Bamboo Travel Traveller Reviews

We travelled by train around Japan, visiting Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima, as well as visiting rural locations such as Hakone and Miyajima. The arrangements went very smoothly in Japan. We were greeted off our flight and taken straight to a waiting vehicle. Our guides spoke excellent English and really helped to personalise our trip on the 2 days they accompanied us. They also helped us become familiar with the local transport systems and showed us how to reserve train tickets and top up our travel cards. The hotels were great. They were located in great areas with good access to the sights, amenities and restaurants. The ryokans were also very good and we experienced sleeping on the floor in the traditional Japanese way. We were able to try out local food, although weren't so keen on the Japanese breakfasts! The choice of Yamaichi Bekkan in Miyajime was excellent with the friendliest hosts I've ever known plus excellent food.

Bamboo Travel were very responsive. We only asked for a quote about a month before travel and were asked to clarify our requirements so that it could be tailored to our needs. The quote proved to be thorough and thereafter the booking process and pre-holiday information pack was really good. We received a detailed itinerary, plus individual location booklets giving information on hotels, local attractions, and restaurants etc. We also had electronic access to loads of our holiday information on the Vamoose app. This also included a link to weather conditions at our hotel destinations so helped with our packing! The details provided in finding our accommodation, finding our way around the rail, subway and bus networks, and the suggestions for day trips/excursions were very good. We didn't get lost once!! I would highly recommend Bamboo Travel

With the help of Ewen at Bamboo we had just over two weeks in Myanmar visiting a wide diversity of climates/cultures/scenic sights and people If was a brilliant experience The people are lovely and the scenery amazing The dawn balloon flight being a personnal high point. Loved the food and strangely the internal flights.We had expected an ad hoc arrangement but the local airline ABZ were very efficient,on time and all very quick boarding/ deplaning etc. A large number of UK airines could learn alot from them Overall would completely recommend the country and its smilimg people.Recommend using local guides who always know the hidden gems Would love to revisit but so many other places in the world to see!!

Very good,Ewen knew what we wanted and built an itinerary for our specific needs. I am sure that wewill use Bamboo travel again.

It went from one splendid sight to another.... is still unspoilt which is part of it's charm. The hot air balloon flight over Bagan is an optional must as is the River Cruise from Mandalay to Bagan - a welcome moment of calm. Time spent in Inle Lake is also a highlight - seeing river life and fishermen who row with one leg is amazing. You cruise along in a wooden canoe with an outboard motor which feels like a speed boat! These are virtual taxis, another take on Venice for sure! To end the holiday, I highly recommend a trip to Ngapali Beach, golden sand and swimming in the Bay of Bengal - warm, calm and clear.

Luke Stapylton-Smith from Bamboo Travel did us proud. After several discussions he offered a detailed itinerary and nothing was too much trouble. He arranged great guides and excellent transportation. We were met at every airport and taken to our hotels.

We had the MOST AMAZING trip. There were so many great & fascinating experiences… the Angkor temples near Siem Reap (Ta Prohm was totally superb); the cycle ride, bamboo train and bat cave in Battambang; learning about the atrocities in Phnom Penh, which was of course very harrowing but essential to hear about it (and Sa Em , our guide, handled it with such sensitivity); the stunning venue at Champa Lodge; and then the gorgeous hotel by the beach (couldn’t have been more relaxing)… and to top it all off, the Novotel in Bangkok was absolutely fabulous. Throughout our journey, the guides were excellent. The combination of beautiful landscapes & temples, learning about the culture and history, and meeting such welcoming and friendly people made this a truly wonderful trip through Cambodia.

We have experienced several tours with Bamboo Travel and each one has been fabulous. Always meticulously organised, building all our thoughts and preferences into the trip as well as giving knowledgable advice on where to go and what to do. Luke has supported us a 100%, he is brilliant! We will definitely be planning more trips with Bamboo Travel in the future.

This was a customised trip to South India. Started in Pondicherry, then to Chennai, then to Mysore, across to the West Coast and down to the Cochin area and finally to Mumbai. We had dedicated drivers and guides throughout, we stayed at superb hotels, b&bs and homesteads. We visited cities, villages, an overnight houseboat, wildlife/safari parks and beach resorts. Our 3 week trip gave us a wonderful insight into this incredible region of India

This trip to South India is the third holiday arranged for us by Bamboo Travel. Previously we travelled to Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Their planning for our trip encapsulated all of the likes and dislikes we wanted from the drivers and guides through to the quality of hotels, the sights and everything we wanted to see and do.

We had a great visit to Calcutta, where we spent three nights at the excellent Oberoi Grand.and visited old childhood haunts and included some sightseeing with an excellent guide and driver. Then flew up to Gowahati in Assam for our river cruise, seeing local village life in stilted houses,visiting temples and enjoyed a great elephant ride, followed by jeep ride in the National Park where we saw wild elephant, the famous one-horned rhino and wonderful birds, and rounded the whole trip off with a wonderful lunch at a tea estate before flying back to Calcutta fo the homeward flight.

Charming, helpful and patient. Nothing was too much trouble.

My mother Trish and I travelled to Calcutta via Dubai on 1st February to revisit my mother's original teenage home as well as City where she was born. As part of this trip we also did some local sightseeing including the Victoria Memorial and Mother Theresas centre. Our brilliant Periplus team drove us around the old districts and facilitated access to mums second home in Ballygunge. We flew die to Cochin via Chennai and enjoyed beautiful sigg5s, seafood, traditional dancing and even their bi-annual bienale. Next we had a two day houseboat cruise on the Backwaters and relaxation in gorgeous surroundings befor3 flying home on 11th Feb I wish we'd done two weeks!

Like Stapleton Smyth went above and beyond putting a bespoke holiday together for my 80 year Old mother and I to revisit Kolkuta where she'd been born and then on to Fort Cochin and the Backwaters in Kerala. Not only did he put up with endless phone calls and emails but he also went after work to provide details to my mother at home as she was loathe to go out very often. All the tour provision, guides and drivers were exceptionally kind, knowledgeable and patient throughout. Peripluswere fantastic in arranging all of the above. We especially enjoyed Eighth Bastion and Purity in Kerala as unique hotels. Special thanks to our exemplary driver/guide Santosh Kumar from Cochin. Fantastic experience thank you Luke et al.

Starting in Bangkok for 6 nights and then my Son & Daughter joining us 2 nights later we had a private tour guide for 3 days showing us all the sights and experiences we wanted to see. Our guide was lovely and we had an amazing time. My Son & his girlfriend then went on to Cambodia for 4 nights and again had a private tour guide show them the wonderful sights of Ankor and Siem Reap before joining us in Manila!

Ewen at Bamboo Travel organised our trip, once again perfectly. 2 years ago Ewen also organised a wonderful trip for us in Japan we would definitely come back to him for our next Far Eastern holiday.

A varied holiday with a good balance of sight seeing in northern Thailand followed by total relaxation in the south at Khao Lak

A holiday when everything ran smoothly and we were free to discuss with our guides and drivers, the pre planned itinerary in detail. This often lead to small changes based on their local knowledge to make the days even more memorable.

Vibrant cities, ancient culture, friendliest people, exciting and stimulating food and stunning, varied scenery. Tokyo - so much to see and do, but go to less well visited places. Masumoto - fantastic hotel, food, and stunning castle, Tsumago - real "old" Japan and warm hospitality - no street lights, just the sounds of nature and real family life. If you only go to one place in your life make it Japan!

Brilliant!!! Met all our wishes - in fact more. Ewan at Bamboo travel made sure all our wishes were met and offered so many extra exciting ideas and things to do and see. He made sure our trip was the most memorable we'd experienced.