HolidayMax

Positives: OK value but this is negated by having to pay in full over a year before. Enjoyed learning about the Vietnamese and Cambodian culture. (My review is NO reflection on this great cultural experience or the beautiful locals we met. It is purely about Holiday Max as a company). Food plentiful. Most guides (but not all) great and all staff… Read more

on cruise lovely.

Negatives:

Safety of passengers an issue. Berthing at times in very unsafe slippery muddy hilly areas with no boardwalk where we witnessed elderly and unstable mobility compromised people struggling to get down steep slippery rocky hills to board our boat on the Mekong river. I struggled myself and I am a fit 60-odd yr old. Staff tried to help as best they could but still lots of slipping and sliding. I have video footage to prove it. Many of these people refrained from other excursions due to this and one lady sustained an injury. Our guide at site said we "missed out" on the good berthing spot and "this is what happens in Cambodia". First come, first served and later boats run the gauntlet of safety v's danger. I tried to raise this with Holiday Max both on the tour and on phone when I returned home. On the boat, no help whatsoever from our guide who made a speech to us all about where we were, and how we should "Rememember that we are in Cambodia and things are different to Australia...." Head Office Holiday Max customer service response when I rang was that no-one was available to talk to me or call me back unless I was making a booking but I could email??? I sent an email and got no reply!

We requested a double bed throughout our trip. The confirmation paperwork had single beds. We contacted head office and were advised this was rectified. Didn't happen. Slept in single beds the entire trip...It was all just too hard.

Don't expect to do itinerary tours as advertised. If others on the tour don't want to do it you may not visit the site. It was a show of hands situation on the bus. I have never experienced this before...it was confronting and scary to be honest. I was bullied because my husband and I wanted to do the scheduled Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum itinerary item visit as a few others on the bus/tour had done it before (they disclosed this days later to us) and didn't want to do again and didn't want to wait in a queue. We had travelled to the site and were right outside! Not good enough HM!

Ha Long Bay was filthy and overowded with tourist boats. Our lovely guide said he was embarrassed. Again I have many photos. Also, not at all like ads on tv. Dull, dirty and bleak. The ads are very misleading which is simply false advertising. Not just Ha Long Bay but other places too, including visiting the floating markets. Nothing like the ad. The elephant tour/walk in the forest as advertised was never even mentioned!

Be prepared to tip generously...and often. We are generous tippers at the best of times but the pressure was definitely on from all guides and was very awkward at times.

I would NOT recommend Holiday Max, mainly due to a lack of duty of care to keep passengers safe and lack of communication and undersranding when I tried to talk to them re issues. Lowerish price trip definitely equals below average customer service and can result in a below average holiday experience overall. Do yourself a favour and read the 1 and 2 star reviews on all review sites for a clearer understanding of the company's performance overall. It's not good. Note: As per Product Review protocol we delayed posting this review for a 14 days to give HM another opportunity to contact us which they chose not to do and review got published automatically

Although my husband and myself enjoyed our South African and Victoria Falls tour with Holiday Max some of the places we visited we would not have chosen to go which were included and paid for on the trip. Some of my thoughts are as follows: 1. The small mini van {Toyota HiAce} which we travelled in was not adequate enough to fit the 9 passengers,… Read more

simply because the last long bench at the back was too uncomfortable due to the condition of the roads and the number of hours travelled and the poor suspension. 2. The tuk tuk ride in the backstreets through the villages were very uncomfortable and quite scary, yet again due to the condition of the roads. This is something I would suggest you do away with OR put it as an option. 3. The wine tasting at Lynx was not to my taste as I am not a wine drinker and my husband who knows his wine thought they were too young to serve let alone buy a bottle and this was the general consensus of the group. 3. We very much enjoyed the Sunset Set cruise on the Zambesi River and enjoyed the drinks and snacks which were provided. The river boat ride on the Chobe River was in a flat bottomed boat slightly larger than a dinghy when there were other larger appropriate boats doing the same thing. 4. in regards to the safari tours I would suggest that the company provide a two step ladder to enable the more senior and smaller people an easier method of getting in and out of the open jeeps 5. Another recommendation would be for the travel agency to make travelers aware that we are crossing boarders and some boarders require payment in US$ CASH for multiple entry visas. 6. You are expected to tip for most services provided and sometimes a compulsory Service Fee and VAT fees added. Zimbabwe tips are usually in US$ requiring you to carry the equivalent A$100-150 to cover these extra expenses. 7. All the hotels were ***** and breakfasts were very well included, something for everyone. Overall it was an experience worth having and would highly recommend it to anyone who has South Africa on their bucket list - but you must consider being fit and able to climb up and down open jeeps when visiting the National Parks. There are many companies doing similar tours both in Australia and Africa and would recommend you do a bit of research before committing yourself to one travel agency.

There's a reason HolidayMax are cheaper than other Tour Companies...you get what you pay for !! You have to pay the FULL Amount upfront and there the customer Service ends. We waited until only 3 days before leaving to get our travel documents and 1 staff member was quite aggressive and rude. Don't believe the Youtube videos. We were so excited… Read more

but this was quickly taken from us when we started the journey. This trip was by far the worst travel experience I have had in my 30 years of overseas travel. Hotels in London at beginning and end of tour were a nice 3 star but all the rest were below that. Certainly not what they portray. 1 Hotel should not even have been rated. Homeless people were living in, beside and behind it and the Foyer stunk of Urine. 1 of the group was assaulted in the lift by a drunk and homeless man and staff were seldom around to seek help. Chairs had been removed from the breakfast room and paper bags were left to encourage everyone to grab something and leave. At another hotel, 1 of the group had their money stolen by a staff member. I've stayed in Hostels far better than the accommodation provided. The tour bus was dirty and old and very uncomfortable. No WiFi , some seats had charging ports and some not. A lot didn't work anyway. Some seats had a pocket in back for drink etc whilst others didn't or they were ripped so your things fell thru. Bus was never cleaned the whole 15 day trip. Tour guide extremely lacking with general knowledge so not much content whilst touring.....It was 15 days of hell Meals that were provided were very poor and only a choice of vegetarian or not , so bad luck if you cannot eat the Protein provided. So basically this was a bad bus taking you from one city to another and you find your own info if interested.

My driver from Blacklane Cars did not show up to pick me up from JFK Airport upon my arrival. I had to find and repay another driver to take me to my… Read more

Hotel. It was very stressful. I have not been reimbursed for this as yet still following it up. Blacklane Cars told me the refund has been paid to Holiday Max however I still have not received the refund even after emailing Iain at Holiday Max who informed they were very busy. The Hotel Gallivant charged me an extra $284.21 on top of what I had already paid for the room. I was not informed of this extra charge it just appeared on my bank statement. I emailed The Gallivant Hotel to enquire they replied all guests are charged this fee. Not acceptable to not have prior knowledge or informed of this extra charge. Ferry ticket to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island did not work when scanned as I tried to board the ferry. I had to repurchase another ticket. Quite a few things went wrong on my trip as I am 66yo and travelling solo it was very stressful and upsetting.

Fantastic Holiday. The hotels were great, the food and the tours were fantastic. The tour guide Prathap went out of his way to make this trip so much fun and enjoyable for everyone. We saw so much and had so much fun with a great group of people. I would definitely would recommend this tour. Show details

The cabin was very comfortable. Had a colonial look. High bed, plenty of storage. Bathroom was good. Daily excursions were interesting, giving an insight into how the people live. If going good to take educational gifts for the kids, they love it. Vietnam visa difficult, best to let HolidayMax do it. Also, Cambodia best to pay at the border. Show details

We were extremely happy with our holiday. Obviously the extra excursions cost a lot more than we expected however we did them and thoroughly enjoyed them. Our guide was extremely helpful Would like to have had a bit more spare time to wander however we understand that when on a trip like this it is a lot of rushing to get to the next once. Too many temples and shrines however done were optional and we chose not to do them. Show details

I travel a lot. An awful love. In the last couple of years I have been to the Philippens, Bali, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Peru..... And I have quite a few trips coming up. But whatever I do, I will NEVER book any of my holidays with this company. They have driven me spare with their relentless spam on youtube. STOP IT!!!!!

Since our last review and issue with this incompetent mob, our flight to Venice has been cancelled. This travel agents solution to that is find your own flights or we will give you a credit that is valid for two years but we won’t take any bookings until after September. So that is now only valid for 18 months. They are anything but proactive.… Read more

Had been hassling them for 6 weeks and they only let us know under two weeks from our departure. Simply not enough time to find alternatives.

Customer service is truly horrible, especially Lilac. He or she was not friendly at all answering my first call to the company. Kept saying "Please refer to the website" as the prices of the tour's changes everyday, similar to the stock market. Disgusting! Show details

Overall the process from booking, to departure and during the tour was easy and the tour was mostly as described. My only suggestions for improvement is making it clear that you don't need to get a visa for Cambodia if travelling from Vietnam via boat, until you are on the boat. Plus allow extra cash for plenty of tips and get some US$$ out before… Read more

you get on the boat for the Cambodia side. Guides were mostly very good and there were no issues with logistics within what HolidayMax could control (the changes come from the airlines).

We had an amazing time. In fact we enjoyed the cruise so much my brother and Sister in law are going tomorrow. I would do it again in a heartbeat! Holiday Max really do it so well we felt like royalty. Show details