RSD Travel Reviews 

Destinations are quite unique and offer nice alternative to generic travel locations. Company is professional, staff competent, helpful and polite. Transport and accomodation are comfortable and safe.
Food packages are good and excursions interesting. Overall pacage is good quality and value for money.

Leaving on behalf of my mum Sandra Martin and companion Gillian Burt.

Unfortunately, our Cyprus holiday fell far below expectations due to a series of serious
issues with both the tour guide and the overall quality of the experience.

1. Tour Guide Conduct
Our guide, Umit, was consistently unprofessional and, at times, outright rude. From the
outset, he provided his phone number but stated he would not answer it. Throughout the trip, he prioritised sales visits over sightseeing, pressuring guests—many of whom were elderly—into visiting jewellery, leather, and carpet shops for extended periods, often in extreme heat.
On several occasions, he spoke to guests disrespectfully, including shouting at me and
others on the coach. When a fellow traveller’s mother became unwell and required
hospitalisation, his reaction was wholly inappropriate, even publicly calling her a liar during dinner.

2. Poor Organisation and Misinformation
The advertised itinerary was not followed. I had planned to meet my grandson for lunch in Nicosia based on the leaflet stating it was our first stop, yet we arrived over three hours later than scheduled, leaving me only minutes with him before needing to return.

Additionally, wake-up calls were extremely early, and on departure day we did not receive the promised call, resulting in unnecessary stress for passengers.

3. Unsafe and Substandard Coach
The coach was not fit for purpose:
- Several seats lacked seatbelts
- Emergency hammers were missing or tied up with string
- Carpeting was torn, creating trip hazards
- A flat tyre occurred mid-journey, and the mechanic deemed another tyre dangerous
Although the driver handled the situation well, these safety concerns were unacceptable.

4. Hotel Issues
Hotel Sapphire:
- Food served lukewarm, limited drink options (wine unavailable until meal almost finished)
- No in-room tea/coffee facilities
Hotel Riverside:
- Located over 25 km from the advertised area
- Steep, uneven pathways without handrails or lighting—unsuitable for elderly guests
- No information provided about the courtesy bus to the beach
- Water supply issues (toilets and taps not working)
- Complex layout with no lifts, making access difficult

5. Overall Experience
The trip felt more like a sales tour than a cultural holiday. Sightseeing was rushed and
conducted in the heat of the day, while long waits occurred at commercial stops. The
average age of the group was over 70, yet the pace and structure were not adapted to suit this. The only enjoyable day was the optional paid excursion (£80), where Umit’s behaviour improved due to a trainee being present.

Outstanding organisation, guide (Suat Akay) and coach driver. Highly enlightening and educational tour. Exceptional value for money.

Interesting experience in N Cyprus, excellent archaeology, great driver, enthusiastic guide and good food but bus in very poor condition, few working seatbelts, cracked windscreen. Hotels variable quality. Had to endure three sales sessions - for extremely expensive jewellery, leather jackets and carpets. Very long travel as needed to go via Turkey due to political status of N Turkey ( left hotel at 1am English time and got to Gatwick at 2pm).
Overall we enjoyed it but many in the party did not.
Extremely cheap so I guess you get what you pay for.

Lots of very interesting trips. Some free time to look around and make a few purchases. The guide Volcan was very knowledgeable and gave us excellent information.

I was so convinced that I had already submitted a review, and now many months have passed. The Balkans tour in May was an experience that my travelling companion enjoyed and I had mixed feelings about.

I felt that we were constantly having to pay small amounts of money and that slightly dampened my enjoyment of the adventure. It was impressive seeing something of 4 distinctive countries, and our guide was very knowledgeable and willing to engage.

The accommodation and food were best described as "could do better" if there is a genuine commitment to increase tourism. A week goes by very quickly, and I was happy with the reasonably seamless border crossings, the pace and comfort of the well driven coach, and as always - the company of a diverse group of people.

I appreciated learning more about these 4 countries with a good mix of culture and history. It was a feat to visit so much in such a short time, and I had no major complaints, just a sense of mild disappointment that we had to rush some of the featured site visits, and linger too long in others.

The trip was a reasonable price, but I think the Vietnam and Jordan RSD tours I had done previously spoiled me and led to unrealistic expectations!

South Africa, Zim, Botswana safari. We have made numerous trips with RSD travel. It's not for the feint hearted and they are always a full on cultural tour. It is exceptional vake but it's not a rest. You have to love people, places and new experiences. The RSD tour guides are excepional, and they handle all the
complex border crossings, tours,
timings etc. There were 28 on the coach. Only 2 people on coach were incompatible with the experience. Many of us were over 75 and had the trip of a
life time.
FIrst time I have encountered a pair of
travellers so unsuited to this type of experience.

BEWARE of the selling establishments they take you to on the Balkans Tour (Jewellery, Leather and Carpets)
Definitely experienced a case of buyer beware unfortunately too late !!!!

On 27th july my husband and I wen to south africa with RSD TRAVEL we didn't have a very good experience as you can read from the last review so I thought I would up date you.
1)We payed just over £6000
2)I was freezing cold for 2 weeks due to the driver having the air-con on full blast
3)The seats were so worn we might as well be sitting on bare plastic
4)we weren't told there was a toilet on board
5)when we did find out we were told that we can not use it because the wee comes through the air con
6)Due to being on the coach for hours on end my husband had a toilet accident
7)I rang the guide and texted her but she liked the sound of her own voice and cut me off.
8)when we finally stopped everyone went for lunch including the guide
9) I asked driver to get my case out and asked him not to go on due to my husband need to clean up and change clothes.
10) guide comes out from restaurant i told her I rang her and she cut me off and I asked her not to go back on the coach
11) she disregarded what I said and went back on the coach where my husband was in a state with no clothes on.
12)Driver nearly kills us by driving so fast on bad potholes roads or no roads
13) goat gone straight under the wheels due to his speed that could of been a elephant
14) front windscreen had a great big crack at least 3ft
RSD TRAVEL THEN SEND ME APOLOGIE LETTER AND FOR A GOOD WILL GESTURE I WAS GIVE A PITTANCE THEY ARE GIVING ME A £75 VOUCHER. REALLY HOW BLOODY INSULTING.
SHAME ON RSD
YOU SAY YOU CARE WHAT £75 CARE WHEN IVE PAYED YOU £6000 TO HAVE A GREAT EXPERIENCE AND IT WAS RUINED BY YOUR INCOMPETENCE .
Unfortunately can not send the pictures because there isn't anywhere i can send them on trust pilot

We recently went to South Africa, botswana and Zimbabwe with RDS Travel. The trip was organised well. The hotels were amazing, the people were friendly in all the different countries with excellent foods. Our travel companions were great on the coach as well as the tour guide.
RSD. Well done. I am looking forward to the next trip. JD Enfield

We have just returned from an amazing holiday in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana. Our guide Nicolette Lehmann and coach driver Sonnyboy were also as amazing and couldn't do enough to satisfy our group. Nicolette was a wonderful leader and her knowledge of historical and geographical facts was extremely well presented during our tour. She set up a WhatsApp group so that we could converse with each other and display photographs of the incredible animals that we saw on our visit to 3 game parks and Victoria Falls. This greatly benefitted those with only mobile phone cameras who were able to see photographs taken by members of the group with their sophisticated cameras! It is difficult to understand why 2 members of the group were so negative about their experience and this caused much anguish and upset to the rest of the party. Their lack of appreciation of both African culture and wildlife begs the question of why they were on this holiday!
We have travelled around the world many times and adventure abroad about 6 times a year. This was one of the most memorable holidays that we have embarked on and would RSD for arranging such an incredible trip with super accommodation and food.
Jenny & Roger Stocks

What can I say but WOW, WOW, WOW.
3 Countries in 2 weeks & over 3000km in a coach. It was a tough call but we made it. The whole experience outdid what I was expecting.
I know from previous long journey trips with RSD (Cappadocia) that there would be early morning starts & you can't do a Sunrise safari if you don't get up at 4am, but I was fine with this. Saw things I will probably never see again.
The guide Nicolette was very informative, when we could hear her, as some individuals thought it right to talk throughout the commentary, alot of us found their actions totally inappropriate. Nicolettes information on culture and history was far better than a guide book.
I'm a disabled traveller and both Nicolette & Sonnyboy (driver) were very helpful and both always had a smile on their faces. Nicolette even managed to arrange airport assistance for 3 of us from South Africa via Dubai & again at Manchester, I've never had a transfer work so we'll.
I managed to do all the sights the same as he rest of the group, just a bit slower but this wasn't a problem for the guide & driver, plus the rest of the group were accommodating and very friendly with the odd exception.
The roads to Zimbabwe were bumpy to say the least but the driver did an excellent job. They did warn us beforehand.
I paid for extra excursions because I felt this was a once in a lifetime trip & it truly was. The helicopter trip over Victoria Falls was breathtaking and Kruger National Park was like nothing I've ever seen before.
In total we covered over 3000km and for anyone asking if its a trip worth doing, I personally will say yes & its money well spent.

This was a fantastic trip, 3 countries in 14 days. It is a full on trip but you see so much. The safari drives were great and Victoria Falls amazing. The other stops were great too. Nicotte the tour guide was very informative about the local area and very helpful. The driver Sonnyboy did a brilliant job especially with the roads in Zimbabwe. He was always friendly and happy. The trip does include early rises but all safari drives start early. Nicolette organised a WhatsApp group which was great as we could all share photos. The next days information was always on there too so we all knew what was going on and timings. We also had two extra trips to local towns which was lovely of Sonnyboy. The hotels were all lovely with some exceptional.

Tried booking a holiday as a solo traveller with RSD. The single supplement meant that the cost to me was £658 vs £618 had I been a couple. When I called customer service I was told RSD cannot do anything about it as the single supplements are set by the hotels. Can't get my head round it! The person I spoke to said that many solo travellers have similarly complained

Travelled with RSD to Nepal in June. Very good holiday, saw lots of interesting places, guide was superb and hotels were of a good standard. I would recommend the RSD holiday to Nepal

I have travelled with RSD a few times and have never had a bad experience. An excellent way of seeing a country at an affordable price.

Went to Sri Lanka with RSD - fantastic countryside, amazing friendly people, good hotels and an amazing journey around the country in all its guises - one of the best trips of my life (I travel 10 mths a year) - why so good - people, no hassles of any kind going out, low cost economy, wonderful weather - an absolute gem of a holiday full of variety with something for everyone.

I have just read Marion Watkinsons review of the All Senses Nautica Blue Hotel and completely agree that it is nowhere near 5* as it claims. I complained about my room condition and eventually got moved to a better room, bur till not 5* standard. On returning to UK on 13th May I sent my comments and complaints to RSD and requested a refund of the extra climate tax paid on the grounds that we were placed in an inferior hotel. Their response was to say that it was up to the hotel as to what they charge and that they had stated in the itinery sent out on 11 April the change of tax to 15 Euros. Therefore they deny that we were misled and so do not agree we should be refunded the excess tax I intend to take my case to ABTA. My advice is Do not touch this Hotel..

Having travelled extensively and fruitfully with RSD over quite some years - and defended them against unreasonable criticism, this time I enquired about the Abu Dhabi etc trip which looked attractive.
Noting the 'from' price quote per person, and finding no reference to any single supplement I phoned to find that there is none; except there are no single travellers; only groups of 2, 4, or 6 can book.
What is this: ageism, sexism, singleism, bereavementism, divorceism or whatever????
This is hugely shabby and concealed on the flyers.
If anyone feels disadvantaged or saddened by such personal circumstances, this clearly is not the direction in which to find solace.
I doubt whether I - for one - will ever travel with them again.

Tempted by a voucher offer in my NRLA landlord magazine, we booked a 7 night tour around the Balkans in May 2025. I was nervous, tbh. Was a coach tour my thing or was it soley for oldies?! Honestly? I loved it. Non-stop, a different hotel every night, tonnes to see, a great guide, beautiful scenery, historic heritage sights to see, coastal and mountain drives, friendly fellow travellers or different ages, lovely local people, decent food and an all round well organised and good experience. The hotels aren't luxury but for the price of the RSD holidays that can't really be a complaint. There's a lot of time on the coach for this particular tour, so take a good book if you don't like window gazing. Our holiday was incredibly good value, which rare these days. I wouldn't hesitate to book again, so that's always the best sign isn't it!