563 reviews
AI reviews summary
HolidayMax is highly regarded for delivering exceptionally well-organised, all-inclusive tour packages that provide significant value for money. Reviewers frequently highlight the professionalism of the local tour guides and the seamless logistics of the itineraries, particularly for river cruises in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Europe. While the sentiment is overwhelmingly positive, some users noted a very fast pace with limited downtime and occasional challenges with head-office communication.
Pros
- Exceptional Value for Money: Packages are frequently described as "first-class" despite the budget-friendly pricing, often including flights, quality accommodation, most meals, and transfers with no hidden fees.
- Outstanding Tour Guides: Local guides are repeatedly praised for being knowledgeable, passionate, and professional, often going above and beyond to assist with travel disruptions or personal needs.
- Seamless Logistics: From airport pickups to internal flight check-ins and transfers between activities, the organisation of the trips is described as "working like clockwork."
- High-Quality Inclusions: The river cruise vessels (such as the Pandaw and Victoria Mekong) and the variety/standard of included meals exceeded the expectations of many travellers.
Cons
- Fast-Paced Itineraries: Multiple reviewers noted that the tours can be "full-on" and "hectic," with very early starts and little free time to relax or explore independently.
- Visa and Border Confusion: Several travellers reported receiving unclear or delayed information regarding visa requirements for Vietnam/Cambodia crossings, leading to unexpected emergency visa costs.
- Administrative Communication: While local staff are praised, the head office received criticism for slow response times, rigid booking change fees, and occasional errors in flight scheduling or payment processing.
- Accommodation Variability: While most hotels are rated highly, there are recurring mentions of specific hotels being located far from city centres or, in isolated cases, lacking cleanliness.
Verdict
HolidayMax is an excellent choice for travellers seeking a high-value, professionally curated group tour where almost every detail is handled for them. It is particularly well-suited for those who prefer an active, packed itinerary, though travellers should be prepared for early mornings and perform their own due diligence on visa requirements.
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
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!!!!!
Reviews with attachments
- +5
Everything went well! Well organised and we had so much fun! The cruise was amazing. Thank you so much for the wonderful trip Show details
We had amazing holiday in Japan... Our tour guide YU was very good. Show details
- +6
Everything was great, the price, the tour guides, the tour group, the food, the sight-seeing. Overall, a wonderful experience and would certainty do it again!!! Show details
We had a great holiday. The Mekong Cruise was exceptional. The only issue was applying for our visa for Vietnam. Information on borders could have been provided sooner. In the end did not affect our holiday at all. Our guides were fantastic very informative and obliging. Would recommend this tour. Show details
- +7
We went on the Classic Vietnam tour on 01 June 2025 . It was our first overseas trip in a long time, in a way I'm a bit sorry we booked this one. It was such a great trip I wish we had finished our burst of overseas travels with this rather than starting, so we would end up on a high for sure! Tour guides were lovely, plenty of action and… Read more
activities, cultural education, lovely scenery, hotels were good, nearly every meal was included, we had a ball.Even the weather was kind to us. So much so , we would consider repeating this trip some time in the future!
- +3
Holiday package as described No hidden cost Tour guides open friendly Had an Amazing time Meet all our dietary need Would use holiday Max again Show details
- +7
Highly recommend the tour to Vietnam and Cambodia with 8 days on the Mekong River. Staff were excellent and very knowledgeable. Food on river boat was fantastic. Everyone was happy. We only had one problem getting our visas hours before our flight. We have already booked the Thailand tour coming up soon. Show details
- +1
Fantastic crew and guides on the Pandam for our Cambodia to Vietnam Mekong river cruise. Highly recommend this food Great Show details
- +2
Fantastic country, lovely people, great food, enjoyed every moment in Vietnam. Elephant Sanctuary in Cambodia was great how they are giving the elephants a new life. Show details
Classic Mekong river cruise with Cambodia and Vietnam stays with HolidayMax. Excellent holiday that was well organised from start to finish and was very good value for money with very little extra layout to spend. We felt safe at all times. The food was plentiful and delicious with majority of meals included. We went in mid March the weather was… Read more
very warm and humid but not extreme unbearable heat. If it’s something you’ve been looking at doing go ahead and book it now it’s worth it, such a great unique and memorable experience for myself and my husband.
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- +2
Our Vietnam/Cambodia cruise was excellent. The food was amazing, I am quite a fussy eater and thought it might be a problem but I was never hungry. The HolidayMax team were brilliant we had no problems from the booking to the trip and return. The hotel accommodation although a bit older was clean and comfortable. The Pandaw was so much fun the… Read more
crew were very helpful and entertaining. The cabin was small but comfortable and we were looked after very well. All in all I can fault anything about the holiday experience. As for value for money you would struggle to find better. The other passengers quite often commented that they didn’t know how HolidayMax did it for the price. If you’re thinking about this holiday I thoroughly recommend it.
We had an amazing time on our small group tour with Holiday Max, We saw so much in our 11 days for the price we paid, we started at Hanoi and finished at HCMC. Everything went smoothly, our drop off at airports for our next flights to our pick up by our next tour guide. Our tour guides were amazing, the food was fantastic, our hotels were great, comfortable, clean and we were well looked after. I would definately use Holiday Max again. Show details
Outstanding experience with holiday max. Done the Japan tour and was well organised and hassle free. Highly recommended Show details
- +1
We went on the vietnam to Cambodia Mekong cruise. The cruise part of the holiday was excellent, the staff on the boat were fantastic, food plentiful with plenty of choice. Free beer and wine with dinner. The rooms were spacious enough for a small boat and everything was in good condition. The tours in general were good. The visit to the tunnels in… Read more
Vietnam was a little disappointing. There are some good community projects included such as tree planting and visiting a local school and being shown around by the lical children. By the time we got to Siem Reap we were a bit toured out so did our own thing which we enjoyed and wasn't a problem as far as the tour guides were concerned. Great value for money especially since the return flights were on Singapore Airlines. Thoroughly recommended.
A wonderful experience & Holiday Max fulfilled every expectation. I wouldn’t hesitate to book with them again. Show details
Latest follow-ups
Great value for money and all staff particularly our travel consultant Tracy where terrific. We would have no hesitation recommending HolidayMax to anyone. The organisation from our initial booking through to our return could not be faulted. Kevin and Joy Carter NSW Show details
Follow-up · 17 days Vancouver Rocky Mountains a d The Inside Passage Definitely recommend Holiday Max
- +6
The 22 day trip London to Basel then cruising to Amsterdam was fantastic. Exyremely good valye for money. We had a great tour leader in Mattia. The shore excursions and hotel locations were close to everything. The local guides were all… Read more
knowledgeable. Being able to choose which airline to travel with was a bonus. We opted for the excursion package on the cruise and again good value. The river cruise boat (Moments) was very comfortable and food always delicious. We did choose to have a full balcony which was extra, but worth it. The crew and staff on board were attentive, professional and friendly. I would definitely recommend this to anyone considering it. The booking process was easy
Follow-up · Tour pace was easy, tours in London such as hop on hop off bus - bus stop outside our London hotel. Paris we used the metro to get around. Travelling from London to Paris, Dejon, Bearne, Basel via coach- plenty of rest stops. There were around 30 in our group. Once on the river cruise again plenty of time to explore on your own as well as Easy… Read more
Coach and crew were fantastic. Thanks Simon & Tamara. and of course "MIRANDA", the coach Show details
Follow-up · Yes, some special activities were included like a trip on the "TSS ERNSLAW" with dinner (bbq) at Walter Peak Country Farm. Absolutely fantastic! The coach seating was very comfortable & the tour director, Tamara, had us sitting in different seats each day. booking all the tours was easy, Tamara (tour director) did them all
In-depth reviews
We have just returned from our Cambodia–Vietnam Mekong River cruise with Holiday Max. Overall, the holiday was very good and excellent value for money. The pre-cruise hotel in Siem Reap was very good, while the hotel in Ho Chi Minh City was average. The cruise boat itself was very good, the staff were excellent, and the food on board was… Read more
consistently very good.
All excursions were included in the price, with some also providing meals, and all the restaurants we visited were very good. The tour guides were very knowledgeable and extremely friendly.
A couple of things that may help future travellers:
· It’s useful to have small denominations of USD for tips and for donations to the villages.
· The visa process for entering Vietnam from Cambodia was a little confusing when working backwards from the itinerary. Nine people on our cruise made the same mistake, which cost USD $125 each to re-submit. Holiday Max can do this for you for a fee if you’re unsure.
Overall, I would recommend this trip.
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We booked our 14 day Classic Mekong river tour in February 2025, when booked it was fully paid for, and we travelled in March 2026, so a long way ahead. We were told on booking that we would be given all of our travel details, hotels etc 2 weeks out from departure. We did contact Holiday Max to discuss our visa requirements,and were sent an email… Read more
outlining what we needed to do. Our flights were direct from Melbourne with Vietnam airlines which we found to be very good. Airport pick up swift and direct to our hotel. Hotel accommodation in Ho Chi Min was very good and right in the centre of town. Our tour guide Bui was very knowledgeable and very helpful. Bus tours were done in beautifully comfortable coaches and all tours were well organised. Meals were at lovely restaurants with only our drinks to pay for. Our boat for the 7 days was the Indochina Pandaw, lovely boat, our cabin was spacious, with a lovely ensuite and spotlessly clean. Fully air-conditioned, which was much appreciated when you came back on board. Meals were great and varied, the staff on board were fantastic, and couldn't do enough for you. We had several cultural talks, musical events and of course the 6 - 7 pm happy hour each evening. Always a great choice of cocktail, and social occasion The off boat tours were well organised and varied, many different forms of transport, from bullock cart rides to to first class coaches. Lots of fun. Coach to Siem Reap for the final 3 days tour, wonderful hotel again in a great location, tours were great, with some spare time to explore or spend time in the pool with the swim up bar. Weather was hot and humid, no insects, definitely needed a hat. But again everything was thought of by Holiday Max and delivered as advertised. Our trip was again with Vietnam airlines and other than having to travel overnight , was very good. Would highly recommend this tour with Holiday Max, organisation and content was brilliant. We loved it
Travelled to Sri Lanka with a friend on May 11, 2026, from Perth. Flew to Singapore then Colombo with Singapore Airline, an excellent flight, arriving in Colombo at 11.30pm to be met by our fantastic guide Namal. His big smile and happy disposition did not waiver for the whole 10 days We stayed in lovely 4-star hotels all very clean, ate delicious… Read more
meals and marveled at the temples, mountains and wildlife. .Our bus driver was exceptional, negotiating the narrow roads and hairpin bends with ease. Every day was a well-planned adventure, visiting a tea plantation where we picked tea, beautiful temples, a traditional dance concert, and a turtle hatchery. We drove through two wildlife parks, one where we saw elephants, the other home to leopards, elephants, deer and water buffalo. Monkeys are everywhere in Sri Lanka and can be very naughty. We took a train from Ambewela to Elia, a journey of 2.5 hours through spellbinding mountain scenery. I cannot fault our tour and congratulate Holiday Max on having such good associates and running top notch tours. We would have no hesitation in recommending them to friends and family. If you have ever considered Sri Lanka, don't wait, just go. It is beautiful. We are planning our Holiday Max tour to Vietnam next year
Recent reviews
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
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
I had an amazing Mediterranean cruise however, due to the Middle East conflict, my flights were cancelled. Gerald from the Holidaymax team - went above and beyond to find us flights, and bring us home safely. Thank you Gerald and the Holidaymax team for bringing us home safely. I strongly recommend Holidaymax to look after your holiday needs. Show details
Discover Australia Holidays - Cairns & Port Douglas 11 day holiday great value, all tours and transfers were beyond our expectations. Bit disappointed with the accomodation in both places as were not centrally situated. Port Douglas resort was older, the room was not maintained, or serviced (extra cost involved for extra towels) and no breakfast… Read more
venue. We loved Port Douglas sunset cruise and Cairns dinner cruise they were a stand out. All tour drivers were informative, helpful and fun.
Highly recommend! We had a wonderful time in Vietnam,everythinng organised to perfection. 11days in Vietnam,guides were great special shout out to Vu our Hoian/Hue guide nothing was too much trouble! Even the group we travelled with were a fantastic bunch of people. Show details
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