Travel Department Reviews

wonderful trip well organised fantastic guide with a great bunch if people .Top class hotels and excursions

We went on the Egyptian tour at the beginning of March and it was an excellent trip with a good mix of activity and relaxation. And our guide Dodi, couldn't have done any more for us. He was excellent throughout, whether the query was about one of the pharaohs, or the next meal. Would definitely recommend this.

This was a holiday of a lifetime. Fantastic destination with incredible sights and culture. Our guide, Shakeel looked after our group so well, nothing was too much trouble even checking on us as we made our way through the airport. His vast knowledge of the history and folklore of the places we visited was so impressive. A big thanks to Mr Tarrick our driver and Raoul for keeping us safe on our travels. The hotels were all of a high standard. My negatives are: There was no allowance on price for a solo traveler which really pushed up the price. On the Goa addition it was not explained that it required two internal flights to get there. Pressure salesmen on the stops to look at "co-ops" making rugs, scarfs etc. Had we been left alone we may have bought more. Even with these few negatives they did not take away from the amazing trip with the most wonderful group of people. Thank you to all.

We have just returned from India, splendours of Delhi, the Taj Mahal and Rajasthan. It was the most memorable trip with a great group of people. Anu our guide was superb in every aspect. He went above and beyond to show us his beautiful country. Charan, our driver, worked tirelessly to keep us safe in sometimes very challenging driving conditions. Deepak, the assistant kept the bus scrupulously clean and kept us well hydrated on our journeys. All three were professional, pleasant and friendly. Anu had to change the itinerary around to ensure we had more time at the various destinations. It would be helpful to liaise with the people on the ground to improve the itinerary issued from the travel department. If there was to be a criticism it would be that the trip was at least 2 days too short. It felt rushed at times and there was very little down time to explore on our own. This is the only reason for the 4 star review, otherwise it would be 5.

Transfers were efficient and the hotel’s location, accommodation, food, facilities and staff were excellent. Puerto de La Cruz was a great place in which to spend a holiday. However, leaving the hotel in the afternoon for the scheduled half day trip encountered really bad traffic. Better to have left instead in the morning. The excursion we bought to go dolphin watching was a fiasco, although no fault of the dolphins. The pick up at our hotel wasn’t until 11.30 and then didn’t reach the boat until 2pm with no break on the way. Lunch was served at 5.15 and we didn’t get back to hotel until 9.15pm. Missed dinner completely. Trip to Mount Teide was too long as it covered too much of the island and should have allowed more time to enjoy the National Park.

Great location . Great food. Plenty of sun. Good entertainment

Just back from TD tour Golden Triangle of North India. Tour went exceptionally well. TD advice and guidance beforehand was useful and to the point. Our guide, Chaqeel, was outstanding. He shepherded us, as in tended to his flock, with great care and consideration throughout the tour. His knowledge and enthusiasm was infectious. The hotels were very good (with exception of Raj Niwas Palace) and offered a wide variety of food for dinner and breakfast. Our bus was comfortable and our guide allowed plenty of comfort breaks. It is a busy tour but well worth the effort and we would highly recommend the tour to anyone who would like some insight into Indian history and culture.

Emad ' Dodi ' Fathy, our tour guide for Egypt made the holiday fantastic. His knowledge and professionalism is second to none. Cant wait to go on my next adventure with The Travel Department.

I booked a Nile cruise with visits to Cairo, Luxor, Aswan and Hurghada. The trip was beyond my expectations. Dodi, our guide, organised everything well and was very knowledgeable about the sites we visited. The food was exceptionally good on the cruise and the staff friendly and efficient.

from the start to the finish of our trip we were taken care of very well .We didn’t particularly like going to the sales places (ie. carpet,gemstone and marble).We felt pressured into buying things and we could have done without that on our holidays.Our guide,driver and the assistant could not have done more for us all no matter what was asked of them, they sorted it out.Our tours were of a high standard and our hotels were good standard also.

Had a wonderful holiday in Vietnam with the Travel Department. The hotels we stayed in were lovely. Our guide was very knowledgeable and went out of his way to make sure everything went smoothly. Would definitely recommend this trip to my friends.

The trip was great from the off. Emirates flights were comfortable, staff friendly and food/drinks lovely. The sites visited in India were remarkable, especially the Taj Mahal and the hotels stayed in excellent but what contributed most to the success of the trip was the Guide, Shakeel. Nothing was too much trouble for him and apart from actually guiding us throughout, he was exceptionally friendly and facilitating with any requests from the group. The Group were unanimous in that view. All in all a wonderful trip made all the more enjoyable by the Group that shared the trip. We all bonded well together and shared photographs and socialised well together. I'd recommend the trip to anyone considering it. I'd commend the Travel Department on this trip - it must be close to our 20th trip with them over the years and this was right up there with their best. Travelling with them takes all the hassle out of organising such exotic trips. Well done Travel Department

Efficient transportation throughout; pleasant, informative guides; lovely retro hotel; comfortable room with window overlooking a park full of trees and birds; very helpful hotel staff; blend of guided tours and info for exploration of city. Great value overall.

Great experience, Guide was very good, and helpful. Very informative. Made our journey so pleasant. Met some lovely people on our group.

Great hotel and guided tours.

We recently experienced the most fantastic Indian odyssey with Travel Department. Travelling from Delhi to Udaipur via Agra, Jaipur and Jodhpur, we were exposed to the wonders of the majestic Taj Mahal, the Amber Fort, beautiful temples, other awe-inspiring forts, tropical gardens and gem-filled palaces. Full of colourful contrasts, and a fascinating combination of cultures, India is an amazing country providing a real feast for the senses. The sights, sounds and scents will stay with us forever. We got to see how people really lived and were witness to both the hardships and chaos of their daily living, all of which was juxtaposed against aspects of serenity and beauty of the places we visited. We also got to experience a rickshaw ride in Delhi, a boat trip In Udaipur and a desert Jeep safari for a bbq in the wilds. Our hotels were really lovely - staying in Fort Chanwa was an experience! - and the food was mostly very good. Our guide, Shakeel, our driver Tariq, and our assistant, Raul, were all fantastic. Shakeel’s depth of knowledge was unbelievable - we were all looked after from start to finish, the timings were perfect, and we travelled on a really comfortable coach. I must mention the rest of the group with whom we travelled. We had the good fortune to travel with the most lovely bunch of people who all looked after each other. There was fun, laughter, great craic, camaraderie and wonderful enjoyment the whole way through. If I could take this bunch with me every time we travel. I would! Thank you, Travel Department, for an amazing life-changing experience! We’re already researching the next one!

We were very well looked after by pleasant helpful staff. The hotel was in a good location but a bit dated. The return flight time was a bit late. - arriving midnight

From ease of booking to a seamless transfer to a well situated hotel, the experience was stress free and relaxing.

As a charity body we brought a group to Italy with Td. Flights and hotel were very good. However, we bring our own music and had arranged to have that each night. We were informed during our trip that for 2 nights we were not allowed to have music in the hotel. TD did not inform us of this in advance. Tours were good, guide was good but the ket down was the return to Rome airport. We were dropped at the wrong Terminal and had to walk with wheelchairs to the other terminal. This delayed our group as older people are slow to walk. Then although the airline brought out our musical equipment with no issue they refused to bring it home. I was I instructed to pay for it upstairs. I went and did this and then they closed the desk and 5 of our group were not allowed on the flight. We had to pay sn extra 2k for new flights to Dublin. There was no refund or responsibility taken by TD. the issue was theirs firstly because not enough time was provided for the airport transfer and secondly we lost time when the bus dropped us at the wrong Terminal. We were not given the terminal number by TD so we understood that the bus company would leave us at the correct terminal. Secondly, the desk should not have closed while I was paying for the equipment. TD were very nice while making the booking but unhelpful when we raised these issues. This review is a mixture of good and bad points, because this ruined the end of our trip and left us in debt, although mostly the trip was very good. Tip: check everything and don't trust TD to have given the bus company the details

I booked my holiday online on black Friday nov 30 for xmas gift for my wife paid in full online jan 23 I was informed online a few days later by an Anomans Operations Team member my holiday was cancelled due to insufficient numbers then no reply to any online emails 1 week on I paid a lot extra to use the travel department for peace of mind instead of just booking myself online I did travel many times in the past when the travel department was solely an Irish company and I don't think sending unsigned emails and not replying to emails was Stanard practice but it looks like the travel department's new Stanard practice is no names emails no replies and until I do get a reply no refunds or replacement holiday i did request a manager in my last email but maybe no managers a holiday is supposed to be a relaxing break