EASTRAVEL Traveller Reviews

We had an amazing family holiday in Thailand. We visited Koh Samui, and whilst we had an amazing holiday, Samui has changed massively over the years, so I’m not sure we’d rush to go back again, but we did enjoy our holiday there

We booked our holiday with East Travel, having used them many times before. Having quite a wide range of requirements, with two families including three teenagers, I don’t think we were easy customers to deal with. However, Angela and the team were brilliant and came up with a brilliant holiday for us. We had a great time on Koh Samui, so much so that we are already looking at next year and where we’d like to go. I can’t speak highly enough of Angela and the team at East Travel, and would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone looking for a holiday in the Far East.

Our trip to Borneo, arranged by East Travel, was a delight from start to finish. Travel arrangements went smoothly and we were met and transported at each stage. Our guides were both local, from indigenous backgrounds - knowledgeable, hospitable, good communicators, and excellent company. We felt privileged to be taken care of by them. Our visit to the Mulu Caves was a breathtaking experience, combining huge underground caverns, filled with both grotesque and beautiful formations, jungle, wildlife, and lovely accommodation. We greatly appreciated the river trip. We also very much enjoyed seeing the hillside country around Crocker and Kinabalu Parks, and felt fortunate to have friver, guide and minibus all to ourselves! Overall, our trip was a complete delight, full of interest and variety. We could never have seen so much on our own in the time. Thank you Cathy, Dorothy and all at East Travel.

East Travel dealt with us in a very efficient but patient manner. We did rethink our requirements several times and they were always accommodating and helpful. The arrangements they made went as smoothly as they possibly could. The drivers and guides from the local Borneo company, which East Travel used, were excellent, and made our holiday in large part. We would certainly use East Travel again, and would recommend them unconditionally.

Perfect! could not have been better. All aspects ran like clockwork and more besides. Our local guide Arun, provided by East Travel and the local operator Aitken Spence was excellent and became a close friend over the course of the holiday. We stopped off and new places along the way that he recommended and everyone was excellent including trying local delicacies. Thanks again - what a memory for all the family.

Would definitely recommend East travel, Aitken Spence and if you can specifically ask for Arun, I would.

I have just returned from a family holiday to Koa Samui and Singapore. I have visited Singapore a number of times but this was a first to Thailand.The 6 of us had a wonderful relaxed week in superb Villas on the beach on this beautiful island. Even the Thai massages on the beach were fun and a new experience for us all.The travelling and transfers throughout went smoothly and standards very good. The food at the resort and in the local village was varied and we always came away having really enjoyed the flavours and textures of local dishes. Fortunately we all love Asian cuisine and it plays a big part in our enjoyment of the whole holiday. The Thai people are beautiful, gentle, polite and their attention to detail of a high standard.Even the taxi drivers were a delight and eager to pass on their local knowledge. No wonder we return time after time to the Far East as we feel, safe, well cared for by happy staff and have never regretted the choices or the long flights.

About 25 years ago my parents found Eastravelcompany who arranged a 2 week holiday for 15 of us. Since then my husband and children have turned to them for all of our long haul holidays. Apart from New York twice, we always choose this company to organise our important holidays and have never been let down. I am always recommending it to friends and family. They are very flexible with our wishes and we always look forward to the itinerary arriving.Over the years we feel the staff know us well enough to choose just the right destinations and each time our wow factor gets better and better. The standards and star rating in the East live up to their promises. When we have had a birthday or Anniversary,somehow the hotels get to know and surprise and delight us with a greeting card, local exotic fruits and cake. We feel very spoilt and it adds to our enjoyment of the whole holiday. Often the little gestures mean more. The extra touches of leather luggage labels and briefcase with all the paperwork neatly displayed for this latest trip was a heartwarming gesture and put to good use. We will continue to use Eastravel until the long flights get too much. For us and our family we have had experiences and memories that will stay with us forever.

Amazing hotel, superb food, such friendly staff and overall and incredibly relaxing holiday.

Our tour operator was brilliant. They found the absolutely perfect place for us, and gave us complete reassurance it would be great....and it was! They made everything so easy, I'd definitely recommend them to anyone.

Travelling across Sri Lanka with a private guide, experiencing archaelogy, wildlife, walking, history, culture and even time for the beach

From the moment we first met the team at East travel they have been fantastic. Their knowledge, organisation and communication has been first class. They took the time to build a holiday to meet our needs and helped us plan a very special trip. I simply cannot fault them at all and would happily recommend them to anyone to use

Landed in Kuching, met by driver/guide, very helpful & informative visited Bako National Park, Semenggoh Orang Utan sanctuary, neither of which were actually that great, but no fault of guide or tour operator. Flew onto Mulu Natinal Park for the bats & caves, interesting impromptu night walk with guide. Flew on to Kata Kinabalu, stayed at the Shangri La's Tanjung Aru Resort in a club room, wonderful hotel & surroundings, sunset deck. Visited a couple of islands locally then onto Sandakan & Sellingan Island for the turtles laying eggs & releasing newborn hatchlings. Onto Sukau Rainforest lodge, absolutely beautiful lodge & surroundings, wildlife viewing from the river. Finally 3 nights of R & R at Gaya Island off Kota Kinabalu. Brilliant holiday & very well organised through local operator Borneo Eco Tours.

Very helpful in choosing itinerary & managed to include a few extras which we weren't expecting & at a very competitive price

Everything went to plan. Buisnessential class travel out of this world. Malaysian people so helpful and friendly.

Nothing too much trouble. Excellent. Ý

It was truly a holiday of a lifetime, filled with diversity, culture, comfort and beautiful hotels. We were lucky enough to travel tp 4 different areas of Thailand within our 3 and a bit week holiday and we were spoilt with choices and options given to us. We stayed in Bangkok at the Banyan Tree, Pattaya at the Avani, Chiang Mai at the Tamarind Village and Koh Samui at Tongsai Bay. After Thailand we travelled and visited Dubai enroute home and stayed at Hilton Jumeirah - The Walk. Each hotel was fantastic and of the highest standard. The staff courteous and kind, thoughtful and the hotels were generous in helping us celebrate with Fizz, gifts, upgrades for our wedding anniversary. We went on several excursions which were incredible and well structured. We did the grand palaces in Bangkok as well as the the River Kwai and trip on the death railway (VIP is recommended), we had drinks on the top of the hotel - views were incredible. We went on Elephants and cart rides in Chiang Mai, as well as visited temples near and far. And in Koh Samui we went by speed boat to the Anthong Marine Park - this is a must, we even saw dolphins on the way back to the hotel. All transfers were included for our travels and there were no faults what so ever. There is so much to say but i can't honestly say in words what a wonderfully amazing trip we had and we didn't have to a thing - everything was organised for us and an incredible job it was.

Eastravel was one of three operators we went to for quotes before we decided on who to go with and the reasons for choosing eastravel are simple; Knowledgeable - they provided us with different perspective, professional and local knowledge of the places we were going Insight - Having had at least one member of staff visit each place we planned to go to, this filled us with confidence. Enthusiasm - they listened, understood and tailored our holiday to our wishes. Everything was concise, streamlined and simple. I highly recommend eastravel, especially Cathy. They are a wonderful, small and local company who offer big ideas and wonderful packages to suit everyone. We are so so glad we chose to work with them on our trip of a lifetime.

We went to Sabah, in Malaysian Borneo in eraly May 2017, spending time at Sandakan, Selingan island, Sukau and Borneo Rainforest Lodges, and ending on the coast at Kota Kinabalu. The hotels and Lodges were very good, perhaps surprisingly so at the rather remote Lodges, which were small, intimate and friendly, with excellent service and facilities. There was a full programme of activities, with river trips, jeep 'safaris', and forest walks for wildlife spotting. The guides on these activies were knowledgable and amazingly good at finding the animals, birds, insects and plants. They made sure that we got really good views of all Borneo's 'Big 5', and much more besides - seeing orang utans in the wild, turtles coming ashore, and the bat cave were probably the highlights for us. Overall, the holiday was a real experience that we'll remember for a long time.

The itinerary was prepared by Cathy at East Travel in Ipswich in consultation with us, and adjusted to reflect our preferences. All of the arrangements, including flights, connections, hotels, excursions and activities worked perfectly, so that we didn't have to worry or wait for anything. We couldn't fault it!