Your calls always answered within 5 rings.
When our accommodation booking in Brisbane failed, you were very helpful and found an alternative as quickly as possible, late at night. The Heart Hotel in Airlie Beach was not as good as we hoped but Thala Beach Nature Reserve far exceeded our expectations! Overall the holiday was exceptionally good!
Endless flight cancellations / changes to Brindisi. All dealt with so well by Oli. Can’t recommend enough .
Always good service
Very friendly staff
Amazing, thank you Courtney!
Thank you Rebecca Wilkie
All good as promised and helpful Mr Harvey
Everything went to plan perfectly
The flight from London to Manchester was rescheduled by BA as not enough time in between flights.
The itinerary worked perfectly.. some delays of course (as ever) but good flights and seats. Virgin Dreamliner excellent
The attention to detail you get from the staff is amazing. Knowing you have 24/7 back up is very reassuring. Many thanks to Amy and the team for everything. They are always there to help.
When our Air Tahiti flight was cancelled you moved us to Air France quickly and helpfully. Many thanks!
So helpful and efficient and your app is great too!
Raj was his usual professional self
Air France Business Class superb on all legs, long & short haul. Service superb, lounges excellent. It's how travel used to be. Hotel in Bora Bora generally good, let down by a handful of service related issues.
Excellent work
I recommend you all the time
The trip was amazing and all the flights worked perfectly
Amazing trip totally tailored to our needs by Curtis Kirton. He listened carefully to our dream holiday then using his knowledge of the industry found us options we would not have found or considered. He was thoughtful around flight times, baggage allowance and pick up / drop off and made sure we had hotel rooms for a day rather than lengthy airport waits. We knew all vaccine and visa requirements before we flew. Great service from a travel professional.
Awesome. Just excellent
All went very well
Very good service = been using this for my last three trips aboard and will use them again
Nicole and her team were wonderful! She went to such great lengths to find suitable flights and then willingly helped me with so many issues over the formal requirements. I honestly couldn't have made this trip without her. Always a cheerful and calming voice on the other end of the line when I was on the verge of panic. I can't thank her enough!
All in all, my trip went well. Mission accomplished. Thank you and looking forward to book again in the future.
Grant is a great asset to your company and has been helping us holiday since 2012.
Very good service. Thanks to Jessica and Howard and the rest of the team.
Good experience
Brilliant holiday in Bora Bora and Tahiti!
Thank you for your excellent and efficient service.
I’m all in favour of security checks but we had to stand in a queue of about 1000 people at LA to get through immigragtion. Of the 44 kiosks available 2 were in use initially which went up to 6 after 1 1/2 hours as they returned from lunch. One airport I will definitely avoid in the future.
With a laidback vibe, fantastic food, a thriving music and cultural scene, and beaches and mountains within striking distance, it's not difficult to see why Melbourne is such a magnet for tourists. Here is how to see the city in just 48 hours.
DAY ONE MORNING
Get the lie of the land from Eureka Tower, where the Skydeck on the 88th floor (the lift journey takes just 38 seconds) offers wraparound views over Port Phillip Bay and across the Yarra River to the Central Business District (CBD). It's a highlight here in a city not otherwise brimming with mainstream attractions.
Afterwards, explore one of Melbourne's worst-kept secrets: its labyrinthine lanes that link the CBD's main streets. Start in Degraves Street (filled with cafes and lunch spots) and continue via Centre Place to find fashion boutiques and hidden-away bars.
You could even join a walking tour with Hidden Secrets to get the most from these vibrant but easy-to-overlook backstreets (including lunch).
AFTERNOON
Melbourne is a city fuelled on good coffee, where it's all about single-origin beans, micro-roasting and aero-pressing. Get your fix at Pelligrini's Espresso Bar, a local institution and home of the city's first Italian coffee machine.
If sport is your thing, you won't be disappointed by the sprawling precinct on the north side of the Yarra, which is home to the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Park and AAMI Park, where you can catch cricket, tennis, Aussie Rules or rugby, depending on the season.
Alternatively, visit the recently revamped National Sports Museum to see memorabilia including items from the 1956 Melbourne and 2000 Sydney Olympics.
EVENING
The city is home to an incredibly diverse dining scene, with everything from Indonesian to French, so even the fussiest of eaters will find something.
Among the most talked-about spots is Sunda, where the Asian-inspired menu also features Aussie ingredients such as rock oysters, scarlet prawns or bush tomatoes. Ask for the signature dish of Vegemite curry served with buttermilk roti.
For after-dinner drinks, head to Bar Margaux, which is tucked away in a basement. The CBD is awash with scores of such unconventional places. Order a cocktail - try the Margaux-rita - sit back and toast a brilliant first day.
DAY TWO MORNING
Take a break from the streets and head for the peaceful Royal Botanic Gardens (free admission). Its 94 green acres are a pleasure to explore, but especially so in the company of an Aboriginal guide. The walk includes a traditional smoke ceremony to welcome participants to these ancestral lands.
Follow the historic theme back over the river to the Old Treasury Building (free admission) - the exhibits tell of Melbourne's founding in 1835 and the subsequent Gold Rush, when this city became the wealthiest in the world. Don't miss the replica of The Welcome Stranger gold nugget in the vaults: unearthed in 1869 and weighing 150lb, the original is the largest ever found.
From here, it's only a short walk down Flinders Lane for lunch at the sleek Mrs Singh (mrssingh.com.au), which opened early 2020. Get the widest taste of its authentic North Indian cuisine by ordering the very reasonably priced thali of different curries to mop up with outrageously tasty kulcha flatbreads.
AFTERNOON
Melbourne has a high concentration of commercial art galleries so draws plenty of art-lovers. Follow Hosier Lane, admiring its colourful and ever-changing street art as you go, to Federation Square. Here you'll find the National Gallery of Victoria, founded in 1861. Australia's oldest and most popular art museum is huge, so you'll need to spend a good hour or two here if you want to appreciate the nation's largest collection of Australian art.
Its other location across the bridge has edgier exhibitions: the current showstopper celebrating graffiti artists Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat runs until mid-April.
Alternatively, do some sightseeing by boat along the Yarra. You could choose to captain your own electric GoBoat via the South Bank and sports precinct. Alternatively, hire a rowing boat in leafy Yarra Bend Park, where fruit bats roosting in riverside trees or even the occasional platypus will entertain you.
EVENING
Mix things up by checking out some of the city's inner suburbs. Immediately north of the CBD lie Carlton (Melbourne's Little Italy), hipster Fitzroy and bohemian Collingwood. Follow in the footsteps of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex with fine dining at Charcoal Lane in Fitzroy, famous for its trainee programme for Aboriginal and disadvantaged young people. Expect innovative dishes such as pepperberry spiced kangaroo fillet with paperbark and smoked tomato.
Browse Fitzroy's boutique shops, then hit Carlton for drinks at Lord Lygon, a wine bar big on organic varieties, or cocktails at the rooftop Johnny's Green Room. Its comfy banquettes are perfectly placed for admiring the city skyline, so sit back and savour a magical moment in Australia's coolest city.
First published in the Mail on Sunday - March 2020
More articles below...
Not quite what you're looking for?
We can easily customise an offer to suit your exact requirements