that became hugely problematic and caused delayed, wasted time, and stress to the group. For example, the leader didn't ensure that we had sufficient water when visiting a desert in Tajikistan. Thus, once we reached the ancient ruins we were not allowed to explore the site until one of the helpers returned with water. As such, we wasted a lot of time waiting in the shade. Time in the shade is time not spent exploring the site! Another example is our flight from Khiva (Uzbekistan). Our flight was delayed for 5 hours. But, our leader didn't check on the flight status before we arrived to the airport for our transfer. Other tour groups did -- and thus they had 5 extra hours to explore Khiva whereas the Wild Frontiers group was stuck at the airport for 5 hours and waited . . . waited . . . waited. Third example is that Wild Frontiers booked this tour leader back-to-back with other trips. So, when she arrived to lead our group, she was already exhausted. Thus, one day in Uzbekistan, she opted to remain back at the hotel to "catch her breath" and finish her travel blogs. (Apparently, Wild Frontiers travel blog deadlines are more important to her than to look after the group.) So, we were left in the care of the outsourced local agents for the day. Question: what is the point of paying a premium to Wild Frontiers for the expert and experienced guides if their guides can't be bothered to show up for work? I raised this question to WIld Frontiers in the post-trip feedback form and their response was that it was in our interests that our guide is well-rested. I agree whole-heartedly. But, I would add that for this very reason, Wild Frontiers should not have assigned our group someone who was already exhausted at the outset. The other issue I had with Wild Frontiers is that trip really wasn't authentic and we didn't get "under the skin" of the place. The itinerary was rather generic and we kept running into the same group of people from other tours over and over again. (I guess this happens if Wild Frontiers subcontracts the trip/the logistics to local tour companies.) Furthermore, even when Wild Frontiers wasn't relying on the outsourced agents, the WF tour leader really didn't make any effort to be 'the travel leader for travellers'. For example, we transit thru Bishkek twice. And twice (!!!), we were taken to an Italian restaurant! To think that I've travelled thousands of miles to Central Asia, and I was fed pasta and pizza!!! How authentic is that? And, in Kashgar China, we were taken to what I could only describe as the ultimate tourist-trap from Dante's purgatory. This should have been an optional event for when we had the afternoon free. Instead, this was on the main itinerary. Did we visit a mosque or place of historical intrigue? No. We visited the Ikea of tourist tats. But the biggest disappointment for me with Wild Frontiers was the amateur nature of the logistics and planning. First, although everyone is responsible for his/her own visa, if someone from the group had problems then it would mean that the entire group is impacted. NO ONE at Wild Frontiers bothered to confirm that all the visas were in order prior to the start of the trip. Thus, we had lots (x100) of problems with the border crossings. We actually lost a day at the China-Krygz border waiting for the guards to release two of our fellow travellers. Second, NO ONE at Wild Frontiers did their homework beforehand and completely trusted the local agents to handle all the home stay arrangements. Thus, they were not aware that at one home stay, there was only 1 loo for our group, tour leader, local agents, and 5 drivers. (And the family asked us to NOT use their lawn for calls of nature.) Thus, if 1 person in our large group was ill (i.e. diarrhoea) then this would have been a hugely unpleasant experience. In short, this was a hugely disappointing experience. I would NOT recommend Wild Frontiers to my friends or family.

Great tour from Madurai up to the hills in Munnar and then onto the backwaters of Kerala, finishing in Cochin. An excellent mix of temples, scenery, relaxation and great food.

Nigel at Wild Frontiers organised an itinerary for us that was exactly the kind of balance of sightseeing and relaxation that we had asked for. Him and his team were consistently good with communication and ensuring a smooth trip.

We had a marvellous Tailor made holiday in Rajasthan, India, which was organised by Wild Frontiers. Our driver was superb and looked after us really well,making sure everything organised in England ran like clockwork. It was all amazing and we loved it.

We chose Wild Frontiers because they have a great knowledge of India, and were able to tailor the holiday to our needs. Everything ran very smoothly.

This was a great introduction to South America; Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Brazil seeing everything that a traveller should see. Great hotels, excellent transport and superb guides with very good English.

Once again Wild Frontiers gave us a splendid adventure, never a problem at the many borders, and always a number to ring in every country if we ever got into difficulties. We have every faith in them and would travel to Mars with them, knowing there wouldn't be any hitches!

We travelled through Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and across China. Not a single problem at some pretty remote border crossings and a guide always waiting for us. Great hotels, good transport fantastic guides. We saw everything we wanted to and it was the adventure of a lifetime.

Wild Frontiers are a great company who have the knack of assessing your needs and then fulfilling them. We have every faith in them. In the past few years we have visited over a dozen countries with them, and had a total of 17 guides (only one guide in all of those didn't quite cut the mustard. There is always an English speaking manager in each country that you can contact if anything should go wrong ... nothing has ever gone wrong yet!

We had a couple of relaxing days in Kota Kinabalu at the start of our 10 day Borneo holiday before setting off for Sandakan & the Sepilok Orang-utan Sanctuary. There we had our 1st glimpse of Orang-utans & they were only a few metres away. Kids & adults very excited. Then down the Kinabatangan River to one of it's lodges & the start of our 3 day river safari. Fantastic sightings & sounds along the river - probiscus, gibbons & long tailed macaque monkeys - highlights had to be seeing an orang-utan in the wild & on the trail of some pygmy elephants. Then off to Lahad Datu by air & onto a 2.5hour 4WD trip into primary jungle & rainforest at Danum Valley & the Borneo Rainforest Lodge - absolutely awesome! Day & night safaris, tubing down the river (watch out for leeches though!) & the tree top canopy walkway 26m above the rainforest floor - simply an amazing place.

Tailor made itinerary - with great attention to detail always from our first telephone conversation onwards. Consideration given to family requirements & request all the time. All went to plan. No surprises - First class service.

We had been with this company to the Caucasus, Iran and Uzbekistan/Turkmenistan, all on tailor made tours, all of which were excellent. This tour to Egypt was also faultless in its execution, with no hitches or problems. Fantastic hotels from the Winter Palace in Luxor to the adobe citadel in Siwa Oasis. Really good guides, and all in all,very good value for money. Feel more like a traveller, not just a tourist.

They have always given me good advice, have listened to what I would like, and have usually come up trumps. For instance, I thought a short stay in Alexandria might be unsufficient, but a short stay is what Alexandria needed. It might be serendipity, but I was also given a Coptic guide. (I am a priest).

I created my own itinerary and Wild Frontiers took this over for me from another firm which ceased to offer tailor-made tours. Wild Frontiers kindly used the local Turkish firm which had been engaged by the original UK tour operator. The itinerary was extremely well organised and we were given extras (e.g. a visit to an olive oil factory). We visited Izmir, Troy, Pergamon, Assos, Ankara, Hattusas, Yazilikaya, Goreme and even Pteria (this required some finding as the operator had never been there before!) and a balloon flight in Cappadocia was arranged for us. The superb guide, Yalcin, helped with the purchase of picnic lunches and was first rate.

The operator was ready to answer questions and to make suggestions and, as stated above, took over a tour that had already been arranged by another firm. Since the 2009 tour to Turkey, I was happy to ask Wild Frontiers to organise a tour of Syria and Lebanon for a group of 30+ people in 2011, based on our experience in 2009. Once again the operator was helpful and thoughtful and responded to requests for the itinerary. Sadly, the tour had to be cancelled!

We went to Borneo with the hope of seeing a wild Orang Utan. Imagine our delight at seeing seven including a dominant male. All the arrangements and lodges were first class. The Danum Valley Rainforest Lodge was outstanding and the guides there were particularly knowledgeable. If you go to Borneo you must stay there. It is certainly worth the bit extra.

It was our first holiday booked with Wild Frontiers and we were certainly not disappointed. We were so impressed that we have booked a safari holiday to Botswana and Zimbabwe this October. We would certainly recommend them to our friends.