Having travelled extensively across the world, with many different travel companies our last 2 major Holidays have been with Titan Travel. The service is first class from the original booking through to when you are dropped at home at the end of your journey. Our trip to Australia and New Zealand started with us being picked up the day before by a Titan courtesy vehicle from our home in West Cornwall and taken to a hotel at Heathrow. The most direct way to Heathrow from Cornwall would have been on the M4, but our driver asked if we would like to take the A303 as an alternative, which was welcome. Along the way we stopped for a comfort break and coffee and cake courtesy of Titan. Arriving at our hotel about tea time we had dinner and a relaxing evening in the hotel, the next morning after breakfast we were picked up by another Titan courtesy vehicle and dropped at our terminal. There were Titan staff at the terminal to direct us to check in where we were met by our tour guide. But as we were travelling premium economy we didn’t see her again until we arrived in Perth.
On arrival in Perth we transferred to our hotel and the next day our tour began. We were escorted throughout by a highly experienced and very knowledgeable tour manager. On leaving Australia we flew to New Zealand with the same tour manager and the service was just as good as Australia. Due to the covid pandemic just starting our return flight was disrupted and we were travelling longer than expected. As we were travelling with Titan when we arrived at Heathrow Airport we were met by a Titan courtesy vehicle and able to travel the 5 hour journey home in comfort.
Highlights of Australia
- Ayers Rock ( Uluru) There were two excursions to Ayers Rock.The fisrt was a morning trip to walk around the rock, the second was to see the sunset and how the rock changes colour in the sunset. Near Ayers Rock there are two more rock formations in a line with Ayres Rock, both are very imposing.
- In the far North of Queensland is Cairns which is a modern city with good hotels and restaurants. Cairns is also a good base for excursions such as Kuranda. At one point on the railway from Freshwater to Kuranda there is a curve in the track where you look out of the front carriages and see the back carriages. Kuranda is a village with plenty of places to eat and drink and markets, shops and visitor attractions. An alternative to returning on the train is the skyrail over the top of the forest trees.
- Sydney has many attractions, the harbour area has a variety of vibrant bars and restaurants, the Sydney Opera House. the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Harbour Cruises and many other activities. From Sydney you can take a trip to the Blue Mountains, see the Three SIsters rock formation, travel over a valley on a large gondola, wander through ancient rainforests, and travel on the scenic railway (the steepest in the world).
Highlights of New Zealand
- Our flight into Queenstown on South Island flew in through the spectacular Southern Alps mountain range. After settling into our hotel we took the shuttle bus into the town for dinner and a look around. Queenstown is situated on lake Wakatipu. There are many activities including boat trips on the lake, the skyline gondola which rises 450m to Bob’s Peak with fantastic views over the lake. There is a restaurant at the top for coffee or a snack,there is bungee jumping for the adventurous, an alternative way to return to the town is the 900m luge. There are also jet boat tours on the Shotover River and the Dart River.
- Leaving Queenstown we travelled to Wanaka and onto Franz Josef. Following our overnight stay in Franz Josef we journeyed into the Southern Alps where we boarded the Trans Alpine train to Christchurch (one of the most scenic train journeys in the world). From Christchurch we travelled to Akaroa where we spent a pleasant day, which included a boat trip and dolphin watching.
- The next day we flew to Rotorua on the North Island which is famous for it’s Maori culture and geothermal activity. Whilst there we visited a thermal village with it’s hot springs, geysers and hangi cooking (heated rocks buried in a pit oven called an umu).
- Our final destination was Auckland where we took a ferry to a neighbouring island, taking the hop on hop off bus with wineries and other points of interest. Relaxing with an ice cream at the ferry port waiting for our return ferry we were treated to a majestic swim past by a large Ray.
- After a day of rest in Auckland we began our long journey home
India
The holiday to India was conducted with the same professionalism as the Australian tour.The hotels in India were superb, and the tour was led by another knowledgeable and capable tour guide.The whole experience from the original booking through to being dropped at home by the courtesy vehicle was first class.
Highlights of India – India’s Golden Triangle
- Our first night was spent in Delhi where we spent two days exploring Dehli and the local area. We then travelled on to Agra and the world famous Taj Mahal and it’s beautiful gardens.
- After a day of travelling (including an Indian train journey) we arrived at Ranthambore National Park with it’s Bengal Tigers, during our stay we went on some game drives and saw four tigers. One came within 30 metres of our vehicle.
- From Ranthambore we travelled to Jaipur to explore the Red Fort, and take a bicycle rickshaw ride around Jaipur’s roads. At first the traffic seemed quite frightening, but after a while we were in fits of laughter and had a most enjoyable ride. Leaving Jaipur we returned to Dehli for our flight home.
- During our tour we were travelling on a motorway at night and our driver overshot the service station, as it was quiet he turned the coach around and we entered the services through the exit.
Next Adventure
- A river cruise on the Rhine. We will update this on our return.
