TravelEssence UK Reviews 75

We had an amazing 5 weeks in Australia, the trip was very well put together. It was the right mix of length of stay in each place, driving/train/bike/flight & right amount of booked tours to private time. Thank you Kieran for spending the time to listen to our likes & preferences and creating such a great itinerary.

The accommodation throughout was excellent with The Lyall in Melbourne, the Lenna in Hobart, Eco Lodge in Rawnsley Park Station, Barossa Shiraz estate and Cod Rock Point all being exceptional.

The tours (Melbourne city walking, boat trips in Tasmania, Ocean Road trip, bikes & wine In Barossa Valley, Flinders walking) were excellent and guides really good, informative and fun. Thank you to all the team for the planning, booking & communication throughout the lead up to the trip and the excellent ground staff too.

Just got back from a fantastic month in New Zealand. All of the arrangements, accommodations and activities went smoothly. We stayed in some great self catering accommodation, high spec, well positioned and some amazing views. The itinerary Kieran built for us covered a variety of activities (wildlife tours, kayaking, jet boats, caving, bike rides) and all the guides were knowledgeable/helpful/ passionate about their activity. We had family join us for part of the trip and it was great to have the flexibility in the itinerary build to include them in the accommodation and activities. Thank you!

This was our first visit to New Zealand and are so glad we chose Travel Essence. We really liked their approach with detailed conversations at the outset to determine exactly what we wanted and expected from the trip. We travelled extensively around both islands and all the arrangements were perfect with special thanks to the private hosts who were all so welcoming and beautiful properties too. Luke was very knowledgeable and had plenty of advice to help us plan a fantastic trip and we would highly recommend Travel Essence . Thank you again

We were very impressed with the company ethos to take time to enjoy the country and how they like to support the local people. After watching the New Zealand presentation we contacted Kieran to discuss our holiday plans. He listened to where we wanted to go and gave us some really good suggestions from his great knowledge of living in NZ. He made a great itinerary but was accommodating to our changes. Communication was great throughout. Thanks so much Kieran. We'd highly recommend Travel Essence.

We had an amazing month in New Zealand. Keiran at TravelEssence really listened to our requirements as we started to plan the trip and came up with a fabulous itinerary in terms of accommodation and trips. They were also very flexible as we kept changing things. Would thoroughly recommend

Returned from our second trip to NewZealand organised through Kieran at Travel Essence. Another fabulous holiday, expertly coordinated by the support staff in the office. Accomodations were varied in style, just as we requested, and all were excellent, and where we stayed in B&bs the hosts were friendly and helpful. We had some challenging weather due to a tropical cyclone causing flooding and landslides, happily it didn't impact us too much, but Travel Essence contacted us to make sure we were OK, which was reassuring. We cannot praise this company highly enough, and would recommend them to anyone thinking of heading to New Zealand.

Luke listened carefully to what we wanted from our Australia trip and it was fantastic
We loved the variety of the accommodation
We stayed in people's homes, eco lodges, on a dairy farm ...
Meeting with locals gave us insight into the areas
It was a very special experience

First and most importantly I want to say a massive thank you to everyone who was involved in putting together our trip - which was the best holiday that we had ever been on (so many memories). I’ll be honest an email will not do justice to our overall reflections about the trip.

When we were trying to put together an itinerary this time last year we looked for a travel company to help, fortunately we stumbled on Travel Essence and were lucky to meet Kieran, who took the time to consider what we wished to get out of the trip in the five weeks that we had available, along with our budget. Amazingly Kieran pulled together an outstanding itinerary that met all our expectations and it was clear that early booking meant we were able to access great activities and wonderful accommodation.

From us agreeing the itinerary to our return from Australia in late December all bookings, communications and support were exemplary - we never felt alone and always knew there was someone who would be able to help if needed.

We have listed some of our stand out moments from the trip:
Stay at Peregian Beach - outstanding accommodation
Glasshouse Mountain - amazing accommodation with wonderful views
Autopia - Uluru expedition, which was one of our WOW moments in terms of the environment especially Kings Canyon. However, the camping was an experience and the tour lead was outstanding.
Thanks for booking the stay at the Pullman in Melbourne - an amazing view of the MCG.
Autopia - Great Ocean Road and the Grampians. Again an outstanding trip and connection with nature, also very well led.
Tasmania - our favourite state, beautiful views and so different to other parts of Australia. The accommodation in Freycinet was something different and we were welcomed by a Wallaby.
This is just a short snap of our reflections about our trip.

Booking with Travel Essence enabled us to build the trip to NZ we wanted at an affordable price. Keiron listened to our list of interests, wildlife, cycling, hiking etc and came back with a suggested itinerary with accommodation and activities. We were not disappointed.
All trips with local guides were excellent, being small local businesses, our comfort was their priority and they were, without exception, knowledgeable and entertaining.
We stayed in B&Bs recommended through TE, the standard of accommodation was high and hosts were welcoming and helpful, offering great tips which enhanced our 44 day tour of both islands.
The back office staff were very helpful and everything ran smoothly. We hope to return and would use TE again.

We have recently returned from a trip to New Zealand and Singapore, planned and created by Kieran. From our first point of contact at the Destinations Travel Show, Kieran took the time to understand what we wanted from the trip and created a wonderful itinerary which really encapsulated the uniqueness of New Zealand. From start to finish the trip was just perfect - from the quality and range of accommodation to the wonderful experiences we were afforded. Contact with the Front Office was always prompt and efficient and we really appreciated the contact made with us during the heavy storms and snowfall - a reassurance that they were there for us should any changes be needed to our itinerary if needed due to the weather.

I would certainly recommend Travel Essence to deliver a memorable tailor-made holiday to suit individual requirements. We certainly not hesitate to rebook with them

Travel Essence was excellent and made sure we had a fantastic holiday. Kieran helped us form an itinerary suggesting great places to visit which suited both us and our children. They found us great accommodation which suited us and they suggested great activities including whale eatching and white water rafting, which they booked for us. Kieran also had hugely useful local knowledge from his time in New Zealand. I would highly recommend booking through Travel Essence.

We had the most fantastic first trip to Australia. Kieran and the back office team did a great job producing an excellent itinerary and sorting out all the logistics. We hope to return in 2027 and will definitely use Travel Essence again.

We had a fantastic time and thoroughly enjoyed all that we saw and did on the trip. We greatly appreciated Kieran's time at the start of the planning process, getting to know what our interests are and ensuring these were reflected in the itinerary. The information provided in the travel document was very detailed and all the arrangements worked well. Also, the contact with your front office has always resulted in prompt replies and the updates regarding road closures, weather issues, etc, while we were away were very helpful.

All the accommodation was very comfortable, with the locations often providing us with spectacular views. The hosts in the various B&Bs were friendly and often provided helpful advice on places to go, restaurant recommendations and suggestions for routes to take, etc. We would like to make a special mention for Melanie and Karl at Skylark in the Catlins for ensuring we were well looked after in the aftermath of the storm when there was no power at the property.

In terms of highlights, it is difficult to choose just a couple, but the overnight on Doubtful Sound will definitely stay in the memory. Seeing kiwis on Stewart Island in the wild, despite wet and windy weather, was also a highlight.

I liked the personal attention we got in planning our road trip in Australia. Kieran got to know our likes and what we wanted to get out of the adventure and was happy to tweak the itinerary until it was right for us. He had personal knowledge of the places we were visiting. Travel Essence took care of the flights, car hire and accommodations. Most of the accommodations were excellent. There were a few hiccoughs and the TE team took notice of our feed back and promised to take up our comments with their suppliers or process them internally.

We had a really wonderful time in Australia and are very grateful to Luke and the team at TravelEssence for organising such an amazing trip for us. All the travel, accommodation and trips were first class.

We really felt the benefit of the specialist knowledge in some of the quirkier places we stayed - a wooden round house in the middle of the Daintree with our own private watering hole, a tree house looking down over the the canopy of the rain forest in Atherton Tablelands, and my favourite - a simply stunning beach hut with the front garden opening directly on to Four Mile Beach at Port Douglas. Just wow!

All the activities were with small companies so there were limited numbers of other travellers and therefore a much more enjoyable, personalised experience for us. It really was the once-in-a-lifetime trip we were hoping for. Many heartfelt thanks.

Just wow. What an absolutely amazing trip. We have just returned from 30 days in Australia, a trip organised for us by Kieran and the Travel Essence Team and a trip of a lifetime for our family.

From the very first contact , an email from us , expressing interest in a potential trip, to the email from after our return, checking how we’d got on, the support has been excellent.

Kieran took time to find out about our family, what we are interested in and enjoy doing , and produced a suggested itinerary. Further meetings allowed us to discuss and make minor adjustments according to our wishes . We were kept up to date with the booking process throughout and the team answered any queries immediately. 

The trip itself was amazing, more than we could have ever imagined or hoped for. A range of types of accommodations with great hosts, with the opportunity to find out from the hosts local information and advice on the best places to explore.

The trips/tours were incredible. It has been hard to say which was ‘the best’ as they were all unique and allowed us to experience what Australia can offer in many different ways. The opportunity to learn about/from the indigenous community was  a highlight and one of the best things about the whole trip. 

We would highly recommend booking with Travel Essence and  have already let friends and colleagues know about you.

Many, many thanks to the team.
We’ve had the best time ever!

A great itinerary which matched our requirements and the team at TravelEssence UK took the time to understand and take care of us. They even kept an eye on us when a Brisbane's first cyclone in 50yrs came by! The bespoke, boutique (almost quirky) accommodation were superb...all different but always with great hosts. There's no way you could arrange a compilcated, stress-free trip like this without their knowledge and I doubt anyone could do it better.

Luke spent lots of time with us suggesting an itinerary for our 5 weeks trip to Australia and then flexing this on a number of occasions following our various comments.
His advice and suggestions were invaluable whilst he was patient and helpful in creating what we believe will hopefully be a perfect trip for us.
Thank you so much Luke, we are so appreciative for everything.

We discovered TravelEssence at the Travel show at Olympia when we were specifically looking for a specialist in Australia.
I liked the fact that they have an office in London so we could actually sit down with Kieran and talk through what sort of trip we were looking for. He grasped our requirements perfectly but was also open to our own suggestions and after a few tweaks here and there we had the perfect itinerary.
The highlight was the Venture North expedition to West Arnhem land and Cobourg peninsula which was unforgettable and which I don’t think we would have known about if we had just done our own itinerary.
Thanks to everyone at TravelEssence for an outstanding trip!

TravelEssence were an absolutely fantastic company to work with for our trip to Australia. From the initial call with Kieron where we talked through our wants and interests for the trip, the customer service was perfect. They found us some amazing excursions with local people that we probably wouldn’t have considered without them, but were the most enjoyable parts of our trip. They were also still available to help even when we were on holiday. The companies that we were with also spoke highly of them, which is always a good sign! They put together a lovely proposal for our trip before we committed so we knew exactly what to expect. I would have no hesitation in recommending Travel Essence and would definitely look to them next time we want to visit Australia or New Zealand.