Reviews & Feedback

"From the moment I thought of going to Sri Lanka, Experience Travel were the obvious choice. They know the country better than anyone and all their suggestions were spot on. It was a really well-thought-out itinerary with some great, undiscovered places to stay and a friendly, knowledgeable driver. I'd happily recommend them to anyone."

Carole Cadwalladr.

Journalist - The Observer and The Financial Times. March 2012.

We have just returned from Vietnam. We would like to thank you for a wonderful holiday. Everything was arranged to a very high standard. Our guides were all brilliant, the hotels excellent, and all transfers, trips and evening entertainment were very well organised.

We had an amazing trip and would have no hesitation in recommending your company to other people.

Thank you for an incredible holiday.

Jan 2012

Lyria at Experience Travel had a tough assignment: to get us sorted for 17 day trip to Vietnam over Christmas with only a month to find accommodation! She did a great job and we had a wonderful time. We also fell in love with Vietnam.

We spent a week in Phu Quoc at the Chen Sea resort, which was great other than the uninspiring menu at the hotel. The island itself is lovely albeit very poor, but you don't get hassled and the main town is endlessly fascinating with the coming and going of the colourful fishing boats.

Hue was a disappointment. Hoi An is interesting but the supposed famous tailoring looked pretty dodgy and very 80s. Would definitely need a personal shopper there.

Hanoi was the highlight of our trip. What an amazing, vibrant city. Lovely people. Would be easy to have an epiphany and move there in a moment of middle age craziness!

Many thanks to Lyria and team at Experience Travel. It was one of our best holidays ever.

Neil

December, 2012

Amazing, fantastic and memnorable for all the right reasons. Lyria ensured that all our requests of places to visit were included and ensured that out hotels were perfect. Boutique hotels that added that extra touch with towel animals and chocolates... cooling pools and trips that ensured good timely flights with time on our own to explore and organised trips. I fell in Love with Vietnam and didnt want to come home. Totally reccomend the Red Bridge cooking school in Hoi An and the junk boat overnight stay in Halong Bay..... sea food and fish to die for on board on a five course lunch and dinner. Novemeber weather turned out to be great time to go too........

many many thanks for an amazing holiday.... and after a day learnt to cross the roads like locals in Hannoi !!!

Kat

Nov, 2012

We have just returned from 3 wonderful weeks in Vietnam organised by Sam at Experience Travel. He certainly knows his stuff and was able to tailor the perfect package for our requirements. With the time we had it was great to get off the beaten track and experience places like Sapa and Halong Bay. Our guides, hotels and travel arrangements were seamless and we felt so at home during our stay. I would have no hesitation in recommending or using Experience Travel again or indeed recommending Vietnam as a holiday destination. Thank you.

Anna

Dec, 2012

My wife was very concerned about paying upfront for a holiday with a company we had never heard of and knew nothing about! We needn't have worried. From our arrival in Saigon to our departure from Hanoi everything organised by Experience Travel worked like a dream. All of the guides were excellent, the cars were first class and the drivers were careful and considerate. Drivers and guides looked after our luggage, check in at hotels and airports and generally treated us like VIPs. The hotels exceeded our expectations and the side trips that had been organised worked like clockwork. We had just the right mixture of activity and relaxation and the guides were very flexible about starting times for our trips out.

This was a holiday we will never forget and I'm grateful to Experience Travel and their partners for organising it and making it such an enjoyable experience. I would not hesitate to recommend Experience Travel to anyone.

Thanks Matt and the team.

November, 2012

For years we have been making our own arrangements for vacations, contacting 'suppliers' direct and relying entirely on our own initiative and resources. Our trip to Indochina organised by Experience Travel was a massive step away from tradition for ourselves, and I must admit to being a little anxious before we set off.

My concerns were totally unnecessary. The arrangements made by Sam at Experience Travel
! and the organisation of our trip were in one word EXCELLENT!!!
From check-in at Heathrow to our return home the arrangements made for us went like clockwork. We loved the accommodation chosen both for standard and location and we found the mixture of guided sightseeing and free leisure time judged to perfection.

The company Experience Travel use in both Cambodia and Vietnam, 'Destination Asia' - has been chosen well. We could not fault them in anyway. We felt safe and confident from the moment we were met by our first Guide and driver at Phnom Penh. The treatment we received was absolutely first class.

I would not hesitate for a second in recommending Experience Travel and 'Destination Asia' as people to do business with. It is, we know, due to them that we have not only had a truly excellent holiday, but also a WONDERFUL Experience!

Terrence

We would both like to thank you for doing such a good job in helping us to have the holiday of a lifetime.

We had an absolutely fantastic time, there was no hiccups everything went really smoothly.

As you know it was the first time I had booked anything online and I must admit I was quite nervous, but I would not hesitate to recommend both you and your company to anyone , as I have already, I cannot sing your praises highly enough, many many thanks .

Brenda & David - April 2012 – Vietnam, Cambodia and Hong Kong.

August, 2011

We stayed in lovely hotels with friendly and helpful staff. Our transport was efficiently organised and was always on time.

However there were two outstanding things. First was our guide, Mr.
Rous Ry. He was so well informed and so passionate about Cambodia that he transformed the holiday. I now can't even imagine trying to understand Angkor Wat without his explanations of the history of Hinduism, Buddhism and the Khmer empire. He also took on board that I am interested in old industrial processes and this helped with visits to an old fish paste factory, a blacksmith, a pottery, a brickworks and various railway sites. This was all done with a charming sense of humour and enthusiasm.

The second impressive thing was the visit to the railway works in Phnom Penh. I realise this was a bit 'specialised' and not on the usual list of 'want to do'. It was also more difficult because of the security regime introduced by the the new Australian operators. So again a big thanks for this. Hopefully in a few years time when the rail system is rebuilt you will be organising 'wine and dine' trips for your Mekong river cruise parties behind with one of their historic steam locomotives. These sort of tours ar very popular in the UK.

Two very satisfied customers.

June 2011

We spent 3 wonderful week in Thailand, with a small part in Cambodia. Having always wanted to do a much longer experience it was difficult to decide where to apportion our time and money. Very fortunately Experience Travel spent a good deal of time talking with us and coming up with a plan to suit what was our honeymoon trip.

We are very happy to have listened to this advice and cannot give enough credit to how well it all came together. As it was out honeymoon we stayed in some fabulous hotels and went to some fabulous places, all of which in reality offered incredible value. Out trip encompassed Bangkok, Chiang Mai & Koh Samui, with a few days in Cambodia sandwiched in between (a must do in my opinion). Of course we were supplied with first rate guides wherever necessary (basically everywhere but Koh Samui) and found the trip to be wonderfully fulfilling. Culturally the trip is an easy sell, but you really do get the best of all worlds with the food and entertainment on offer and I truly have never been so relaxed.

It was only a pity the trip had to end, though I can say that what was supposed to be a once in a lifetime trip is already (less than a year later) in danger of becoming somewhat more frequent. The people, the places, the value..............just superb. Thanks again to all who gave us so much help.

Andrew

May, 2011

Our trip to Laos was the third holiday we have booked with Melissa at Experience Travel and once again the service was excellent. Melissa really takes the time to understand what you are looking for and her recommendations are spot on. She put together a truly wonderful holiday to Laos - so much so that we didn't want to leave! Laos is such a beautiful country, with very kind, welcoming people, and we have many unforgettable memories of our time spent there.

Krista

Feb, 2011

Firstly, apologies for the delay in writing to you about our holiday- since returning, Steve has been in hospital and his recovery has rather taken over things here. But enough of the excuses, I wanted to write to thank you for the enormous effort you put in to creating our itinerary and for managing to salvage a holiday out of the snow debacle for us.

It must have been the weekend from hell for you, but somehow, you managed to get us in to Laosand we didn’t feel like we had missed too much of the sights. I don’t know how you pulled it off, there was evidently a lot of extra work involved for you, so flippin’ well done. Thank you so much for everything- we are so grateful. Steve in particular had been looking forward toLaosfor over 2 years, so we shall forever be in your debt for getting us there.

The itinerary we had turned out to be a lovely collection of experiences and places and peoples that enabled us to get a feel for the country and its culture, and for us to be able to pinpoint where we would like to go next time.

Our guide Pheng was superb: we had such a great time with him. He was so knowledgeable and seemed to really want to share his pride in his country with us. He recognised that we wanted to meet people and try to get away from touristy gimmiks and as a result we had some wonderful experiences with him. Our village visits were excellent, and he was able to act as interpreter for us when we spoke to the villagers- after ‘hello’ and ‘thankyou’ in Hmong, I got a bit lost! The market visits were a real laugh: he was able to help us enjoy finding out all about the produce and tasting a whole range of things, but was also very professional in the way he recognised that our Western stomachs had their limitations. He was also very flexible: when we said that we didn’t need to go to see silk being made, he was able to suggest other ideas or incorporate ours when we’d seen a suggestion in the infamous ‘Lonely Planet’! Thanks to Pheng, we were welcomed to several Hmong New Year festival celebrations, and also to help me grasp the enormity of the ‘secret war’ impact, a subject I really wanted to try to understand. It was very humbling. Pheng is a gem- absolutely brilliant.

Sak was also great, though we were only with him for one day. He was very knowledgeable, even to the extent of the best bit of the river to get a sunset photo with water in it….. we were very surprised at the low water level, but Sak explained.

We were met by Kien in Pakse. He was very enthusiastic and eager to please, but I wonder if he has as much experience as Pheng and Sak. Because flight times had changed since our booking, obviously there was time to fill: he took us to tea and coffee plantations where nothing was happening as it was not the harvest time. Perhaps, if this situation arises again, it would be better to go straight to TadLo and just enjoy walking along the river there and meeting the villagers. We explained to Kien that we were very interested in the culture of Laos and we were looking forward to meeting people, but sadly, when we did go to walk in the hill villages, Kien was unable to communicate with them for us, and as a result, I felt that we were intruding, whereas with Pheng, we were able to communicate and show our genuine interest and enjoyment in what the people had to tell us. The trip to Wat Phou turned out to be rather short which was a shame. Kien also had difficulty in understanding that we couldn’t just eat anything he picked for us, not because we didn’t want to, but because our stomachs wouldn’t be able to handle the local water. We loved the exploration of the 4000 islands and managed to persuade Kien to let us hire bikes to explore islands. It became apparent that we weren’t going to get very long on Don Daeng, so we decided to miss out some waterfalls in order to maximise our time here: especially as our new departure time was really early, instead of having half the day to explore before leaving for the airport. Don Daeng was superb- so quiet and we got to have quality time with the villagers.

Angie was our guide inBangkok- she was excellent. Like Pheng, she sussed out the type of people we are quickly and made our stay inBangkok, though short, very exciting. She was thorough and was able to suggest contingencies if original plans didn’t pan out.

Steve and I really enjoyed the holiday- we were exhausted when we got back- but that’s the sign of a good adventure to me! We are so glad that we found you and that you were able to create such a great break for us: we love SE Asia and in the future are hoping to visit the north of Vietnam, so I’ll be in touch with you again then. Once again Sam, thank you for all the hard work you did on our behalf- it really is hugely appreciated.

Bron & Steve

April 2011

Just to say we had a lovely holiday, apart from being drenched in water in Luang Prabang. Everything went extremely smoothly, transfers etc. would recomend our trip to anyone and layana was a dream. Many thanks

Gill and Nick Schildkamp

April 2011

Hi this is just a quick note to thank you once again for organising another amazing holiday. Everything went like clockwork with no holdups anywhere. We were even met at HK airport on the outbound flight & escorted thought security etc as we were so tight for time. What service!

We loved Vietnam and the hotels you chose for us were in perfect locations and of excellent quality.

Howcutt Family

April 2011

We have returned from Vietnam having had a wonderful trip. Everything was well organised and all the guides that took us around in each destination were very helpful, informative and good fun to travel with. Thank you for organising a great trip for us at short notice. We loved every bit of and will definitely plan to go again in the future. All the hotels were great and run by helpful and friendly staff.

Sarah Lythgoe

May 2011

I would like to thank you for arranging a holiday of a lifetime for us in Vietnam. Everything worked superbly. The arrangements were first class; we were very well looked after by your agents and their guides and drivers in Vietnam; the choice of hotels was all we could have wished and your suggestions about what we should visit and for how long suited us very well. We have already been happy to recommend you to a couple of friends and hope we will have the opportunity of travelling with you again.

Alan

July 2011

Thank you very much. We had such a great time in Thailand and Koh Samui.

I don't have a bad word to say. Everything was perfect. Our hotels were lovely and the people were extremely friendly and helpful.

I'd like to give a special mention to Mr Lek who was our tour guide. He was great from the time he picked us up to the day we left. His knowledge of Bangkok was unbelievable.

I'd like to thank you also for helping us to have such a great honeymoon. We truly had a fantastic time and would use you again if we travel to asia.

Thanks

Mikele.

I just wanted to get in touch to say a huge thanks for the holiday planning for our trip to Vietnam. We had an amazing time and doubt if it could have been planned any better. We got to see everything we had wanted to and found the time allocated to each destination just about spot on. This was complimented by faultless planning with all transfers running perfectly and without any problems. We really had no worries about getting to and from each new location throughout the itinerary.

Like I said before, a big thank you from my wife and I for a holiday of a lifetime.

Very best regards

Terry. June 2011

We had a great time although the weather was disappointing. Having said that the cloud cover in Saigon and Hanoi made it quite comfortable to walk around and see the sites. It was only sunny on the Mekong Delta and when we were at Hue. Nevertheless I was in tee shirts and shorts the whole holiday so it was warm enough all the time.

As we couldn't sunbathe in Hoi An we used the hotel bikes and really explored the river and residential parts of the town which we wouldn't otherwise have done.

We thought all the hotels you recommended were excellent and they all took pride in their customer service. And all put on a bit extra for our ruby anniversary so thanks to you for mentioning it to them.

I would particularly recommend the hotel Elegance Diamond in Hanoi where the service was exceptional with all the staff trying their best to make the holiday enjoyable. We have no complaints about any of the hotels or the boats. And we couldn't believe the standard of the breakfasts- the choice was unbelievable.

One small point with our cookery class with Red Bridge. We had a breakfast as usual but were unaware that you started eating what you were cooking on the class as you went along. So we started eating food again at 10.30 and then on and off until 12.30. We couldn't eat everything that was provided. It may be worth advising future clients not to have a big breakfast if they are going to Red Bridge!!

Overall then it was a very enjoyable, interesting and thought provoking holiday. We felt like locals at the end with our skill in crossing roads and using chopsticks vastly improved. There seems to be a real buzz about Vietnam. I'm glad we went when we did.

Thanks again to you and your company for the arrangements which went like clockwork except for when we arrived at Saigon for the flight to Danang only to find the flight cancelled. They put us on an earlier flight and I managed to get in touch with our Saigon guide who contacted the Hoi An guide to tell him which flight we would be on.

We do intend to go somewhere else in Asia in due course and I would have no hesitation in using your company again.

Best wishes for the future and thanks yet again for all your work and efforts in making our holiday so memorable.

Ray Hesketh

April 2011

March 2011

Just a quick note to say Thank you for all the assistance in organising our trip to Cambodia/Vietnam.

Everything went really well and we had a great time.

All the guides, drivers and hotels met or exceeded our expectations ( especially the Pilgrim Village).

If there are any particular review sites you would like us to put a review on let us know.

We'd definitely recommend you to any one else looking to tour Indo-China.

Regards Phil Kennedy

March 2011

We are normally very independant travellers, but for various reasons decided in this instance to use a travel company, and what a good idea that turned out to be.

In the first instance let us thank you for your advice and guidance in our initial planning, it was invaluable. We both had a great time and a wonderful experience, no small part to the organisation and how smoothly everything went. Our hotels were excellent, all transfers were there waiting for us, the guides were very good, and nothing was any trouble. If every holiday we have from now on were to be of the standard and organised as well, we will be over the moon. I could go on, however, all I will say is that we would never hesitate to use your services in the future; and if any of our family or friends decide that they would like to head to Asia we will be pointing them in your direction.

Once again thank you.

John and Brenda Hepburn

Feb 2011

We have now returned from our trip which although was ‘packed’ we didn’t feel it was too much.

I would like to thank you and your colleagues in Asia for really great service and attention, everybody was great.

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend you and your organisation.

Malcolm Cork

Feb 2011

We just arrived back this morning and the trip was amazing. It was so well organised thanks to you and the guides were great, as was everything else.

It was great to end up in Siem Reap as the hotel was so relaxing, really lovely and great location. I especially loved Cambodia. Flights were great and all on time, even the flight back up to Glasgow which is quite unusual. It was quite a thought leaving 32 degrees and coming back to the grey and wet weather.

Thank you once again for all your fantastic attention, and really look forward to booking another trip in the near future.

Best wishes

Melanie Links

Jan 2011

Just about back on English time.

Thanks for organising the trip to Cambodia and Vietnam, a sensational trip.

Send all my thanks to the guides and drivers (traffic is manic out there) they all deserve gold stars.

Will recommend your service to anyone interested in holidaying in Asia.

All the best

Paul Berrisford

Jan 2011

The holiday was amazing, everything that we thought it would be and much more. Few comments for you below on each stage:

Bangkok

The hotel siam@siam was very nice - all the staff were very friendly and its a great base to both explore the city and also close enough to easily escape the city on the tours. The infinity pool on the 12/13th floor was very nice and was a little haven after a morning exploring. The food in the restaurant was of a very high standard and very reasonably priced.

We ended up doing two tours with Rio as our guide and he was excellent all the time.

The temple tours were an excellent chance to see all the major temples and the boat trip up the chaophraya was really good. The second day we went to the floating market/rose garden tour.

Chaing Mai

Manathai hotel - superb hotel / lovely friendly staff. Our tour guide in Chaing Mai was a girl called Khwon - again an excellent tour guide and I would advise keeping hold of her as we found her to be excellent! We did the elephant training centre on the second day we were in Chaing Mai along with the Tiger Kingdom - both are highly recommended to anyone visiting Chaing Mai. We also visiited the Doi Suthep (temple on the hill) on the second day and Khwon was very informative about the temple and its history. Thanks for recommending Chaing Mai and the extra night there - we both loved the place / the night bazaar and the whole city.

Krabi

The Nakamanda hotel was amazing -the place is quite isolated from things but this was perfect for what we wanted. The hotel staff/room and hotel facilities were top notch. The hotel was very quiet when we first arrived but seemed to fill up throughout the week. With the hotel being quite isolated, maybe one slight improvement they could make was the restaurant. The menu is quite short with only 5 dishes on each of the Thai menu and Western menu. The menu didnt change throughout the week so we only ate there twice during the 8 nights. There are a couple of restaurants just outside the hotel that were fine in the evening but given the location of the hotel this would be one thing they could improve on.

Overall everything was perfect and i thank you for your advice and help!

Nov 2010

The highlights amongst so many fascinating sights were Angkor Watt, Hoi An, the Cu Chi tunnels and the Mekong delta, apart that is from the food, the people and the culture.

We were very impressed with the hotels, all were excellent and all different, but the best were the Life Heritage and the Majestic. The one in Hue is so nice as well, especially for the staff and location.

The arrangements were excellent too, faultless flights (apart from leaving late due to a technical hitch, too bad), and the quality of the guides and drivers was also notable, they made the visits so interesting and were all very attentive. In fact I would highly recommend our itinerary with the only minor change, and it is minor, perhaps a change of hotel in Hanoi. The Silk Path was fine but a little impersonal, but this is a trivial point.

I would also recommend the Mekong trip at the end of the holiday, it was a great way to round things off with stunning food and sights to match. We were very pleased that we did only the day trip to Halong bay and the full trip on the Mekong, it was so interesting, especially the visit ashore and the guide there, Gnun, was lovely too.

All in all a great holiday, many thanks for your help and advice, it was much appreciated.

Regards, Frank.

Nov 2010

Well what can I say - we had the most fabulous time. Everything went smoothly, all the guides were excellent, so well organised and couldn't do enough for you. As for the country, have fallen in love with the people and the culture. We have learnt, seen and done so much. The cruises particularly were good as we expected just to be on the boats but there were other things included, such as visiting and eating with a local family in one of the Mekong villages, and then visiting the caves and swimming at Halong. The spa hotels were fab and again the staff really looked after us. We had horrendous rain whilst in Hoi An and Hue, but it didn't stop us doing anything, especially visiting the tailors having a total of 14 garments made between us. Overall from our first telephone contact with you to leaving the country last Saturday morning our experience has been nothing short of excellent.

I will be recommending yourself, and Experience Travel group to all my friends and family.

Sue

Oct 2010

An absolutely huge thank you for putting together an excellent and varied itinerary. The whole trip was perfectly organised and everything went so smoothly and beyond our expectations. We had a great holiday, and we would even go so far as to say the best so far. The people of Siem Reap and Vietnam are so polite, helpful and welcoming.

All the guides were helpful and we were impressed with their commitment. Special thanks to our Hanoi guide Mr Hoang who made special effort to make sure that my vegetarian food was catered for on the Halong Bay cruise.

You managed to choose the best hotels for us and we really enjoyed the luxury and service they provided.

We enjoyed every leg of the holiday especially the Red Dragon and Bassac cruises and the Redbridge cookery school, which was just such fun, but we really fell in love with Hoi An for the quietness and Saigon for the opposite.

Thank you again for organising such a wonderful holiday . We will certainly recommend Experience Travel to our family and friends.

Kind Regards

Devi & Sri

Sept 2010

WOW, Vietnam was a totally AWESOME & Fantastic experience! Kim & I totally loved our Honeymoon, EVERYTHING was fantastic, so smooth, excellent tour guides who were all a credit to the company, very knowledgeable, & extremely professional.

We loved everything, being away from the crowds, private transfers & excursions, Red Dragon will be a lifetime memory, so beautiful, & crew fantastic. Six Senses Hideaway, you were right, that was definitely the right choice, Hill Top Villa, (no.7), what a perfect location, so private, such beautiful scenery, such luxury, (we loved the infinity pool & the view from it).

Too many good memories to list, but what Kim & I really want to say is a HUGE thank you to you & Experience Travel for making our Honeymoon exceed our wildest dreams, everything was so well organised. We would & will thoroughly recommend your company to our friends, & I'm 100% positive that when we next visit Asia, Experience travel will be our first port of call.

Thanks once again Melissa for putting together such a fantastic trip greatly appreciated.

Red & Kim

Sept 2010

We returned yesterday from Vietnam having had a wonderful time and want to thank you for organising the trip for us. We have taken many tailor made trips but honestly believe that this was the best organised ever. The arrangements worked seamlessly and we could relax and enjoy ourselves.

We had a great trip and thank you again,

Jacky East

June 2010

Arrived back home today and we just wanted to write to say thank you for organising such a fantastic honeymoon for us. It was all just perfect and everything was organised very precisely and efficiently - not one hitch. It really was a holiday of a lifetime and one we will remember for years to come - thank you.

Jo and Dean

May 2010

The trip was absolutely fantastic, everything went according to plan, everything was on time and everyone was brilliant. The whole process was so simple and smooth from when I first made contact through your website.

Swimming in Ha Long Bay as the sun goes down over the rocks was without doubt the greatest experience of my life.

I will certainly be going back one day and when I decide to I’ll be contacting you straightaway.

Thanks again for all your help, the whole thing was first class.

Kind regards Matt

Mar 2010

Have just got back from a fantastic trip to Thailand and wanted to say a big thanks to you for helping us with this. Both Tamsin and I had a really great time and the itinerary was spot on. From the luxury of the Chedi which really was beautiful to the amazing trek which, whilst not for the feint hearted, was awesome! We didn’t see another tourist along the way and the hospitality we got in the jungle was amazing – even the pumpkin birthday cake which was especially made for Tamsin was edible!

No doubt you will hear from us again!

Take care and big thanks again.

Anna

Feb 2010

Back from our tour in Vietnam both Val & myself would like to thank you & your Vietnamese colleagues for an excellent holiday.

We arrived just as the Tet holiday was starting so all of the country seemed happy ! (and slightly madcap)

The hotels exceeded our expectations especially in Hoi An & Hue (where we were upgraded to a detached bungalow) , and the hotels in Saigon & Hanoi had great central locations.

And even though the weather changed during the second week (Hue onwards) it didn't spoil our enjoyment.

The guides we had helped so much to understand the people & country and added an extra dimension to our stay.

Thanks again

Roy

Feb 2010

We are all safely back and I write to thank you for organizing such a successful holiday. We all had a great time and the arrangements worked like clockwork.

There were so many highlights that it is impossible to identify just one, although the Nam Hai and the Datai scored top marks for relaxation.

Altogether a wonderful holiday which gave us an insight into the way of life and history of three contrasting Communist countries where the people seemed free to express themselves, were very friendly considering what they all had been through, and who seemed contented with their lot.

Many thanks again for organizing such a holiday.

Regards

Ian

Feb 2010

All in all, it was the trip of a lifetime and everything we hoped for and more. It was the personal service which really made the trip and I can’t believe how smoothly it all went from our initial booking with yourself through to returning home after the trip. We both sincerely thank you again for all your help. We will recommend your services to our friends and family and who knows perhaps one day we will return!

Here are a few photos of us from our travels...

Kind regards

Robert & Frances Phillips

Jan 2010

We had an excellent holiday. The combination of sightseeing and relaxing/staying put was very good, the hotels were good too.

We were very lucky with our guide who spoke excellent English, knew when to talk and when to stop talking, took us to lots of 'authentic' places and lots of little villages etc.

I have to say I was a little worried before we set off, there were just so many things that could have gone wrong, but the organisation of the holiday was fantastic, like clockwork, flights, boats etc everything worked - oh and we loved the beautiful old boat on the Mekong for 2 1/2 days, which we had all to ourselves. Highlights were the markets in Luang Prabang (day/food and evening/souvenirs), the National Ballet in the museum there etc - I could go on. The Plain of Jars was a fantastic experience, but a long journey in the car to get there - 5 hours of bends .

So thank you so much for arranging it all so beautifully, I have recommended Experience Travel whenever I could/will recommend in future. I will certainly watch out for your company's holidays in future as we were truly delighted the way the Laos holiday was organised and turned out. Very many thanks for planning the holiday so exquisitely.

Best wishes,

Ulli

Jan 10

We had a great holiday in Laos. Everything went extremely smoothly and we were very impressed with the organisation which went like clockwork! We found the guides very helpful and personable, particularly Say on the southern leg.

We found Loas very interesting and the accommodation was very good in most cases although we found the Auberge disappointing. We were lucky getting the extra room at La Folie Lodge and really enjoyed the stay there. The boat transfer to the hotel and The 4000 island trip were really enjoyable and we also managed to see the dolphins!

We found the organisation of the trip extremely good at both ends and would recommend Experience Travel to anyone thinking of travelling to this area. This is the first tailor made trip we have done and it was a very favourable experience. A big thank you for all your assistance.

Thank you again and kind regards. Karen

Nov 09

Thank you for arranging our wonderful holiday it was our best to date !

What a beautiful –amazing country with delightful people. Everything went better than clockwork –hotels superb especially the Pilgrimage village-guides were amazing and great fun .

We will definitely visit again, maybe extending our radius to include Laos & Cambodia Also Sri Lanka is now more appealing .We are recommending you to all interested people especially our daughter and her fiancée.

It was nice to meet Tom and his brothers on our Junk in Ha Long bay-what a coincidence!

Many thanks again for everything

Kindest regards ,

Howard & Maggie Bowen.

Jul 09

I just wanted to say a huge thank you for organising and putting together the itinerary for our recent holiday to Vietnam. We have had a brilliant holiday. We both loved Vietnam and the people were so friendly.

The hotels that you arranged for us were fantastic. We thought it couldn't get any better after our stay in the 'Majestic' in Ho Chi Minh, but all of our hotels were superb. We were treated like royalty throughout the holiday.

I have talked about nothing else but this holiday since our return and would pass on your company details to anyone that asked for them. Hopefully, we will be able to have a similar holiday in the not too distant future.

Here's hoping........

And once again, thank you so much for organising.

Julie & Ian Wood

Jun 2009

We would like to thank you for organising such a brilliant holiday. The hotels were perfect, the itinerary exactly matched our requirements, the guides and tours were brilliant, the organisation faultless - we could not praise you highly enough. The guides were all excellent too - knowledgeable, unfailingly polite and helpful

We hope you find that helpful and many thanks again.

Kind regards Wendy and Di

May 09

We returned from our tour of Cambodia and Vietnam on Sunday. All the arrangements worked seamlessly and the programme you put together for us covered everything there was to see at each of our ports of call. The service provided locally was second to none, with extremely knowledgeable and personable guides meeting us from each airport, meeting our specific requirements, and ensuring all the relevant documentation was in place to smooth the border crossings in the Mekong. Having a personal guide and driver really made the tour hassle free and enabled us to concentrate on enjoying the sights and understanding the intricacies of ancient and modern history and politics in the region.

The service and standard of all the hotels you identified for us was first class, and in particular your negotiation of a free upgrade at the Victoria Hoi An for our beach break stay there made our stay there a really memorable experience – picture of the view from our bungalow room attached.

Many, many thanks for all your efforts which for us resulted in a truly memorable holiday experience.

Paul and Chris Croston

April 09

It was a wonderful trip. It's a beautiful country and I think the way we organised ourselves from South to North was wise as we followed the "cooler" weather northwards. The transportation element with its drivers and tour guides was faultless. All the guides/drivers were courteous, on time and the cars were comfortable. It made travelling very easy.

I think the highlights of the trip would be Topas Eco Lodge outside of Sapa - the scenery and hiking to the tribal villages were fantastic - and Hoi An and The Nam Hai. A wonderful town and a super hotel. Would go back just for a holiday there if we were stuck for time. Saigon was crazy but interesting and we really enjoyed Hanoi to finish the trip.

We'll continue to explore the region (and hopefully Vietnam again). Thank you for your assistance with everything.

Regards, Rod Nichol

April 09

Just returned from a fantastic few days in Vietnam and everything went like clockwork.

Cham Villas in Phan Thiet, for your future customers, I can tell you it is perfection. The private beach is by far the best on the whole stretch, the villas are literally 6 steps from the sand, the staff are ultra friendly whilst not being over bearing, cleanliness is magnificent, the grounds are like Kew gardens, very well maintained and the villas are idylic. In fact one couple were considering booking the entire 16 villas for their wedding next year. The restaurant because of its quality food and tropical forest setting was visited by many non residents and full most nights ... a good sign. In our opinion this hotel cannot be improved upon.

Every other hotel you chose was perfect and the whole itinerary was very well balanced. We are now looking at our next holiday for 2010 and may be considering going back but to Vietnam, certainly the Far East but with a slightly less busy itinerary.

All in all a perfect holiday so many thanks to you for your time, organisation and your recommendations. We will be contacting you again in the future.

Thanks Again Andy Talbot

March 09

We had a fantastic time. Vietnam is lovely, we especially liked Hoi an. In Hanoi, Maison D'Hanoi was really nice, well situated for the old quarter and the rooms were really plush. Red dragon cruise was excellent despite it being cold - definitely good away from the crowds and they seem to have a good set up with the one of the floating villages - highlight was being rowed around the village by the local women. Pilgrimage village hotel was very luxurious and peaceful as was the Victoria Hoi An. In fact we were pretty spoilt for nice hotels.

We got sun by the beach which was great and lots of time to explore Hoi An. All in all was a really great trip so thanks for putting it together.

Regards, lucy

March 09

We really enjoyed the boat transfer from Phnom Penh to Chau Doc (we were lucky enough to have the boat to ourselves - the one coming the other way was heaving and they were all jealous as hell!)

The boat transfer along the stretch of the Mekong from Can Tho to Saigon was even better than the one from Cambodia, especially as it drops you just across the road from the Majestic, which was a great place to stay.

As you say, the temples at Angkor are mind-blowing and the FCC hotel was a great base for us, with a very generous happy hour! We thought Phnom Penh was great, better than we expected, and enjoyed the hotel and going to the newly-opened FCC there for drinks and food. The Killing Fields was a harrowing experience but something you really have to try to take in.

The stand-out highlight of the trip for us was the cruise on Halong Bay - absolute magic from start to finish and surely the most beautiful, atmospheric place on earth. We'll hope our photos do justice to the experience.

We were impressed with both Bangkok Airways and Viet Nam Airways, and also with all the guides and transfer arrangements, which worked impeccably, including when we were 2 hours late from Hue to Hanoi ( the plane had had to return to Saigon when the windscreen cracked). We also enjoyed our flight on Air Asia, so thanks very much for that excellent tip.

Hoi An has to be a favourite and we were incredibly impressed with Hue; the forbidden purple city, the citadel and the tombs and temples along the river, and were much taken with Hanoi - a real place with totally chaotic traffic, but bags of atmosphere and character, and people just as friendly as in the South.

Lots more to say but that should give you the flavour and we'll hope to send you a few pics later.

Best Wishes, and don't hesitate to contact us if any specific feed-back would be helpful

December 08

This is the first tailor made holiday we have done and everything worked perfectly from initial enquiry to touchdown back in the UK. We made enquiries to several independent tour operators and gave them all a list of where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do for our Vietnam trip. Melissa, was the first to reply with a suggested detailed itinerary and recommended hotels. Her personnel experience of the country along with the speedy local agents used gave us a sense of trust that we would get exactly as described in the itinerary. When there all logistics worked without a hitch, local guides were a pleasure and soon felt more like old friends, and accommodation was more than comfortable, and well located. Thanks Melissa !

10th November 08

Our trip to Cambodia and Vietnam was a huge success. The local agents were great, the weather was sunny and every trip was fascinating.

Top marks go to the FCC Angkor – a really lovely hotel. The Veranda in Phu Quoc is a beautiful hotel and set in a wonderful, relatively unspoilt location. We had a lovely room set in the beautiful gardens. The food there was prohibitively expensive and a big too pretentious for our tastes. The fish and noodles at the beach hut next door were to die for though!

So all in all, a great success. Thank you to everyone at Experience Travel who made it possible. I’m already wondering about where to go in 2009 so if you have any bright ideas on the next big adventure (particularly places where we can go before the big tour companies get there), please feel free to let me know.

Kind regards Sharon and Steve

1st September 08

Your hotel suggestions were superb and each one was excellent. The trip on the Halong Jasmine junk boat was well worth doing especially as we went into the national park and saw the floating village and so on.

The final week was outstanding and The Nam Hai is exceptional - again, well worth the extra.

Everything was great and we are very grateful to you for putting it all together.

Gareth

May 30, 2008

Just thought I'd give some feedback on our wonderful trip to Thailand!

Chiang Mai was just incredible. Tamarind Village has an atmosphere of tranquility and the most attentive staff imaginable. The room was stunning from outside as well as in - with candles burning around the large Tamarind tree and across the steps of the room, it was the perfect start to a romantic honeymoon.

Our guide for the hill trek, 'Luki', was a positively sparkling character. He met us at the hotel the night before and gave us loads of information and advice on how to prepare. He is very knowledgeable, funny, informative, has excellent English and interpersonal skills. Lahu Outpost and Lisu Lodge are the most amazing places to stay. The hill tribes are extremely hospitable. Even in the rain and fog, Lahu outpost is beautiful. To have a hot shower in the middle of nowhere and an extremely comfortable bed is wonderful! And there is nothing I can say in the English language to convey how much we loved Lisu Lodge and how little we wanted to leave.

Elephant Hills was stunning. The best stocked bar in Thailand! Accommodation is certainly different - but we preferred this kind of luxury to that of the resort hotel. Amazing people, fantastic guided trips, great food.

It was the little things that made the difference on this trip - people remembering your name, making sure you had enough water, ensuring they told you everything they could about your surroundings, getting you to really experience the place by picking wild fruit for you etc.

Thank you for all your help and advice with this trip. We feel we really got value for money, and although it might not be what everyone wants, we had the perfect honeymoon for us.

We'll keep your details for the anniversaries!

Thank you Stephanie Bartram.

May 08

It was amazing, we had a brilliant time and thanks so much for all the little things, the upgrades, the champagne in the rooms etc…all hugely appreciated.

You truly helped make our honeymoon a very special and memorable holiday. You completely fulfilled and exceeded our expectations and we will be in touch when we need to whisked away again. You have all been great -Thanks so much.

Sally

April 2008

I just had to write and tell you what a wonderful time we had in Thailand and Hong Kong over the last couple of weeks. Most of the success was due to your great organisation and choice of hotels.

All flight times were perfect and fitted in with our plans, giving us plenty of time to get to and from airports without rushing or being up in the middle of the night.

We particularly loved the Century Park Hotel. Bangkok and its amazing buffet breakfast. The Cliff in Ao Nang, Krabi was quaint with very friendly and efficient service. The outdoor bathrooms took a bit of getting used to but we soon agreed it was a novelty to be enjoyed!

All in all we had a fantastic experience and wish to thank you for all your hard work in the organisation of the trip. We are thinking of doing a similar holiday again next year, maybe incorporating Singapore and Sri Lanka, so will be in touch a little nearer the time.

Regards and thanks, Jackie & Roy, Judith & Don.

01 March 2008

Just thought I would write to let you know that our trip to Vietnam was wonderful and to thank you for organising all aspects of our trip. Everything went very smoothly and all the guides were very friendly and helpful and also very informative which helped enhance our enjoyment.

We were very impressed with the whole organisation and would not hesitate to use your company again and will recommend you to our friends.

Thank you once more Aileen

22nd Jan 2008

The whole holiday was excellent. Lebua Hotel room had great views and was very central to most attractions. The restaurant on the roof also had magnificent views which we enjoyed on the first night all though very jet lagged.

Sarojin was very nice and peaceful and the accommodation was top rate, staff were friendly and very helpful, really enjoyed it.

Sala Phuket.............what can I say other than paradise. I would really like to go back in the next few years to see how they have come on. Pool villa was brilliant and the pool was of a decent size so did not feel like a plunge pool. Hotel pools and bar were also great and really relaxing. As you did warn me the staff were still learning but friendly and very helpful. We used the hotel for a couple of trips and they were all done very well.

Destination Asia informed me the day before each of our pick ups and gave a informative description when we arrived of the areas we were staying. This gave me complete piece of mind and added to the relaxation of our holiday.

Regards Duncan

21st Jan 2008

I honestly could not say enough good things about all of the places that we went to stay.

The Centara Hotel in Krabi was absolutely fabulous. We really loved our room and the view to wake up to was great.

Breakfast in the hotel was superb and the lunchtime snack menu was great.

Our transfer to Phi Phi was a nightmare!! The ferry was literally full to bursting point with travellers (quite a shock after the luxury of the Centara) and I would highly recommend the alternative of a speed boat transfer as this would have taken much less time and would have been much more chic!! (I know the budget probably prevented you from offering it, but it would have been well worth considering).

Phi Phi was lovely and our beach front bungalow was great. I wish we had had another week there as it was so peaceful I didn't want to leave.

All in all we had the most amazing trip and loved everything. The organisation was very good and there was always someone to meet us with a placard when we were expecting them.

Thank you again for all your help.

Kindest regards, Shelley

10th Jan 2008

We had a great time so thanks for all your help.

We really enjoyed Cambodia. On hindsight, we thought one day in Phnom Penh may have been sufficient to see the palace, Tuol Sleng and Killing Fields. Siem Reap was great. We had a fantastic guide, who was extremely knowledgeable and very flexible. We thought Ta Prohm and Angkor Thom (especially Bayon) were amazing. We loved the Heritage Suites. Lovely rooms, staff and food.

In Thailand, we enjoyed Bangkok, The Peninsula was excellent. Great location, staff and facilities.

Chiang Mai was excellent. We had a great guide there whose English was very good and was fun to be with. He had been a trekking guide so had good knowledge of the language of hill tribes. We went to Doi Inthanon one day, and to an elephant training camp plus hill tribes another day. We also enjoyed the night market. The Chedi was our favourite hotel of the holiday. Again lovely and helpful staff, good food and an overall relaxing feel.

The rooms at the Cliff were small in comparison with the 3 previous hotels (Heritage, Peninsula and Chedi) so took a bit of time to get used to. Having said that, we got used to it and overall it was fine. The one place we were disappointed with was Ao Nang itself as its quite busy and touristy. We had a good day on a speedboat trip up to James Bond Island, Hong Island etc though.

Best regards Kevin

2nd December 2007

You'll be pleased to hear that the trip was amazing !

I think the Excelsior was an excellent choice for HK, all the flights went well and the service level, quality of accommodation, food, general ambience etc at Trisara was well above expectations. We came away with the feeling that, as a Spa resort, it was certainly as good if not better than Banyan Tree.

Thank you very much for your assistance in piecing this holiday together. Should we ever want to go to this part of the world again then we will have no hesitation in coming back to yourselves

Regards

Martin

20th November 2007

Just to say thanks for organising a brilliant holiday for us in Vietnam. The tour guides were all excellent. We managed to visit Cu chi tunnels and the Mekong delta in one day and did not see another tourist!

The Caravelle was great and we fell in love with La Residence in Hue, really beautiful hotels. .

In Hanoi we visited the Sofitel Metropole (which was fully booked) and wished we had stayed there rather than the Sofitel Plaza as it was so much more stylish and less corporate.

All in all though it was as near to perfect as you can get so thank you very much indeed.

I will recommend Vietnam as a destination and your company, the logistical organisation and balance between time with guides and on your own to explore was perfect.

Thanks again, Sophie

13th November 2007

I just wanted to say thanks so much for organising our hols - we had an amazing time and loved every minute of it. Zazen was fabulous..... full on 5 star luxury, the staff were brilliant and extremely friendly - they couldn't do enough for you. You are 5 metres from the beach and it was brilliant to walk down and find a few different places to eat or drink.

A lady called Wan was with us in Bangkok and she was fab, she took us around the Grand Palace and gave us loads of history and went above and beyond her job, even sorting out a dispute for us at the airport!

When we go back to Asia, I will definitely use you again...

Thanks once again. Susie and Paul White

01 October 2007

Thank you for all your efforts in providing my wife and I with an enjoyable holiday to Thailand.

May we thank all at Experience South East Asia together with a very personal thank you to you Melissa for your total professional and efficient attitude in the way you handled our initial enquiry right through to the end of our Thailand holiday. In the initial stages I chopped and changed various elements of the holiday and you handled these so expertly saying that you wanted to get it right for us and get it right you most certainly did.

Without hesitation I will most certainly recommend you to others and I will be very happy in asking you to handle my future travel and holiday arrangements.

It is refreshing to deal with a company such as Experience South East Asia who take time to answer questions efficiently and correctly and take every care and attention to their customers’ needs.

Once again, Thank you and I look forward to dealing with you in the future.

Kind regards,

James Wright