EASTRAVEL Traveller Reviews

Just what we hoped for

Very helpful and knowledgeable

We began our experience through friends from England who recommended Eastravel for a holiday in Vietnam with a guide at each port of call. It worked out incredibly well and we were so lucky to have our wonderful guide Tuy when I had a minor stroke and had to be hospitalised in Halong for 24 hours. Tuy took us to a very well appointed international hospital with an excellent doctor who spoke English, and he stayed in the area and took care of our ongoing travel. Once back on the road the next day the holiday had to be slightly rearranged but it was very ralaxed and we didn't miss anything so we were delighted. Since we travelled from Málaga with Turkish Airlines we stopped over for 3 days in Istanbul on our way back, this time without a guide but also a great experience.

Dorothy Heng from Eastravel dealt with our requirements extremely well at all stages of the journey and without any pressure beforehand even when we made some important readjustments, for example deciding a month before not to visit Laos and Cambodia as originally planned, but to stop over in Istanbul. We were very happy with the very little extra cost involved as a result of the changes to our itinerary after my hospital stay. We were also very happy with the local operator ICS who provided 4 excellent guides at the different stages of our time in Vietnam. Two in particular, Tuy in the north and Vinh in the south, went to considerable personal trouble and expense for us. Further general comments:- 1. No decent maps provided, nor easily obtained, even in Tourist Information offices. Our Saigon guide Vinh kindly brought us one and would not accept payment for it. 2. No Botanic Gardens anywhere apparently! Tourist Information people looked totally perplexed when asked! 3. Personal security: we never felt the least bit threatened anywhere. 4. Tips: always a traveller's nightmare - I believe the Tour Operator should take care of this entirely (guides, drivers and hotel staff) and include it in the tour price, to save the very uncomfortable problem of scrabbling around for suitable bank notes all the time, a real pain. 5. Currency exchange: travellers to Vietnam should be warned they cannot change their remaining dongs once they start their return trip.

Our holiday was excellent. Sri Lanka Airline looked after us very well and we were met on arrival by a Red Dot Tours rep who showed us to our vehicle and introduced us to our chauffeur/guide Wipul. He turned out to be very knowledgeable on all aspects of Sri Lanka and a good driver. The vehicle was spotless every morning. All of the hotels were very good indeed with a good choice of food. Lots of curry but we did decline it for breakfast! The temples were fascinating and the national parks very interesting although the density of the vegetation does mean that sightings of both birds and mammals are quite difficult. Over 100 species of birds were seen, however, as well as leopards and crocodiles. Millions of white butterflies wafted around us in the parks. Galle was very colonial inside the fort but rather more touristy than I think we had expected. A great holiday with lovely memories.

Our tour was booked through East Travel in Ipswich but operated by Red Dot Tours. We could not fault either company. Any queries before we left were promptly and accurately dealt with and we were well looked after as soon as we arrived. The vehicle was an almost new 9 seater mini bus which was just for us. The driver was very punctual, helpful and considerate and told us as much as he could about the country he is clearly very proud of. We had no problems at any of the hotels or venues which we visited.

Fabulous holiday organised beautifully by Eastravel. 2 weeks travelling around by air, hot air balloon, A/C mini buses, bicycles, e-bikes, trekking with very friendly informative and knowledgeable guides seeing and experiencing so much around Myanmar. All plans suggested, advised and discussed before finalising an itinerary.

Eastravel advised, suggested, talked through and put together an itinerary specifically for our party (6 friends) until we were all happy with it. As we went through the process they were happy to change things for different interests or budgets. Helpful, friendly and efficient.

We went to Myanmar and had a full tour organised - Yangon, Mandalay, Began. Inle lake , trecking, Nagpali

We had a very good trip organised by East Travel who used Tour Mandalay in Myanmar. It was a beautifully organised and fascinating trip

We had a good idea of where we wanted to go and when and East Travel organised it all for us. We saw three area's of Thailand which we loved, all transfers were done efficiently and on time, we cannot fault the service we received, and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.

They were helpful, organised everything for us without being too pushy, everything was very well organised with no hiccups, all went very smoothly.

It was a great success and everything worked perfectly - save for one or two hiccups which were easily rectified locally. However one thing I would say is that things are changing rapidly in all countries with a marked increase in tourism, organisation and infrastructure, such that some of the more “off the beaten track” areas we hoped we would find are now hard to come by. In our view we travelled to these countries not a moment too soon! We were all impressed with ICS and the flawless way this complicated itinerary was executed. The guides were all excellent and very quickly adapted to the individual requirements for our photography. Flexibility was the key word as on some occasions the guides local knowledge made for re-adjusting the itinerary to all our benefit. I should also mention the standard of hotels and accommodation, which were all excellent. Obviously the ones in N. Laos were a little more basic, which of course we knew before hand, but their eco-locations more than made up for any slight lowering of standards. That also applied to the other hotels which couldn’t have been in better locations for our purposes.

Always on hand for advice. Efficient, friendly, communicative and listen to individuals needs Travelled with them many times now and have never been disappointed on either quality or value for money

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Every thing ran very smoothly and on time

My husband and I have just returned from 14days in Myanmar which was organised by Dorothy at Eastravel. We enjoyed a multi centre holiday, using four different guides and very able drivers. Although my husband had been to Asia many years ago, it was my first time. We elected to use Eastravel after recommendation from several sources. I am so glad we did as everything they organised went really well. We have so many happy memories, from the fantastic Bagan temples, washing elephants, a balloon flight over Inle Lake to the hustle and bustle of Manderlay and Yangon and much more.... Would really recommend Myanmar as a destination.

Nothing was too much trouble, we had some suggestions of what we wanted to see and Eastravel gave us more ideas of must sees! We have no hesitation in recommending them as a tour operator. They give the personal touch!

Our recent trip to India was fantastic. We had wanted to return to India for some time and visit Kerala but had never quite got around to it and other places had taking precedent. Kerala was an absolute joy and the houseboat was superb. We did not want to leave but I fear we would have had to be craned off the boat given the amount of wonderful food they prepared for us each day. Have wanted to do a houseboat in Kerala for years we were slightly apprehensive that we would be disappointed at the reality of the experience. Far from that it exceeded all expectations. Pondicherry was lovely as well and the Hotel L'Orient was charming and the staff so friendly and enthusiastic. Fetched us beer at any hour and I have to say we were very impressed with Indian Chenin Blanc wine – not bad at all. Chennai is a bit of a challenge! Our driver was a star and showed us around the city so well and in safety – quite how he kept that car without a bump or scratch is beyond me. Lovely meal at the Up North restaurant and despite it being on the roof on the 12th floor you could still hear the cacophony of vehicle horns coming up from the streets below! It made the traffic in Bangkok and Phuket seem quite orderly and normal – and that is saying something. But a wonderful experience before flying over to Bangkok and onto Phuket for some rest and recreation. Another wonderful holiday and memories expertly created by EASTRAVEL. Well done!

Have used EASTRAVEL for almost every trip to the Middle East and South East Asia and Japan since 1989. Have recommended them to my family and friends without hesitation. They know what we like and want and they deliver it everytime where ever we end up heading: Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Oman, India, Taiwan, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Laos. From 'idiot' cards in Taiwan to help us get on the right train to Alishan to witness the Sea of Clouds in 1991 to getting us into the 1st class soft sleeper cabin on the Shanghai to Hong Kong train on our 25th wedding anniversary a year or so ago, nothing has been too much trouble.