Audley, Kuoni or Trailfinders?

[Namechangforthisone]

Have you used them? Were they good? Did you get the holiday of your dreams?

I usually book our holidays online, but next year we are considering a ‘big’ holiday in Asia. There will be lots of internal flights and specialist trips. I could book the trip myself, but because we’ve never done this type of holiday before, I’m considering booking through a specialist travel company. I’ve had my first telephone consultation with Audley and have a meeting with Kuoni and Trailfinders next week. Kuoni have come out best in a recent survey, but they don’t have any prices on their website, so I’ve no idea if they are in the running anyway.
Thoughts?

If you do decide to DIY - use this website for internal travel rough costs
https://12go.asia/en

I agree. I used Trailfinders 18 years ago, and they were great. Everything was broken down, and they used to show the hotel price per night in their brochure.

Went in a couple of weeks ago to price up a two week trip to Japan for me and my daughter. Was quoted £10k and I said that was more than I had budgeted. They vaguely said we could get the price down if we swapped a couple of hotels. Honestly, just break it down for me. If some of the hotels I've picked are £400 a night, then I know where I've gone wrong budget wise. I walked away and I don't think I'd use them again. I'm following this thread now and thinking DIY.

Totally agree. And your second para was similar to our experience. This was back in 2015.
If they are only going to give you a bottom line figure you just cannot decide what to spend your money on. It was long haul, I wanted a rough idea of premium economy and even business class flights, it was like getting blood out of a stone! There was no way to compare and contrast, it was very take it or leave it. This is the figure. I like to have a couple of cheaper nights somewhere then splash out elsewhere but that didn't fit what they wanted to do with us!

I always use Kuoni, I get a 7% discount with work, they’re great.

We looked at Trailfinders for a multi-island and city holiday (Hawaii and California).
I found them not great, lots of standard suggestions I could have find on Booking.com, we weren‘t impressed with their hotel lists, no guaranteed room connections we required, all was „if possible“.

I wanted someone to do the leg work for me after an exhausting year where I didn‘t want to organise everything and was prepared to throw money at it.

I also didn‘t like that the first person I spoke to had to turn us over to a different department when we asked for business class flights. The new department was so uninterested to listen to what we looked for.

Interesting @Roussette @RainbowZebraWarrior I’ve never used this type of company before, so I didn’t know what the procedure was. I basically told them what seat class I wanted, what countries I wanted to visit, duration (ish) and budget. I think they’ve ignored my lower budget and have gone with the top one 😀. I’ll let you know how I get on with the others

The trouble is with me is... I don't mind someone doing it when it's a special holiday but details mean a lot to me, I am a bit pedantic on knowing all the ins and outs!

We used Kuoni for a family holiday in Thailand. We had a good time but Kuoni made multiple mistakes which we picked up on, basic stuff like not sitting together in business class and having our teens (one male and one female) share a double bed despite us saying they needed separate rooms. We had three different people deal with our holiday. When we arrived in Thailand the teens had been allocated a tiny villa with two single beds very very close together. It really wasn’t ideal, they got on with it but it was awkward and not dream holiday material for them. Ultimately I wouldn’t use Kuoni again and couldn’t recommend them.

We went with Travelbag due to price (over £2k cheaper than Kuoni) and the agent was super helpful and very in formative, gave great tips and suggestions for the trip, we made multiple tweaks to the itinerary/car/changing hotels and she was great with it all.

@Namechangforthisone We have used Audley for 25 years and we use Wildlife Worldwide for Wildlife holidays.

I think there are easy diy holidays! Anywhere in the USA or Canada is pretty easy to set up yourself. We have travelled to South America and Japan plus lots of other places where we didn’t fancy DIY. I don’t actually sit down and compare prices but I know the price of hotels! It’s very easy to check them out so anyone must realise a Ritz Carlton is more than a basic travel motel or a guest house! So do some homework. Also look at reviews. We have booked our own accommodation at times so our holidays are bespoke. I’m good at finding great places but sometimes choice is quite limited.

We have often used companion flights and Audley book us the holiday. We have lots of conversations with reps and have changed itineraries, taken out activities and added ones in. For example I wanted the Maiko/Gaiko twice yearly theatre in Kyoto so Audley got us tickets. We have just taken out whale watching in East Canada later in the year - we will book it ourselves based on weather and sightings. I’ve found everyone helpful. Always. I’m lucky enough not to worry too much about cost but I do like everything to go smoothly and I want a bespoke holiday. A holiday shop assistant just cannot do this. They don’t know about shows in Kyoto!

As for wild life viewing. I cannot remember when I last viewed wildlife from a window seat! Back in the 80s I think! This is where you spend money! Open top land cruisers with no windows at small camps. They cost a lot! You have to understand what you are comparing to understand value. You also need someone who understands safaris. We are off to Botswana in July and we are flying between camps. Again, it costs way more than a road trip with a window seat.

We have done many internal flights in South America. Quite frankly: they cost what they cost. You need transport to and from airports which often hotels provide, and we have booked sightseeing trips ourselves, eg Mendoza wineries and photo tours in the Andes. We let Audley book our day at the Great Wall of China and many other excursions. It just depends on where we are and what works better for us. I’ve not used Kuoni for 40 years - since the days of window seats! For wildlife holidays we use specialists and wildlife Worldwide are brilliant at advice and knowledge in depth. so always compare quality of advice and knowledge. Not just price.

Wow @TizerorFizz can I come on holiday with you? Your holidays sound fantastic! You’re not my neighbour are you? They are always away on exotic holidays 😀. I’d ask their advice but they are on holiday again…

I'm another Travelbag person. One of my party had mobility issues and I've always found them great at ensuring the whole trip is accessible. Very good at suggesting alternatives and ways to make more effective use of time/money.
They always seem as excited as us about the trip.

the advantage of using trailfinders to book the whole trip is that it's then treated as a 'package'.

We've used them several times and they are a little more pricey but they are still handling a holiday which should have happened during Covid. They also came up with ideas which we hadn't thought of.

This is a fantastic site. Thanks

We have used Audley and Kuoni in Asia and have been very impressed with both.
More recently we did a holiday with Intrepid Tours and they were excellent. They really pack a lot in and they offer a few different levels of activity, from cycling, hiking and trekking through to gentle walks, trains and boats. We like to plan our own itineraries, mostly, but if we are going somewhere for the first time and don't speak the language, we do an organised holiday.

We tend to use tour operators that specialise in a particular country or area.
They will naturally know more about the destination than generalist operators, & can tailor a package to our requirements.

@Namechangforthisone I don’t think so! I’m sitting in wet and windy uk!

I think you must evaluate what you want to see and do and how quickly you do it. If you have a bespoke package it’s still a package holiday as defined by a ABTA. So you can pick and mix hotels, guest houses, transportation and activities. We don’t pack loads in because we actually want to see where we are. Culture, nature, theatre, architecture - whatever. Lots of companies will do this but some are more rigid in their approach to hotels because their agents are not flexible. We always research carefully first (me, not DH) and we work with the Audley rep to put the trip together. We’ve been happy so far. We’ve also used Steppes a couple of times and Ultimate for Ecuador / Galapagos. Antarctic - a dedicated Antarctic specialist. For wildlife a wildlife specialist is vital for knowing seasons, animal migrations and best lodges/camps for your needs.

Thanks. @TizerorFizz I hadn’t even thought about the best season to view animals. I’ve just been looking at the rain forecast!
I think for this trip we will use a specialist company. It’s an awful lot of money and I want to get the best experience and not worry about things.
I love planning holidays. It’s what I do during the long dark winter nights. As a pp has said, if it was in the USA/ Canada or Europe, it would be a no-brainer, but this is different.
Let’s see what the other companies come up with, although I do have a good feeling with Audley.

@Namechangforthisone Ws have been to the rainforest in Ecuador (April) and Peru (August). Both were fantastic! I’m not sure about rainforest seasons in Asia but you need lodges open and ability to get to them. Plus not heavy continuous rain! Which country are you thinking of?

We used Trailfinders to do Asia, our first big holiday and they were excellent from start to finish. The whole itinerary was on a day by day, easy to follow app with pick up times and contact numbers for any problems (we encountered none) Everything we needed. Would definitely use them again.

We are looking at Thailand, Singapore, Borneo

I know three sets of people who have used Audley and had really good experiences.

@Namechangforthisone The drier season in Borneo is northern hemisphere summer. So less rain but of course it can still rain! If you go to a rainforest lodge, make sure they have good guides and you have a variety of activities and opportunities to see wildlife. I know the Borneo Rainforest lodge is recommended highly - it’s in the Danum Valley.

Hi, does anyone have a travelbag refer a friend code I could use please?
Thanks

Audley were fab to deal with when we had to cancel our trip to Oz at v start of Covid . Oz was still open technically. Full refund no quibble