Luxury Australia Tour Review: Darwin, Alice Springs, Ayers Rock, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Mildura, National Parks

Review by traveler

Terry F.

8.2.2023

General Info

Traveler Review

Which Country (Countries) did you visit on this trip?

Australia

Your overall comments on the trip and the travel company:

I was hoping for a trip of a lifetime to Australia but was hugely disappointed. I had 16 confirmed tours that was "confirmed" and paid for months in advance. Traveling from Darwin to Kakadu NP to Alice springs, Ayers Rock ( Uluru) Melbourne, Mildura, Mungo NP, Adelaide, Flinders NP, then on to finish in Sydney with many tours "confirmed" along the entire journey. Right at 50% of the tours were cancelled within about 1hour of pick up time due to "lack of participation" or "weather" though it was for the most part just a drizzle or had already stopped raining hours before!! Paid approx. $12,000.00 and this is just the cost inside Australia! AND got back a whopping $543.00 for all the cancellations. Missing half of the experiences!!! A miserable experience! Literally found myself having to run from some tours, motels or airports to make the jammed together itinerary only to find the next one was cancelled or not enough time allotted to even do the tour. The fair thing to do would be to refund 50% of the cost!!

What were the most enjoyable or memorable parts of your trip?

There were only 2 tours out of 15 that were enjoyable or memorable. Flinders range and the Blue Mt. Half were cancelled or people left behind.

If you could take your trip again, what would you do differently?

I would go somewhere else.....

Travel Company Comments:

Thank you for taking the time to post your review, and we share your disappointment that so many of your tours were impacted by the after-effects of the severe weather at Ayers Rock and Mildura and the two suppliers canceling their scheduled tours. Out of your fifteen pre-booked day touring arrangements, eight tours were taken as scheduled, two tours were rebooked to similar touring options due to the cancellation of the original tour, two evening tours, one afternoon tour and one full day tour were canceled due to extreme weather, one afternoon tour was canceled due not making minimum numbers to operate, and two tours were missed by not making your way to the departure point. The refund for the canceled touring was processed back to you as soon as you returned from your trip & we also included a refund for the Alice Springs tour you did not join.
We understand it can be frustrating when a tour is canceled due to weather, especially when the severe weather has passed. Unfortunately, the after effects of the severe rains in the outback left flooded roads that were impassable and not safe to tour for several weeks. We are sorry the tour changes and cancellations negatively affected your experience, and we hope you were still able to enjoy your time in Australia