Month: August 2019

Jason – I promised you that I would write about our recent trip to Tanzania. In a scale of 1-10, we would give it an 11. Absolutely fantastic. From the time we landed in Kilimanjaro airport until the time we returned to Kilimanjaro, we never had to worry about anything. We breezed through entry with the &Beyond representative and from then on they took great care of us.

Arusha Coffee Lodge – Great place. We were glad that we took advantage of the coffee tour. Very educational plus an opportunity to see dik-diks and Vervet Monkeys. We took a quick ride to the Arusha Cultural Center which is a must see in my opinion but we didn’t give ourselves enough time there.

Serengeti – My favorite safari location. Got to see everything we came to see except Leopard, which we saw later. Grumeti camp was awesome and being right on top of the hippos was very cool.

Lake Manyara – when we arrived, the foliage was so dense we wondered how we would see any animals. We were pleasantly surprised as the time we spent there was filled with animals. We had the best butler ever at the camp. He was excellent.

Ngorongoro Crater – The lodge was a great way to end our trip. More upscale than our previous tent and tree house, it was perfect. The animals of course are the star, and that was great as well.

All in all, we had excellent guides, great food and a fantastic experience. I think staying with &Beyond throughout was better than being handed off between companies. I would highly recommend &Beyond.

Thank you for putting together such a great itinerary.

The Swain staff are wonderful. This is the greatest trip ever and you made it happen for us. Thank you again and again.

We had an absolutely incredible time in Spain! Thank you soooo very much for all of your help! The way we planned the trip was really ideal…3.5 days in bustling and busy Barcelona, followed by 4-days of relaxing beach/pool time in beautiful Marbella…it was perfect!

Our hotel in Barcelona (Avenida Palace) was in a great location…right by Las Ramblas and a ton of shopping/restaurants. We also conveniently hopped on the metra train to get around to a few places, which was just outside the front door of the hotel. The hotel rooftop pool/deck/bar area was a hit, as was the awesome breakfast every morning. The bathrooms in our hotel rooms were updated and really nice, but I would say the sleeping areas were definitely a bit tired, small and dated. I know you kind of expect this from an historical European hotel, so it was really fine. We mainly slept there and were out exploring the remainder of the days/evenings.

La Sagrada Familia and Park Guell were two of our favorite sites. We did a guided tour at Sagrada Familia which included access to the top of one of the towers. The kids loved this (I am glad I did it, but as someone who is claustrophobic and afraid of heights, it was definitely an adventure!!). You have to take nearly 400 stairs down from the top (no elevator down…only up). It was quite the experience, not for the faint of heart.

The train from Barcelona to Malaga was totally fine, but long (6 hours). In retrospect, flying MIGHT have been a better option, but either way – it was easy! We grabbed a taxi from Malaga to Marbella, which was also super easy. Marbella is probably one of the most beautiful places we’ve.

We had an amazing time!! We loved the parts you arranged for us, thank you! The hotel was fabulous, well located and amazing service. We really enjoyed the private tour and obviously needed the sleep when we slept through two alarms and missed the Borghese. We ended up doing an audio tour and enjoyed it thoroughly.

Southern italy was fantastic. We wouldn’t change a thing, maybe more time? Although, I don’t think we could have eaten or drank another glorious taste of food!

Thank you so much for all your help.

Thank you, Gina. We had a fantastic time. The entire itinerary was perfect for us.
We look forward to working with you again.

I want to thank you for all your help in making this the trip of a lifetime. Your ideas were spot on and I am so glad that you convinced me to take every one of your suggestions.
The hotels were all wonderful. They were located right next to transportation and easy to get to from train stations. The staff were all helpful and so kind. They went out of their way to make us feel welcome. The breakfasts were so beyond anything I could have expected and they even made a point to accommodate our dietary concerns ( gluten and dairy free!) The rooms in Italy had air conditioning which was great during their record breaking heat wave. The one in Germany did not , which was only a problem because of the unusually high temperature.

The tours you chose were superb! The guides in Rome were so knowledgeable and personable and made the history come alive for us. They were worth every penny. The trips to Cinque Terra and Salzburg were highlights of our trip. The sites were breathtaking. I am a Sound of Music fan and we reached the convent where the movie was filmed right at noon when the bells started chiming . We went around back and there were the Alps and “ the hills were alive!”

It seemed like we did a lifetime of bucket lists all in two weeks. My cup runneth over. I will certainly use your services again if we ever get to do another trip and have been recommending you with high marks to everyone I talk to.

Finally back to our usual routines (sadly) so wanted to drop you a note with some feedback about our trip to Ireland. First, thank you for all your assistance and in particular recommending the Chauffeur option for us. It was perfect! Our driver, Ken O’Connell, was fabulous. Timely, engaging, and committed to covering our planned itinerary. We earned a lot from his commentary.

Brooks Hotel, as you know, is centrally located and they had arranged to have us located in adjacent rooms. We certainly appreciated that.

Adare Manor – hard to adequately describe our experience. Magnificent. Everything about it was beyond wonderful.

We are at Cape Town Airport getting ready to travel to Dubai. We must tell you how much we enjoyed our Africa visit and really hate to leave. The package you, Swain, and your associates put together for us was outstanding and far exceeded our expectations at every step. We can’t thank you enough, and are looking forward to working with you again for next years trip to Norway.

See you again on our next trip to Portland.

We just wanted to say thank you for the wonderful trip to Africa! We had a great time. Everything went smoothly on every leg of the journey. We certainly appreciate the attention to detail that was given to our itinerary. It was so nice not having to worry about what to do or where to go along the way. We felt very much spoiled with the treatment we got.

The business class flights on Emirates were to die for! Such luxury and comfort…we experienced no jet lag since we had the ability to sleep, relax, and enjoy on the long international flights. We were ready to go as soon as we arrived.

Our accommodations were excellent. Our personal favorites were the Kirawira Serena Camp in the Serengeti and the Taj in Dubai. The Camp was glamping at its finest, and the Taj was a great room and a divine pool.

Our guides on the safaris and in Egypt were first-rate. Both of them were very experienced and knowledgeable and added so much depth to our trip. Samwel from Ranger Safaris was awesome! He not only found and pointed out animals, but he explained what they were doing and why. We really enjoyed our time with him. Ibrahim from Egitalloyd was equally experienced and so knowledgeable about Egyptian history. We really learned a lot.

Overall, it was an awesome experience. Thank you for making it such a wonderful trip to remember.

We’re back and unpacked from another memorable trip. I can’t say enough about both destinations. The Amsterdam was amazing with its culture and history. We took a leisurely privately guided side trip and a canal cruise which worked out perfectly. We did a lot of strolling looking at art museums around the city and even found a designer store where A Certain Party, can you believe, found a style of Prada purse that she didn’t already own. The hotels-rooms and breakfast meals were outstanding on the whole trip-no weird stuff and an amazing array of breakfast buffet options to suit any palette.
The bus tour of Norway couldn’t have been better. The bus was almost new and the guide was an old pro with 35 years experience. We took a few optional side trips all of which were just what we had expected.