Stories from our backyard: Trek the Abel Tasman
When I think of a holiday post COVID, I am thinking of relaxing in an uncrowded natural environment and reconnecting with my fellow travel companions be it family or friends. A holiday in New Zealand certainly ticks those boxes with plenty of untamed wilderness and a...
Stories from our backyard: Meet Dunedin’s little Blue Penguins
OK we know they are cute. After all, what is not to love about the world’s smallest penguin? Meet Kororā, the world’s smallest penguin, emerging from the sea at dusk at Takiharuru/Pilots Beach, near Dunedin, on the South Island, New Zealand. Located on the Otago...
Stories from our backyard: Discover New Zealand’s premier wilderness lodge
Dr Gerry McSweeney was a university student in the 1970s. He helped fund his studies by guiding tourist walks in the National Parks of New Zealand. Now, 45 years later, at Wilderness Lodge Lake Moeraki he still guides rainforest walks and kayak trips almost every day....
Stories from our backyard: Glow worm kayak tour
There’s something special about fairy lights. Maybe it’s to do with the enchanting atmosphere, but in the natural world you can expect that and more with New Zealand’s answer, the Glow worms. They are unique to New Zealand and offer an alluring blue glow and a sea of...
Stories from our backyard: Scenic flights Marlborough Sounds
Marlborough Sounds Credit: MarlboroughNZ There is no doubt about it, this pandemic is tough. Whilst international travel is heavily restricted, the one thing we can do if we are lucky enough is to treat ourselves to those special moments in our very own backyard. For...Recent Reviews
We had a wonderful holiday in NT and Queensland that Vicki had created for us! Conversations prior to the holiday were nice and easy and Vicki was very good at tuning in to our wishes. During the holiday Vicki and her colleague were always quick to respond whenever we had any questions. The fee they charge is fair and definitely worth the money as your holiday gets a lot better and without all the planning stress. Our warmest recommendations to Vicky
Christian Sinding Bentzen
07:19 10 Aug 23
Vicki is a super organized and knowledgeable travel consultant. She planned a 10 day itinerary for my family of 5 (incl 3 teens) to the S Island of NZ. She listened carefully to our needs and organized a program that exceeded our expectations bc it was paced specifically to how we like to travel. I highly recommend her service. We will work with her again on our next visit to Australia and New Zealand.
Melissa Nelson
07:54 22 Apr 23
Vicki helps us plan our first trip to Australia with both comfy hotels in Sydney and Melbourne, as well as more adventurous stays on the way driving down to Great Ocean road. She gave us a good selection of different accommodation and fun activities for us and our two teenagers.We will definitely use her again for our next trip down under!
Sofia Weiderholm
13:23 09 Mar 23
Vicki organized a beautiful trip for our family to Australia in 2018. Due to COVID, we had to postpone our long-awaited trip to New Zealand to 2022. Vicki organized it very nicely as well, it was worth waiting :-)
Jürgen Fleischmann
01:24 04 Feb 23
Vicky was such a help organizing our trip. She was always one step ahead with our needs. For our next trip to Australia We will contact her in advance for a nice holiday.
Kobalt The Book
19:00 07 Dec 22
Thank you Vicki for arranging yet another memorable vacation for us in Australia. We loved your choices of accommodation - be it Fremantle where the 3 families got together for breakfast with seagulls and where kids had fun with night overs (or I must say night outs) together; be it Walpole where the hosts were amazing and we had 100 acres of farm to ourselves with Kangaroos, bbq experience, stargazing at nights and a bit of sports (my favourite! Cricket); be it Margaret River where all of us had closeup experience with farm animals, bon fire (still nostalgic) and some amazing gastronomical experiences, Andrew is super. Your recommendations of restaurants were awesome as well - a few that standout are Little Creatures Brewery in Fremantle (we loved the beer and pizza there), the fish & chips and the vineyards (we did like 3 of them). Finally, the recos on places to visit - we loved whale watching (specialised on Mirayaa’s birthday; super cool), the Rottnest island with Quokkas, the Tingle wood forests and The Gap (my personal favourite).Great vacation with family and friends, great food, great experience of nature, great stays - the bar is higher for next time I guess 😀. With regards, Saroj and family.
saroj suaro
13:58 27 Nov 22
Vicki organised an outstanding 10 day trip to Western Australia for our group of 11 (including 5 kids ranging from 3-9years old). This was our daughter's 9th birthday trip and our first big vacation post Covid so had big expectations from this trip and Vicki's planning did not disappoint to say the least!We stayed at 3 uniquely distinct accommodation in Fremantle, Walpole and Margaret River - one by the ocean & the yacht club, the other was a cabin deep in the woods and the third was a lovely farmstay. It's hard to chose a favourite as all 3 catered beautifully to the kids and adults alike and were very different experiences. Vicki was also able to recommend food options and restaurants for us, both for a casual dine-in and also for occasion dining. Little creatures in Fremantle was a highlight, so was the Italian feast at Swings in Margaret River. Our visit to the Bunberry Farmers' market on our way to Walpole was an excellent stop to stock up on all the BBQ essentials for our stay in the cabins in Tinglewood cabins in Walpole.For the activities and sight seeing options, Vicki was able to cater to the mobility restrictions of the 3 year old while ensuring we get the best of the region. A highlight was the Whale watching tour for our daughter's birthday and the animal experiences within the farmstay every single day of our stay at Andrew's Margaret River Holiday Cottages. Andrew was so friendly with the kids and let them help around the farm & the bonfire making - his stories were really the best! Other places we enjoyed were the GAP, the Tinglewood Giant trees and the Yeagarup sand dune trail. Thanks Vicki for yet another memorable trip!
Devika Prasad
13:50 27 Nov 22
Vicki organised an amazing short stay for us in Uluru. We stayed at Desert Gardens which was a lovely clean and well appointed hotel at the resort. September weather is mild and sunny (great to get away from the Melbourne gloom).We did the Mala guided walk (which was very disappointing) and then the base walk at the rock(amazing). The Silence under the stars dinner was an incredible experience; food great, venue to blow your mind. Kata Tjuta cannot be missed!! Sunrise, breakfast and a walk down the most amazing gorge. Unforgettable. We also experienced the Feild of lights which had us spellbound. The free activities at the resort were great. Didgeridoo, bush tucker and weapons talks were informative and fun. In all, our experience at Uluru was unforgettable and will be a wonderful memory forever. (We won't talk about Jetstar🙄).. And none of it would have been achieved as easily and stressful without our lovely, experienced, friendly AET agent, Vicki. Thankyou so much
Pamela Delahant
23:22 20 Sep 22
We have just returned from 2 wonderful weeks spent on the east coast of Australia, Thanks to Vicky for your advice and for taking care of the logistics of the trip.
khadidja zedek
07:14 11 Aug 22
Dec2019-Jan2020 - Vicki did a great job in helping us with our 3 weeks trip to NZ. We would definitely recommend her services to anyone who needs help in planning and organising their NZ trip. We visited both islands and a lot of places which makes it very hard to choose the best place or the best activity during our trip. The best thing we can say is that we will definitely go back if we can and we will definitely get in touch with Vicki again.March2022 - Great holiday along Great Ocean road and Halls Gap/Grampians nationalpark. We had a wonderful week with lovely nature and an amazing wildlife. Thanks a lot Vicki for once again helping us with accommodation and tours to get the most out of our trip.
Maria Edin
07:55 09 Apr 22
We just came back from a wonderful one week Margaret River holiday, well organized by Vicki. This made the organization worry-free, as Vicki can take care of all details. We had nice accomodation, suggestions for things to do or see and when we got stuck due to Covid, she assisted us in taking care of car etc. I can highly recommend!
Marjolein Oyen
03:21 05 Apr 22
Our family was spoiled with the opportunity to spend two weeks over Winter Break (2019) on the North Island of New Zealand. It was certainly a trip of a lifetime for us! Vicki was extremely helpful in arranging: hotels, car rental, excursions and a domestic flight. She had great knowledge of NZD and helped make sure out needs were met. As we look back on the trip, there may have been just two things we would have changed, BUT agree that using Vicki is not one of them.We will certainly be in touch when it is time to plan the North Island of New Zealand and Australia.
Laura Gardner
19:46 29 Oct 21
We only had one week where the family were all available for a trip away together. In a world of COVID restrictions we had no idea where to go. We asked Vicky from AET travel organise something. Her brief was to find something for a family of six, luxurious, warm, by the beach, within our budget and at short notice.AET travel delivered on every aspect. No detail was missed and nothing was too much trouble. We were presented with a few options from which to choose. We stayed at Peppers Soul in the heart of Surfers Paradise. Peppers took great care of our family and the accommodation was comfortable, luxurious and convenient.A highlight of the holiday was a trip to the stunning Lady Elliot Island on the southern aspect of the Great Barrier Reef which Vicky organised for us. We had our own tour guide Yugi, who looked after us making sure we got the most out of the day which included seeing majestic Manta rays and snorkelling with turtles. We would thoroughly recommend this experience. We are grateful to Vicky for organising.Vicky from AET looked after our family so well, thinking of every detail and communicating at every step. I only wish we had discovered AET earlier.Lynda and Matt Ryan
Matt Ryan
05:33 03 Jul 21
We selected Vicki to help us plan our month long trip to New Zealand at the recommendation of our colleagues. Over the period of a few weeks (during end of the year holidays) we worked out an itinerary, tailored to our likes that spanned the length of both islands. Vicki offered great suggestions on where to stay and activity options. We had a phone call that helped her personalize what would be best for us. I really appreciated that she then made the reservations (both lodging and key activities), using a single transfer we provided. This simplified our interactions tremendously. Vicki also kept track of events going on in New Zealand including disastrous rainfall in the Milford Sound region. She made late changes in our transportation that worked our perfectly. She helped plan the overall journey to minimize the necessary long travel from north to south. With our car reservation she arranged for the ferry crossing to the South Island and also arranged our flights from Queenstown back to Auckland before returning home. During the entire month there were no "surprises" in any of the reservations and activities. Thanks!Feb. 2020
Julia Behrendt
08:42 31 May 21
Excellent! We had a great time in Australia in Feb 2020! Everything was perfectly organized based on our needs, so we just had to jump into the plane! Highly recommended!!
Silvia Bianchi
01:39 31 May 21
Hello there! This is the second time we have used Vicki to plan a vacation. Her guidance on accommodations are recommendations were perfect. We started our vacation in Sydney by spending a couple of days downtown. We did a bike tour, an opera house tour, and took a ferry out to Manly Beach. Our hotel room was spacious and convenient! We walked almost everywhere or jumped on public transit with ease. She recommended markets, restaurants and even found Jazz clubs! Vicki was always available to answer our questions regarding everything from OYSTER cards to Cell phone plans. It's like having a friend to take of you. Our B&B in Hunter Valley was spacious and relaxing. The wine tour she set up for us was perfect. When our son changed his plans with us, she patiently contacted our hotels and even saved us some money. All in all a perfect trip. We wouldn't have changed a thing, unless of course, we could have stayed longer! Our trip was October 2019.
Melanie Malaviya
11:56 26 May 21
Vicki, we just wanted to drop you a note of thanks. The accommodations were exactly as you described, 5 star all the way. Our trip started with a drive to the Blue Mountains Emirates One and Only. Wonderful scenery, very peaceful and a great way to ease into a holiday. Food and service were spectacular. 3 days later we landed on Hamilton Island headed to Qualia. Views of the Coral Sea, sunrises and sunsets, wow! Hard to describe the tranquility of such a place. We finished in Sydney at the Four Seasons, right at the harbor. Beautiful views of the harbor, bridge and opera house, Sydney is such a fun city with great food and a welcoming nature. Thanks to you for your help in organizing this trip, it could not have happened without your help, patience and guidance.Mike and Andi Zimmerman September 2019
mike zimmerman
14:05 24 May 21
This is our second Australia Expat Travel holiday and again Vicki did not disappoint! We spent 3 weeks travelling New Zealand, from South to North Island. Every detail was covered, even down to the car hire company that allows cars onto the ferries, thus making our trip as stress free as possible. At the very last minute changes to our itinerary needed to be made due to bad weather and road closures. Vicki dealt with all cancellations and fresh bookings ensuring our holiday was not at all compromised by forces of nature. I will continue to recommend Australia Expat Travel to all my friends and hope to use the company again in the near future. Thank you Vicki! January 2020
Matt Carr
11:20 21 May 21
Amazing organization without surprise, everything organized with the right timing compliant with our expectation. I fully recommend Australia Expat Travel for the professionalism, she already take into account our wishes. We will keep a lot of good souvenir of this trip . We love Australian people, culture ,everything .. and kids want to live here now. Thanks Vicki for your help and organization , hope for the future we will come back to Australia
David Floze
08:17 18 May 21
Vicki is a top notch travel agent! Our trip was exactly what we hoped for! We started in Sydney for 3 nights (which was amazing),then went to Hunter Valley. Went back to Sydney then flew to Cairns/Port Douglas area, Not only did Vicki guide us through step by step with her expertise but also will book your flights, car rental, hotel stays, tours, shows and restaurants. In Sydney, We did the whale watching tour which was so fun. The whales were dancing for us that day!! We stayed in the Rocks, which the old part of Sydney. So if you are into history, hit it up! We love wine, so what else can I say about Hunter Valley other than beautiful, quiet and relaxing. Cairns and Port Douglas did not disappoint! We took the Skyrail up to Kuranda. The most lovely quaint little town I have ever been too. I highly recommend the Flames of Forest dinner; the food, wine, and entertainment was wonderful. Our most memorable night the whole 11 nights. We did a sunset snorkelling tour on the Great Barrier Reef with Sailaway Tours. Words cannot even describe that adventure. We loved all of Vicki's recommendations for our trip. She is an expert in her field and a wealth of knowledge. Her fees are very reasonable. Well worth the money just knowing nothing was over looked or forgotten. I highly recommend her service!!!! Thanks Vicki!January 2020
Cindy Mayo
22:58 17 May 21
Wow! Gorgeous nature, beautiful, clean beaches, fabulous food and wine, opportunities for adventure as well as relaxation... our Great Ocean road, Melbourne, Manly & Sydney 2 week holiday was terrific. The wildfires did not impact our trip too much (did have to cancel Blue Mountains) but Vicki quickly arranged excellent alternatives that we loved! Reliable, personalized service and spot on suggestions for eating, drinking and generally making the most of our time in Australia were made possible by Vicki’s attention to detail and extensive knowledge of the country. Highly recommend a visit, you won’t be disappointed :) Trip taken Jan2020
Jodi Monastra
17:53 17 May 21
Hi Vicki, We had a few wonderful days on the Western Coast of West Australia in March 2020, and it was pretty Corona free and relaxed! The kangaroos outside the windows of our villas were very entertaining and almost worth the experience alone. It is always good to be a tourist in Australia. The people are SO relaxed and friendly, and we always feel welcome. Your services are great and make the planning a real picnic and the vacation itself very easy! Thank you once again.
Mari Braathen
11:17 12 May 21
