Highlights
- Upmarket beach hotel
- Direct beach access
- Night time wildlife treks, waterfall hikes
- Water sports & yoga
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The Arenas del Mar Beach & Nature Resort is located within walking distance of the hugely popular Manuel Antonio National Park on Costa Rica’s central pacific coast and is, quite simply, the most luxurious offering in the area. What sets this high-end property apart from the many other hotels in the immediate area is that it’s set within its very own private nature reserve and provides direct access to the beach. Staff are friendly and attentive and there’s an extensive choice of activities plus some superb facilities including a clifftop pool from which to soak up the sunsets, a second swimming pool also in scenic surroundings, a spa, a gift shop and two restaurants offering rich, sumptuous meals made with locally sourced, organic ingredients. The resort not only boasts a unique and breath-taking ‘rainforest meets beach’ location, but also successfully combines ecotourism with adventure, comfort and relaxation.
There are 38 chic and elegant rooms and suites, all with a classy yet homely feel. Rooms have wonderful views of either the Pacific Ocean or the reserve’s lush rainforest; all ocean-view rooms come with their own private covered balcony. Amenities common to all rooms include a ‘Tico Bar’ stocked with local snacks and drinks, ceiling fans and air conditioning, tea and coffee making facilities, a flat-screen TV with cable channels and complimentary toiletries. There’s direct beach access from all seven accommodation buildings, a feature unique in the area to Arenas del Mar.
There’s a broad range of activities and experiences in the area, some focussed on animals and nature, others more about wellbeing, mindfulness and relaxation. Popular pursuits include learning about local wildlife during waterfall hikes, bird watching trails and night time animal spotting treks. There are also river rafting expeditions, snorkelling sessions, kayaking adventures through the mangroves, surfing lessons, yoga classes, beach exercises, tortilla-making classes and more. Some activities are somewhat physically challenging, while others are a lot more chilled out so there really is something for everyone.
The private nature reserve covers an area of 11 acres and has a number of trails running through it which provide the chance to spot some of the native wildlife such as sloths, exotic birds, iguanas and monkeys. For relaxing back at base between activities there are some great on-site facilities including the aforementioned spa and two superbly positioned swimming pools.
The hotel is family friendly and welcomes children of all ages. Many of the on-site facilities and activities are suitable for younger ones and can be enjoyed by everyone in the family. The hotel’s restaurants also offer special children’s menus.
Hi Lisa
We have put together some feedback from our lovely holiday, and do let us know if there is anything particular you would like feedback on that we have missed. I hope that you will be able to feel what a great time we had from this. We have just worked through the holiday in chronological order as it is easiest to think what we did then!
Ouirgane
Ouirgane Ecolodge - lovely place to stay, a real oasis. The food was good and enormous portions, we came nowhere close to finishing them. Mohammed also had found out what we would be eating at lunchtime with the Berber family and ensured that we had a different menu in the evening which was very thoughtful. Loved the pool, especially as it was so hot. Also appreciated having filtered water available so that we did not have to buy huge amounts of plastic water bottles.
Mohammed was very helpful and quickly was able to sort out a car to take Jessica and Alan to the lunch stop on the day one village trek which made a real difference as otherwise they would have had to miss out on the whole day.
Our guide for the trek, Hussein, was good company. He had good English and was able to chat about all sorts of subjects but was also knowledgeable about the local Berber communities and taught us a few words. Lunch with the Berber family was enjoyable.Imlil
Dar Adrar - loved the trip up with the mule! Great location. Quite simple but had everything we needed. Again we liked having filtered water available. Hamid was very helpful and always available to answer our questions, fill up water bottles, make a mint tea upon request. Food good and a vegetarian option was always provided for Emily, portion size more reasonable!
Day trek - with the same guide Hussein as for Ouirgane. Alan, Daniel and Emily went on this as Jessica was not up to a day walk. They had a good time but ideally would have preferred it to be a bit more challenging. However, this was part of the trip that had to be rearranged at the last minute and worked well as part of that. Also, the cook for lunch was deemed to have produced the best food of the trip so far - meatball tagine - and they enjoyed being able to watch him prepare the meal, which was the only time this was possible. It was amazing what he was able to produce with one burner and a tiny knife!
Mountain biking trip was fabulous. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. Girls loved the e-bikes, both these and the mountain bikes were of very good quality which we were impressed by. It was very tough ascent for the three of us on mountain bikes but a great descent. I can’t decide if I would opt for an e-bike or not if we went back as I did have a great sense of achievement at the end of the day but I was exhausted! Our guide (Rashid?) needed to repair Daniels chain which broke and he was able to do this really quickly which was great. Jessica came off her bike and we had to patch her up with some plasters, it was not clear whether our guide carried a first aid kit. We had our own so it was fine but if they don’t carry one it could be worth suggesting that clients carry one themselves. The lunch stop was another good one with a great view over the valley and good food and plenty of water which was required after such a challenging morning!Sidi Kaouki
Riad Sila, Rebali Riads - fabulous villa, fantastic pool. Fatima and Mohammed looked after us very well. The only thing I would suggest is having a filtered water tap available as we did have to buy a lot of water bottles. We ate 3 evenings at the villa and food was good, although sometimes not quite what we were expecting. The Moroccan salad we had as a starter was amazingly delicious. Breakfasts were lovely.
We did a lot of the activities on offer:
Surfing - 2 hour lesson. Three people did this and had a great time. Thoroughly recommended
Cooking lesson with Hayadt and Attila in Essaouira - they didn’t speak much English but our French was sufficient and they were really friendly and chatty. We loved being taken around the souks and buying ingredients. They showed us how to make couscous as we expressed an interest and this was great. Alan was pleased to find someone who took the time to show him exactly how to prepare the mint tea we had been enjoying everywhere! Enjoyed making the tagine but actually it was the other bits that really made the trip.
Quad biking - 1 hour trip down the beach. Was fabulous! Great fun.
Sea had big waves and was great fun for swimming.
Sad to leave!Marrakech
Riad Dar Hanane - lovely place to stay. Getting there behind the handcart was an experience in itself and we did indeed get lost the first time we went out! Mohammed gave us a little introductory talk over the obligatory mint tea when we arrived at the riad with a simple map and rough outline of where to go and how to find our way back which was very useful. The rooms were fabulous particularly the grand suite room with the mezzanine which the kids had and which was plenty big enough for the three of them to share and not be on top of each other. Breakfasts were delicious, we enjoyed using the pool to cool off in the afternoon and the roof terrace was a great place to relax at the end of the evening.
Half day tour - our guide Mohammed was very friendly with superb English. It was an interesting and enjoyable morning and a good introduction to Marrakech. We really enjoyed being able to see various artisans at work, as well as the guy stoking the hammam fires and being able go into the bakery to see the loaves cooking in the oven. These were things that we couldn’t have done on our own. The lunch at the King’s Tangia restaurant was brilliant, the meat was absolutely delicious and it was different to anything else we had had whilst in Morocco which was a welcome surprise. We had a great morning and are very pleased we did it, but whether it was value for money we can’t quite decide as it was a very expensive option, so any recommendation to friends would come with this caveat.Transfers
All transfers worked well with drivers where they were supposed to be at the right time and we were kept informed of timings etc by the relevant hotel person the night before leaving. Mohammed who met us at the airport on arrival and who did our transfer from Ouirgane to Imlil and then the coast to Marrakech was excellent. Mustafa, who was our driver from Imlil to the coast, was safe and courteous but he drove so slowly that the transfer took over an hour longer than it should have and it was starting to get a bit irritating by the end.I seem to have written quite a bit. Not sure if this is the sort of feedback you are after! We had a fantastic holiday and have been, and will be, talking about it in glowing terms to friends. Morocco is a very interesting and friendly place to visit and has whetted the appetites of the kids to be a bit more adventurous with travel.
Thank you so much for all your help with the arrangements and rearrangements. Our holiday in Morocco was everything we hoped it would be! We have already recommended you to others and will continue to do so.
Many thanks
Jacky
Jacky W
reviewing Toubkal & Valleys Trek
on 31 August 2022
Hi Lisa
We had an absolutely fantastic time, thank you! My comments here contain just very minor things which could have improved it - please don’t take it as any criticism of the holiday which we absolutely loved, but small tweaks which could have improved it even further!
Cape Town
Arrival and transfer were superb - lovely to be met straight off the plane and smoothly transferred straight to the waterfront.
You should note that Lawhill no longer has a dedicated reception - this caused a couple of issues getting into the accommodation and meeting our guide. Just worth letting people know as nothing which wasn’t overcome with a couple of calls to the complex reception.
The accommodation itself was ideal for us - spacious, clean and a great base to relax and go out to dinner.
Our guide from AWOL, Bevan, was first class - really friendly knowledgeable and great with the kids. 10/10!
The tours were a perfect balance for us of interesting stuff for adults and children
If I could change anything from our holiday, I’d have had an extra day at leisure in Cape Town, so much to do in the city itself.
Also worth noting the cable car to Table Mountain seems to be closed during August - just worth noting in advance as we had planned to do that. The aquarium was a good second best though which the kids probably enjoyed more!
Departure was a pain - our car didn’t turn up at 4.00 as per the schedule which was a pain, particularly that early in the morning. On contacting them, they said it has been booked at 4.45 - an extra 45 mins sleep would have been good - just worth double checking those in future.
Madikwe
Transfer to Madikwe was superb again and really easy
Accommodation was good - I guess this might be because we originally booked a couple of years ago, but the bed for the kids was a bit small for a 9 and 11 year old. Our bed was so big however that Chloe just bunked down with us so no problem at all. Food and service was first class.
Our safari guide, Pride, was amazing. I’d recommend a private safari to anyone - we were able to be flexible with times and destinations (for example on one day he picked us up a couple of hours early to we could drive much further into the reserve which was rewarded with some cheetahs, another day we went on an all-dayer rather than morning and evening) - mixing things up to see more made a great experience even better.
Transfer back to Johannesburg was just as easy
Johannesburg hotel was ok - nothing special but for a transfer hotel it did what we needed!Mauritius
Transfer to and from the resort was seamless
The resort is lovely - food, accommodation and facilities all great. After such a busy start to the holiday we didn’t really take full advantage of all the water sports but anything we did do was really easy and great fun. Would definitely recommend it to others!
For a family like ours the drinks package wouldn’t have been good value so pleased we just went full board (having a few drinks during the day and a bottle of wine with dinner our bill came to about £450)
Just to note a specific plus from the resort: I has some issues with my banking whilst away - the resort waived the fees on my phone call back to the UK to sort it out. Little things like that really make a great impression and reflect so well on the management.Thank you again for all your work helping us get there in such difficult times. Great memories of a superb holiday for all the family!
Best wishes
Matt
Matt W
reviewing South Africa Madikwe Safari and Mauritius
on 31 August 2022
Hi
Well overall it was an amazing trip and we really appreciated the guidance on places to go. On the ground, Victor was very helpful and we liked the mix of places.
The two stand out places and accommodations were Arenal Observatory Lodge and El Remanso - the latter being perfect in so many ways. The day trip to Cocovardo National Park was outstanding.
We enjoyed Tortuguero too - basic accommodation but excellent location and the guide there was outstanding.
Monte Verde was ok - average food, average place to stay.
With hindsight we’d skip Uvita altogether and go to Drakes Bay where snorkelling seems more accessible.Overall an excellent holiday, which went very smoothly and a good mix of things to do.
Thank you.
Francesca
Francesca L
reviewing Costa Rica Wildlife Holiday
on 30 August 2022
Hi Lisa
We have put together some feedback from our lovely holiday, and do let us know if there is anything particular you would like feedback on that we have missed. I hope that you will be able to feel what a great time we had from this. We have just worked through the holiday in chronological order as it is easiest to think what we did then!
Ouirgane
Ouirgane Ecolodge - lovely place to stay, a real oasis. The food was good and enormous portions, we came nowhere close to finishing them. Mohammed also had found out what we would be eating at lunchtime with the Berber family and ensured that we had a different menu in the evening which was very thoughtful. Loved the pool, especially as it was so hot. Also appreciated having filtered water available so that we did not have to buy huge amounts of plastic water bottles.
Mohammed was very helpful and quickly was able to sort out a car to take Jessica and Alan to the lunch stop on the day one village trek which made a real difference as otherwise they would have had to miss out on the whole day.
Our guide for the trek, Hussein, was good company. He had good English and was able to chat about all sorts of subjects but was also knowledgeable about the local Berber communities and taught us a few words. Lunch with the Berber family was enjoyable.Imlil
Dar Adrar - loved the trip up with the mule! Great location. Quite simple but had everything we needed. Again we liked having filtered water available. Hamid was very helpful and always available to answer our questions, fill up water bottles, make a mint tea upon request. Food good and a vegetarian option was always provided for Emily, portion size more reasonable!
Day trek - with the same guide Hussein as for Ouirgane. Alan, Daniel and Emily went on this as Jessica was not up to a day walk. They had a good time but ideally would have preferred it to be a bit more challenging. However, this was part of the trip that had to be rearranged at the last minute and worked well as part of that. Also, the cook for lunch was deemed to have produced the best food of the trip so far - meatball tagine - and they enjoyed being able to watch him prepare the meal, which was the only time this was possible. It was amazing what he was able to produce with one burner and a tiny knife!
Mountain biking trip was fabulous. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. Girls loved the e-bikes, both these and the mountain bikes were of very good quality which we were impressed by. It was very tough ascent for the three of us on mountain bikes but a great descent. I can’t decide if I would opt for an e-bike or not if we went back as I did have a great sense of achievement at the end of the day but I was exhausted! Our guide (Rashid?) needed to repair Daniels chain which broke and he was able to do this really quickly which was great. Jessica came off her bike and we had to patch her up with some plasters, it was not clear whether our guide carried a first aid kit. We had our own so it was fine but if they don’t carry one it could be worth suggesting that clients carry one themselves. The lunch stop was another good one with a great view over the valley and good food and plenty of water which was required after such a challenging morning!Sidi Kaouki
Riad Sila, Rebali Riads - fabulous villa, fantastic pool. Fatima and Mohammed looked after us very well. The only thing I would suggest is having a filtered water tap available as we did have to buy a lot of water bottles. We ate 3 evenings at the villa and food was good, although sometimes not quite what we were expecting. The Moroccan salad we had as a starter was amazingly delicious. Breakfasts were lovely.
We did a lot of the activities on offer:
Surfing - 2 hour lesson. Three people did this and had a great time. Thoroughly recommended
Cooking lesson with Hayadt and Attila in Essaouira - they didn’t speak much English but our French was sufficient and they were really friendly and chatty. We loved being taken around the souks and buying ingredients. They showed us how to make couscous as we expressed an interest and this was great. Alan was pleased to find someone who took the time to show him exactly how to prepare the mint tea we had been enjoying everywhere! Enjoyed making the tagine but actually it was the other bits that really made the trip.
Quad biking - 1 hour trip down the beach. Was fabulous! Great fun.
Sea had big waves and was great fun for swimming.
Sad to leave!Marrakech
Riad Dar Hanane - lovely place to stay. Getting there behind the handcart was an experience in itself and we did indeed get lost the first time we went out! Mohammed gave us a little introductory talk over the obligatory mint tea when we arrived at the riad with a simple map and rough outline of where to go and how to find our way back which was very useful. The rooms were fabulous particularly the grand suite room with the mezzanine which the kids had and which was plenty big enough for the three of them to share and not be on top of each other. Breakfasts were delicious, we enjoyed using the pool to cool off in the afternoon and the roof terrace was a great place to relax at the end of the evening.
Half day tour - our guide Mohammed was very friendly with superb English. It was an interesting and enjoyable morning and a good introduction to Marrakech. We really enjoyed being able to see various artisans at work, as well as the guy stoking the hammam fires and being able go into the bakery to see the loaves cooking in the oven. These were things that we couldn’t have done on our own. The lunch at the King’s Tangia restaurant was brilliant, the meat was absolutely delicious and it was different to anything else we had had whilst in Morocco which was a welcome surprise. We had a great morning and are very pleased we did it, but whether it was value for money we can’t quite decide as it was a very expensive option, so any recommendation to friends would come with this caveat.Transfers
All transfers worked well with drivers where they were supposed to be at the right time and we were kept informed of timings etc by the relevant hotel person the night before leaving. Mohammed who met us at the airport on arrival and who did our transfer from Ouirgane to Imlil and then the coast to Marrakech was excellent. Mustafa, who was our driver from Imlil to the coast, was safe and courteous but he drove so slowly that the transfer took over an hour longer than it should have and it was starting to get a bit irritating by the end.I seem to have written quite a bit. Not sure if this is the sort of feedback you are after! We had a fantastic holiday and have been, and will be, talking about it in glowing terms to friends. Morocco is a very interesting and friendly place to visit and has whetted the appetites of the kids to be a bit more adventurous with travel.
Thank you so much for all your help with the arrangements and rearrangements. Our holiday in Morocco was everything we hoped it would be! We have already recommended you to others and will continue to do so.
Many thanks
Jacky
Jacky W
reviewing Toubkal & Valleys Trek
on 31 August 2022
Hi Lisa
We had an absolutely fantastic time, thank you! My comments here contain just very minor things which could have improved it - please don’t take it as any criticism of the holiday which we absolutely loved, but small tweaks which could have improved it even further!
Cape Town
Arrival and transfer were superb - lovely to be met straight off the plane and smoothly transferred straight to the waterfront.
You should note that Lawhill no longer has a dedicated reception - this caused a couple of issues getting into the accommodation and meeting our guide. Just worth letting people know as nothing which wasn’t overcome with a couple of calls to the complex reception.
The accommodation itself was ideal for us - spacious, clean and a great base to relax and go out to dinner.
Our guide from AWOL, Bevan, was first class - really friendly knowledgeable and great with the kids. 10/10!
The tours were a perfect balance for us of interesting stuff for adults and children
If I could change anything from our holiday, I’d have had an extra day at leisure in Cape Town, so much to do in the city itself.
Also worth noting the cable car to Table Mountain seems to be closed during August - just worth noting in advance as we had planned to do that. The aquarium was a good second best though which the kids probably enjoyed more!
Departure was a pain - our car didn’t turn up at 4.00 as per the schedule which was a pain, particularly that early in the morning. On contacting them, they said it has been booked at 4.45 - an extra 45 mins sleep would have been good - just worth double checking those in future.
Madikwe
Transfer to Madikwe was superb again and really easy
Accommodation was good - I guess this might be because we originally booked a couple of years ago, but the bed for the kids was a bit small for a 9 and 11 year old. Our bed was so big however that Chloe just bunked down with us so no problem at all. Food and service was first class.
Our safari guide, Pride, was amazing. I’d recommend a private safari to anyone - we were able to be flexible with times and destinations (for example on one day he picked us up a couple of hours early to we could drive much further into the reserve which was rewarded with some cheetahs, another day we went on an all-dayer rather than morning and evening) - mixing things up to see more made a great experience even better.
Transfer back to Johannesburg was just as easy
Johannesburg hotel was ok - nothing special but for a transfer hotel it did what we needed!Mauritius
Transfer to and from the resort was seamless
The resort is lovely - food, accommodation and facilities all great. After such a busy start to the holiday we didn’t really take full advantage of all the water sports but anything we did do was really easy and great fun. Would definitely recommend it to others!
For a family like ours the drinks package wouldn’t have been good value so pleased we just went full board (having a few drinks during the day and a bottle of wine with dinner our bill came to about £450)
Just to note a specific plus from the resort: I has some issues with my banking whilst away - the resort waived the fees on my phone call back to the UK to sort it out. Little things like that really make a great impression and reflect so well on the management.Thank you again for all your work helping us get there in such difficult times. Great memories of a superb holiday for all the family!
Best wishes
Matt
Matt W
reviewing South Africa Madikwe Safari and Mauritius
on 31 August 2022
Hi
Well overall it was an amazing trip and we really appreciated the guidance on places to go. On the ground, Victor was very helpful and we liked the mix of places.
The two stand out places and accommodations were Arenal Observatory Lodge and El Remanso - the latter being perfect in so many ways. The day trip to Cocovardo National Park was outstanding.
We enjoyed Tortuguero too - basic accommodation but excellent location and the guide there was outstanding.
Monte Verde was ok - average food, average place to stay.
With hindsight we’d skip Uvita altogether and go to Drakes Bay where snorkelling seems more accessible.Overall an excellent holiday, which went very smoothly and a good mix of things to do.
Thank you.
Francesca
Francesca L
reviewing Costa Rica Wildlife Holiday
on 30 August 2022
Hi Lisa
I don’t know if you collect feedback but thought it might be useful for you! Happy for you to use any of my comments in testimonials etc.
We had an utterly amazing holiday and firstly I want to thank you for your patience during what was a very frustrating process for all of us / my procrastination, then covid, date changes, flight cancellations / I can’t quite believe we got there in the end and the trip lived up to all our expectations. Our itinerary felt pretty much perfect so thank you for all the advice and steering in the right direction.
Thank you also for your flexibility in terms of allowing us to book certain aspects of our trip independently (Cape Town) and then adding flights at a later date. The flexibility to do this and change dates etc was brilliant.
Originally we intended to self drive, mainly to save cost and then I got nervous about it and we had transfers for the whole trip. Once we were there I was aware that pretty much everyone one was self driving and that the N2 route was actually quite straightforward. In retrospect we could have done self drive however my husband and I both agreed that for us the transfer option was probably best. Although a straightforward route, the N2 is quite a hairy road with lots of trucks and there was a definite etiquette for driving and overtaking. Our son is quite anxious and I think he would have found the driving stressful and so we feel we made the right choice.
It obviously meant that we were not able to do any self drive safari but this did not matter, I would not have wanted to the advantages of being taken with someone who can spot things we would never have seen, imparting huge amounts of knowledge and having the right vehicles for going off road were worth every penny.
St Lucia, this was a great place to start our safari, we did a night drive (highly recommend), a day safari up to Cape Vidal and also a boat trip on the estuary. Would recommend all of it. Our accommodation at Lidiko Lodge was comfortable and they do a lovely breakfast on a gorgeous terrace. The rooms are quite dark and although there was nothing wrong with it, it was probably our least favourite accommodation on our trip.
Ghost Mountain Inn, we arrived here after 4 full on days in Cape Town and then 2 days in St Lucia so were ready for a bit of a rest and it really was lovely. We had lovely rooms, enjoyed the pool, food and did a fantastic trip to visit the local Zulu village and then a morning game drive into Mkhuze park (they have hides here and it was wonderful to watch the animals come to the waterhole to drink) it felt slightly more intimate than watching them from a vehicle.
Rhino River Lodge, undoubtedly the highlight of the trip. It was a wonderful experience from start to finish. The food was lovely, the level of service was amazing (little touches like hot water bottles on your seat at dinner and hot flannels and an aperitif handed to us as we returned from our evening game drive. It was 3/4 star rather than 5 star and the rooms were quite rustic (very comfy beds) but we really liked that (not 5 star people) and felt very comfortable with the children who were made very welcome and there were food options to suit them (although mostly they ate the adult food but nice to have an alternative, simpler option). The ONLY downside is that you can hear the N2 from the lodge and initially it bothered me a bit but actually it was such a fabulous place it didn’t really matter in the end but maybe something to flag to other clients.
Fairlight Beach House – I’m glad we only had 1 night here as actually the weather at this point was not great but it was a great place to gather ourselves before the flight home (I would NOT have wanted to go straight from Rhino River to the airport to fly home). Lovely, super comfortable place to stay and we spent the morning watching dolphins and whales breaching less than 100m from the shore line.
My only regret is that we didn’t make it to Drakensburg Mountains (Rorkes or Fugitives Drift). If I was planning the trip again I probably would just do 2 nights (instead of 3) at Ghost Mountain and add one extra day to give another 2 nights to get to the mountains.
Thank you Lisa and I really hope that we will have the opportunity to do another 'Big Trip' at some point soon and book through you!
Josine
Josine B
reviewing Value KZN Bush & Beach Safari For Families
on 30 August 2022
Hi Lisa,
The trip was great. Thank you!
Summary of key points below. If there is anything else that would be helpful to know please do get in touch again.
Dubai part 1
Airport transfers all ok.
Palace Downtown - really lovely hotel. Very central location. Tastefully decorated. Great pool etc. Direct access to amenities eg mall/fountains etc. We ate lunch there by the pool and the food quality was very good, but we went elsewhere for dinner.South Africa
Transfer by Ilios from airport to hotel - really Excellent
Oyster Box - best service I have ever had in a hotel, excellent, food great, rooms great, location great, but only so much to do.
Transfer by Ilios from hotel to Safari - really Excellent
Amakhosi Lodge - excellent. Facilities excellent. Food all fantastic. Very helpful staff. The house we stayed in was really lovely. Spacious, own splash pool, amazing views etc
Safari guides and trackers - excellent - lovely people, could not have done more to be friendly and helpful. Our boys got a sickness bug for 24 hours and they were as helpful as possible about that and so kind and caring
Really hardworking staff - made sure we saw all the key animals. Safari was suitable for children and adults. As we had the house you automatically get your own private Safari vehicle with that which was nice to have.Transfer by Ilios from Safari to hotel - really excellent.
Oyster Box second time - again - best service I have ever had in a hotel, excellent, food great, rooms great, location great. However I would say that 3 days was probably slightly too much - I think 2 days would be a more suitable amount as beyond the hotel there's not loads to do very locally and although there is lots of security in the town everywhere which is great you do feel a little conscious with guns etc around. Maybe if you had a younger family 3 days would work if by the pool the whole time. But that aside I cannot fault the excellent hotel.
Transfer oyster box to airport - really excellent
Transfer Dubai to Sofitel Downtown - not great. The driver was late so I had to ask an agent from TUI if he had seen him and he ended up calling him for me. Once he found us he didn't really apologise and was very rushed/driving fast etc so ok but not great.
Sofitel Downtown - a good hotel but I would say had a bit more of a corporate feel - so I preferred the Palace one. Breakfast was very good - lots of choice and the staff were all helpful. The pool area was very good. We didn't eat dinner here. It's location was a little further from the mall so not quite as convenient - you could walk along a tunnel for 10/15 mins to get there but we used a taxi.
Emirates flights - all went well. Good flights. Good staff. Airports all ran smoothly in Dubai and South Africa. Only airport that ran less well was Heathrow! Baggage took ages and on the way out check in was long!
Overall though the whole trip worked really well and felt like a good mix of adventure time and relaxation time. I also think having to stop in Dubai anyway added something more to the trip as we saw that city as well as South Africa. For the first Dubai part we stayed in the newer areas and for the second Dubai part we went to the creek and the historical areas and souk areas so that was interesting to see the two sides of the city.
I hope that covers all.
Thanks for your help and I look forward to planning another adventure in the future.Kind regards
Louise
Louise C
reviewing Value KZN Bush & Beach Safari For Families
on 30 August 2022
Hi Lisa
Thanks for getting in touch. We had a great time in Namibia, in no particular order, some thoughts:
Oberland Lodge was the accommodation we liked the most: well designed, privacy, good setting, convenient, good food.
Etendeka Mountain Lodge was stunning, in terms of setting, and the tents were the most high end tents I’ve ever stayed in. Dennis shared some spectacular views of the night sky through his telescope which was really interesting.
All our guides were good, professional, knowledgeable, personable. Can’t praise them enough.
A highlight was the catamaran tour, both our boys had this as their top excursion I think. I’d have preferred a tour with a few less people but not a big issue.
Sossusvlei was one of my highlights, climbing the dunes was good. Actually, across the whole holiday, I’d have liked to have done more hiking / walking safaris but that’s probably down to my planning.
Mushara Lodge had excellent service and the staff performed a few African songs after dinner one night, which was lovely. The lodge itself could do with a refresh, in terms of physical product.
The Elegant Guest House was clean and comfortable. And nicely close to Joe’s Beerhouse. Plus it had the best wifi and so a hit with the kids.
The car we got (Toyota Hilux) was excellent, I’m trying to find an excuse to buy a one.
The Cornerstone Guesthouse was probably the least glamourous place we stayed (it was all clean and safe though) but actually the two owners (I forget their names now) gave some of the best/friendliest service.
Logistically everything went off without a hitch, guides showed up on time, all the accommodation was right and they were expecting us. We had some requirements around our son’s medication being refrigerated, everyone was very helpful with this.I’ll let Sarah chime in with anything I missed and at some stage I think we’ll be in touch about a trip to Botswana Or maybe Peru.
All the best,
Phil
Philip A
reviewing Highlights of Namibia - Classic Self Drive
on 28 July 2022
Hi Lisa,
The trip was fantastic thanks. difficult to really make any suggestions for changes.
Everything ran smoothly from a logistics point of view and all food and accommodation was great. The owner of Pure Riads came and introduced himself while he was visiting and made some recommendations for restaurants etc.
The mountain guide picked the ideal route for our level and was very informative on the journey.On the return airport pickup from Marrakesh, we initially didn't see the transfer bus and the local contact mobile number did not appear to be in service which might be worth checking but it was no issue as the driver spotted us.
My wife is already dreaming of her next trip with a different group of friends so no doubt I'll be in touch
Many thanks
Regards
Chris
Chris B
reviewing Atlas Valleys & Villages Trek - Value
on 27 July 2022
Hi Lisa,
Finally arrived back in Sydney yesterday after a great trip. We all enjoyed Morocco immensely and your organisation was top notch. Some highlights were;
Essaouira, really enjoyed this town and a great introduction to Morocco for us with a more relaxed vibe. The riad we stayed in was fabulous and the female manager Hyat (probably misspelled) couldn't of been more helpful with both suggestions of things to do, places to see and restaurants to eat at. A very friendly team in general and a lovely lady.
The High Atlas, again a real highlight despite the issues with early season snow & ice. The guest house in Imlil was great with again a very friendly owner who was keen to provide as much assistance as possible. The changes to our itinerary were well handled and in the case of the extra night at basecamp post climbing Mt Toubkal, worked in our favour. Only 3 of our group managed the climb due to the icy conditions and those of us who did the summit day needed crampons which were provided free of charge. We were the first group camping at basecamp that year and our preference to do so was accepted without complaint. The only issue I might raise was the lack of anything to sit on in camp, though I guess using the sleeping mats is closer to the Berber tradition. I brought my own mat along which was a good option. Our guide Mohammed was great and really helped us to adapt to the altitude despite some sickness amongst the group. He also managed to get us all through some very difficult ice & snow conditions, putting his body on the line on several occasions when people went flying out of control. This was both on summit day and the prior day when he had to contend with all 6 of us. The food was also excellent and the cook very friendly despite limited English. The whole team worked very well together.
The desert camp was a real experience and very luxurious. Sundowners up on the dunes, the dinners & facilities available and the camel ride were highlights. A long drive was well split by our stays at the Kasbahs which were both fabulous & highly recommended. Hassan & his offsider Khalid were good drivers, friendly and helped us enjoy the whole experience. The excursions along the way were also excellent. The full second day at the desert camp was maybe too much with very high temperatures but they moved us to another cooler camp with shade & more basic facilities during the middle of the day. Again I guess we really got to experience the full nomad lifestyle with a long hiatus during the hottest part of the day.
Marrakesh, again an excellent riad with a nice meal the first night. Good location, very friendly staff and a lovely place to retire to after a day exploring. A very interesting & bustling town.
Chefchaouen, what a wonderful place to spend some time. Another exceptional riad with some great facilities with a perfect location. Again staff were exceptionally friendly & helpful and the city was an absolute pleasure to explore. We all loved this extension & Mustafa our driver was exceptionally helpful as well. We decided to do some trekking 1 day in the nearby Rif Mountains and he was only too happy to drive us there & back through some amazing scenery. He was always concerned for our welfare and even came up to check on us while we were out exploring Chefchaouen.
Tangier, an interesting city and once again the place we stayed was exceptional with a very friendly & helpful French Canadian hostess. The town was a bit more touristy with some issues with touts, 2 nights were enough. Mustafa got us to the ferry up the coast in plenty of time.
A great trip overall and one that we all enjoyed immensely. Thanks for all your organisation & efforts especially after all the Covid delays and civil war made our trip to Ethiopia impossible.
Best regards
Chris
Chris S
reviewing 6 Day Toubkal Circuit
on 27 July 2022
Hi Lisa,
Sorry for the late reply - I blissfully didn’t check emails while we were away.
Well I must say - THANK YOU. That was a seamlessly organised, mind-blowing trip! It was everything we dreamed of and so much more.
The hotels, people and places were magical. We just loved every single moment of that totally epic adventure.
We will be back in touch when we are ready for our next one!
Thank you so much and well done for such a brilliantly organised trip.
Sarah x
Suzie G
reviewing Family Desert Holiday in Morocco
on 27 July 2022
It was FANTASTIC! Beautifully organised, everything worked like clockwork. We agreed that we had the best support team ever (and we have experience) - all delightful, very professional and nothing was too much bother.
It clearly couldn't have been a better route, such a wonderful mix of landscapes. And plenty of acclimatisation time. Nonetheless, I was glad of my summit oxygen.
Kit excellent. Double good mattresses made for most comfortable trek camping ever. Tents v good. Mess tent pretty windproof, which was vital for enjoyment. Best camp loo ever!
My favourite day was Shira Cathedral. Amazing.
William M
reviewing Kilimanjaro Lemosho Route
on 15 April 2020
