Australian Traveller Reviews #21 from GlobeNet Travel Australia

•"Dear Kylie : I just want you to know that we had an absolutely marvelous time on Hayman Island. Not only did they upgrade us to a Pool Room but they even gave us a Suite! I was so impressed with everything and on behalf of my husband and friends, we want to thank you for your excellent service and help. You're absolutely the greatest. We do plan to visit Australia again (this time we want to spend some time on Bedarra Island ) and if you are still working in this capacity, you'll be the only one we will contact. Thanks again for making this all happen. Warm Regards, Joan, Clark, Gary & Marie S., California, USA (16 Sep 03)

•"Dear Tina, I sit here wearing my Globenet hat remembering the best vacation last year. You all helped me organize the best trip ever for me and my family. We are thinking of experiencing another one of your trips. Last year we traveled to Sydney, Hamilton Island and then Cairns. This time we are thinking of another island for a week. What would you suggest. We are a family of 5 (kids are 15,17,21) we totally loved Hamilton island as it had something for each of us. What other islands would you suggest. We look forward to your response." Barbara G., Mission Viejo, USA (11 Sep 03)

•"Elisabete, I'm (alas) now back in Sydney after travelling around Central Queensland (Carnarvon Gorge, etc). I thoroughly enjoyed my stay on Lady Elliot Island, and will definitely go back there again. I particularly liked the informality and absence of"Activities" which let me wind down very well. Off Season is definitely the time to go there!

Thank you very much for your friendly and very professional support; it helped to make the planning process so much smoother! As requested, here are a couple of pictures of the Island, including sunrise as seen from my front door." Peter T., Sydney, Australia (9 Sep 03)

•"Dear Kylie, Thanks so much for your quick response. We didn't expect to get a credit for the Katherine Gorge cruise as it was our decision not to take it, due to time constraints. Thanks so much. I think one reason our Australia trip was so great was due to your planning and notice to detail. You are a true professional and the best travel agent we ever used. One reason we would return to Australia would be so we could use you as our travel agent. We can't thank you enough for the wonderful trip you planned for us. True, Australia shines as a great country but you illuminated it for us. ," M.S., New York, USA (9 Sep 03)

•"Dear Sonia, First of all let me thank you for putting together a wonderful holiday, we really loved Dunk Island and of course did not want to leave. The rooms were great, right on the beach. There were so many activities, too many to be able to do in a week. We did get to the Great Barrier Reef, do the circuit of the island twice through the rain forest, try out the various beaches and generally over indulge on the food.

As a result we had to do lots of walking in Sydney to get rid of the extra lbs or should I say kilos. I really want to thank you for coordinating the trip for Catherine and her boyfriend and particularly for the very prompt response when we arrived in Brisbane and things were not going as planned. We did in fact get the private charter over to Dunk Island, about 3 hours earlier than originally booked and thus had more time there on our first day.

Anyway our first trip to Australia was a great success and we would like to go again. I would certainly recommend your company to anyone who is planning to visit Austalia. If you are ever in the Boston area let me know. Thanks again," Helen S., Boston, USA (9 Sep 03)

•"Dear Zoe, We are now back home in the USA after a wonderful one month holiday in Australia. Linda and I wanted to thank you for the hotel bookings and transport connections that you arranged for us, everything ran smoothly. The Emu Walk Apartments at Ayers Rock were great and the stay at Dunk Island fabulous. Thanks for everything. Do remember if you are in the New York City area let us know as we would love to meet up with you. Sincerely," John & Linda L., New York, USA (3 Sep 03)

•"Hi Sonia, Just a brief mail to say thanks for a great week at The Portsea in Port Douglas which you organised for us. Everything went like clockwork and we had a very interesting and relaxing time. We shall certainly be recommending your company to friends visiting Australia. Once again, many thanks," Bryan & Mary S.," R.S., USA (29 Aug 03)

•"Dear Sonia : Thank you for the wonderful Australian and New Zealand experience visitng Hayman Island, Angsana Palm Cove and Queenstown! Everything you planned was just perfect. These days were really unforgetable. You can see on the pictures how happy we were down there in your incredible country. See you some day!" António C.," Portugal (25 Aug 03)

•"Hello Elisabete, Thank you very much... Very impressive service!! I had a very nice relaxing time up at Palm Bay. The weather was gorgeous and I don't look as deathly pale as I did when I arrived up there! Peppers Palm Bay itself was very pleasant, but there are a few things about it that mean I wouldn't go back there again.

Their advertising literature says that you can"expect luxurious accommodation". My accommodation was extremely basic (what you might expect from a very cheap motel) except, of course, that the scenery outside was gorgeous! However, I think it is very misleading of them to describe the accommodation as"luxurious"!

Food was also a bit of an issue as I am a vegetarian and they had very few, if any, vegetarian options. One of the best things I did up there was to go on a whale-watching day trip. We saw lots of whales, and at one point, the boat's engines were switched off and, for half an hour, eleven whales and some dolphins swam in circles around the boat. It was magic!

Your arrangements worked very well indeed - no hitches at all. Thank you very much for that! Although I wouldn't go back to Palm Bay again, I'll certainly go back to the Whitsundays one day, and I'll be in touch with you when I decide to do that (probably at about this time next year). Thank you very much for your very efficient and professional service! Best regards," Heather K., Sydney, Australia (19 Aug 03)

•"Hi Rene and thanks so much for the email. You beat me to it as I was going to send you one today to say how impressed we were with the service you gave us at Globenet. Our vacation to the Outrigger Mooloolaba was wonderful and a lot of it had to do with the professional and friendly way in which you handled everything. Peter is so lucky to have an employee like you and we will certainly recommend Globenet to friends in the future. When our photos are developed we will certainly send one to you. Thank you again. Claire M., Maine, USA (19 Aug 03)

•"Gayle, Many thanks... we had a wonderful time. The Tropical Reef Apartments Port Douglas were clean, tidy and had all the modern conveniences that you could want to self cater. As you know we also had a few others booked into the same place so on the last night we all pulled together and managed a BBQ for 13 on our roof terrace. - space really wasn't a problem.

We were upgraded to a Roof Terrace at no additional cost - which was nice too (I'm sure you had something to do with that) - The apartments were superbly located for the beach and the Port Douglas Nightlife / Shops.

Some of the visitors to Port Douglas might like to know:

The Thai Restaurant in the middle of the Maccrossan Strip was excellent, as was the Star Fish Restaurant. - Mango Jam looked good, but we were disapointed - I think you have to order the Pizza there. You have to eat out early all the restaurants are deserted by 10pm.

Our gang took several trips out to the outer Reef with an excellent boat run by Poseidon Reef Trips.

Quicksilver are very professional and good, but lack the intimacy of the smaller dive boats. They're good for the masses and even Mum managed the trip to the outer Reef without getting sea sick. We did a nice trip to the Low Isles with Quicksilver on Wavedancer which is good for the kids and for people without the sea legs for the outer reef.

Mossman is beautiful and well worth a trip (watch your footing though, Jen sprained her ankle quite badly on the 2 K rainforest walk.) The river cruises are about the only thing going on at Daintree, but try to go with the more intimate quieter boats which use the river before you get to the main town. - these will get you nearer to nature. Mosquito repellant is strongly recommended - I got eaten alive!

Kuranda was quite a tourist trap, but the train ride up was good and the butterfly sanctuary and Bird world were well worth a visit.

All in all we had a great time and thank you for organising it for us. Thanks again," Andy Jenny & Lucy N., London, UK (19 Aug 03)

•"Hello Sonia, We had a fantastic trip. Everything went quite smoothly and the Qantas Holidays itinerary, along with the pages for the Sunlover itinerary were like magic wands - getting us into places with a smile and a nod and getting us on flights with very little stress. Overall, the only people we met in Australia who weren't extremely friendly and helpful were foreigners ... (that's a story for another time)

My summary for you:

The Saville on Oxford Street - clean, comfortable, friendly and centrally located ... lots of inexpensive places to eat on Oxford Street. Beds were only slightly uncomfortable. The taxi from the airport to Saville was $38!! There are lots of small airport transport buses that are only $8 or $9 each way, less if you buy a return. We took one of the airporters on the way out. Taxi was definitely a ripoff.

Desert Palms"Resort" was a bit of a disappointment - not nearly as nice as the brochures and website would have you think but it was pretty clean and the people were nice and the beds were not too uncomfortable. The lagoon type pool looked inviting but it was too cold to swim. Alice Springs is one place I will not revisit...it is not all that interesting. Glad we took the town tour off our itinerary....others I talked to that went on it said it was boring and not worth the money. The desert park was GREAT.

Our upgrade to Sails in the Desert at Ayers Rock Resort was one of the nicest things that happened to us. If you have ever been there, you know what I'm talking about. If not, you should get a comp'd trip there so you can find out just how nice the fluffy robes are. The beds here were VERY comfortable. The walk up to the highest lookout at Kata Tjuta was very strenuous...31 set out but only 12 of us made it. I would definitely warn people thinking of taking this tour that they will not have much fun if there are not relatively young and/or physically fit. There were quite a few older people who seemed kind of angry because they did not know it would be so strenuous.

Port Douglas - loved it - what a cute little town. Most restaurants were quite expensive although some of the take away places had tables and were quite reasonable. Food was good. Beach Terraces was a great place to stay...SO friendly and SO clean ... we were upgraded to a 2 bedroom. It was only a half of a short block from the beach. Only drawback - their beds were so hard and uncomfortable, I had to use all the pillows in the place to pad the bed so that I could sleep!! If they put in slightly better mattresses, I would say this was the best place we stayed in all of Australia.

Kuranda tour - the Skyrail was great...the rest of it was somewhat of a disappointment. The Rainforestation thing was the only thing we ran into in our travels that was TACKY and overcommercialized....all their ads say"cuddle a koala" ... the real deal is they let you hold one for long enough so they can snap your picture, which costs you $14 for a 5x7 and you are not allowed to use your own camera, nor are you allowed in if you do not want the $14 photo...a major ripoff. The dancers could barely stop cracking up long enough to do the dances, and that was just tacky after we had been to the Liru walk in Ayers Rock and talked to a real aborigine who was serious about his heritage. The army duck tour was through a very small back patch of land and they were so loud and obnoxious, there was no way to see any sort of wildlife unless it was dead. I do NOT recommend this place to anyone.

Sailaway Low Isles is highly recommended for anyone (like me) who doesn't like huge tours. Only 14 people on our boat and we all got to know each other and the captain/owner by the end of the day. Lunch was great. If this is really half the price of the competing Low Isles cruise, this is definitely the better deal.

Cape Tribulation was FANTASTIC. Cape Trib Farmstay was FANTASTIC. Dawn and Colin Gray were definitely the nicest people we met. The place is super clean and super quiet and just plain nice. Cape Trib beach was sheltered just enough from the wind that we could sunbathe in relative comfort even though it was not all that warm out. We ate and spent a small amount of time at PK's Jungle Village and it seemed a great place for young people and backpackers to gather. Inexpensive, healthy food and inexpensive beer and wine too!

The Cooper Creek Wilderness walk was one of the coolest things we did. A 2 hour leisurely walk through an ancient rainforest with a personal guide who knows everything there is to know about it was definitely worth the money.

Thanks so much for all your work and patient help on this...it made for the best vacation I have ever taken. I will send you a picture or two soon." Linda P., Ithaca, USA (7 Aug 03)

•"Hi Kylie, We enjoyed Club Med Lindeman Island and it gave my husband the much needed rest and relaxation he needed. He enjoyed the archery and hiking very much. I enjoyed the circus school, too. The weather was a bit too cold and windy to enjoy the water, though.

We took a half day trip to a reef and then to Whitehaven beach. On the way back, the waves were so rough they covered the boat. Luckily, we sat inside so we stayed dry. A couple days later, we took a day trip to the reef to Reefworld. The weather was great, lots of sun, no wind, so the water was calm. Enjoyed snorkeling the reef. The captain said on the way back that we would stop to see whales but we did not.

We saw some whales spouting and breathing but we did not stop or slow down. Instead, he did a slow sail past Whitehaven beach which we had already been to. The food was great and so much of it. I'm sure we gained several pounds (kilos)!!!

We learned that Lindeman Resort is the only south facing resort in the Whitsundays. Had we known that prior to making a reservation, we would have booked elsewhere. The south winds were really strong both day and night for the first 3 days. Thanks," Twila S., Los Angeles, USA (5 Aug 03)

•"Hello Jo, A BIG THANK YOU, We had such a great time and wanted to let you know. Daydream Island is lovely, very little and lovely. We did not get the post card climate but it was much warmer than Canberra and we loved it. The Rejuvenation Spa is superb [ we had the salt rub down treatment, great advice] and the kids skippers club was really good to. Our little phoebe wanted to keep going back. Our room was fantastic (3501) We have to have the same one if or when we return, very impressed and the service was excellent. Thank you for all your work. Kind Regards," Jennifer A., Canberra, Australia (30 Jul 03)

•"Dear Gayle, Just wanted to let you know that our trip ran smoothly and we enjoyed it very much. It was my first visit to Fiji and I was impressed. They seem less hung up about tourists and you feel you can walk around without being hassled endlessly by vendors. Everything has a relaxed feel about it.

The resort was very nice and compared well with those in Thailand, although the variety of food was not as good. The one thing that surprised us was that there were no TVs in the rooms. In fact, the entire resort only had one TV in the games room. It was surprising as in every other way the resort was four star in appearance. The only other facility it lacked was any type of gym or exercise room. In summary, we would recommend the resort as long as someone did not want these extra facilities or five star food. I will be in touch the next time we are on the move. Best wishes, Alison F., Seol, Korea (29 Jul 03)

•"Hi Globenet, I would just like to tell you about the absolutely amazing service that Tina gave us arranging our accommodation on Brampton Island, this was our first visit to Australia and we wanted our stay in the Whitsunday islands to be very special and Tina certainly pulled all the stops out and arranged the most perfect accommodation we could have wished for!.

During the frequent emails between myself and Tina, I gave her some very special requirements including Helicopter transfer and Flowers, Champagne and Chocolates for my wife on arrival, and Tina took care of every last detail making our holiday not only amazing but also very romantic and extra special, I simply can not praise Tina enough for her professionalism and expertise.

We are planning to return to Australia for 3 months in 2005 and I will be contacting Tina to arrange all our accommodation for the whole period. Kind regards." Nigel B., London, UK (29 Jun 03)

•"Dear Tina, we completed our trip which was fabulous, we encountered no delays or disappointments with what you booked for us. A couple of notes to pass onto other travelers. Use Virgin Blue where possible, no frills but great staff and nice aircraft. Qantas has its problems.

Tangalooma is a highlight of any tour in which kids are concerned. The accommodation is fine, not elaborate but the food is pretty so and expensive. Bring your own stash of junk food and kid provisions. The distance between Mooloolaba and Noosa is an hour by bus, easy to catch but allow time if you have plans early in the morning.

Novotel in Palm Cove is wonderful. Amenities and location are perfect and the town of Palm Cove is the best of the Northern beaches. Great trip, thanks for everything Dan P., California, USA (29 Jul 03)

•"Hi Tina, We are now back from our recent holiday in Australia and I can not thank you enough for the accommodation you arranged for us on Brampton Island, it was absolutely amazing and we had the most wonderful time we could ever wish for.

The room was perfect!, and had everything that I asked you for, they flew a bouquet of red roses in from the mainland for my wife, and also put the chocolates, fresh fruit and champagne in the room, nothing was too much trouble for the staff on Brampton, they even flew in some Cigars for me as they did not sell them on the island.

We will be returning to Australia in 2005 for 3 months and I will certainly be contacting you and asking if you can arrange all the accommodation for our whole trip. p.s the helicopter to and from Brampton was amazing!! Best wishes," Nigel B., London, UK (29 Jul 03)

•"Hello Mary, Just to say thank you for organising a great holiday for the 4 of us to Brampton Island. The flight connections were marvellous, only about half an hour between them both ways. Accommodation was just as requested. Overall, a very enjoyable holiday. Again many thanks and congratulations. Here's to next time," Bruce A., Castle Cove, Australia (28 Jul 03)

•"Dear Gayle, Our holiday in Oz went very well. Sydney was magnificent and the accomodation you chose (The Medina at Darling Harbour ) was ideal - good location & plenty of internal room for the family. It's a great city and we covered all the usual spots - by foot, ferry, bus and taxi - magical ferry service. We could have stayed in Sydney for another week.

So much more to see... Port Douglas was an ideal location to view the reef from (boat trip + helicopter ride), albeit that the Rydges Reef Resort accomodation was a little tired/needed some upgrading. PD is also a good base for the rainforest.

Dunk Island was magnificent - location, scenery, facilities, accomodation, restaurant - we should have stayed there longer.

Sea World was a good day out and made up for the rest of Surfers' Paradise!

All in all, a great adventure and an experience that satisfied all our hopes. Well done on directing us so professionally. Your itinerary was excellent. I have already passed your name to a number of people who may travel down under.

If by chance you also cover South Africa, you might suggest a similar holiday plan some time you have a moment to yourself (say one week each for Capetown, a beach and a safari type thing). We have to start planning for the future! Thanks again," Eddie M., Dublin, Ireland (26 Jul 03)