Grand Tasman Reviews

Having done a tour of Tasmania 12 months ago with AAT Kings, I enjoyed the island so much that I took a tour there again, but with another company. This time it was Travelmarvel, which is the discount arm of APT. It was noticeable really only in the accommodation sense, but the sights of course do not change. The highlights this time were places ...read more that I had not been to, which included the Tasmanain Devil Unzoo, Bicheno ( Where the driver's family seemed to have owned most of the town at one stage), and the Nut in Stanley. Other highlights which I had been to before were Port Arthur and the Bruny Island cruise, this time in rough weather. One tip is to possibly arrive the day before the tour officially begins. I intended to arrive on the morning of the tour but the flight from Melbourne was cancelled so I had to book another flight for the next day and so missed a full day of touring. Hannah at Global Journeys, as always, was a pleasure to deal with in organising the tour.

Weather was good in October. Lots of lakes, rivers & babbling brooks similar to Aistria & Switzerland without the longhaul flights and the crowds. A pristine environment. The tour guide Danny and bus driver Gary were a formidable team who delivered on all levels. The accommodation lived up to Travelmarvel's high stanard. The tour group was friendly ...read more and inclusive. We had a great holiday. I would book through Global Journeys again. Jemma was wonderful and the online communication system was efficient and convenient.

I thoroughly enjoyed my trip. It was a very busy 10 days, and at times I would have liked to get to our hotel a bit earlier in the evening, so we could have a look around, but with time constraints and trying to fit everything in, I fully understand. All the Hotels we stayed at were comfortable, and I didn't have a problem with them. All the staff were ...read more very friendly and very helpful. The food rated very high as well.

Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about Tasmania, and was very efficient and friendly. The coach broke down a couple of times, so maybe an upgrade is needed. Going as a single person, did not prove to be an issue, there were other single people on our trip, and hopefully I have made good friends for life. The mix of ages was quite extensive as well.

As far as booking with Global Journeys again, that is a definite. I did not have any issues at all. I was kept informed every step of the way. Talking to other people, they all had a few problems, but if I could make Georgie my personal travel agent I would. She was excellent. Sorry if that was not allowed, but I had to say something.

Had a wonderful time on our holiday. May weather in Tasmaina was a little cold in the mornings but we had lovely days with only one day of rain - but that was on a day of full travelling, so was ok. All accommodation and food was very good, only one older room which required a little updating but was nice and clean. Had a great bus driver Catch (Gary), ...read more never felt unsafe with his driving and we had many challenging roads very friendly to all passengers and helpful.

Our tour director Daniel was also very good and he mixed well with fellow passengers and did have some lame jokes lol. Got to see some extra beautiful places not on tour which where on the way. Could have spent more time at Port Arthur. Bridestowe lavender estate was a little disappointing as wrong time of year for seeing the fields of lavender. Russell falls is a must see so wonderful. Extra tour at own cost to Bruny Island is well worth the cost $235 great whole day meals included. Franklin Gordon river cruise another great day very relaxing pace up the river some of the most beautiful scenery and great food onboard. Seeing the little penguins was worth the extra cost of $40 very cute. Beaconsfield mine was very interesting tour.

Only disappointment were the bus seats which where not really suited for long touring, not much room for two people so was very uncomfortable for ten days on bus. Would highly recommend TravelMarvel and they have been very helpful in trying times with Covid always keeping us informed. Driver was at airport to pick us up on time. Had a lovely group of fellow travelers would recommend Tasmania as a great destination to go.

We’re glad that we joined this tour. The tour director and driver were very nice and funny. The quality of hotels and included meals were excellent. We were fortunate with the weather except in Cradle Mountain. It was cold whole time but bearable. Our highlight of the tour was Port Arthur, Gordon river cruise, Russell falls and also some small towns ...read more where we stopped for a break were nice. In ten days trip we covered most of Tasmania. The fellow travelers were also lovely. We enjoyed very much. Finally thank you so much, Global Journeys, for organizing this wonderful trip.

Covered just about all of Tasmania. Well worth the trip it was just a pity that the weather was not kind to us being cold and windy throughout. The hotels, coach, and Travelmarvel staff were all very good. The itinerary was a bit rushed but you kind of expect it on these coach tours. The coach drivers have to have their rests. Yes the trip was well ...read more worth the money paid and I will be looking through the Travelmarvel brochure to book future tours with you.

The trip was well organised. All highlights were covered. We could have spent more time in some places, like Port Arthur and Anvers. It was a small group but we all enjoyed each others' company. We were well informed throughout the tour.

I loved, loved, loved my holiday, thank you Travel Marvel and Global Journeys. I couldn’t fault anything. Wally the tour director was brilliant! He was absolutely delightful, even his jokes were funny and he knew so much about the history and other interesting bits of information. We had plenty of time at each town we passed through, I never felt rushed. ...read more Dave the coach driver was awesome, there are some very tricky roads in Tassie but Dave did a marvellous job - his jokes were funny too!

The accommodation and the food was superb and the other passengers in my tour were so lovely, we all got along really well, I couldn’t stop giggling. I will cherish the memories. Juliet, you made the booking process so easy, you guided me through each step and getting closer to my trip you were just as excited as I was which makes you a very special person, passionate about your job, thank you! I would highly recommend booking a tour through Global Journeys, I will again :)

The highlight was going to Port Arthur and the scenery around this site. We travelled with a mainly older group and most were friendly and easy to travel with. The tour guide and two bus drivers were knowledgeable and friendly towards the group.

From the beginning to the end I didn't have to worry about anything. Global Journeys did a wonderful job looking after my booking. My holiday was unforgettable, accommodation, meals and places that we visited were all excellent. Our tour staff had great knowledge of the areas we visited and they looked after us all. I can't say enough. I had a great ...read more time. A big thank you to Global Journeys and Travelmarvel.

I had a good time but probably won't use Travelmarvel again as I didn't realise it is the budget arm of APT. As such the standard of rooms and meals was pretty low, but not all of them, I have to say. There was a lot of driving around in the coach until about 4-5pm and we would have preferred to get into our rooms a bit earlier and have a walk around ...read more the area. We only had time to have dinner, then it was too dark to see anything outside and then we were off again at the crack of dawn the next morning. The highlights were all the sights we saw around Tasmania. Carol our tour guide and Ron the coach driver did a wonderful job driving us around and giving us all the relevant facts.

I would recommend this holiday, the tour company was excellent as was our booking agent at Global Journeys who went out of her way to accommodate my requirements.

Our Grand Tasman tour with Travelmarvel was excellent in all respects. Firstly, we had an extremely experienced and knowledgeable tour director Warren who was a fount of knowledge about Tassie, and had everything organised for us before we reached each destination. Warren and coach driver David were a great team who knew each other well. The coach was ...read more very comfortable, and views from all seats were excellent. All hotels were of high quality, as were meals at all venues. The various places we visited were expecting us when we arrived, and everything worked to clockwork. Highlights were many, but Port Arthur and the Gordon River cruise out of Strahan stood out. We also loved the history of so many of the towns we visited. Overall, it was a great tour which we considered to be value for money, and which we would happily recommend to anyone.

Tasmania is a spectacular place to see and worth visiting. We did the 10 day tour with Carol and Coach Driver Simon and a lovely bunch of Aussies, English, Scottish, Kiwis and Dutch tourists. The weather in Feb was great, the interaction of the passengers was fantastic. We were always on time to board the bus. Carol and Simon had great personalities ...read more and their knowledge of the places we visited was top rate. We started and finished in Launceston . My sister and I had a great time. Most of the accommodation was comfortable. Straun was the highlight for me with its lovely Macquarie Harbour, the trip up the Gordon Franklin River to see the pristine wilderness and the Huon Pines on the riverbank- a must see for the Bucket List. A well organized no worry trip from everyone concerned with booking and execution.

Was an awesome holiday. The tour guide and bus driver we very good also. We were really looked after. The tour was really good and I think it was well worth it as if we had gone by ourselves we would have missed out on a lot as we would not have known where to go and what we were looking at unless we had done a lot of research and that means a lot of ...read more headaches!

Generally well organised and enjoyable. Hotel in Hobart was rather disappointing as detailed on our TravelMarvel feedback form. As with previous tours, we were often left feeling that we could have had longer at some places, but tours are only meant to give a taste of what the area has to offer, so in that regard, it fulfilled its objectives.

We had a wonderful time touring Tasmania. First of all, Relaxing Journeys (now Global Journeys) did an excellent job in organzing our tour. The Tour Manager is fantastic who guided us all through the journey with excellent commentaries. During the whole journey, he did not hesitate to introduce Tasmania to us through his own experience as a true Tasmanian. ...read more The driver is also excellent. Not only is he a safe driver, he manoeuvred his vehicle in a very professional manner and he looked after the elderlys very well. Have to mention also that they both have a sense of humour, and the duo made our journey a very pleasant and memorable one. Needless to say, we were also blessed with very fine weather all the way, and I have met some very nice people from all over the world. All in all, the tour is excellent, and by far the best that I have ever experienced. I will definitely recommend it to my friends and people in Hong Kong.

Tour was well organised. Meet at airport most appreciated even though we arrived a few days earlier than most. Bus driver excellent and had amazing knowledge of Tasmania, also tour leader, both of whom had a good rapport and humour. Most hotels/motels were great, BUT after a long day touring the buffet style meals were more appreciated over the set ...read more menu table service type - reason: after a long day, most people wanted to just eat and go back to their rooms, instead of waiting until after 8 pm for their main meal and even later for the dessert & coffee. This was especially evident in Hobart (Mercure Hadleys). This hotel, while being heritage listed and I guess very charming to some, we felt that the rooms were old fashioned and pokey - ours had 2 small windows that looked out only to a full height brick wall. Unfortunately the weather caused some change of plans but the tour leader made the best of that. Overall we thought that we got excellent value for money and would have no hesitation to travel with APT again.

Thoroughly enjoyed the tour and the coach captain and coach driver complimented each other with their knowledge and skill. Excellent variety though would have liked the Wall in the Wilderness included but was told this wouldn't fit in time-wise. Mecure hotel Launceston was disappointment and I intend writing with comprehensive outline of basis for my ...read more impressions. My husband was ill and coach captain took over and arranged a night in hospital while he was re-hydrated, this was done with efficiency, kindness and was appreciated. Coach was comfortable and other accommodation excellent.

I have been meaning to send you an e-mail regarding the tour. It was just fantastic! The weather was perfect and the wonderful commentaries by the two gentlemen who conducted the tour were so informative. It was my first trip to Tasmania and we saw so much of the island and learnt so much of its history. Accommodation and meals were excellent. Personally, ...read more I would have liked a little longer at Port Arthur as there was so much to see. Many thanks for your help in organising this for us.