Home > Compare Tour Operators > APT vs Scenic
APT vs Scenic
Compare the travel styles, pricing, destinations and popularity of APT and Scenic.The Low Down
Initially providing coach touring around Australia and NZ to the local market, APT have grown exponentially over the last decade to now offer trips around the world, and are well known for their European river cruises. Over the last few years APT have introduced small ship expeditions that cruise the waters through Asia, Europe, Canada and off the coast of Kimberley. Catering primarily for the retired market, their trips aren't cheap, but in APT's case - you get what you pay for. Look out for their great Fly Free offers, and Earlybird Savings. The team here at Global Journeys have travelled multiple times by coach, cruise & river with APT, and we definitely recommend them as a quality, consistent, reliable Operator, and our past client reviews back that up.
Scenic's 5 star luxury river cruises are well known and popular in Australia (not so much in NZ). Scenic were the first to introduce balconies on their Scenic Space-Ships, which many clients love, but this comes at a cost to interior cabin space. Like many of the other premium river cruise Operators, look out for their great Fly Free offers, and Earlybird Savings. All inclusive, with Freechoice activities that allow you to choose what you want to do in each port, Scenic also offer a range of luxury additions (like your own Butler) depending on the cabin type select. Launching in 2018 and with another ship in 2020, the Scenic Eclipse is Scenic's first foray into luxury all inclusive ocean cruising. From the Arctic to Antarctica and everywhere in between, these Discovery Yachts, are all inclusive with shore excursions involving Zodiacs, kayaks and e-bikes as well as the option (for an additional charge) to adventure out by helicopter and submarine!
Stats
No. of Trips
373
No. of Departures
2,486
Avg. Trip Length
14 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$700
Accommodation
4 - 5 Star
Budget
Premium & Luxury
No. of Trips
641
No. of Departures
2,023
Avg. Trip Length
17 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$862
Accommodation
4 - 5 Star
Budget
Premium & Luxury
In Their Own Words We asked the travel companies themselves why you should travel with them
APT is an Australian family-owned company whose essence began in Melbourne in the 1920s. More than 90 years on, APT offers life-enriching trips to every continent, and through the company’s vast industry experience, meticulous planning and unquestionable passion it's earned a place among the world’s most well-regarded travel companies.
From boutique river cruising to small-group 4WD adventures; traditional coach touring with a decadent twist; epic rail journeys to small-ship expeditions; classic ocean cruising to safaris of discovery by both land and air – there’s little APT are unwilling to consider in pursuit of creating the finest holiday experience for its valued guests.
Timeless luxury, exclusive experiences, life enriching moments and true personalisation. APT offers all-inclusive holidays so everything is taken care of. We invite you to join us; you won’t be disappointed.
Scenic is proudly an Australian founded company setting the global standard for all inclusive luxury travel. We have delighted guests for more than 30 years with memorable journeys to fascinating locations across the world, delivering unsurpassed excellence in service, product quality and exclusive experiences. The guest is at the heart of everything we do, as we strive to provide continual innovation to enhance the guest experience in luxury river cruising, land tours and our state of the art expedition ocean cruising with Scenic Eclipse.
The Scenic difference is the details, the unwavering commitment to anticipate our guests every need, from butler services, quality dining, wellness, Scenic Enrich and Scenic FreeChoice experiences. That is why so many of our past guests choose to travel with Scenic many times, to destinations around the globe with family and friends, trusting Scenic to create memories that will last a lifetime. We welcome you to enjoy the portfolio of Scenic luxury products and feel the difference of Scenic’s dedicated staff, who will look after you to the nth degree.
Recent Reviews
4.7
Our APT tour of tropical North Queensland to the tip of Australia and to Thursday and Horn Island was fantastic. Our tour guide Natasha and driver Grant were outstanding and everything went smoothly. The walk to the tip of Australia was the highlight and should be on everyone's bucket list. The walk was not too difficult and everyone in our group of ...read more predominantly over 70 year olds all got there with a big smile on their face. Accommodation was excellent overall considering the remoteness of some of our stops. APT tours are not cheap but they do represent good value and we would travel with them again. Georgie from Global Journeys was as usual very efficient and responsive with our travel arrangements.
The tour was excellent. Our guide, Leigh, was knowledgeable and good fun. All the accommodation was top quality. The permanent tents the best we have stayed in. The food was first class, even at the camp site, when we were miles from stores. I was involved in all the activities, including going down to the swimming hole at Bell Gorge and walking through ...read more Tunnel Creek. My husband stayed behind on both occasions as he was wary of going over rocky domain as he had suffered a previous ankle injury. He was not alone in staying back and there was no pressure or awkwardness on those did stay behind. There were a number of long coach journeys and early mornings, but also time to relax. All in all a great time.
The cruise on the Caledonian Sky was once again a wonderful adventure. This was the fourth time we have travelled on this ship. Previously we had toured with Noble Caledonian tours and we can honestly say that the service from the expedition team and hotel staff was the same which was of high quality The highlight of the trip was Montgomery's reef. ...read more If you thinking of taking this trip it would be better at the end of the wet season as when we where there in September the waterfalls were dry but the landscape was beautiful. The knowledge of the expedition team was fantastic.
The only negative was that on arrival in Broome we had not been booked into the hotel that we originally booked and paid for due to confusion between Oaks and APT but the staff of Oaks Cable Beach were able to organise with Oaks Town for us to stay with them sat the Oaks Cable Beach Sanctuary. Thank you Rachael from Oaks Cable Beach.
The only negative was that on arrival in Broome we had not been booked into the hotel that we originally booked and paid for due to confusion between Oaks and APT but the staff of Oaks Cable Beach were able to organise with Oaks Town for us to stay with them sat the Oaks Cable Beach Sanctuary. Thank you Rachael from Oaks Cable Beach.
We had a wonderful time on the Kimberley cruise. The Caledonian Sky was very comfortable, the meals and drinks were first rate and the crew were excellent, very attentive and always polite. Overall, we’d give it 10 out of 10.
A wonderful experience to see the Kimberley's via the Gibb River Road. A great 14 days and a wonderful driver / guide full of knowledge of surrounding areas and all the flora and fauna. Horizontal falls was a really wonderful trip not to be missed, and great food throughout.
A very enjoyable trip dispite the low river levels and the need to change ships. The scenery and Signature experiences were wonderful and well organised. Great mix of fellow passengers and everyone looked out for each other. Found the food choices a little disappointing. Presented lovely, but found it largely very bland and not a lot of variety. ...read more Fellow passengers who had done the trip before expressed the view that it was not up to the standard of their original trip and I think there was a general view that standards had slipped. Perhaps that was a result of COVID affecting the staffing levels or general cost cutting. Would like to see a wider range of wines and food selections, but overall we had a great time. Hannah at Global Journeys was as always, helpful, timely and obliging.
4.6
Wonderful Tour leader and coach drivers. A mix of ages from 38 plus. All Australian this time around. I am not really a wine drinker and maybe had one too many wineries for my liking. Kangaroo Island was amazing and favourite among most of us. Adelaide, wineries and Victoria Habour all beautiful Scenes and as we drove around. Accommodation was of a ...read more mixed rating, Remembering Kangaroo Island is still recovering from fires was of a lower standard but still quite good and the staff their were more than helpful, Walking distance to small amount of places to get a coffee or a place to eat. Advice if you go in August - layers, coats, beanies, raincoat. Really cold most days but still a wonderful holiday.
Definitely would travel with Scenic again had fun and stress free trip to Canada with an Alaska cruise . Highlight was a helicopter ride in Whistler and landing on a glacier (which was extra $ but well worth it) spectacular! Accommodation was good although it would have been nice to stay in rooms with a view as you are paying top dollar, only one hotel ...read more we had a view was Lake Louise which was amazing!
We had a wonderful tour guide Benjamin who really looked after us and made the trip enjoyable ! Alaska cruise with Holland America was excellent ,and we were lucky to have perfect weather August perfect time of the year to see both Rockies and Alaska. Thank you Georgie at Global Journeys for organizing a wonderful and stress free holiday.
We had a wonderful tour guide Benjamin who really looked after us and made the trip enjoyable ! Alaska cruise with Holland America was excellent ,and we were lucky to have perfect weather August perfect time of the year to see both Rockies and Alaska. Thank you Georgie at Global Journeys for organizing a wonderful and stress free holiday.
Scenic's Icons of Western Canada and Alaskan Cruise - August 2022 0 Paul & Kathryn, SA, Australia, Aug 2022
I would highly recommend this Scenic Package. We travelled in August 2022 and had perfect weather the entire trip. Our tour director on the land package was Ben Frances and our driver was Nick - they were both the best tour Director and driver we have ever had any any of our previous 7 bus holidays. The 2-day stays in Victoria, Whistler, Jasper, ...read more Lake Louise and Banff and Vancouver were wonderful and the Fairmont hotels and location were perfect. The Gold Leaf Rocky Mountaineer between Banff and Vancouver was a once in a life time experience and the scenery, particularly the first day was magical. Our entire group remained COVID free so we could all enjoy the Holland America seven night Inside passage cruise. The cruise cabin selection on the Koningsdam that Scenic provided us was perfect - we couldn't fault anything during either the entire land and cruise packages.
We particularly, like the selection of included activities in Victoria, Whistler, Jasper and Banff. We chose the whale watching in Victoria; Zip Lining in Whistler; Rafting in Jasper and the helicopter ride in Banff. We also did the Peak-2-Peak Gondola ride in Whistler. We paid for this ourselves and had plenty of time to fully explore the peaks in the afternoon as we did the Zip lining in the morning. The zip lining is suitable for all ages it is very comfortable and easy to do.
The Holland America Cruise was fantastic - great entertainment at night time - particularly the One Step Dance company, the BB King All Stars Blues band, the two comedians and the BBC Planet Earth shows.
This was our second holiday we have booked through Global Journeys and once again it was hassle free and everything was so easy - despite COVID. I would highly recommend them. Our previous tour was an Albatross tour throughout Ireland which like the Scenic tour had a number of 2 and some 3 nights stays and lots of inclusions. We chose Scenic for this holiday only because Albatross don't offer any packages for Canada and Alaska. It was our first time with Scenic and we were very impressed with them. Overall Global Journeys, Scenic and Holland America all provided quality products and service that made it a superb holiday.
We particularly, like the selection of included activities in Victoria, Whistler, Jasper and Banff. We chose the whale watching in Victoria; Zip Lining in Whistler; Rafting in Jasper and the helicopter ride in Banff. We also did the Peak-2-Peak Gondola ride in Whistler. We paid for this ourselves and had plenty of time to fully explore the peaks in the afternoon as we did the Zip lining in the morning. The zip lining is suitable for all ages it is very comfortable and easy to do.
The Holland America Cruise was fantastic - great entertainment at night time - particularly the One Step Dance company, the BB King All Stars Blues band, the two comedians and the BBC Planet Earth shows.
This was our second holiday we have booked through Global Journeys and once again it was hassle free and everything was so easy - despite COVID. I would highly recommend them. Our previous tour was an Albatross tour throughout Ireland which like the Scenic tour had a number of 2 and some 3 nights stays and lots of inclusions. We chose Scenic for this holiday only because Albatross don't offer any packages for Canada and Alaska. It was our first time with Scenic and we were very impressed with them. Overall Global Journeys, Scenic and Holland America all provided quality products and service that made it a superb holiday.
We finally undertook our dream holiday to Egypt. The sheer beauty of this timeless country exceeded all of our expectations. We were initially apprehensive about travelling to Egypt in regard to our safety but it was unfounded. Egypt is as safe as anywhere in Europe. We travelled with Scenic who provided a never to forget experience. The professionalism ...read more of the Scenic staff could not be faulted and their attention to detail was excellent. Our cruise down the Nile was exceptional. My wife and her sister are gluten intolerant and the Chef's on the boat specially prepared separate and exquisite meals, for both of them. We could not praise them enough. As for Cairo, Luxor and Aswan with their museums, temples, tombs and Pyramids you cannot appreciate their beauty and intrigue unless you are there. Their photos in glossy magazines and on the internet do not do them justice. So if you have the opportunity do not miss this once in a lifetime experience.
We totally enjoyed our River Cruise. Booking through Global Journeys was sooo easy. Communication was great and nothing was to much trouble. We found communication with Global Journeys much easier than communicating directly with river cruise company. The cruise was great - we were a bit concerned that the age demographics would be older than us ...read more but that was not the case. There was a great mix of ages on the ship and we have formed some strong friendships. There was a late change of ship which we were disappointed in but Scenic went out of their way to ensure they made up for any disappointment. We would definitely do another river cruise and we certainly will be booking that through Global Journeys. Very happy customers.
The scenery was brilliant. The service in the restaurant was just below perfect. The reason for this qualification was due to all the smorgasbords. There was an additional specials menu - twice we ordered from this but the meals didn't turn up. Free beverages were excellent.
Another thing mentioned and rectified was all the 'double beds' on the ship ...read more were in reality single beds put together. Put my leg through the centre and could have broken a leg or ankle. Fell out of bed with the mattress. Hello, passenger in danger. They did bind this one up and then I was okay. The Palais Liechtenstein Mozart and Strauss concert was perfect. All transfers were very good and prompt.
Another thing mentioned and rectified was all the 'double beds' on the ship ...read more were in reality single beds put together. Put my leg through the centre and could have broken a leg or ankle. Fell out of bed with the mattress. Hello, passenger in danger. They did bind this one up and then I was okay. The Palais Liechtenstein Mozart and Strauss concert was perfect. All transfers were very good and prompt.
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