Travelled with RSD to Nepal in June
Travelled with RSD to Nepal in June. Very good holiday, saw lots of interesting places, guide was superb and hotels were of a good standard. I would recommend the RSD holiday to Nepal
3.4
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Review summary
RSD Travel has mixed reviews from customers. Customers particularly appreciate great value and service, though some mention concerns about customer service and expensive.
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Based on reviews, created with AISee what reviewers are saying
Cultural trip to Sri Lanka
I have travelled with RSD a few times and have never had a bad experience. An excellent way of seeing a country at an affordable price.
Fantastically beautiful country with lovely people
Went to Sri Lanka with RSD - fantastic countryside, amazing friendly people, good hotels and an amazing journey around the country in all its guises - one of the best trips of my life (I travel 10 mths a year) - why so good - people, no hassles of any kind going out, low cost economy, wonderful weather - an absolute gem of a holiday full of variety with something for everyone.
An Absolutely Fantastic Trip To The Balkans!
We had a wonderful holiday seeing so many UNESCO sites in Kosova, North Macedonia, Montenegro & Albania. Except for the last one, which was a little bit "Soviet era", the hotels were lovely with excellent food, very comfortable indeed. Our Turkish guide Gdoikca went above & beyond to help all passengers on her coach, even rescuing a hearing aid, which had fallen out in Cafe Mozart in Budva, Montenegro & organising for someone to drive it to our hotel at least 2 hours away so we had it before the coach left next morning.
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www.rsd-travel.co.uk
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Showing 271 - 280 of 352 reviews
D
DL
US
Discriminatory rip offs
Their trips are excellent value for money but only if you travel as a pair. On many of their trips the cost for one person to travel is more expensive than the (combined) cost of two people travelling. They currently have a trip to Cyprus where one person pays Β£418 but the cost for two people is Β£378 (or Β£189 each). The companies costs for 1 person travelling is less than the cost for 2 but they are charging more. There is no justification for this. It's discrimination.
Date of experience: January 10, 2020
JC
North Cyprus December 2019.
North Cyprus December 2019. Our second trip with Rsd.. previously December 2018 Crete. We found the formula as expected and very practical; both hotels seemed fine though this year NO KETTLE in our room! And if we have early starts the wake-up cuppa is essential. We prefer not to dine at hotel but sometimes it's not easy to find somewhere nearby that might be open in the evening.Eat well at breakfast, save something for later buy wine at the supermarket and take a lunch out where opportunity arises. Trips: our Guide, Yusuf was brilliant; a local, graduated in archaeology, very well informed, very humorous (but not overly so) very clear in language and organising what to say. Full marks + Range of venues and sites: a good mix Transport: Rsd shoud be more explicit about the peculiar flying arrangements to/from Cyprus via Turkey. it needs more advance explanation in the itinerary. This year our coach leaked overhead most days and some seats were soaked and smelly because the rain had got in. The kidnappings! Having done same in Crete we anticipated the jewellery carpet and leather detentions. If they seriously make the holiday affordable then we probably have to endure them.It is possible to escape betwen the intro show and the hard sell in the salesroom.We had no rudeness just irritating persistance when we were insisting that we were not there to buy. The sales places are designed so you can't see the exits so we have to ask and that brings even more sales people; It is an uncomfortable experience and each place adds more than an extra hour of our holiday while they try to squeeze sales. 3 of those equals setting off from hotel at 7.15 a.m and losing a half day of real holiday. Currency: Rsd shoud be more explicit.. most of the shops want to be paid in Euros and price in Euros; having obtained Turk Lyra it becomes a project palnning what to spend where as the traditional shops and stalls want Lyra. Rsd shoud advise take or acquire both! Larger towns now have ATMS that issue both currencies but we dint know this in advance.. We would not do these trips in Summer, but in December the low cost and the timing enable us to escape the urban seasonal chaos of pre Christmas in UK. We found N Cyprus charming..and the people friendly without exception.
Date of experience: December 21, 2019
A
Aisling
US
RSD Cultural Trip
Croatia, BH, Montenegro. I did say I'd been on the tour of Crete with RDS in December last year, and booked this trip as a result, and that I would review it when I came back. I made one major mistake.. I was not aware when booking that if travelling as part of a small group I should have expressly said so at time of booking. I was separated from my friends, and we seldom met up, were only three nights of the seven in the same hotel and on different buses and timetables. We saw this straight away on arrival but were told we'd mostly be in the same hotel, it was only the first night, etc. Then, nothing could be done because of insurance. Little information was forthcoming from guides, and that grudgingly about the next day, until late evening. We "What's apped" and met when we could, but were often arriving when they were leaving and v.v. A major disappointment. The gourmet package is not always gourmet. In this case it was very different from Crete where bread, salad and fresh vegetables were always and copiously available at evening meals, and the food was always good. On two occasions, covering three nights, we were a captive audience in hotels in the middle of nowhere, half construction sites where the food was poor and no bar/ supermarket to make up for it. In both Croatia, and Montenegro, wine producing countries the price for a glass of wine with dinner was high, as was water. (4 to 6 euro a glass and 4 for a bottle of water.. ). Lunches were good - the local guides were quick to point out the best places to eat, but of course you pay for those. In general, the evening meal was often poor except for the final night in Dubrovnik. Okay, so poor? What do I mean by that..over cooked fish, half cooked meat, and all of it in canteen format. Some of it left far too long under heating lamps in bain mairies.. some of the fish left stewing in watery juice until inedible. Frozen veg from packets, or greasy roasted veg. On the third night, chicken nuggets and chips went down well, because it was the first time we had recognisable potatoes or rice. Again, it was the final night in Dubrovnik before we had the famous pasta from the area. Seven nights and six hotels make it hard to be specific, but some hotels.. Regina in Medjugorje had excellent salads but didn't replenish and late arrivals were disappointed. The breakfasts were better if you eat bread, eggs and fruit/ yoghurt. For coffee drinking countries the breakfast coffee was a real disappointment, either cups served by waiters who had something better to do, half cold weak Cona/ percolated with semi warm milk or self service machines that produced what you wanted if you were lucky pressing the buttons. That sounds like we go for the food.. but it's not true. After a long day out, walking, reviewing, seeing stuff... it would be really nice to have a relaxing evening and a bath - and before a big day, a decent breakfast. So twice I ended up in a double, not a twin bed. I am a smoker, and twice I ended up in a room that had no balcony and a window that would barely open. In one of these cases, the hotel shut down the smoking area at 11pm.. In many cases there was no water, no tea making service, no room service and no bar. The 3 star rooms seemed to go with 4 star food and vv.. On an up note, the 4 star spa hotels had their spa and sauna, pools open, which was not the case, last year in Crete, where everything was closed, or understaffed. And here's my big but : In both Croatia and Montenegro I found the hotel staff surly, and unhelpful. This was not my experience down town. The hotel staff were rude, inexperienced and down right surly. The exception was Bosnia where we only stayed one night.. and even there, they were less than pleasant. I saw everything I ever wanted to see of Croatia and Montenegro in 7 days.. and at least I know I won't be going back. Finally, a word on the carpet, jewellrey and leather factories. I was subjected to intense pressure to buy a carpet that I had no interest in, and not the means to buy - as I had expressed an interest in the hand craft and work and artistic merit involved. It was a lovely carpet. I found it easy to avoid the next two stops but only by being abused by sales men who insulted me to my face. I would have looked and maybe even bought, but their attitude to my emphatic "no thank you, I'm just looking" (after my experience in the carpet factory) means that this is a black mark on RSD travel. Finally, it is still one of the cheapest holidays I have ever had. I saw more in less time, maybe less than perfectly, but you get what you pay for. If I had anything to say to RSD, then be more open with your factory shops about who is travelling with you and what we actually have to spend, and do something about educating your sales people. We'd probably buy more if you were less aggressive. Also, the surliness of hotel staff, just because we are travelling low season and discount, the attitude is not acceptable. Maybe some of their reps should do a cultural tour of Ireland?
Date of experience: December 14, 2019
RT
Cultural Tour of India and more
We have just returned from a Cultural Tour of India and were very satisfied. Our guide, Amrit, was one of the best guides we have experienced on our tours with some of the UK's highest rated UK travel companies. On this tour we learned a lot about so many aspects of life in India as well as its history and architecture. Having traveled with RSD before we were not looking for a cheap excursion but one which met all our needs, and were not disappointed. We would certainly recommend the tour but ask for Amrit as your guide and you should not be disappointed.
Date of experience: December 10, 2019
D
RSD Crete 5* cultural tour
Crete 5* cultural tour 1st hotel, rep and guide great. 2nd hotel santa marina a shock... not 4* very tired, lots of health and safety issues and manager very rude and sour. Food mediocre. Such a shame as not 'our dream hotel 'to spending relaxing day off. Minimim cost of additional tour/visit β¬35. Offered entrance fee of β¬3 refund against tour scheduled and in contract, but cancelled. Reason given closed tuesday. Most tours have been rescheduled during 5* tour. RSD quote contract etc but hide when you have issue with them:( Shame. Check before you book. They also keep card payment details to collect monies!
Date of experience: December 10, 2019
JM
I have read reviews of the RSD packagesβ¦
I have read reviews of the RSD packages which have been critical to the point of asking is RSD a con job. I have experienced RSD on four occasions and I completely disagree with some of the reviews. On the 19th November I travelled with RSD to Croatia, B-H & Montenegro. This was my 4th trip with RSD, having previously traveled to Turkey (In the footsteps of Alexander the Great), Cyprus & Crete. The latest trip was a wonderful experience from start to finish and I pen this email to compliment RSD on a brilliantly organised trip. We were given a tremendous insight into all three countries visited, from a cultural, educational and historical perspective and what I experienced during the trip will remain with me forever. Dubrovnik & Split in Croatia would have provided a trip on their own. To cross the bridge in Mostar was memorable and to experience the beauty of Montenegro and its fantastic coastline, left me with warm memories. Allied to all this were wonderful hotels (all six of them!) and given that the whole trip cost β¬404 (β¬249 +β¬70 + β¬85), the value for money of the trip was amazing. Three days down the West of Ireland would cost more than that! I have no hesitation in recommending this trip to anyone. In appreciation of a wonderful week in the Balkans. John McGarry
Date of experience: December 3, 2019
WM
Cultural Tour of Crete
I think as long as people understand what they are buying they will be pleased with this trip. Similar tours with other well known companies cost 3 times as much for almost exactly the same thing. We even shared a hotel with a household name tour! I took this trip to Crete a few weeks ago. I enjoyed it very much and found it a good trip. I have been on two previous tours with RSD which were both very good but I thought this one especially well planned and run. The daily programmes were interesting and well balanced and I appreciated the ground agents detailed planning to try to ensure that all the coaches did not arrive at the same place at the same time. It mostly worked as well! Our guide Joanna was simply the best one I have ever had (and I have had a great many in my many years of travelling). She had a wide and detailed knowledge base and a sweeping breadth of vision ranging from prehistoric times to the 20th century and this enabled her to make connections between myths and practices across four continents. She coupled this with some modern scientific knowledge and presented it all in an imaginative way with real passion. The rooms were better than I expected with lots of floor space and seating as well as plenty of drawers and hanging space. In addition there was always plenty hot water in the bathrooms. We didn't get the best views from the balcony, but, what can you expect at the price? You do not have to buy the dinner package although, again, it is not overpriced. You can have a delicious lunch (usually around 3pm!) while out on the day trips and then eat a snack at the pool bar (most of the year) or bring back a sandwich if you prefer. The real issue is the flights which are always a bit of a nightmare plus the visits to jewelry, leather and carpet factories etc. but these all help to keep the price down so just have to be tolerated. Just so you know I am not inexperienced in travel, I usually go away 4-5 times a year and have used all the well known companies. One of my annual trips is always longhaul and I have stayed in true international 5* hotels at prices per night that would pay for this whole trip!
Date of experience: November 27, 2019
KH
RSD India October 2019
We feel really ripped off by RSD. Their website clearly states that included in the basic price is a cultural tour of India, including all the main sights. When we arrived our guide told us we needed to pay an extra Β£375 for this, meaning it was no longer an affordable holiday. We paid because it would be ridiculous to go all the way there and not see sights such as the Taj Mahal. I've given RSD time to sort this out but they are ignoring my emails. Also, you are forced to purchase the dinner package as the hotels are on industrial estates. It would be cheaper to pay as you go for room service but not all hotels have it so it forces your hand if you don't have food with you. The hotel food was pretty gross and often inedible. Everyone on our tour got sick from it. When we came home my husband was still really poorly so went to the doctors for tests and it turns out he had salmonella. So be warned about eating the hotel buffets. India is amazing but you'd be better off arranging something independently. The hotels and taxis etc are cheap out there. We spent longer in the marble shop in Agra than we did at the Taj Mahal which gives you an idea of their priorities. I went in with realistic expectations, having travelled with RSD before to Cyprus. In Cyrpus I felt like we 'got what we paid for' in terms of it being an affordable holiday with no frills. The way we were treated in India was shameful, and to since be ignored by their UK customer service team is appalling. I would suggest you avoid travelling with RSD.
Date of experience: November 24, 2019
CH
Cultural Tour To Crete
We returned from a cultural tour to Crete on 20th November. We have just about managed to give this trip 1 star. Probably the worst holiday my wife and I have ever had. We actually wanted to come home by the 3rd day! If you want to go on this trip be very careful that you understand EXACTLY what you will get. What RSD don't mention is that visiting monuments in Crete can involve much uphill and downhill walking as well as walking in archaeological sites which is very difficult if you have any issues at all with walking or your balance. On our trip, there were about 6 people who had some issues and one lady who actually fell over whilst at one of the sights. Although some people may want to see the sights despite this, many people will just not be able to do it. RSD will not tell you any details of the flight until they send you the flight tickets and itinerary (I asked but they refused). They say that they don't know until the last minute because it is a charter flight but that is ridiculous even charter flights have to plan months in advance to be able to schedule these flights. One of the reasons we think, they don't tell you is because the flight starts at Gatwick calls at Manchester and then on to Heraklion, So the outward journey involves the people from Gatwick having to stop at Manchester and on the return, the Manchester bound people have to get off the plane at Gatwick, go through a security check then get back onto the same seats on the same plane. I will leave you to work out for yourself how we felt about that. The flight timings are also inconvenient with the flight scheduled to land at 00:45 local time (2 hours ahead of GMT), our flight was delayed by 2 hours which put the schedule back to 02:45, in the event it was even later than that when we arrived and by the time we had reached our hotel, checked in etc, we were only able to catch around 2 hours sleep before we had to be on the coach for the first days tour. A word about the hotels. RSD describe them as 4/5-star national category. The first hotel (Bali Paradise Hotel) would barely make 2 stars in Britain, the rooms are dated with minimal old built in furniture, bathroom with a bath which was so small that a large child would only just fit in it. There was also weirdly, a window at the end of the bath which looked out on the corridor linking the rooms, it was frosted but even so bathers could be seen from the corridor. In short, the hotel was tatty. The second hotel (Royal Belvedere) was slightly better and would just about scrape 3 stars. The room we had was a family room which gave us a little extra space but again it looked tired and was in need of some TLC. Other things to note about the hotels were that in the Royal Belvedere there was only one bin in the room which was in the bathroom and neither room had any tea or coffee making facilities (we have stayed in may hotels throughout the world from basic B&B to luxurious 5 * accommodation and we cannot remember any that failed to provide this most basic service. The final thing to mention about the hotels is the food. It was appalling! RSD describe breakfast as tasty, in fact it was generally tasteless slop and in the Bali Paradise Hotel they didnβt even serve ant fresh fruit, it was tinned! The evening meal is sold as a separate package described as βSumptuous Buffetβ In fact the tasteless slop theme from breakfast is repeated, none of the food looked remotely appetising and was generally only lukewarm. It will take a lot of persuading before we could agree that Chicken Nuggets would qualify as βsumptuousβ, perhaps it is considered an βinternational specialtyβ. If you donβt buy that extra food package, you will struggle to find somewhere to eat at night as the local tavernas and restaurants have mainly closed for the winter and the hotels are quite isolated. The message here is βeat out at lunchtimeβ and get some snacks to eat at night. Donβt buy their package. The whole dining experience owes more to industrial canteen than to any other form of catering that we have ever come across on our travels. On to the trips, you know what you are getting when you book (or do you?). The first thing we were told by the guide was that we should take no notice of the itinerary published in the brochure. She was going to reschedule everything. The result of that was that the optional tours to Knossos Palace and the museum at Heraklion would take place on the day that we transferred from the Bali Paradise Hotel to the Royal Belvedere. This meant that even those people who were not going on the tour had to go to the places and were basically dumped there until the tour was finished. In the case of the Knossos Palace, this meant that we were dumped in a car park on a main road where there were 2 rather tatty coffee shops and a number of tourist shops. In Heraklion we were dumped in the centre of Heraklion without any directions as to where we could eat or do any sightseeing. The worst thing about the tours were the trips to a Carpet Warehouse, a Jewellery Warehouse and a Leather Warehouse. Safe to say that none of these were actually examples of Cretan Handicrafts or culture but were purely an exercise in parting the tourist from his money. Over priced goods and salespeople who seem to have been trained by the very worst breed of double-glazing salesman led to an altercation in the Leather shop when the salesman just wouldnβt go away and was on our shoulder constantly. Finally, a word about tipping, we accept that in the tourism industry, tipping is a way of life whether or not you agree with it. What we objected to was being told on 3 separate occasions that we should be tipping our guides and driver and how much to tip etc. The result of this constant harassment was that none of the guides or the driver were tipped. We just felt that the main guide had become obsessed about it and was trying to extract the maximum she could. We have to say that had Dimitri the driver taken us to the airport for our return trip, we would have tipped him despite the harassment. If you are looking at this trip and want some advice as to whether or not to book it, we would say avoid it at all costs, it is awful.
Date of experience: November 23, 2019
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