Carol & Barrie visit Duplessis visit Norfolk Island
Hi Kirsty & Ashleigh
Thanks so much for organizing our unforgettable holiday.
It was what we expected ~ plus some. Arrived home from Norfolk Island yesterday.
Such a fascinating place to visit. Top speed limit is 50 & cows have right of way! Scenery is unbelievable & breathtaking. We didn’t want to come home.
Everyone is so laid back & friendly & it is so easy to relax.
Once again many thanks
Carol & Barrie
Sue Bergin in Hawaii
Hi Kirsty
Just to let you know that we had a fantastic time. The accommodation was excellent and great position for access to the beach and shopping ,restaurants etc. We arrived at the busiest time of the APEC
conference and despite the fact that security was everywhere we had no problems. The Russian and Chinese presidents were next door at the Sheraton and the Australians diagonally opposite so you can imagine. We went on a helicopter tour with Blue Hawaiian tours which was great, snorkelling at Hanauma Bay which was amazing, toured Pearl Harbour and climbed to the top of the Diamond Head crater-stunning views and of course lots of shopping – cosmetics were especially cheap. If you have any clients with coeliac disease (wheat allergy) understanding and availability of gluten free diet was limited but quite “do-able”.
Thanks for organising it for us -we can’t wait to go back. Will catch up with you shortly to organise Europe!
Sue Bergin
The Barnes in Italy
Dear Kirsty,
Thank you so much for your card!!!
Janet, Carol and myself had a wonderful time, how could you not!!
Everything went very smoothly, weather was very kind (only 1 & 1/2 days of rain – Venice and Bellagio), and I have even received items I bought, and sent home via courier. Would loved to have stayed in Verona more that 2 nights, lots to see and do, and place has a lovely feel about it. I was amazed at the crowds, even with it being October, and it confirmed in my mind for the future, NOT to go in the middle of the year. Each place we stayed has special memories, but favorites are Bellagio, Verona, Cinque Terre, and the Tuscan countryside.
I can’t thank you enough for arranging this trip. You advice, co-ordination, bookings, prompt replies/service, help, made the whole event a pleasure from beginning to end. And last but not least, it is always a pleasure dealing with you and your staff. THANK YOU!
Best Wishes
Jane Barnes
Lonergan Family visit France
Good Morning Steffi and team
We just wanted to touch base with you and thank you and your team for organising our holiday and trying to help us out with the Qantas debacle. We had a fabulous time the kids loved every minute of it, we have adventures and stories to tell and talk about for a life time.
The accommodation was fantastic across the board for both location and comfort.
The kids are now asking where are we going next!! So when we have saved up for our next adventure we will be sure to contact you and your team again.
Thanks again for being beyond the call of duty.
Kind Regards
Jody and Dan Lonergan
The Griffiths in Europe
Peter and Beth Griffith recently returned from a holiday to Europe including a River Cruise in France, beginning in Arles and ending in Paris, where they visited towns included Avignon, Viviers and Lyon.
After their river cruise they enjoyed some time in Bellagio, Italy and then a stopover in Dubai on the way home.
Below are some photos and experiences they had while on holiday.
Avignon: Peter and Beth enjoyed a 3 hour walking tour of the Old Town which included visiting the Place of the Popes – the medieval placement of the Roman Catholic Popes prior to Rome.
‘It is a beautiful city, so very chic and a very envious way of life of dining and socialising in the middle of the day’. – Beth Griffith
Viviers: An enjoyable walking tour today of this very steep town, where at the end of the tour Peter and Beth enjoyed an organ recital by a very well-renowned organist.
‘I will remember this town as the one that stood still! It is so old and so very French’. – Beth Griffith
Bellagio: Peter and Beth enjoyed several days in Bellagio, staying at the beautiful Metropole. They took a ferry ride across the river to Verenna for coffee and chocolate croissant and enjoyed browsing the market under the huge trees.
‘Bellagio – and what a place it was. The sheer beauty of the blue water and the view from our hotel window was unimaginable and we never tired of it’. – Beth Griffith
If you would like to book a River Cruise in France or enjoy some time in beautiful Northern Italy then please contact us and we will be more then happy to assist you in creating an itinerary to suit.
Chris and Charlie Webber return from Paris
Bonjour Jodie,
Just want to let you know that our Globus tour and final week in Paris was a huge success.
The Globus guide was a definite A Plus and his unruffled organisational skills certainly deserved the tip. Driver, tour route and optionals tours were also excellent.
We found the Cardinal Rive Gauche Hotel was very well situated for transport, restaurants/cafes, food and walking distance to lots of sites. It was very clean and breakfast was good, too.
All-in-all, I don’t think we could have wished for more.
Thank you for making it so easy, Jodie. The hard part will be going back to work in the hope we can save for another holiday.
Regards,
Chris and Charlie Webber
Dennis & Anne Turner return from Italy
Leaving Melbourne in mid April to join APT’s 27 day ‘Italy & Magnificent Europe 2011 Tour’ we were sceptical about joining our first ‘organised tour’. Having previously travelled in the U.S.A. and Europe independently, and we might say happily, our experience had been to do it ourselves… ‘without the demands of luggage in the foyer at an early hour, after spending a short time exploring a city or location where we would love to spend more time’. Following this tour we are no longer sceptical Group Travellers as APT provided a memorable experience for us. One that is likely to be repeated!
Having previously toured Europe in July and August at the height of the holiday season we decided that summer was not the best time to return and further explore the region. High summer temperatures and wall to wall local holiday makers do not make for the most enjoyable touring regardless of being in a group or travelling independently. Our decision to travel in April and May provided us with cool to warm pleasant weather ideal for groups of tourists who do a lot of walking and exploring unique locations.
La Sainte-Chapelle is the only surviving building of the Capetian royal palace on the Île de la Cité in the heart of Paris, France.
We arrived in Rome via London, Paris and Lucerne travelling by train, which we have determined is the only way to experience these regions as long as you don’t have excessive luggage! To experience the panoramas of canola, sunflower, wheat and barley crops stretching as far as the eye can see along with the breathtaking views of the Alps winding through the Gothard Pass provides any tourist with wonderful memories. The TGV trains provide high speed comfort with the only drawback being somewhat limited luggage space unless you feel confident in lifting 20kg cases into overhead storage. If you have reservations arriving at stations 20 minutes prior to departure is all that is required in contrast to the security and time requirements when flying. In nearly all instances rail travel places you in the heart of most cities close to accommodation as was the case for us in Rome.
The APT Italy segment of our tour with 3 nights in Rome, Florence and Venice with 2 nights in Santa Margarita Ligure and Como enables all participants to enjoy the beauty, history and fabulous scenery of Tuscany and the Italian north coastal region bordering The Mediterranean Sea at a leisurely pace. The cruise on Lake Como and visit to the lakeside village of Bellagio for lunch was a totally unexpected highlight along with discovering the tiny fishing village of Portofino which was fascinating to say the least. Add to this a visit to ‘Cinque Terre’, the 5 villages perched on the cliffs of The Mediterranean and you understand why people describe it as simply breathtaking.
Accommodation and meals were exceptional in 5 star hotels, organisation by our Tour Director was meticulous and itinerary planning exceeded our expectations with broad categories of interest and history blended to provide a wonderful experience. Rome, Florence and Venice provided the history and unique character that everybody expects however the ‘side visits’ to places such as the walled medieval cities of Sienna and Lucca were surprises that few in the group could have imagined.
Following the Italian segway the cruise on ‘The Amadagio from Budapest to Amsterdam provided wonderful insights into Cities, towns and medieval villages located on, or close to,The Danube, Main and Rhine Rivers. Cruising upstream on
The Danube to The Main Canal linking the two famous rivers, crossing The Continental Divide and finally downstream on The Rhine through The Rhine Gorge into the Netherlands provided us with fourteen days on a memorable tour. In all the cruise ship passes through some 64 Locks and visits tiny medieval villages, small and large towns along with cities such as Vienna, Cologne and Amsterdam.
Scenery of ‘The Alps’
Service, planning and detail was again exceptional on the cruise ship ‘Amadagio’ providing all participants with a wonderful voyage to see the features, landmarks and highlights of Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Germany, Bavaria and The Netherlands
The advantage of an Autumn departure from Australia touring into Springtime in Europe enabled us to take in the spectacular vistas of the diminishing snow capped mountains of the alpine regions with pleasant warm spring weather. This provided us with an additional ‘bonus’ that we hadn’t expected.
Our conclusion is that given an itinerary similar to that offered by APT ‘group travel’ is definitely appealing in our future travel planning.
From Debbie Gregory who has recently returned from a 5 week holiday in Europe
Here is the photo of a building that we came across with your name on it
Some feedback about the accomodation -
BB at Waterford: lovely location, owners were lovely
Bantry House: highly recommend (and the current manager is an Aussie)
Ballyseede Castle: loved it – highly recommend
Portree: loved the hotel – higly recommend – staff were lovely and accommodation just lovely
From Wendy & Barry, who have recently returned from two weeks in the USA
“Hi Jodie (Joyful Outstanding Delightful Interesting Entertaining) , we arrived home at 6am with absolutely no complaints at all, everything was great from the execucar pick ups, flights, accommodation and great cities! Also all of your paperwork was so helpful. Thanks too for the welcome home card.”
