I have had a dream for 30+ years to see the Bungle Bungles in Western Australia. This year I took a bus tour from Perth to Darwin over 18 days and enjoyed every single moment. I urge anyone looking to see W.A. to seriously consider this tour.
1. It was age appropriate and I have made many new friends, whom just made the trip even more enjoyable. read more We became friendly in the first 72 hours and had many laughs over the course of the tour.
2. Accommodations were 4 - 4.5 stars. Only one location was "interesting". The walls were very thin and you could hear someone talking two rooms away. No complaints from me, as it all added to the experience (being only one night that is). The beds in all our accommodations were the most comfortable and were higher off the floor, making it so much easier to get in and out of bed. Great thoughtfulness.
3. Food was fantastic. Breakfast was a big choice buffet, no reason for complaint as catered for gluten free and celiac passengers also. Most dinners were buffet style and a wonderful selection to choose from for all. We did have two dinners with set menu selection, which was mouth watering. Most evenings we met the Chef who was preparing our meals and that was a lovely personal touch for the tour.
4. I can't believe what was fitted into this tour! We saw and experienced so much more than expected. We did 4 or 5 boat tours, visited many environmental centres in the many different environs that make up W.A., saw and experienced the better known tourist attractions, did individual choice tours in Broome, Kununurra and Darwin and loved every minute.
5. We were made feel very welcome on our arrival and departure from our accommodations. Also to any attractions/tours, souvenir shops etc. The staff at Argly Diamond Mine mess deserve a special mention, as we were an extra shift that day and they welcomed us and smiled all the way through our lunch. Such lovely folks.
6. The Big Bus - wow what a beauty! We were a tour of only 16 plus our Tour Director, Kay Chambers, and Bus Driver Extraordinaire, Ian Hunter. We had plenty of room to spread out and enjoy the journey, with onboard loo and TV screens so all could see the road ahead. Fantastic innovation by Adams Coaches. Ian was fantastic and always there to help us embark or disembark the coach, if needed, at the front door. Kay was present at the back entry for the same reason. Travelling on this bus was smooth on sealed roads and Ian took great care crossing water courses and the occasional dirt road. He also has a great repertoire of Dad jokes and a fantastic sense of humour, which kept us entertained. Ian also maintained the coach to perfection, cleaning it and making sure anything left on the coach was returned to the correct owner. I cannot commend this gentleman enough. Ian took time to dine with different folks on the tour each dinner or breakfast, to make us feel welcome and seeing that we were enjoying our bus tour. Great gent.
7. Last but most important is the Tour Director - Kay Chambers. What a wonderful woman! We didn't have to concern ourselves about anything other than getting on and off the bus and what to eat. Kay was so organised and made our tour so enjoyable without all the little irritating inconveniences that may occur. She sang for us (she was trained as an opera singer and what a beautiful voice), she entertained us, but most of all made us all feel as though nothing was a problem for her. What a delightful lady to take care of us all. Knowledgeable, funny, caring and organised. I would like to do this tour all over again with all the same players because I had such fun and met wonderful folks.
The boat was faultless. Staff could not do enough to make it an easy, enjoyable and happy experience. Cabin was roomy enough and spotlessly clean. Little touches such as finding my sunglasses on a dog fashioned from a towel on the bed was indicative how much the staff wanted you to have a good trip. Food did not stop, every meal was a feast of quality read more and variety served by good humoured staff.
Shore excursions were good but we would have liked a little more time in each port to explore on our own. The visit to a private home to meet a typical family was a real highlight. On board entertainment was enjoyable with a good variety of entertainers who suited our age group. Flights organised by Hannah of Global Journeys all went well. We have no reservations in recommending Global Journeys and Travelmarvel.
A very well organised tour operator, who along with a knowledgeable driver, showed us some amazing sites throughout our trip. The mix of people travelling with us was fantastic. We thoroughly enjoyed their company. The accommodation provided us with some stunning views. We would certainly look at booking another holiday with Travel Marvel.
Majestic Myanmar 8
Brian & Merilyn, WA, Australia, Apr 2018
What a lovely relaxing holiday - unpack, sit back and relax. All meals were marvelous with the staff almost like family. The tours were very informative and with excellent guides. You might not agree with the politics of the country but we found the village life and cities were very interesting.
The weather was hot but there wasn't any rush to get read more the tours over and done. The buses which took us to the various places were air conditioned and water was supplied. We experienced the Burmese "New Year" AND the "Water Festival" which had us interacting with the locals and getting just as wet as they did. We had been warned about the "getting wet" and ship provided us with water pistols and waterproof satchels for cameras. One way of cooling off and joining in with lots of laughter.
Wonderful sunsets and magnificent photos to take. Will look back on this holiday with fondness and wonderful memories.
Loved it! Had a great time - well organised, and good group of people.
2
Southern Escape
Shirley, VIC, Australia, Mar 2018
This is my 2nd trip with Travelmarvel and I was more than happy with everything. It is the best way to see the country as the staff know every attraction and photo spot available.
It can be very tiring with the early mornings but I did the north island and the south island of New Zealand in separate trips and that made it not so grueling. More than read more happy to travel with them again - good job everyone.
We had a great time. Everything went very smoothly. Luckily we were just ahead of a cyclone, and therefore we had some great weather. Some days the weather looked a bit dull, but by the time we arrived at the train station it always seemed to fine up. Unexpectedly we had a dusting of snow around Queenstown and also Mt Cook. We took some wonderful photos. read more
Our Guide Sharon and Driver Wayne (always had a tall tale to tell) were very good. The coach was always clean, our group was always on time leaving our accommodation, even though we had some older ladies in their 80's. Such a lot to see and do in such a short time. We also had some free time to explore on our own which was good.
Excellent accommodation. Local tour guides with very good English and local knowledge. No worries about arrangements or schedules. A very enjoyable holiday.
East Coast Adventure with Travelmarvel 1
Andrew, NSW, Australia, Jan 2018
I liked the Travelmarvel system leaving us lots of free time to choose our own meals and excursions. There should have been water on the bus and the guide who was otherwise excellent did not direct the guests to the many excellent indigenous art galleries on the trip. Driver was top class.
Terrific Tour of Tassie
5
Grand Tasman
Lisa, SA, Australia, Jan 2018
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 :)
Enjoyable tour with Travelmarvel. Good hotels and tours guides throughout the land tour of South America. Thank you Hannah from Global Journeys for organising the tour, flights etc. Will definitely book with Global Journeys again.
This was a fabulous trip! Saw and experienced so much that my many, many photos can't show it all to someone who wasn't there. And I'll never forget the sound of a car/bus/tuk-tuk horn ever again, an indispensable part of successful driving in chaotic India. The rail was with Great Railway Journeys, and although the 2 short rail trips could not be described read more as great, they were an exciting experience. Our luggage went separately by bus, which was a major blessing. The accommodation was first-class, with a lot of heritage character. The last night in the maharajah's palace was sensational.
We were looked after by a team of 4 - a British tour manager, an Indian guide, driver and assistant. Most people were British, with a handful of Aussies. The bus was very comfortable and even had a toilet, though toilet stops were all very acceptable. Bottled water was plentiful and food was good, though if you mix too many of the spicy dishes from the nightly buffet you might fall victim to curry tummy.
The itinerary was great and there were no optional extra tours, everything was included. Delhi traffic is beyond bad, if you can arrive at night or in the very early morning, do so. I stayed an extra night on the last day at the Holiday Inn near the airport with free airport transfer. Shopping can be frustrating, and I didn't really like the several emporiums that we were taken to, but those might change in the future. If you want a carpet or jewellery make sure you check out prices and quality at home first. I got a great deal on a carpet at a small shop in a hotel.
Enjoyable trip around the South West of WA 2
Susan, SA, Australia, Nov 2017
I have always had good customer service from Global Journeys, especially with Hannah as my contact consultant. It was an enjoyable trip if not a tad long. The tour guide and driver were fantastic, happy, conscientious, accommodating and went out of their way to give everyone a good customer experience. The weather was great, the accommodation was good, read more food was good. Probably the only real disappointment for me was that the itinerary wasn't as detailed as I would have liked it to be - for example - I was a tad disappointed when a visit to Margaret River itself wasn't actually included, although the visits to the winery and chocolate factory in the general area were two of the highlights of the trip.
We really enjoyed our holiday. All the arrangements made by Travelmarvel went smoothly, the coach was very comfortable, the accommodation and meals were excellent. Our guide, Judy, was exceptionally good and our driver Ian was a great driver and good company. We managed to see a lot of Western Australia in a short time. The itinerary was excellent. read more We covered about 4600 kilometres in 15 days but we never became tired of the long bus trips. They were an essential part of our experience of the vastness of Western Australia.
We had a fabulous holiday, very pleased with Yvonne from Global Journeys, thank you! It was a good time of year to travel, as we experienced a flurry of snow at Cradle Mountain, and the mountain had snow on it. After the first 2 cold days it warmed up, each day was lovely sunshine.
Fiona and I were impressed at the number of places we visited, even read more more than we expected. The accommodation was of a very good standard, with heating and electric blankets. Food at the hotels was delicious, and they catered for my diet.
Fellow passengers were friendly and fun. The bus driver and the guide, were both extremely friendly and able to give a detailed commentary wherever we went. We particularly enjoyed the river cruse and Sarah Island, it was very interesting.
It was my first visit to Tasmania and I loved it. Fiona also loved it.
Worry-free holiday 1
Rosemary, East Sussex, United Kingdom, Oct 2017
Very well organised which made for a full and varied trip seeing many attractions and doing various interesting activities on our way down the coast. A good balance of coach journeying, boat trips and two-night stays. My room-mate liked to be first down to breakfast and wasn't in a hurry to have lights out at night which meant I got a bit sleep deprived read more and I had a coughing bug which must have kept her awake during the night so be prepared for suchlike if you share.
All inquiries and our booking were handled professionally by Yvonne yet again. Travelmarvel's 15 day Wonders of the South West of WA was excellent. A small group in a large coach. We traveled over 4500km, everyday there were new experiences and places to see. There were some excellent local guides especially at Wave Rock Hyden, HMS Sydney Memorial Geraldton read more and Bluff Knoll in the Stirling Ranges.
The tour was not rushed even though there were some long days. The guide/driver, Wally and Andrew, found time for extra stops to view the wildflowers. We felt that our group had extra experiences to the other tours that were traveling the same route at the same time. Accommodation was at a high standard except for one, included meals were of a high standard with plenty of choice.
We loved this tour through Europe. From the very beginning in Paris throughout the river cruise and onto Prague we had an amazing time. Our tour directors in each area were very accommodating and in particular Susan, our River Cruise Director, was spectacular. We were well taken care of on our cruise ship with warm, welcoming and efficient staff.
We read more arrived early in most ports of call and were well informed of what to expect in each region. The food was a delight and the entertainment enjoyable. Out hotels in Paris and Prague were centrally located and we were able to be independent in these areas with valuable insights supplied by our local hosts / tour directors.
During our time on the river cruise we enjoyed a local experience into local resident homes and this provided us with a valuable insight into how they lived and we would recommend this to other travellers. We would have no hesitation in recommending Travelmarvel to other persons as we felt they were very efficient in running their tours like clockwork.
Once again we would like to tank Yvonne from Global Journeys for her excellent service in organizing our holiday - we have gone through Yvonne before and find her handling our out travel arrangements very thorough. Well done to Travelmarvel and to Global Journeys for another wonderful holiday.
Global Journeys did a great job organising this trip. Best price around & Jemma was very easy to work with - very helpful. I would not attempt to do China on my own & it was a great relief to be met at Beijing Airport for the adventure to start :)
18 day European Gems-Amsterdam to Prague (Travelmarvel)
5
European Gems with Prague
Milton & Lynette, VIC, Australia, Sep 2017
Very well organized. We enjoyed every minute of our holiday. The assistance on every part of our journey, by Travelmarvel people was fantastic. We would love to travel with them again soon.
Thoroughly enjoyable trip 4
Ros , QLD, Australia, Sep 2017
I can highly recommend the 15 day Baltics Explorer trip with Travelmarvel. This trip is well priced and includes a mixture of rail, bus and overnight ferry transport. Every second day is free, so is great if you don't want to be in the company of the other passengers 24 x 7. An orientation tour of the town/city is given on the first morning of the read more first day, so this gives you an opportunity of deciding how you would like to spend your free time. The accommodation was very good, with excellent breakfasts; the guides in each place were very well informed and all arrangements worked like clockwork. The cities we visited were extremely interesting and each had its own special characteristics. I cannot speak more highly of this tour.
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