Travel Associates

Experience at Travel Associates has not been a positive one. Unfortunately, I had to cancel my travels due to some medical circumstances. The appointment was highly uncomfortable as I was required to go into the centre for my appointment- which consisted of being told how to cancel my trip, and after 5-10 minutes I was asked to leave. I felt… Read more

belittled and like I was being an inconvenience to the travel associate. I was advised my partial refund could take up to 12 weeks. Everytime I contact the travel agency they are not helpful in providing any updates. I took matters into my own hands and contacted the airline personally and have been advised that my refund has in fact been processed to the travel agency. In fact, Qatar Airways only takes 14-28 business days to process refunds. When I contacted the travel agency, they were once again quick to say it will take up to 12 weeks. They have not followed up or investigated the matter. I am continuously made to feel like an inconvenience to them. I know plenty of people that have had to cancel holidays due to unforeseen circumstances and the refund process has not been this problematic for them. They are quick to take your money but not help you when you are in a vulnerable position. Do not visit the Norwood branch.

A well-planned holiday, but never made it – Our European Trip was planned 12 mths out. Travel Associates secured well priced airline tickets, Rhine River cruise and accommodation to boot. The logistics of the trip was well organised and communicated to us succinctly. However, due to illness the trip had to be cancelled at the last moment. Travel associates helped us through the entire… Read more

cancellation and the Insurance claiming process of the trip. Merrilee at Cotton Tree Travel Associates was very understanding and helpful.

Welcoming and efficient – Welcoming and efficient staff. Lis Poole is a pleasure to deal with. Fast accurate details and options provided when booking flights. Show details

The awesome staff at Travel Associates Glenelg SA – This is a shout out to the awesome staff at Travel Associates Glenelg, South Australia. We as a family have been dealing with Donna Woodhouse at the Glenelg branch for a number of years and I can only speak highly of her. Donna goes over and above her duties to help and make sure your holiday runs smoothly. Her attention to detail is second to… Read more ·  1

none. She’s always obliging to help out, keeps you updated on any changes and advises accordingly. She listens to what you like and dislike in a holiday and personally customises your trip. Thank you Donna, you are awesome. Carolyn and Antony Speer

Avoid – I can relate to "disappointed" from 6 months ago. We were very welcomed at the beginning and drawn in and the required fee was paid. After this I can only describe the responses to our requests for information from the Mackay office as abismal. We were the ones phoning...sending emails...phoning... sending emails. They had our $12,000.00...no… Read more

acknowledgment...no receipt...no anything... We thought Oh fab....we will see this business on A Current Affair next !!!! As with "disappointed" we were given all the excuses for non responses to emails and phone messages. We understand people have their own family emergencies and have to have time off...but no "out of office" on the email so that we at least would have known, or have a colleague take over the files and respond to phone messages ????. While overseas we reached out with a request for assistance with trying to change our seats as we were both unwell..... 17 days later the consultant responded...basically telling us to do it ourselves. I reached out again and told her we felt abandoned. Her response...a lengthy email with excuses that really meant nothing. Our transfers in Singapore were wrong....our accomodation in Singapore (according to the itinerary we were given) was supposed to include breakfast... of course it didn't...by this stage, why were we not surprised ?? Last email we received from the Mackay office was 3 weeks ago advising she would "look into the breakfast issue" as we would be entitled to a refund and get back to us....yer right........still waiting...waiting...waiting.....you guessed it NOTHING !!! What an incredibly stressful experience we had dealing with Travel Associates Mackay from basically the start till now No care factor once we had paid our money.. avoid avoid avoid

$500 "service fee" for 2 people zero value – We visited to obtain help with booking flights. Were informed that $250 "service fee" per person was now normal in the post COVID world. Successfully booked appropriate flights and later travel insurance, but from then on emails were rarely answered or only much later (so that we always ended up sorting out issues ourselves), excuses were made… Read more

about "sick, busy, other clients", little to no information provided re eg "24hr helpline" (only mentioned at end of trip). VERY confusing, frustrating and huge waste of $500.

Still waiting for my refund! – Cancelled flights in May having used this agency to book flights. I was informed the cancellation process will take 14 days. 2 months later still no refund. I have followed up numerous times. Last communication I sent was 2 weeks ago. I was told that refunds go directly into the agency’s pooled account. Have not heard back. They are charging $75… Read more

per person ($300) for this service!!! What service? I’m having to chase them. I would have been better off booking directly with the airline. The refund is for $9,000+. I’ve been very tolerant of the travel industry for the last 3 years due to Covid etc but this is an absolute joke.

Our overall experience with this company was unsatisfactory. We had to follow up on numerous occasions when we needed to change our flight departure by 1 day. Beyond disappointment, it was also incredibly stressful. It became very apparent that once everything had been paid for ($30,000) their customer service ceased. Therefore I would not recommend this company nor would I use them again.

Katrina at the Rouse Hill location has been so professional and patient with me. She even worked after hours to obtain the best possible flight times and cost, going above and beyond. I would highly recommend in dealing with her for worldwide travel. I certainly will be using this company again. Show details

Can’t travel anywhere without Vicky from Cronulla – Absolute professional to us for the last 14 years as she has been able to fulfill all our requests in a timely manner Show details ·  1

Excellent Advice and Service – We have been fortunate to have Rohan Ford advise and arrange luxury cruises and associated land packages to the Baltic Sea, North Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Canada, Alaska and the Kimberley regions.Rohan provided us with outstanding advice and service for each experience. He clearly understood our expectations and expertly tailored each trip to suit… Read more

our needs. He is efficient, reliable with a wide knowledge and experience of the international luxury cruising scene. He is a master at minimising the cost and locating additional experiences at no cost if available. Highly recommended.

Excellent service provided by Kieran at Gungahlin Travel Associates – I have booked overseas and domestic trips with Kieran at Gungahlin Travel Associates for many years…..and highly recommend his knowledge and expertise. Kieran is always professional, friendly and organises an itinerary in detail., whether travelling with friends or solo. A recent solo trip had an uncomplicated itinerary , yet Kieran still spent… Read more

time checking my best value options and accommodating my preferences. The Travel Associates emergency number has been a valuable resource when flights are cancelled at short notice.

Excellent travel advisor – Melissa Goetz from the Williamstown office has been superb in helping us plan a big 3 month trip to the Americas. She is so knowledgeable and efficient with organising whats needed. Melissa is full of great ideas, advice and tips. Her friendly, approachable manner has made the process a breeze. Melissa has enjoyed planning our independent… Read more

itinerary with us. Although I’ve travelled independently throughout the world for many years l have no hesitation to highly recommend Melissa!

Great personalised service – I have booked quite a few overseas & domestic trips with Kieran Roberts of Travel Associates Gunghalin & have been extremely pleased with his level of personal attention to ensuring the best holidays for myself & my family . He is patient & creative & follows up on every detail - I know I can trust his judgement & abilities . I would highly recommend him ! Show details

KImberley cruise on Ponant – Our recent travel experience was amazing. All went so smoothly thanks to Michelle Evans. Would totally recommend Travel Associates. Show details

Very happy with Hampton, Vic office – We don't have a problem with the concierge fee now being charged. They do a massive amount of running around to get airline fares etc booked, and make virtually no money from the airlines, in particular. Plus if there is any rescheduling or rebooking required, they do it and not us. So it's a win/win :-)

Incorrect information – Booked a trip to Canada which included a two night trip to Victoria on Vancouver island through Travel Associates Cronulla . The travel agent told us it would be a short walk from the cruise ship to the ferry terminal. On asking directions we were told we had to catch a bus and it would take us on the ferry and into Victoria. We had to take a… Read more

taxi to the bus terminal then book a ticket, luckily seats were available on the next bus and then it was a 4.5 hour trip to Victoria bus depot, and then find our hotel. The return journey had to be precooked and it was another 5 hour journey. Cost of bus tickets was $120 each way. So two days of our trip were lost on unexpected travel and not being told the location of our hotel and other information . Our trip itinerary could have been arranged differently and we could have flown to Victoria had we known. After informing the agent there was no apology she just said the information was noted. Won’t be using that agency again!

Judgemental, Rude, Unhelpful! STAY AWAY! – Went to the Hampton centre and dealt with Simone Kacan. Advised her I was wanting to book my flights to the USA and all my internals. First thing she said was she will be charging me $125 per person for the flights as they airlines didn’t pay her!!! Wow! I thought this was quite an odd thing to say first up. She then continued to state that I… Read more

could go down the road to Flight Center where they don’t have those charges!!! It gets better!! she goes on to say she wasn’t even willing to look up any flights for me unless I paid a “concierge” fee first.. it was clear that she had pre judged me and decided I wasn’t worth her time. Ironically the shop had not one customer at the time. The story ends with me taking her advice and going to flight centre. I booked 3 business class return tickets and 2 sky lounge tickets return. Along with 3 internal flights within the USA for 5 people and all our transfers. In contrast the staff at flight centre were very helpful and friendly and went out of their way to display great customer service. As for Travel Associates I am a bayside local and will be telling everyone I know about my experience and treatment.. very poor form..

Incredible service! – I would like to commend, & recommend, Kieran Roberts, Travel Associates, for his incredible service. He was highly recommended by a friend and he exceeded my expectations with his winning personality, expert knowledge and great tips and hints when we booked our trip to the UK and France recently. I was very anxious about planning our flights as my… Read more

son and I were flying over together, but coming home at different times, and I have not travelled OS in 30 years. Kieran spent time gaining an understanding of our individual needs and concerns and searched for flight options which suited our budgets and explained in detail the pros and cons of the different airlines, the plane configurations, seating and leg room. He also discussed the issues relating to the cheapest online prices, such as sudden cancellation of flights & which airlines have the least number of daily flights, along with the common problems travellers are experiencing post COVID restrictions. Kieran was never fazed when we would throw in other ideas for stop overs, or various departure countries, but quickly searched for good value flights from the different options! He was a champion!! We were impressed with Kieran’s knowledge of insurance companies and he carefully checked the fine print to ensure my son’s musical equipment would be covered along with the more adventurous activities he was going to be doing while away. The 24hr support line Travel Associates provides gives me peace of mind that no matter what happens, my son and I will be looked after. Kieran was courteous, professional and friendly. He made the whole experience easy and stress free.

Would never book with this agency again – Booked my cruise through [Name Removed] Travel Associates in Gungahlin ACT, of course happy to take your money and I paid in full, I also asked that he tell Royal Caribbean that I required 2 single beds and he said they would do it anyway. I emailed him down to the track to find out if the travel insurance I bought covered medivac from the ship if… Read more

required and never heard anything back from him. I rang on 6/2/2023 at 12:16pm and spoke to [Name Removed] and I asked if I could talk to [Name Removed] or make an appointment that afternoon to see him and he had someone with him. I was advised by [Name Removed] that [Name Removed] would call me back, I advised it was in regards to my cruise and to this day I still haven't heard from him. I would never recommend for anyone to go through this travel agent again and I can tell you I will never book with them again. I'm so glad that my cruise went off without a hitch or anything going wrong but if it had I would never have had any help from this Travel Agent as he doesn't return calls and as for the arrangements for the bed on the ship it was made as 1 bed and not 2 singles. The cabin attendant was able to fix this up but it should've been added into the booking. What's the point of being a travel agent if you aren't going to call your customer back, even if it's not the same day but the next. Please don't apologise as it's rude not to call a person back, I hadn't booked my airfare and I could've been calling to get that done but he will never know as he's lost me as a customer and I've already told people not to go through him. I work in customer service and I know you can't always call the person back the same day but there's no excuse not to call a person back.

A promise never delivered – Made a visit to Belconnen ACT to Travel Associates, they promised to have details of our trip to Thailand & Hong Kong before the end of week, 3 weeks later still waiting, we are to leave in a week for wedding. thanks Travel Associates for nothing and wasting our time. if you don't want to help customers please say so prior to getting hopes up. Show details

Booking Fee $125 per person above 16 years old – I called Rosehill Travel Associate to do a booking for international travel and was told no free booking and that we need to pay $125 person above 16 years old. I feel this is ridiculous and not fare to customers. I've used travel associates Rousehill before and they never changed any extras. Not sure why this sudden change.

Never again – Booked a Princess cruise November last year through Travel Associates paid in full at this time. Had to cancel early December here we are mid February waiting for our refund. First off told 2 weeks, then it was 10 weeks as Princess refunds the money not the agency. This I find a bit rude as they are already charging us a large cancellation fee and… Read more

collecting the interest on our money that we are losing, then Travel associates also charge a fee as well. We seem to be getting the runaround from the agency getting any information is almost impossible unsure if this is how this group deal with customers or just this girl??

VERY RUDE ARROGANT AND NASTY CUSTOMER SERVICE at your Norwood branch office ? – I’m a registered nurse - just finished my night shift & visited your NORWOOD store just now around 11am today ie 22/6/22. Tried to get a price-estimate for a short-break with my daughter to Europe & USA in August’22 (we both are nursing & we already have our annual leave approved from 1st of August to end of August). The lady sitting right at the… Read more

centre of the room called [Name Removed] attended to me as follows -:(1) I was just about starting to explain my itenerary to her when she stopped me from explaining by stating “August??? is too late now - u won’t get airfares unless u are willing to pay VERY HIGH RATES ??” (I explained to her that I already have a quote given to me from interstate travel agency which I was happy to show her but NO!! - she was looking at me as if I have committed a “crime” by wanting to travel in August’22??)(2)she did EVERYTHING to discourage me by saying :-“ August will be too crowded!” (3)I told her I want to travel to Iceland as covid cases are less there / she again nodded her head disapprovingly stating :-“ cases are less because population is less there!”(4) then I persisted & said “maybe population is less but then I want to travel to Lucerne too via Zurich in August as there too presently covid cases are less!!” Then I stated I wanted to do 1 week in Iceland & Zurich 5 days & then proceed to New York. I explained to her that I am looking for a round the world fare?BUT would she listen???! No ways ?? Kept on telling me VARIOUS REASONS why I should not travel in August? (5) Then I just had to tell her politely that this will be our 12th mini round the world trip that we are planning & we usually buy airfares from interstate just because usually Adelaide travel agents do not offer good flight rates?Then I told her since I live in Adelaide this time I thought of walking down to Travel Associates to see if I can make this trip happen via a local travel agent instead of getting airfares from interstate?, (6) THEN she threw her final “TRUMP” card by persisting :- “ but flight fares will be very very high!!! are u willing to pay ?? (she was looking me up & down demeaningly as if stating I would not be able to afford the airfares!?! (7) THEN came the FINAL NAIL in the coffin :- “she silently signalled to her colleague who was sitting just next to her in the centre of the office & her colleague told her “excuse me! your phone appointment is here so would you like to take this call!?!!!! THATS IT ? polite way of stating “get out”. At my age of 57 with 20 years of nursing behind me & still ongoing, every year I keep making these trips with my 31 yo daughter who is a care-manager in a nursing home - I have never ever felt so embarrassed & bullied ever before

Bad customer service, no knowledge of international requirements, they only want your money – The travel agent in Newcastle, NSW, sold me tickets to go overseas for a fortune, she did not even check if citizens from another country needed a visa, and she did not know how long we were supposed to be at the airport before departure and gave us the wrong time, we were there three hours before and we were supposed to be there six hours before… Read more

according to LAN. As a result, we lost our flights and we were stuck overseas with no money, no food, or even health insurance as she did not recommend getting one for one week we were supposed to be outside the country.

Above and beyond all expectations – Danielle is dynamic, professional and her knowledge was beyond all expectations, I spent a week sorting looking going over websites to get a trip to disneyland, LA, vegas, Tennessee and Jack Daniels but i couldnt get it to line up new baggage rules and rules i didnt know like covid insurance well it only took Travel Associates at Chirn Park 1 hour… Read more

fair dinkum this team of 4 ladies had been to galaxys edge at disney understood my budget was small and limited but they MADE IT HAPPEN. I can not speak highly enough about how easy they made it. And im so excited and thankfull i shoped local spent local get down to chirn park and let them make it easy they sure made my dreams come true, along with the cheapest and best options the saved me near a grand and no matter what option i wanted ,extra bag availability 6 months in advance tickets for disney was all just too easy for Danielle to lock it in seriously dont book untill you give them a chance to quote go see them face to face they sure changed my mind and im so happy and proud ive spent with a local aussie business 100/100 5 stars.

BEWARE the small print! Worst experience of my life will never use another travel Agent again – Mum and I were booked on Princess Cruise before the pandemic and paid up $2,000 up front then Pandemic hit and was told to hold off final payment.. Two days before final payment the cruise was canceled and Travel Associates Hervey Bay Canceled our cruise and took $600 for there services.. Great to get signed up and take money off us. Nothing they… Read more

sold us was any good, as used there insurance company & advice and they would not pay any of our loss's. lost on air fares as they give credit but cant use it and the hotel refused refund even on the $45 each breakfasts :(.. so much for there insurance advise it sucked all round.. Oh and not to forget the "Don't call us! we will phone you!" comment when phoning for when the refund will be arriving.. Worst experience of my life and no help at all.. Check your fine print before you sign anything with this company.. still very upset with the way we were treated. Poor form..

Amazing Service – Sonia Miller of Brighton Travel Associates was so thorough and knowledgeable. For the second time booked the perfect trip for our family and thought of everything! Amazing Service from Sonia and the whole team at Brighton.  Show details

Why is this so? – How interesting that a recent email from Travel Associates offering stays at Sydney and Perth Hotels, Phantom of the Opera packages in Melbourne includes US$100 hotel credit. How does that work, what exchange rate will be on offer and will charges at the hotels therefore be in US$s. Show details

Beware! No care, no responsibility – Locally owned franchise part of a Newcastle group. Europe trip cancelled due to covid, the cruise and tour never took place, no fault of mine. Told I could only have a credit note, found out through consumer group and direct from the wholesalers that refunds were being processed. So then I insist on refund, and agree to the Cancel fees $300 pp… Read more

in the T & C, but they took $2000 after refunded by wholesalers , I was told the money was spent and not recoverable. Meanwhile they send emails trying to sell me more expensive packages! Never again will I use a Travel Agent especially Travel Associates they are crooks and in my opinion illegally kept my money for a product not used through no fault of mine. They are liars and crooks.

Very Poor Customer Service/Lack of Understanding of Our Circumstances – we booked an Evergreen (Scenic) Tours river cruise to Vietnam/Cambodia for September 2020. Evergreen cancelled our trip due to the China virus and although presenting medical documentation to state we can not take the vaccine, Evergreen/Scenic are refusing to refund the monies we paid for this trip. Travel Associates travel agent has since quit… Read more

and we are now dealing with Darin Warburton who has advised me via email there is little he can do and has basically washed his hands of the issue and directed us to contact Evergreen Tours (Scenic Tours is the parent company). Very poor customer service and little to no understanding of our situation. Basically, they have our monies and I dare say Travel Associates have received their commission and we have not had our holiday and based on travel bans and the rollout of the vaccine, we will never be able to travel overseas. (Booking Ref. 670928)

Travel Associates Glenelg South Australia – We have booked quite a few cruises and holidays through Travel Associates at Glenelg ( Adam Crossman) and at all times have found him to be very professional and helpful. He's bent over backwards ( with covid) to make sure we received all of our credits back and we wouldn't hesitate to recommend him to anyone wanting to book a holiday, in or out… Read more

of Australia. Getting us back home from Singapore in February after our cruise was cancelled was a prime example. After the initial phone call, he kept in contact with us and arranged everything, and for that we were very grateful. We have another 2 booked and hopefully will be able to go on them.

Never Again – Fantastic until they have received payment. After that no one wants to talk to you. Even when you follow them up and they say they will look into your queries and call you back, the call never comes.  Show details

Pleasant and efficient help with an overseas trip arrangement by Brook was a great pleasure . She relieved us of much worry . Show details

Disappointed – Very ordinary service. Staff member (not in today). Unfortunately I couldn't recommend. Show details