Holiday Reviews
We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same trip can have different views!
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Trans Siberian railway tour, independent reviews
 Reviewed 5 Oct 2008 by Marie-Pierre Blanchette |  |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
I will take home with me many great memories, that will stay with me forever: our excursion at Lake Baikal with the very nice local guide Genia and the lovely stay at Nadia's is one of my favorite. Also worth mentioning: the amazing and tasty food sold by the babouchkas in some train stations along our route in Siberia, the horse-riding in Mongolia and the Great Wall in Mutianyu in China.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Good sense of humour, lots of patience, being prepared mentally for long inactive moments on the train, toilet paper, some anti-diarrhoea medicine, coins from your country to give people on your way.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
If I would have been able to book myself directly with local guides I would have done so, but I guess the tour operator offers the closest thing to this alternative. I think the local guide and the tour leaders really deserve to be well-paid for their job and I don't know how much of my money goes in their pockets...
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
It was amazing overall!!
| Reviewed 26 Oct 2009 by Andrew Service | |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Mongolia and the trip to the Ger District.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Be patient on the trains.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Yes to a small extent.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Excellent good value for money.
| Reviewed 17 Sep 2009 by Jessica Dromgoole | |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
So many choices... Taking a boat at 1am to watch the bridges open in St Petersburg. The Museum of the Revolution in Moscow. Wandering through Suzdal with an old woman who adopted me. The banya in Listvianka. Horseriding in the ger camp. Seeing the Great Wall for the first time.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Take vitamins. Russian and Mongolian food is very high on stodge. Take nice facewipes. The train toilet is awful even when it's at its best and it's the only place to wash. Be ready for extreme temperature changes from within to outside of the train.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
We did feel that, although it was sometimes hard to avoid using plastic bottles even when we were trying.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
It was a great holiday, full of new and exciting adventures. The group was more prominent than we'd expected, and the leader not great, which was good for my teenage daughter, less good for me.
| Reviewed 31 Aug 2009 by Ian Daniels | |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
To view Lenin in his mausoleum was an incredible experience. (Remembering how difficult it was to even find information about the USSR or Russia during the Cold War..because they were portrayed as "so bad" ...it is still amazing to find international relationships really are so much better these days.) Absolutely loved Saint Petersburg (will be going back there!). The train is a great relaxer - but the time still seemed to fly!
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Understand the comments about culture shock etc are very conservative. We were very surprised at how easy everything was and how good the accommodation was. The worst room we had was better than we had expected for the best. The entire trip is now fairly "mainstream" - with English understood by a large number of people with whom we interacted. Plan for the cold and wet - the weather was much cooler than we expected for summer.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Tourism generally would seem to provide financial input to the areas (especially of benefit in Mongolia) and the interaction of ideas probably makes any move back to totalitarianism much more difficult. The way the particular holiday was organised seemed to be sensitive to the environment - but clearly the locals are "geared to tourists". The level of "restoration" of buildings etc and the amount of new infrastructure means that tourist sites in these areas are generally about the concept, size and colour of historical buildings rather than seeing the originals.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Very good. Easier than expected - so less of an adventure and more of a holiday. The guide for the tour was very good at her role.
Recommendations/issues (where is the spot for these on this form?)... The issue of inappropriate behaviour by one of the guest house owners needs to be addressed. The local tour guides were generally very good - but seemed to stay with the script rather than react with empathy. Examples (a) When the group were much more interested in seeing things than hearing about the history, continuing the history lesson for nearly half an hour was not good (especially when it could have been done during the bus ride just prior). (b) When many members of this group and the previous group had been sick, there was a pretense by that it was the first time - whereas quicker action to have everyone back in town may have been a much better response. Despite that, it was overall very good.
| Reviewed 24 Feb 2009 by Georgina Wright | |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
All of it was very entertaining & memorable. I think the highlight was the standard of some of the accommodation. It was surprisingly excellent!
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
To go! The group size was just right & the guide Nitu, excellent. If you are a woman then be aware that you may well get some hassle & some inappropriate proposals. I would recommend that women always stay in pairs or larger groups
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
I think so as we ate locally & used local transport where possible. We were also looked after when people tried to unfairly over inflate the price for us, a factor which I thought was very important. We were also given lots of advice regarding beggars etc & I felt that this info was very helpful. It helped me understand local customs etc much better.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Of all the organised tours I have done (and there have been quite a few) this was the best!
| Reviewed 9 Oct 2008 by David McGuigan | |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Meeting the people.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Book it but be prepared to spend a lot of times with strangers who you may have nothing in common.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
I hope so.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Excellent. The guide was excellent. His enthusiasm and dedication to the job was a credit to his company.
| Reviewed 23 Aug 2008 by Dianne Bealer | |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
There were many memorable parts so it is difficult to choose the best. Beijing was an eye opener. The amount of work done for the Olympics was amazing. The main Hutong around the lake with all the restaurants exuded character. Mongolia was my least favourite. Russia was amazing. Moscow and St Petersburg have a lot of character and are way nicer than I imagined. But perhaps the most memorable was the beautiful town of Suzdal (close to Moscow) with its 30 churches and picturesque setting.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
This is in no way a luxury trip. Despite the accommodation being good (except Moscow) there are lots of difficult aspects to the trip. For example catching the metro in Moscow with all your luggage, being on the train in very cramped space for several days and nights virtually without a stop (and no shower), not having maps of cities when you are not in a hotel... my advice is to do your homework before you go because you have lots of free time with little guidance. Also be fairly fit as you do a lot of walking.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Yes as much as possible. I did quite a lot of shopping along the way!!! The trip used local guides... some public transport...
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
An interesting adventure.
| Reviewed 4 Mar 2007 by Richard Cartwright | |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
I guess no specific part of the holiday was as memorable as the entire trip was memorable. The trip covered a large area, and each bit as unique as the next. The organising was second to none and the use of local guides through the trip was really good and allowed you to get a better feel for the place and the locals.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Other than what’s been mentioned through all the guides - do brush up on language skills!!
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
I hope to think that some of the trip did benefit local people and I wish this could have actually been utilised more.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Overall the holiday was very good, if not quite exhausting to cover so much space in such a short time. It has given me an introduction/ a taster.....for me now to explore and utilise.