Gal Oya Lodge

Hi Lisa,

The safari trip was excellent! The stay, the food and the people were all very nice. We were happy to have Ryan and Stanley as our game drive guides they brought us up close to the animals and Ryan gave very good information throughout.

Would definitely recommend to friends who are interested in safaris :)

Also, thanks much for your help, particularly keeping the room for my Brother and his wife they’ve enjoyed the safari very much too!

Best regards,
Woan Chyi

Woan Chyi L reviewing Cape Town & Kruger Safari on 16 October 2019

Driver-guide: Very punctual, except for pick up for airport when he was delayed by >30 mins due to road closures. Vehicle very clean and well maintained- plenty of water and supplies of clothing for religious sites, tissues, postcards etc. Very good at understanding what level of conversation we wanted. Happy to stop for paracetamol, supermarket etc. Took us to signal box at railway since we were early (which was very interesting)

The Walawwa: Lovely place to arrive at and get a bit of rest. Great pool, lovely rooms and food etc. Peaceful oasis so close to town.

Wilpattu Camp: Wonderful food- really enjoyed trying lots of new things in excellent surroundings.Felt like the place had not been visited much recently (which I don’t think it had due to the terrorist attacks) so our safari guide had been brought up from another park and did not know the park too well- it worked out well though and we saw all the animals we hoped to see so no complaints on that front. We did feel that we should have been told about extra things we could have done- when we commented on the great food on final day we were told that they could have done a cookery demo for us, but it was too late at that point. It worked well for us but clients should probably know that they are likely to have multiple wildlife in their tents (eg frogs)- didn’t bother us at all, but others it might do. We were given a questionnaire to fill in at the end whilst all the staff were standing around, which wasn’t ideal as you felt a bit of pressure! Felt really well looked after here!

Water Gardens Sigiriya: Beautiful suites with plunge pools- quiet and peaceful with lovely big swimming pool. Food good

Jungle Beach: Beautiful location on beach. Rooms good. Food a bit limited I would have liked a bit more variety ideally.

Camellia House: Lovely location- beautiful views. Food OK but service below average- our food orders were wrong a couple of times and even pre-ordered food was delayed. Tea factory tour was only an hour and that was the main reason to be here. It was interesting but quite brief seeing it was the main attraction according to our itinerary. Also, we were taken there in a minibus which didn’t have seatbelts on all seats and was quite smelly- not up to the standard of the usual transportation. Rooms were described as having panoramic views- one did have amazing views but the other one definitely didn’t.

Galle Face: Lovely old hotel- but it did have some problems (leaking ceiling and ‘smuts’ coming out of air conditioning.) Weather very bad (spectacular storms). It was a shame the street food tour couldn’t take place but totally understandable given the weather, however we enjoyed our dinner here and free drinks/canopes!). Good choice at breakfast.

Pippa R reviewing Sri Lanka Highlights - Classic on 30 September 2019

Once again you organised a really good holiday for us.
If there was one criticism it was that there were too many flights. I don’t know whether you could do Bangkok first, Chiang Mai, then fly down South?
Your drivers and Guides - all really good. The variety of transport on the tours in Bangkok and Chiang Mai; we all loved.
Tamarind Village - Our room was a bit of a squeeze, with the 3 of us and 3 big suitcases.
Lisu Lodge- I enjoyed our time here. Going forward I would suggest only 1 night or they need to have some more activities. I liked how we ate on the floor, the food was really good. Staff very friendly. We liked the cycling, tea plantation, trekking and white water rafting.
Riva Surya- good location.
Elephant Hills- we loved looking after the elephants, the lake was also a really good experience. The guides were informative and looked after us well. The resort locations and tents were perfect.
Santiburi - amazing; we upgraded to a beach bungalow which was fantastic. The hotel is in a stunning location, the facilities and the service was impeccable. Sam has some private Thai boxing lessons, which he loved. We had cookery lessons and used the paddle boards. A perfect end to quite a busy holiday.

Natasha L reviewing Thailand Family Adventure on 24 September 2019

We had a fantastic time and all the arrangements worked perfectly.
We were very impressed with the quality and service levels of all 4 locations visited and it was truly a holiday of a lifetime.
Thank you to you and to Lisa for giving us this experience.
Particular highlights for us – really the whole experience, but of particular impact:
Breathtaking scenery at Cathedral Peak Hotel
Rhino Ridge game drives incredible, thanks to guide (we had their head guide, Hala, who’s knowledge, enthusiasm, kindness, interaction, ability to spot wildlife was out of this world)
Luxury of Rhino Ridge (shower, food, views, service)
Immersion in nature, torch lit meal on last night and beach trip at Kosi Forest Lodge
Level of service, quality of food throughout

Catherine F reviewing South Africa Safari, Beach and Wetlands on 04 September 2019

We had a fantastic time. Thank you and it went smoothly in the main except for British Airways!

The trip had the right degree of luxury and relaxation (for me) and adventure (all of us).

A few points:
Driving directions to Umlunghi Lodge were slightly wrong. The driving directions should read at the 4th roundabout take the first exit and turn right over the railway. We loved it there. Anton, Bianca and her son and Harriet were very informative and entertaining. The snake talk and handling, night walks and seeing scorpions and the walk in the bush and "bumping" into a giraffe were really special. The kayak trip to Makuzi pan that the lodge organised was good and Tomaz was very informative and kept a respectful distance from the hippos.3 nights was plenty.

Rhino River Lodge game reserve was incredibly luxurious and we felt very looked after. The lion siting in camp the day we arrived sent an extra frisson of excitement down our spines. It was easy to forget there were predators that could attack us with all that luxury. The staff and guides (Karl) were knowledgeable and invested in their set up. We saw rhinos with baby, cheetahs with young, porcupine, Genet, wildebeast, Impala, Lion with young, buffalo, a puff adder, ostrich, zebra and giraffes. 4 nights was also plenty.
They all served great food but I felt Ghost Mountain Inn topped the lot. The variety was amazing. We arrived at 10.30 but could not get into our room until 2 ish. The service was not so personal I guess because it is larger (far more than 50 rooms). We had been a bit spoilt at Rhino River! My daughter and I had some treatments at the Spa and loved it. We also went on a large boat trip on Jonzi and had a closer encounter with a large bull hippo and also a hike up Ghost Mountain with Patrick who was very informative and passionate about his people and his country. Isaac the other guide there took us on the boat trip and pointed out the sugar cane harvest on the way. he was very informative also.

Lastly, Lalaria Lodge was fabulous and we all piled into the surf of the Indian Ocean. There was hardly anyone on the beach. It was "too cold" according to the landlady. The view from her terrace was of the ocean and whales breaching in the distance. I could have sat there all day. She very kindly provided us with a Scrabble board of her own for us to play. We took a Microlight ride from Ballito over the coastline in the hope of seeing whales and dolphins but no luck. If we had stayed longer we might have gone on a boat trip from Durban. We had a meal at a restaurant called Mozambique which was great fun with vast portions, plenty of carbs and fresh seafood!

The value of the Rand to the Pound was excellent and therefore we felt that we got excellent value which also played a large part!

Katrina P reviewing Value KZN Bush & Beach Safari For Families on 02 September 2019

We had the most incredible time thank you. We loved Karen Blixen camp and felt part of a family there, it was incredibly special. And Breezes was very relaxing.
We can't fault all the transfers and the moment we were greeted on the tarmac at Nairobi airport we knew we were going to be well cared for.

Thank you so much to you and all the Tourdust team for making it such a happy and memorable trip.

Zoe A reviewing Masai Mara Safari & Kenya Beach on 27 August 2019

Hi - now back.
In short it was a great holiday with very very little to fault. Location on Lopud was perfect for family and accommodation was exactly as you said ‘simple’ clean and comfortable hosted by a wonderful friendly local family ...all 1min walk from the front. Great breakfast that was straight from the garden in part and always abundant.
Our guide Nina was excellent always putting our safety first and adapting the itinerary to suit weather. She was a great host with the two families in our group and went out her way to keep us informed and even take photos to share when we were out on the water.
Transport arrangements were spot on - always there waiting at airport or ferry! Slight confusion that it wasn’t a TourDust sign but that was quickly solved.
Kayaking was a great adventure and a challenge some days but worth it for the stops on other islands and opportunities to swim, dive and explore caves. I suspect it could be a long day if your child is too young or not such a ‘water baby’ as once your in the kayak your in it! It is also a hefty bit of exercise on a two person kayak if the child in front isn’t up for paddling! I was fine except on one or two occasions where it was a bit of a struggle and I had to persuade him to do some more paddling for me.
Finally, your service has been great since we got in touch especially as it was a last minute decision for us to go. The speed in responding to queries on a personal basis and quickly was really great (very unusual these days!)
All in all a great holiday - my 11 year old had a great adventure he will talk about for years! So will I....
M. Cameron

murdoch C reviewing Family Sea Kayaking Holiday in Dubrovnik on 08 August 2019

We had a fabulous holiday thank you! Everything went very smoothly - accommodation was good, breakfast fantastic! The kayaking was great - really well thought out schedule with plenty of rests and time to relax. Lovely meals out.

Just wanted to add that our guide Nina was excellent. She worked really hard to ensure the whole trip went smoothly and that we were all happy with the pace, including giving the boys plenty of opportunities for jumping in off the cliffs!!

All in all a great trip! And all the admin side of things has been very efficient throughout.

Thank you so much!!

Kate T

Kate T reviewing Family Sea Kayaking Holiday in Dubrovnik on 05 August 2019

Hi, just back home now as stayed in London last night. It was fab! We loved it! Amazing all round- Thankyou. Best holiday ever!!!

Accommodation great at both places, guides lovely, staff great. We saw more animals than ever expected: giraffes, lion, elephants, water hog, wilder beast, impala, white rhino, crocodiles, hippos in lake Sybia, monkeys in trees at Tonga.

Beach beautiful, but a bit windy, waves v rough but didn’t deter my boys. We snorkeled which was fab but too rough on day we booked to do ocean experience.

My boys swam in all pools!!!

Weather better than we expected!

Must go and do some laundry, but hope that helps?

Best Nicola

Nicola B reviewing Luxury KwaZulu Natal Safari & Beach Holiday on 24 July 2019

Hi Lisa

We had an amazing holiday.

Everything was fantastic.

The transport wa spot on, great drivers, all on time, vans really comfortable and water supplied, a really nice way to travel, and you also get to hear all about the local area. Both companies were excellent.

Virgin - was a brilliant airline, not sure why I haven't used them before, SO much better than BA.

Rhino ridge was amazing from start to finish. We has a great female safari guide, who we got very fond of. The wildlife is more sparse but as its more challenging to find we enjoyed this, the surrounding are spectacular. Our guide had great knowledge of the birds. walking safari was excellent and highly recommend. The rooms were superb, very comfortable.

Thonga beach lodge staff were brilliant, the whole place was amazing, the range of activities excellent and again out guides excellent. The food was wonderful. Again the bird guiding and general guiding was brilliant. We really enjoyed the cultural side of our visit, seeing the local communities and church etc. My only comment on thonga for future guests would be if they can afford it maybe to go for a lodge with a ocean view, our lodge was great , the childrens was quite cramped and low down with a very damp musty smell - not that they noticed it, but I think if people were expecting luxury they might not get what they wanted... saying that it was fantastic for us. The lodge staff were amazing and went out of their way for us.

Oyster box was a phenomenal hotel and quite a shock to be back in the world after Thonga - but really worth the stay - we loved it, they Kindly gave us a room for the next day as we had a late flight.

The whole experience was brilliant and really well organised- thank you. We ALL loved everything!

On reflection:

we loved having transport rather than driving, it meant we could relax , sleep and find out about the country from the driver.

If we changed anything, I might spend a little less time at the beach and maybe take in another safari region also. We were repeatedly recommended the Phinda private game reserve (andBeyond) so maybe we would have spent a couple of nights there, in addition, local guides and the tour people said it would give good variety to the Rhino ridge.

However we were 100% happy with what we did, we really look forward to our next safari !!!

Best wishes

Ali

Alison D reviewing Luxury KwaZulu Natal Safari & Beach Holiday on 23 July 2019

The speed of response, efficiency of the booking process, flexibility/concern and information provided were all excellent. The meet and assist at the airport, punctuality, safety, general knowledge, liaison with customer and the vehicle used was excellent and the knowledge of routes and property locations was very good. Our guide was excellent with interesting knowledge and very good English, we could not have expected any more.

Jetwing Beach - The room was poor and the food Satisfactory. In general the accommodation was good, the service and location were very good and accuracy of profile excellent.
We needed to change rooms due to cockroaches in the bathroom. The staff and management were very helpful but the second room offered also had cockroaches!

Kandy House - The room, food and location were good. In general the accommodation was very good, the service and accuracy of profile was excellent.

Camilla Hills - The room was poor, the food was good. In general the accommodation was excellent with excellent service, location and accuracy of profile.
We were allocated the worst room and had no view. It was very disappointing and ruined our stay. The management we excellent but could not move us to a room with a view.

Cinnamon Wild - The food and service was good. In general the accommodation was very good with very good room and excellent location and accuracy of profile.
The Safari Drives were excellent.

Fort Bazaar - In general the accommodation was very good with very good food and excellent room, service, location and accuracy of profile.
Due to the lack of alcohol served meant we needed to eat outside of the hotel. The lack of a pool needs addressing, otherwise a lovely atmosphere and service.

Interesting and informative visit to Milennium Elephant Foundation.
Visit to Royal Botanical Gardens was a highlight of the tour with an excellent guide.
We were lucky to watch the service at the Temple of the Tooth and advise others to make sure they can do the the same 09:15 or 17:15.
Train journey - we were on the wrong side of the train so the view was limited. Fun journey though. Best part of scenery is after Hatton Station.
Drives on safari were excellent and well organised.
We did not have the tour of the fort as the guide could not accommodate our required timing.
Visit to the Tea Plantations was fascinating but brief.

Samantha S reviewing Cultural Sri Lanka for Families on 25 April 2019

We just got back from our trip and it was wonderful...It's really hard
to adjust back to real life!

We had a great trip and the trek was wonderful. Jatoo, our guide, was an
extraordinary guy, his English was very good, he knew the area very
well, he told us a lot about Thailand and he was a riot over all! I
think he made a big difference to our experience.

I'd rate the overall experience at 4. I think it'd be helpful to be a
little more detailed in the requirement up front, as we thought the trek
was walking around the forest but it was a bit more than that. We
thoroughly enjoyed the challenge, so the last day, the bike ride fell a
little short of expectations, we woke up really early and wished that we
did a bit more at the end. I'd certainly recommend it to my friends and
we'll look at other tours that you arrange in the future.

Anon reviewing Hill Tribe Trekking in Thailand on 11 May 2011

.The trekking experience was great (i.e. day 1 and 2) would rate that a 5, Day 3 was a 4, Day 4 was a 3. Some elements of the trip such as the dancers at Lisu lodge was not really necessary as we prefer to see the Lisu tribe in their village rather than a forced dance in the lodge. Also, the bike trip on day 4 was too short. I think you should look at extending this trip and rearranging some of the other activities.

Having said these, I must point out that we had an excellent tour guide (Jatoo). I would recommend him to all my friends. He was very knowledgeable, and never got tired of our detailed questions.

Overall my main disappointment was that apart from the Lahu Outpost, the "rules" did not allow Jatoo to have dinner with us. I find this very strange at this day and age. This decision should be left to the guide and the visitors, not the owners of the lodges.

Hope these comments help. We had a wonderful time and saw the best part of Thailand.
Thanks for your help.

Anon reviewing Hill Tribe Trekking in Thailand on 11 May 2011