Service rating : Distant Journeys gave us the trip of a lifetime to Australia and to New Zealand. Our guide were exceptional and in both countries we learnt more and experienced more than we ever could on our own. We made new friends and tasted new foods and have returned home with thousands of photographs to treasure. Would highly recommend for anyone visiting Australia or New Zealand for the first time.
Product : Both tours are amazing. We visited the major cities of Australia and travelled deep into the Outback. In New Zealand, we went into the spectacular rainforest, to the top of the glaciers and to beautiful island beaches. A wonderful introduction to both countries.

Service rating : Very happy with the service and attentiveness of this company throughout the whole process from the start of booking our holiday to the post holiday call from them to talk about our experience while on holiday.
Product : A really good overview of New Zealand with plenty of free time to do your own thing or go on additional excursions.

Service rating : Distant Journeys provided me with a fabulous holiday tour of India, myself and my wife enjoyed every minute.
Product : Great value for money and we certainly learned a lot about the Indian sub continent

Service rating : Helpful staff when booking. Good hotels. Excellent tour guide driver in New Zealand. Well planned route frequent rest stops ,viewpoint ,lunch , between hotels.
Product : Excellent itenary. Multiple choice of tour extras.good hotels well located. Tour captain was exceptional in knowledge of both islands .

Service rating : The staff in the office were excellent. Always available to answer questions no matter how trivial. If they didn't know they found out and got back to you promptly.
I would have liked the office to process and acquire our visas. Similar to when we went to Australia
Product : The whole holiday as brilliant. Virindra our guide was extremely knowledgeable and made sure we experienced as much of India its culture and sights. He makes holidays. The driver and bus assistant saw to our every need. They were wonderful. The hotel in Dubai by the beach was superb wouldn't want to stay anywhere else if I had another stopover there.
Negatives (nit picking really)
The meal in the Amer Fort was cold and nothing special. However the ambiance of the Fort made it an unforgettable experience. This should be addressed. The house wine was undrinkable
Apart from Delhi and Jaipur eating in the hotel was the only real option. A little expensive.
Three nights in Agra Lucknow & Varanassi would have allowed us some rest periods and allowed us to enjoy the hotels to the fullest.
Our hotel room in Agra was in a dark dingy room.. Distant Journeys should request upper floor rooms for all its guests as the ground floor ones are fronted by lots of greenery blocking the light. We were moved for our second night. Much better.

Service rating : Everything was handled perfectly , great customer liaison
Product : A truly memorable experience

Service rating : Organisation was superb as always. Faultless.
Product : Organization brilliant. Excellent on the ground team of Tour Guide + Assistant + Driver (he needs a medal for driving in Delhi). Lots of wonderful things to see and do. The Taj Mahal, the Tigers in Ranthambore and the white knuckle ride that was the Rickshaw Journey around Delhi.
Perhaps a few too many "early morning calls" as the average age of the 20 tourists was well into their 60s.
My wife and I struggled with the local cuisine even though we are big fans of a curry back at home.
The "pricing" in the Hotels was obscene. We expect to pay over the odds in 4* Hotels but the price quoted THEN had 20% added for VAT and another 20% for Local taxes. Why not be "honest" on the price list?

Service rating : Always looked after with a personal service
Product : Excellent value, A wonderful experience

Service rating : From start to finish the whole experience far outdid our expectations. We were made to feel important and taken care of.
Product : Virandra our tour guide was first class from the depth of his knowledge to his attention to detail. He made this the best holiday ever.

Service rating : Excellent service from start to finish. Very friendly, informative and helpful staff.
Product : Fantastic holiday from start to finish. Everything was so well organised. The hotels (except one) was 1st class, with amazingly comfortable beds, VERY important when your on a tour. New Zealand was truly beautiful, with the most spectacular scenery. Our tour guide (Peter), was so knowledgeable and nothing was too much trouble. This was our 2nd holiday with Distant Journeys, it won't be the last.

Service rating : Excellent from beginning to end friendly and informative staff
Product : Value for money. Excellent Hotels and mainly centrally situated. Informative guides

Service rating : Excellent tour of New Zealand-all the highlights covered with the help of a great guide/driver.Distant journey staff sorted everything.
Product : Excellent tour

Service rating : They were polite, helpful, professional. Hit them with a tricky question and they'd come right back with an excellent solution. Bespoke arrangements no problem. Change of plan at the last minute no problem. Great service and a fantastic tour.
Product : The best holiday of my life, highly recommended. My only niggle was that I wished it had gone on longer!

Service rating : Booking was easy and the office was very helpful during this process. Paperwork arrived in time and gave good information.
Product : This was generally a well planned and organised tour, allowing you to see a great deal of New Zealand. The hotels were in good locations in relation to the towns visited and were of a good standard, with those in Christchurch, Dunedin and Auckland being by far the best. There were lots of local restaurants serving a variety of cuisines and mostly fast food, although evening meals in the hotels were generally good and not much more expensive. There are a lot of early starts and long travel days, but this is balanced by free time and optional trips. Of these the BBQ in Queenstown, the Dunedin train trip and the long journey to the northern tip of New Zealand were enjoyed by the people who took them. Chris the coach captain/tour director was outstanding and worked really hard to ensure everyone got the most out of the holiday. His knowledge of the country and its history was amazing. We were not always comfortable with the concept of driver and guide being the same person, especially when driving and commentating for example, but that seems to be the system in New Zealand and is unavoidable. We travelled with Singapore Airlines which gave the most direct route via Singapore, with 2 full days there each way. We travelled over the Christmas period, which gave some problems with places being open as well as some issues in hotels as there seemed to be reduced staffing levels at this time. Despite some wet days at the start, the weather was generally good with warm sunshine most days. We saw some lovely places, wonderful countryside and enjoyed the company of like minded people. Altogether a really good holiday.

Service rating : Very well organised, will definitely recommend company
Product : The hotels were mostly fantastic, the places we visited were first rate, with plenty to see and do

Service rating : with one exception generally well organised. Having to travel back up to Auckland from Rotorua should be improved with closer airports available.

Check in time at hotels could be improved if possible particularly when only one night stopover is involved
Product : Apart from the fore mentioned criticisms was generally satisfied with content

Service rating : We would highly recommend Distant Journeys both for their exceptional customer service (seamless booking process, sorting out an error which was entirely our fault and a thoughtful phone call welcoming us back after the holiday) and for an excellent, well thought out itinerary in New Zealand.

We particularly valued the opportunity to do our own thing on freedom days which meant that we were able to follow our own interests. The coach captain in South Island was superb in helping everyone to book activities,, going over and above what we expected. We also enjoyed the freedom to dine where and when we wished rather than, as on some tours, having our meals all together in the hotel. This gave us the flexibility on some days to just grab some delicious salads from supermarket delis when we didn't feel like a large meal.

Our group of 38 were excellent travelling companions and gelled well. It was a pleasure to meet such lovely people.

Some travel days did mean long hours on the road but breaks were well timed and there really isn't any other way to travel and see so much of the country. The ever changing scenery was also mesmerising. We would have liked a little longer in some places, notably Christchurch where we arrived too late in the afternoon on both stops to access places of interest; a longer time in Arrowtown (though I see that future trips spend three nights in Queenstown so the additional day there could afford the possibility of an excursion); and an extra day in Dunedin. We will just have to go back!

We enjoyed both stopovers. Singapore was fascinating and the orientation tour and visit to the orchid garden enjoyable. We made our own arrangements to take a bumboat tour and visit Gardens By the Bay. Hong Kong, in the grip of the coronavirus outbreak was quiet. The half day tour was unexceptional and expensive for what we saw. The obligatory visit to a jewellery workshop is irritating but this is not Distant Journey's fault. It's a standard excursion organised by local agents and at least we were a small group compared with the large cruise ship groups we were constantly trying to beat to the next stop! We had a late check out from the Regal Kowloon hotel which was welcome given the late departure of our homebound flight. There isn't anywhere, other than the bar to spend time. Of all the hotels we stayed in, this was the poorest in that respect.

Overall, this was a super holiday and we're looking forward to our next Distant Journeys trip next year which we've already booked.
Product : Super holiday! Highly recommended.

Service rating : Service was excellent from start to finish. Booking process was quick and easy. each step was completed on time
Product : The holiday was fabulous. Organisation perfect and coach captains excellent, especially on South Island. Lovely group of travelling companions. Highly recommended

Service rating : i only contacted the office twice, once to book and another to clarify something. Excellent, efficient service each time. Thank you
Product : I wanted a holiday of a lifetime and that's exactly what I got. This was in no small part due to the tour manager James, in Australia. Only wish I'd booked the longer tour

Service rating : The organisation was good but I felt that the single supplement was rather expensive & the hotel rooms allocated were not as good as those that were given to sharers.
Product : The tour was good, there was not much included in the way of meals & optional excursions. I paid the single supplement & felt that the hotel rooms allocated were not as good as those given to sharers.

Service rating : Very friendly staff who seemed genuinely pleased to be able to help you.
Product : The holiday was well balanced between seeing the sights and seeing some of the daily life experiences of local people.

Service rating : Such friendly and helpful staff. Excellent brochure convinced us this was the tour we wanted. Really appreciated the follow-up phone call on our return. Have already recommended Distant Journeys.
Product : So many highlights. Loved Kangaroo Island, Uluru and Cairns in particular. Side trip to Katherine Gorge from the Ghan was beautiful. Our guide, James, showed great enthusiasm from day one in Perth to final day in Sydney. Be prepared for early starts but they’re worth it to see so much in a month.

Service rating : Highly recommend this company. Their excellent background knowledge of Australia shines through in experiences, venues and choice of hotels.
Product : Super.The best of Australia all round up in one experience. Great organisation and staff both at the booking stage and the guide that supported us throughout the tour.

Service rating : All staff were very knowledgable and helpful.
Product : Excellent value for money. All hotels were of good standard and good locations. Well planned itinerary with some fantastic experiences included. I started to plan a trip by myself when I saw this advertised. I could not have done it for this price. I would recommend it. We were lucky as it was a smaller group (27 people). I’d be wary of a much larger group.

Service rating : The office were great,nothing too much trouble ,I received emails on flights being late whilst away and the girls sorted it for me.
Product : I enjoyed every minute of the tour( not a holiday) the hotels were of a high standard with good breakfasts to start the day. The tour guides Chris,Robin and Jenny were exceptionally knowledgable,friendly & courteous.
Every day was an adventure......I was lucky to be on a tour with 26 lovely people, thank you folks.
Would definitely recommend and go with them again.

Service rating : All staff I spoke to were very helpful and if they said they would call back, they did and very promptly and efficiently
Product : My wife and I were extremely pleased with the holiday overall. The places we were taken, the accommodation we stayed in and the tour guides/drivers were all first class. I would like to give a special mention to both Chris and Robin, our Coach Captains in NZ who were both excellent. Nothing was to much trouble and they went above and beyond. Specific highlights on the tour which were part of the provided itinery were the Barrier Reef and the Thermal Reserve.
Areas of feedback to improve the experience would be to review the drive from Uluru to Alice Springs. This proved to be a arduous day on the road and very tiring with no real outlook, perhaps this could be a flight as an option. Also the optional Sunset Cruise in Cairns didn't actually leave until after the sun had set and the cruise was in the dark so no real point, although the food was excellent.
We took advantage of the many and varied optional trips and were very happy with all of them. Again thanks to Chris in North Island for getting us booked into the Polynesian Spa despite them saying there was no availability.
Overall a great holiday and thanks to all at Distant Journeys. As they say..'It did exactly what it said on the tin'!!

Service rating : One of the best holidays you can have
Product : The holiday was excellent, but tere is all ways thjng that can be improved

Service rating : Hi ,on a whole we have a fantastic experience but if you won't to dig down to nitty gritty let's do it , long coach trip with air con turned up high with toilet stops 3 or 4 hours apart not easy to keep yourself hydrated then when you are able to get off the cold coach the hot air hits you hard when your a bit older , I think we had 2 lunches on the on the coach ,not very nice just some bits and pieces left over from breakfast, but I do understand that is the best way to get around India, some of the hotels were a little remote so you were unable to leave the hotels and look around on your own , yes you could get a cab/tuk tuk but were are you going to go ? so the hotels have got you were that want you average cost of dinner in the hotels £ 60 to 80 with a glass of wine and a beer and I understand that were good hotels so what do you expect , and the only chance we had to relax were in Delhi on the last day in India but we were unable to use the outside space available because there was an India wedding going on , so on to Dubai barring in mind no extra flights were needed it was very over priced at £1000 I could book the same hotel with return flights and 7 nights for £ 1300 and again the only chance to relax and there was building work going on next to our hotel and I also understand that it was clearly priced before we booked but I will look closely if there is a next time sorry but you did ask Mr b colquhoun
Product : I'm done

Service rating : Excellent
Product : Excellent organisation through out with the exception of porterage
All hotels were of a good standard with one exception the Manta Esplanade Darwin which fell down on the breakfast organisation which was chaotic (ran out of food)
This sounds negative but we enjoyed our holiday very much with a big thank you to all the guides.

Service rating : Always very helpful. Will always answer questions and if they do not know the answer will find out and call you back. An all round first class service.
Unfortunately the same cannot be said of their local agents at Auckland and Dubai
Product : Unfortunately our arrival in New Zealand was a nightmare because from Distant Journeys turned up to meet the group. This lead to some very unhappy and stressed group members which is the last thing we needed after a long flight.

Sadly the same happened in Dubai on the way back no one was at the airport to help us. this was particularly worrying as we had two unaccompanied females who felt very vulnerable in a strange UAE country.

On a positive note the main holiday in New Zealand was very nice made more enjoyable with very experienced coach driver/tour guides. From a health and safety point of view we would have preferred a separate tour guide to allow the driver to 100% concentrate on driving rather than have to juggle with both functions.

Service rating : Distant Journeys UK office staff were friendly & helpful. My only concern was that when I enquired as to whether there was any flexibility in the itinerary (we had previously visited Sydney & would have liked to visit the Gold Coast or Whitsundays instead) I was told it wouldn't be possible. However we subsequently found some of our group did in fact do just that, Brisbane, return to Melbourne & New Zealand being their changes.
Product : An amazing trip, fantastic! Our guide, James, was so knowledgeable, professional, helpful, friendly; nothing was too much trouble.

Service rating : No problems with the UK office very friendly staff
Product : I have written most of my complaint to Distant Journeys and I’m sure there will be others doing the same

Service rating : Excellent from first booking to follow up on return.
The sort of service you would like but rarely get.
Product : The holiday was amazing from start to finish.
The itinerary was excellent and everything ran smoothly from start to finish, and James our guide was a real star.

Service rating : Yes we would use the again
Product : good quality hotels and good meet and greet guides and transport

Service rating : Excellent customer service. Very helpful and knowledgeable.
Product : Excellent trip. Well organised, tour guide very knowledgeable and helpful, went the extra mile, or two.

Service rating : Brilliant thought out itinerary with a tour manager who was friendly efficient and unfailingly helpful
Product : Excellent tour made smooth all the way by the tour manager Ann Aston

Service rating : Good and fast response to any questions. Rang me to ask me if I was ready to go. Very professional team.
Product : Excellent experience.

Service rating : Excellent Service, Wonderful Trip. Would not hesitate to recommend their service.
Product : Trip of a lifetime, everything was wonderful, so much to see and enjoy

Excellent holiday. The tour guide in Singapore and especially Pam in Australia were exceptional. The holiday was very well planned.

Service rating : Timely responses from helpful and knowledgeable staff.
Product : This was a well planned and comprehensive tour of Australia lead by a knowledgeable and sympathetic tour guide.

Phone call before and after holiday to check if all was well.

Service rating : Dealt efficiently with our (late) booking and were able to answer all queries well. Would definitely consider using them again.
Product : Excellent tour rep. Flight arrangements good. All hotels very comfortable and well situated. Good choice of optional tours.

Service rating : Would definitely recommend distant journeys- well organised and fantastic value for money
Product : Good organising and well planned tour . Our tour guide Ann was brilliant and made the trip really special

Service rating : The uk staff were excellent with the booking service and with any queries we had.
Product : Wonderful holiday. Attention to detail was excellent .Good hotels and good balance of included tours and free time.

Service rating : Great customer service from the booking process to the holiday. Nothing too much trouble, kept informed all the way through. Highly recommend Distant Journeys.
Product : Had an amazing holiday, good drivers and a wonderful knowledgable guide.
All hotels were of a high standard, rooms comfortable, food in the hotels was good.
Trips were fantastic, great range which catered for everyone’s taste.

Service rating : From our first booking encounter with your staff, we felt our concerns were taken care of in a reassuring manner. The journey was planned to enable an impression of what Australia has to offer. Our Giudes, in Singapore, Australia and Hong Kong did a very good job of taking care of the group as a whole, whilst we felt anything we needed was catered for too. The hotels were excellent and well placed in each location we visited and the included tours in each location were useful to us. We enjoyed all of the optional visits that we took part in. Our overall view was that it was a most enjoyable tour, which we would recommend to anyone wishing to visit Australia. On that basis we would also consider booking further trips in the future with distant Journey's.
Kind Regards
Josephine and Robert Hodgson
Product : Pleas refer to prevoius review

Service rating : The whole experience was superb from start to finish. Rovos Rail was outstanding -- we were treated like royalty. The Victoria Falls extension rounded the trip off perfectly..
Product : Res ipsa loquitur. The "five stars" says it all.

Service rating : The Distant Journeys team were very helpful from the first phone call, all questions and concerns were dealt with in a very friendly manner.
We both very impressed with their professionalism.
Product : A wonderful experience from start to finish, everything was so well organised and we couldn’t fault any part of the holiday.
Special thanks must go to our tour guide James who went above and beyond the call of duty to ensure we had the best time.
We will never forget our amazing Australian adventure.

Service rating : Booking was easy, always answered telephone personally by very knowledgeable and friendly staff. Have already booked another holiday with them.
Product : Fantastic holiday, exceeded our expectations! Wonderful memories made with our passionate guide Marcos and all shared with a great group of people.
So many different places seen, the wonderful wildlife, and of course the unforgettable luxury of the Rovos Rail..

Service rating : The tour was well planned and the office kept us well informed. They also answered our queries quickly and thoroughly
Product : The tour was comprehensive and showed us highlights at every stop. The guides were knowledgeable and pleasant