EASTRAVEL Traveller Reviews

Dorothy Just back from Harbin, China...... temperatures ranging from -15 day time to -30 night time With the correct clothing, a winter wonderland! We went to the Harbin 31st Annual snow & ice Festivals ( the largest in the world) Brilliant by day .... spectacular when lit up at night This has been on my Bucket list for a very, very long time ( and it exceeded all my expectations!) The pictures just don't do it justice, from the craftsmanship in the smaller sculptures to the scale of the main structures, truly impressive! Our tour included other sites on my bucket list, including Beijing - Forbidden City, summer & winter palaces etc. The Great Wall Xi'an - Terra cotta Army & the Muslim street market However it was Harbin that stole the show for me! *:) happy It was a trip of a lifetime, that I would recommend to everyone. We will all remember & talk about it for the rest of our lives The whole trip (including Visas, Hotels, Guides & Transfers ) was organised by Dorothy at EASTRAVEL, Ipswich. who listened to what we wanted to do & see, and made it happen. Thank you Gary (plus.... Julie, Kerri, Peter, Paula, Hannah, Jazz, Kevin, Ross & Helen)

Dorothy at Eastravel listened to our wish list and organised everything from start to finish.(Visas, flights, hotels, guides, entry to attractions, internal transfers & even skiing.) the holiday Couldn't have been better or better organised. Thank You Dorothy Gary

Dear Dorothy I just thought it would be good to get back to you to say how much we enjoyed the holiday and to give you some feedback on Mandalay Travel, the hotels and Burma Boating. Overall assessment We had one of our best holidays. We felt that yourselves, Mandalay Travel (ie guides), SY Dalai boat crew were all very attentive to our desires and very flexible even at the last minute. All the arrangements were seamless and professional with the one exception regarding with how Burma Boating dealt with the net pricing issue. Obviously the problems with the SY Jubilaeum was something that happens, however I hear from the skipper of SY Dalai (not to be quoted) that this boat is over-worked and under-maintained and that this problem is not uncommon. The ballooning, hill trek, Ayerwaddy trip and train trips are definitely worthwhile parts of the itinerary. All was superb. Mandalay Travel Phyu Phyu was a delight to deal with. The guide in Mandalay (Nyeung Thun?) was exceptional and Mo in Yangon very good too. Both had considerably better English than we were expecting. The guide in Inle (Than Zing?) was the weakest. His English was not the best, came across lazy and had an unfortunate smell. Otherwise good. Hotels The Governor’s Residence was the best but was probably the most expensive. Inle Heritage was a very special experience (thanks for the recommendation). The Aureum Palace was good but questionable in terms of the morality of the owner. The weakest property was the Mandalay Hills Resort which showed no character in its rooms, public facilities or cuisine. Difficult to believe that there is not a better property in Mandalay. The luxury of the boat was impassable. Burma Boating Obviously as you know our heart was set on the classic cruising experience. We have had a fibreglass yacht for 15 years and wanted something different and hence were disappointed with the change. That said the experience with SY Dalai could not have been better. The yacht was such a good sailing machine in light winds meaning that we could go under sail everywhere when the more classic yachts would have been under motor. Bruno, the skipper, was such a nice guy with a great story to tell if you were interested, which we were. The chef was second to none, a fact to which you had alluded. The result was still not quite what we had wanted but the result was fantastic and we could not help but recommend this boat and crew. The experience in the Mergui is obviously expensive but a very good addition to the holiday. Conclusion A personal thank you to you for all your hard work. At one point we might have seemed like the clients from hell, particularly when Jill had her operation and then her Aunt seemed on death´s door. Both are recovering well. Thanks for your patience. All the best Colin & Jill

Dear Dorothy I just thought it would be good to get back to you to say how much we enjoyed the holiday and to give you some feedback on Mandalay Travel, the hotels and Burma Boating. Overall assessment We had one of our best holidays. We felt that yourselves, Mandalay Travel (ie guides), SY Dalai boat crew were all very attentive to our desires and very flexible even at the last minute. All the arrangements were seamless and professional with the one exception regarding with how Burma Boating dealt with the net pricing issue. Obviously the problems with the SY Jubilaeum was something that happens, however I hear from the skipper of SY Dalai (not to be quoted) that this boat is over-worked and under-maintained and that this problem is not uncommon. The ballooning, hill trek, Ayerwaddy trip and train trips are definitely worthwhile parts of the itinerary. All was superb. Mandalay Travel Phyu Phyu was a delight to deal with. The guide in Mandalay (Nyeung Thun?) was exceptional and Mo in Yangon very good too. Both had considerably better English than we were expecting. The guide in Inle (Than Zing?) was the weakest. His English was not the best, came across lazy and had an unfortunate smell. Otherwise good. Hotels The Governor’s Residence was the best but was probably the most expensive. Inle Heritage was a very special experience (thanks for the recommendation). The Aureum Palace was good but questionable in terms of the morality of the owner. The weakest property was the Mandalay Hills Resort which showed no character in its rooms, public facilities or cuisine. Difficult to believe that there is not a better property in Mandalay. The luxury of the boat was impassable. Burma Boating Obviously as you know our heart was set on the classic cruising experience. We have had a fibreglass yacht for 15 years and wanted something different and hence were disappointed with the change. That said the experience with SY Dalai could not have been better. The yacht was such a good sailing machine in light winds meaning that we could go under sail everywhere when the more classic yachts would have been under motor. Bruno, the skipper, was such a nice guy with a great story to tell if you were interested, which we were. The chef was second to none, a fact to which you had alluded. The result was still not quite what we had wanted but the result was fantastic and we could not help but recommend this boat and crew. The experience in the Mergui is obviously expensive but a very good addition to the holiday. Conclusion A personal thank you to you for all your hard work. At one point we might have seemed like the clients from hell, particularly when Jill had her operation and then her Aunt seemed on death´s door. Both are recovering well. Thanks for your patience. All the best Colin & Jill

We really enjoyed it. All the guides were fantastic. The organisation was superb.unfortunately we can find Nothing to complain about! and would recommend the holiday t anyone. Every flight we took and every hotel we took knew we sew vebgetarian. How did they all know this on the other side of the world?

Cathy was really helpful and put up with changes in our plans

We enjoyed our holiday and we are really pleased with the great advice and service we receivedo I would recommend this to my friends and family.

Great service & fantastic knowledge

Enjoyed our holiday , we travelled around Thailand and went to Vietnam, stayed in some great hotels and the travel times and transfers were well organised

Organised our trip extremely well , flights, internal transfers and accommodation were all sorted and we had a hassle free trip. I would definitely recommend East Coast Travel to anyone.

We visited Phan Thiet and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and Khao Lak in Phuket. Eastravel recommended all three of the areas and the hotels which were all fantastic. The transfers in Vietnam were included and worked perfectly, which made it totally hassle-free. We had a wonderful time exploring these two beautiful countries.

Eastravel recommended three areas and hotels in Thailand and Vietnam. There choices were all fantastic and made for a great holiday. In the planning stages they discussed options with us at length to make sure we were getting exactly what we were looking for, which we did. A pleasure to deal with, I will certainly be booking my next holiday East with them.

A fabulous tour to Incredible India. The country overwhelmed our senses. Fantastic architecture, interesting history, huge contrasts, marvellous hotels, top quality service, lovely people.

East Travel made all our internal arrangements. Very flexible, great balance of travel and stays. Great and varied itinerary. Chose wonderful hotels. Excellent local agents. Nothing was a problem.

A fabulous tour to Incredible India. The country overwhelmed our senses. Fantastic architecture, interesting history, huge contrasts, marvellous hotels, top quality service, lovely people.

East Travel made all our internal arrangements. Very flexible, great balance of travel and stays. Great and varied itinerary. Chose wonderful hotels. Excellent local agents. Nothing was a problem.

We have just returned from a 16-day touring holiday of southern India starting our adventure in Bangalore. We then travelled to Mysore, Nagarhole, Ooty, Cochin, the backwaters at Allepey and finished on the beach in Kovalam. We covered some 1,400 Kms and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We experienced everything from the Maharaja's palace in Mysore to tiger spotting in Nagarhole, to Ooty a beautiful hill station, tea plantations, a silk sari factory and at the end a lovely hotel in Kovalam to relax in before coming home. The food was wonderful and the local people quite delightful. All in all a great experience.

We have been using Eastravel for a number of years now and have always been very pleased with the service that Dorothy and her team provide. Nothing is too much trouble for them and they always go the extra mile to ensure our holidays run smoothly. We would have no hesitation in recommending them.

Using Eastravel as our agent was the best decision we made. Not only did they come in at around £2,000 cheaper than Thomas Cook and Thomson, they also facilitated private tours in Java and Bali, private transfers to each and every destination as well as selecting the very best hotels regardless of budget. This was a special trip for us, what with it being our honeymoon, and for that we will always be grateful for their efforts.

Panorama we're great from the outset. Literally. It was hard to miss them in their very bright shirts at the airport! We had one particular guide called Agus who went to great lengths to show us everything there was to see in Yogyakarta including introducing us to friends of his who had suggestions of places to see and things to do in our spare time. Although we told people we were going to Bali for our honeymoon, it was the stint in Java that has resonated most with us as it was just such a pleasure and a surprise to be immersed in a drastically different culture - I don't think it would've been as hard-hitting if it hadn't been for Agus' knowledge of the area and his passion for Javanese culture and values.