“Disappointing Honeymoon Experience with Poor Planning and Service
We recently booked our honeymoon to South Africa with Trailfinders, and unfortunately, the experience fell far below our expectations. Despite explaining from the beginning that our baby was our top priority, it seemed like no consideration was given to him when planning our flights or accommodation.
To start with, after checking out of our lodge at Amakhala at 11am, we were left with nowhere to go until our flight at 9:30pm, which was extremely inconvenient with a baby. There was a 3:30pm flight available aswell as many others every hour that would have aligned perfectly with checkout, allowing us to land, have dinner, and get our baby in bed by 7pm—ideal for the early start the next morning. This was a huge oversight in the planning process. Arrived at Johannesburg at close to 11pm to get the shuttle bus to our hotel but we'll just be getting there to sleep as we're up again at 5am to check in our baggage, again!! As the luggage had to be collected at Johannesburg on our transfer to Mauritius. Our hotel wasn't even on the airport grounds and were doing all this with a baby. We're booked in for breakfast at 7am and we can't even have it. Absolutely shocking planning.
Our flight to Cape Town via Dubai also included a 4-hour layover during the night, which caused further disruption to our baby’s sleep. We could have flown direct from Heathrow for 11 hours, but instead, we endured this unnecessarily long, exhausting journey after already flying 9 hours.
The trip planning as a whole lacked foresight. For example, we had a single night booked in Franschhoek for wine tasting, but couldn’t partake as we had to drive 4 hours the next morning to our next destination. The accommodation throughout the trip was very basic, with no special honeymoon touches as promised—no complimentary wine or champagne, no private dinner, and no turndown service, despite it being noted in our booking that these would be included.
We also had a significant issue at the start of the trip, as a car seat was not provided, which led to us losing a day of our holiday trying to source one ourselves. This mishap caused us to backtrack and drive through the night for 4 hours, missing out on the scenic Route 62 views and unnecessarily putting ourselves at risk driving in an unfamiliar country with an 11-month-old baby.
To make matters worse, we requested a breakdown of costs after feeling that the holiday, which cost £10,000, didn’t match up to the value we expected. We spoke to other travelers who were on similar trips with better accommodation at nearly half the price, yet Trailfinders refused to provide any cost transparency.
Overall, the planning and service were far below the standard we expected, especially for such a special trip. We are incredibly disappointed with the experience and will not be recommending Trailfinders to others.
This trip would have been stressful enough for 2 adults let alone with an 11 month old baby which infuriates us as we specifically mentioned this to our travel advisor prior to booking and it's been just thrown together without any proper planning.”
“I could write a long email regarding my gratitude to Trailfinders and the teams that have supported me me with my issue.
I simply want to say thank you for your kindness and professionalism.
Please pass on my best wishes and thanks.”
“Disappointing Honeymoon Experience with Poor Planning and Service
We recently booked our honeymoon to South Africa with Trailfinders, and unfortunately, the experience fell far below our expectations. Despite explaining from the beginning that our baby was our top priority, it seemed like no consideration was given to him when planning our flights or accommodation.
To start with, after checking out of our lodge at Amakhala at 11am, we were left with nowhere to go until our flight at 9:30pm, which was extremely inconvenient with a baby. There was a 3:30pm flight available that would have aligned perfectly with checkout, allowing us to land, have dinner, and get our baby in bed by 7pm—ideal for the early start the next morning. This was a huge oversight in the planning process.
Our flight to Cape Town via Dubai also included a 4-hour layover during the night, which caused further disruption to our baby’s sleep. We could have flown direct from Heathrow for 11 hours, but instead, we endured this unnecessarily long, exhausting journey after already flying 9 hours.
The trip planning as a whole lacked foresight. For example, we had a single night booked in Franschhoek for wine tasting, but couldn’t partake as we had to drive 4 hours the next morning to our next destination. The accommodation throughout the trip was very basic, with no special honeymoon touches as promised—no complimentary wine or champagne, no private dinner, and no turndown service, despite it being noted in our booking that these would be included.
We also had a significant issue at the start of the trip, as a car seat was not provided, which led to us losing a day of our holiday trying to source one ourselves. This mishap caused us to backtrack and drive through the night for 4 hours, missing out on the scenic Route 62 views and unnecessarily putting ourselves at risk driving in an unfamiliar country with an 11-month-old baby.
To make matters worse, we requested a breakdown of costs after feeling that the holiday, which cost £10,000, didn’t match up to the value we expected. We spoke to other travelers who were on similar trips with better accommodation at nearly half the price, yet Trailfinders refused to provide any cost transparency.
Overall, the planning and service were far below the standard we expected, especially for such a special trip. We are incredibly disappointed with the experience and will not be recommending Trailfinders.”
“We have booked a 4 week holiday to Australia. We were encouraged to book our car at the time of booking the holiday as we are travelling between Sydney and Melbourne. We arranged to collect the car at the airport and return on departure to the airport. On further planning the holiday we realised we do not require a car when in the cities Sydney and Melbourne. We returned to the Trail Finders office to request these changes to be told we would be charged £85 to make any changes to our holiday booking. We were not informed of this at the time of booking, although it is apparently in the contract you receive after payment.
Our lesson is that trail finders are good with flight, hotels and some activities, but something like booking a car we should do ourselves. We would not have had to pay to change this.”
“In August 2024 I requested that Trailfinders erase my personal information, they refused to do so. I understand travel companies may retain this information for 3 years so I then requested they look to erase as much as possible, anonymise remaining personal information where possible and pass my request on to the third parties which they shared my information with. These third party tour companies (selected and in business with Trailfinders) did not prove to he trustworthy in my experience. This was a fair and reasonable request considering the circumstances. Trailfinders again informed me by email that they have not attempted to action my request or accept their responsibility. I am not satisfied with their customer service.”
“Never use them again trusted them following sudden death of my wife but Darren very rude called tonight and the company closes down will not talk so sad thought they were 5 star my Iz credit card was compromised and reviewed Darren was clear it was my fault today he and the company he is supposed to promote lost so much repeat business he refused to listen any company with manager that does not listen has no future”
“TRAILFINDERS REVIEW SUNDAY 24TH MARCH 2024
A CELBRATION OF MY 7OTH BIRTHDAY
My 70th birthday was approaching. In January I spoke to several friends about it one suggested Trailfinders as the venue is spacious and beautifully laid out. She went on to say that they catered for many different cuisines, including Caribbean which she says tastes amazing, so I decided to contact them.
From the minute I spoke to Lesley, the Hostess at the venue, her warm, welcoming voice over the phone made me feel at ease, so my friend and I made an appointment to visit.
From the minute I drove into the charming, picturesque and peaceful grounds of Trailfinders I was captivated.
We met Lesley who radiated calmness with a warm smile and was very attentive to my requests and vision for the event. As we discussed the requirements, she offered positive and helpful suggestions which made me feel assured that the event was being held in a well organised establishment.
I then made the decision that Trailfinders was the place for me and told her that my great niece was an Events Organiser and gave her details to Lesley.
The event which took place on Sunday 24th March was an absolute success! It exceeded my expectations. The Olympic Pavilion, a virtual tabula rasa, was transformed into a 70s Disco Extravaganza. The Caribbean cuisine had my guests eyeing the buffet and going back for more. My niece’s decorative flair was astounding, her décor emphasising 70s extravagant disco fever and the spaciousness of the venue, which included an outside grass-covered seating area. The atmosphere was electric. Guests karaoked, danced and swaggered their 70’s attire! Me included.
Lesley supported us all the way with her guidance and suggestions regarding photo streaming on screens within the venue which turned out to be a brilliant idea. Her support was pivotal to the whole experience. Memories of my 70th Birthday celebrations will forever remain with me and my guests. I’m still getting texts and phone calls thanking me for the invites!
From not knowing of its existence, my trail for any future events will have to lead to Trailfinders, Perivale.
Carmel
April 3rd 2024”
“We were late putting in our eta request and were put through to Christine at the visa department, she calmed us down as we were in panic mode and talked us through everything we had to do, she could not guarantee that we would get it but without her help we would have had no chance, brilliant lady. The rest of the team at trailfinders were also very helpful in giving us advise of what were our alternatives, we have used this company for years and will continue to do so because of how good their staff are”
“Terrible experience. Wrong booking of the room, another hotel was so dirty. They forgot every time to organise baby car seat and when we called they didn’t even come back to us.”
“Thanks to the very high score of this travel agency, we organised our honeymoon with them (some friends also suggested us to try them). We both have specific needs:
- One of us is hyperactive and definitely needs to unload his energy with activities and tours.
- food is extremely important for both as one has a very restricted diet
- we both have high standards about food and drink
The agency then offered us a 5-star luxury resort ( Santhiya koh Yao yai in Thailand)
- High standards and structure tested and verified with really good feedback
- 7 restaurants with different cousins
- High standards
- A lot of different Activity during the day and the night
- Possibility to easier visit Phuket
- Resort English speaker
Considering the wonderful description, we trusted them and booked the property.
Upon arrival at the resort, unfortunately, the problems started immediately: it was expected a honeymoon welcoming in the room with decorations and fruit. we received a piece of cake wrapped in plastic wrap and written "happy birthday"
Below of how in reality is a “luxury 5 star hotel” for trailfinder:
- the beach is equipped with about 20 sunbeds and if you are late, you have to settle for the swimming pool. the use of the beach is also poorly maintained and very basic (thin mattress directly on the sand and kitchen towels on top).
- the bar service on the beach is present but in a "do it yourself" style with a QR code and no one nearby to ask for support in case of problems. The resort is unable to prepare drinks and you need to do by yourself. If you want ice, you need to pay
- The two swimming pools are essentially organized in the same way as the beach and to get beach towels you have to fill out a form every day for collection and return as often the staff disappears for hours
- on the beach and on the swimming pools areas there is no form of entertainment (no music, no animation, no games)
- there should have been several tours during the day to discover the local area and culture. a total fiasco: 4 tours are available and all for snorkelling. furthermore, the hotel reserves the right to cancel the tour the night before if there are not enough participants. to my question "but if you cancel it, what can I do?", they laughed on my face and replied "you can spend 10 times more and get a private tour".
- of the famous 7 restaurants sold, there are only 2 and both with Thai cuisine and the IDENTICAL poor MENU. we tried the buffet restaurant but we didn't have the courage to swallow those dishes: food hours old, dry and with the semblance of having been prepared the day before.
- connections with phuket are not guaranteed: first boat available at 10 AM and last boat to return to the hotel at 3:30 PM. therefore impossible to visit the city
- recreational activities in the multifunctional centre: present only 2 times a week 1 hour yoga course
- The general maintenance status is not really good
- At 3-4 PM the resort staff asked to all the customer to leave the beach because they need the space to prepare the tables for private dinners. So no possible to stay on a beach
At the end of the first day we called the canary wharf agency to ask for help and transfer to a structure that was in line with the amount paid and contractually agreed. After 2 days, the trailfinders customer service basically replied that it’s our business (one of the 2 duty managers). The fact they have not respected and honored the contract was not their problem seems. The solution proposed at the phone was "pay us for another hotel at your total expense and then maybe when you come back to England we'll see if we can possibly give you something".
After an official second complaint, a second duty manager of the travel agency decided to give us 500 pound (consider to have a 5 star hotel here for 9 days you need at least 3500 pound).
Desperate, I reviewed in trustpilot my experience with them. After a couple of hours they call me back asking to remove my review because they decided to involve some high managers in order to solve the problem in a couple of days (from our request of help passed now 5 days). After 2 other days the outcome from TRAILFINDERS and Santhiya koh Yao yai was to add on a menu the champagne and that it. They also told us “you decided to take this resort and not another one more expensive so the fault is yours” (probably we are really idiot to think in a 5 star luxury resort, maybe not the most expensive one in the entire world, we should expect fish at dinner, some activities during the day and night, medium level of service., staff able to understand English and just an eatable food. Yes travelfinder, we are idiot)
Please be careful when someone in travel finder is assuring you about how amazing is a place because they don’t check and you are alone, as if you book a structure by your shelf.
Terrible assistance”
“Thanks to the very high score of this travel agency, we (my husband and I) organized our honeymoon with them (some friends also suggested us to try them). We both have specific needs in terms of food and services which we have stressed extensively with them:
- One of us is hyperactive and definitely needs to unload his energy with activities and tours.
- food is extremely important for both as one has a very restricted diet
- we both have high standards about food and drink that we are unable to radically change
The agency then offered us a 5-star luxury resort ( Santhiya koh Yao yai in Thailand)
- High standards and structure tested and verified with really good feedback
- 7 restaurants with different cousins
- High standards
- A lot of different Activity during the day and the night
- Possibility to easier visit Phuket
- Resort English speaker
Considering the wonderful description, we trusted them and booked the property.
Upon arrival at the resort, unfortunately, the problems started immediately: it was expected a honeymoon welcoming in the room with decorations and fruit. we received a piece of cake wrapped in plastic wrap and written "happy birthday"
Below of how in reality is was this “luxury 5 star hotel”:
- the beach is equipped with about 20 sunbeds and if you are late, you have to settle for the swimming pool. the use of the beach is also poorly maintained and very basic (thin mattress directly on the sand and kitchen towels on top).
- the bar service on the beach is present but in a "do it yourself" style with a QR code and no one nearby to ask for support in case of problems. the order generally arrives after about 20 minutes. If you want ice, you need to pay
- The two swimming pools are essentially organized in the same way as the beach and to get beach towels you have to fill out a form every day for collection and return as often the staff disappears for hours
- on the beach and on the swimming pools areas there is no form of entertainment (no music, no animation, no games)
- there should have been several tours during the day to discover the local area and culture. a total fiasco: 4 tours are available and all for snorkelling. furthermore, the hotel reserves the right to cancel the tour the night before if there are not enough participants. to my question "but if you cancel it, what can I do?", they laughed on my face and replied "you can spend 10 times more and get a private tour".
- to move from the room (hotel 5) to the beach area you have to call ZERO and ask for the pick up. when i called, the receptionist didn't speak english and she answered me “NO NO NO NO”.
- of the famous 7 restaurants sold, there are only 2 and both with Thai cuisine and the IDENTICAL poor MENU. we tried the buffet restaurant but we didn't have the courage to swallow those dishes: food hours old, badly presented, dry and with the semblance of having been prepared the day before.
- connections with phuket are not guaranteed: first boat available at 10 AM and last boat to return to the hotel at 3:30 PM. therefore impossible to visit the city
- recreational activities in the multifunctional centre: present only 2 times a week 1 hour yoga course
- The general maintenance status is not really good
- At 4 PM the resort staff asked to all the customer to leave the beach because they need the space to prepare the tables for private dinners (with no manners and simply ignoring the fact at 4 is still really early)
At the end of the first day we called the canary wharf agency to ask for help and transfer to a structure that was in line with the amount paid and contractually agreed. The travel angent was really understanding annd tried to help us contacting their emergency customer service. After 2 days, the trailfinders customer service basically replied that it’s our business. The fact they have not respected and honored the contract was not their problem seems. The solution proposed us at the phone was "pay us for another hotel at your total expense and then maybe when you come back to England we'll see if we can possibly give you something back".
After an official second complaint, the travel agency decided to give us 500 pound (consider to have a 5 star hotel here for 9 days you need at least 3500 pound).
Please be careful when you book with them a resort because If something happen, for their emergency customer service it’s simply your problem. After 4 days we are still waiting their help (will NEVER HAPPENED)
TRAILFINDERS, i will remember my honeymoon booked with you and your ability to solve problems forever!”
“This review refers to the Trailfinders travel agency, not the Safari itself or the company who runs it.
Awful experience. We spent almost 6 days out of a 14 day vacation stuck in airports and crappy airport hotels. A waste of time and money (because they did not cover our extra expenses, of course) that could have been avoided had they booked the flights we asked in first place (we even offered to pay for them ourselves on top of the vacation package) A travel agency who won't even book a flight? What is the point? And, by the way, the seven-day safari in Kenya is actually only five days. Day one is spent stuck in one of the worse hotels we've ever been to, without even an outdoor area! and Day 7 is spent driving back to the airport. I've never dealt with such an incompetent, dismissive, disrespectful and deceiving company. Do not recommend.”
“We had no support in contacting Air France to get our delayed luggage delivered whilst on a Treasures of Cuba tour. We had to endure 11 days without any luggage and personal essentials in a country where you cant buy/source replacements. We also have no support now home in gaining any compensation for loss of enjoyment and pain/suffering. They inform us they have no leverage or influence on luggage problems. When we did manage to get to a phone line always plus 40 in the queue. Email responses were not helpfull in anyway.”
“Been using Traifinders since 2008 never any problems , but in recent years there customer service has gone down hill and long waiting times in phone queue , unfriendly staff , unrelible staff that don't call you back , I basically lost my booking which was primarily booked according to the gentlemen, he did not call me back , so I had to call back then was told it would be a extra £200 .
Never use them again”
“Currently in the USA on a Trailfinders vacation.
Car via Alamo is not as ordered. Contacted “urgent assistance” at Trailfinders UK only to discover its full of untrained, unhelpful, arrogant fools who do nothing to help. And I do mean NOTHING. Once Trailfinders (UK) have your money you don’t exist to them. They’ll try every trick in the book to do nothing. They are 100% untruthworthy.
Got a problem? … expect no help from their helpline.
Want a manager response? … expect to hear nothing.
Like to have a normal conversation with an intelligent person? … forget it.
The UK team are dreadful. DO NOT BOOK WITH TRAILFINDERS. THEY ARE SIMPLY APPALLING.”
“I would just like to thank you as a company and Richard Collis our travel expert who helped to organise and advise us over the past couple of years before and during covid.
Wow what an amazing experience we have had as a family.
Everything was perfectly organised.
So much fun and information given throughout our whole trip.
The camping was great in the Serengeti with brilliant truck driver, guide and cook.
We saw every animal possible and loved the thrill and excitement of the truck journey with Sam, our inclusive experience of preparing food with Emmanuel and the unbelievable knowledge of our guide Gilbert.
The hotels in Nairobi, Tanzania and Zanzibar were above our expectations
A perfect exceptional holiday for us.!!
We look forward to discovering more of Africa and speaking to your company in the future to guide us through our next trailfinders experience.
Thankyou so much”
“Michael O’Dea was outstanding. Friendly, relaxed but professional and not pushy in any way. He took his time to find exactly what I wanted and offered advice with his extensive travel experience. By the time I booked he felt like a family friend. He was far superior to one of your other reps to whom I spoke who didn’t interact at all. Well done Michael & well done Trailfinders for employing him!”
“Booked a Holiday Saturday 16th Paid deposit but still one stay not confirmed Have phoned since waited 30 minutes for an answer 2nd call waited 1hour 20 mins for answer
Today waited 50mins and cut off redialed now online for 20minutes No callback system come on Sir Mike Gooley owner or Toby Kelly sort your selves out at least have a call back system sorted”
“I have had to fly from Australia to GB and back again during lockdown. Both legs have involved several last minute flight cancellations and rebooking with different airlines. Not only have Trailfinders managed everything with a minimum of stress, but have ensured that full refunds have been forthcoming, even before the airline have paid up. I have used them for over 10 years in both good times and bad. Always good service.”
