Self drive vacations
Tours & vacations in 2018 & 2019

Most memorable was being so close to wild animals on the game drives at Elephant Plains...Fantastic! (more)Yvonne Chapman

The Drakensberg mountains and Didima camp at Cathedral Peak provided a magical start to the vacation, with stunning scenery, fantastic hiking and lovely accommodation; we could easily have stayed much longer there. (more)Barbara Sykes

Some of the best highlights were - the penguins on Boulder Beach, Cape Point on a glorious day, staying with Hazel of Hazel's Homestays, the Real City tour in PE, Amakhala Lodge. (more)David Catherall

The national parks we visited, Plitvice Lakes and Kirk, were excellent. (more)Rick Keenan

Croatia's natural beauty - its brilliant coastline, azure seas, beautiful lakes... and great roads meant to be driven on. (more)Prakash Damodaran

There were many highlights so it's hard to choose just 1. The amphitheatre in Pula was amazing, as was Dubrovnik as a whole and all of the towns, small and large with their narrow streets, beautiful churches, squares and other old buildings were an absolute delight. (more)Andy Brading

Memorable parts? Seeing the lava flowing at the Masaya volcano is a wow! (45 mins from Managua/Nicaragua); zip lining above the tree tops at Arenal. Watching the beautiful sunset, glass of wine in hand, at Arenal Observatory Lodge. Seeing Quetzals close up in the cloud forest. Hundreds of fireflies lighting up and dancing in front if us as the sun set. Seeing all the wonderful wildlife on offer in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Tips? If driving use a satnav! Driving in Costa was... (more)Martin Blow

The most memorable was visiting a 75 year old lady and her son living in what is left of a 200+ years old hacienda in the mountains surrounding Soroa, descendants of slaves who had worked on that farm. Their hospitality and joy of live, despite having very little, the beauty and wilderness of the mountains on our hike there ... (more)Thom Brenner

Cuba all of it. Beautiful country! Excellent. Would love to re visit. Tour was beautifully organised too! Thanx (more)Caroline Bustos

For me the most memorable parts are the people-to-people things, and bits of culture ... live music in a restaurant that inspires a couple to break out into some fabulous salsa dancing; and the nice connection made with our homestay family in Havana... (more)Rebecca Pollens

Memorable parts? Mvuu camp and the night safaris Tips? Before leaving, i suggest to buy maps and guides because you will not find any tourist indication. They prefer to provide you a guide instead of selling maps and written indication. Local benefits? Yes, I think so for the majority of lodges in which we stayed. Overall rating? 10/10 (more)Giulia Rap

Memorable parts? The warmth and friendliness of the people! Everyone we met was lovely and welcoming. Tips? Take the time to talk to the local people and learn about the landmarks you're visiting. We found out some really interesting things from the places we visited just from chatting to people. Local benefits? Yes, we mostly stayed in small guesthouses and visited small businesses and local guides who were trying to do things in an environmentally-friendly way, i.e. beekeepers... (more)Beth Parnell-Hopkinson

The most memorable was snorkelling in Silfra and exploring Reynisfjara Beach. We got really lucky and had 100% sunshine and 0 precipitation the entire 45 days we were there. (more)Charles Ross

Everything was great. I can't isolate one part. (more)Steven Levine

The glacier explorer walk on Vatnajökull with Glacier Guides was a wonderful experience. Excellent 10 day tour of Iceland's spectacular sights at a comfortable pace offering opportunities to explore local delights. (more)Fiona Bromage

Fantastic!...Exploring the Byzantine capital of the Pelopponese, Mystras, en route between Tolo and Gytheio. Beautifully painted churches, crumbling ruins, a Frankish fortress with magnificent views and a convent tortoise! (more)Taissa Csaky

Our vacation was wonderful.... We have travelled extensively all over the world and driving in many different countries. This agency was the best that we have ever worked with (more)Sarah Turner

The vacation was excellent and would highly recommend Cuba as a vacation destination. The 10 day trip was a wonderful adventure from start to finish. Our thanks to Responsible Travel for recommending Marcel. (more)Claire Childs

Wonderful experiences. Recommended...Amazing scenery: El Nicho waterfalls and Vignales valley were the highlights (more)Stirling Tyler

We enjoyed meeting the enthusiastic and friendly people in the cities as well as the expertly led tours in the countryside. Most enjoyable. We were well supported but also had lots of freedom. (more)David Nevill

Memorable parts? Close proximity to the wildlife in their natural habitat, amazing scenery and masses of things to do a great first visit to an amazing and diverse country Tips? The operator was fantastic ! Local benefits? Yes Overall rating? Super some wonderful memories for the whole family great experiences and great laughs (more)Anna Dugdale

Definitely the friendly hosts at the casa particulars, so happy & helpful, given my limited Spanish, that made it even better in a way, so we both had to 'work' at communicating. The historical areas w/ good guides, helped to bring history alive. The scuba diving at the Bay of Pigs was ok, but the divemasters were very good, so good for father-son vacation (more)Thomas Holthus

Meeting the Cuban people was the highlight. Very enjoyable trip. (more)Roger Phillips

The most memorable was 50 miles offshore Scuba Diving in the Garden of the Queens...this is a healthy reef with sharks to nudibranchs. The soft corals where beautiful waving in the current with the reef fish. We had a wonderful trip and will be returning to Cuba and diving the Gardens. (more)Wilson Wing

It was a great family vacation.... Drake bay is a beautiful spot with lots of nature around, nice excursions and beautiful beach at the door step (more)ana cabrita

Amazing. A learning experience that was exciting and fun every day. (more)Sarah Lewis

Book it now! (more)Christine Keen

The bear watching and having a close encounter with a white-tailed eagle. (more)Robert Bagley

Almost whole tour of ours was exciting as every mile / kilometer of our drive in FINLAND was mesmerizing and exciting. All the activities of sports was new and knowledgable for us. (more)Nehal Lekhadia

we had great time and would definitely go back....seeing the wolverine, bears and willow grouse (more)Mohni Gujral

Memorable parts? Far too many to mention personally - running the Helsinki Marathon (fantastic scenic route!) at the end of the trip was a personal highlight but aside from this I also enjoyed the beautiful scenery of northern Finland and great accommodation throughout the trip. My 4 year old son enjoyed it all too but his favourites were the Angry Birds Kids Theme Park, Husky Sledding, meeting Santa Claus, feeding reindeers, running the Helsinki Mini Marathon for kids, riding the trams... (more)Richard Mayneord

Memorable parts? The scenic drive from one town to the next and the fabulous churches Tips? Bring umbrella or rain protection. Local benefits? Yes! There are so many things to discover and the only way to see them is via driving....so if more people will opt to do a self-drive tour...more tourist will go to the area. Overall rating? It was great and will recommend to my family and friends. (more)Fay Cruz

Memorable parts? This vacation was so packed full of fantastic memories.........From the moment we arrived in Bilbao with the awesome Guggenheim Museum and delicious tapas, through to the final day when we walked down to the beach in Barcelona to paddle in the Mediterranean Sea like a couple of teenagers! Tips? Go with an open mind, and enjoy the real Spain. Local benefits? All the hotels we stayed in, apart from the first night, were family run hotels. The spanish people... (more)Janet Herbert

So many memories as it was so varied - the safari experience, the wildlife and the birdlife, dramatic coastlines and mountain passes. Excellent for a first time visit to South Africa. (more)Jill Roberts

Our trip took in 5 different areas of South Africa and every single part of it was unforgettable (more)Philippa Roll

Garonga Safari Park. Amazing experience. Beautiful accommodation with fantastic safari drives. (more)Gavin Beattie

Vacation of a lifetime! Truly memorable. The vacation was an incredible journey of different experiences. If I had to choose a best bit it would be the Township Tour in Cape Town. This was an emotional and unforgettable experience. (more)Les Milner

It was excellent. The accommodation was superb. There was an enormous number of things to do and see at each stop-over. Everyone was helpful and friendly. The food was delicious and authentic. And most of all, the natural surroundings were beautiful beyond belief. (more)John Barker

Memorable parts? So many memorable moments. Capetown, the township tour, the teabag factory, the whales, the safari, the garden route and the caves. Tips? Stay in a hotel half way between the city centre of greenmarket square and the near the waterfront Local benefits? Yes we were made aware of a water shortage in western cape and in capetown. Overall rating? Brilliant (more)Anthony Van Gils

Memorable parts? My kids definitely vote for floating in the salt lakes (which were flooded old roman salt mines) just north of Sibui, Transylvania Tips? Huge benefit in the use of a local guide to walk around Sibui. Be aware that around Brasov (particularly Bran Castle) is very busy and full of tourists during the summer. Local benefits? I hope so! The bear sanctuary at Zarnesti particularly appreciated the support of visitors in order to afford to run their sanctuary for... (more)Vikki Wall

Memorable parts? Lake Bled. The many medieval villages. The island of brijuni for its Roman remains Llubjiana. Tips? Slovenia and Croatia are must visit destinations Local benefits? Not especially Overall rating? Excellent (more)Celia Marsh

Memorable parts? Urban Graffiti Bike Tour in Buenos Aires, El Alcemen tango show in BA, trip to Cabo Polonia, city tour with Valentin in Montevideo, dinner at El Charco in Colonia, climbing the lighthouse, wading in the water, enjoying an ice cream and wandering the streets of Colonia, Going to the defunct bull ring in a golf cart in Colonia, playing in the waves off Jose Ignacio, visiting with Uruguayan family at Estancia del Monte, wandering neighborhoods in Montevideo, dinner at La Pulperia... (more)Jenni Gordon

There were so many highlights but the two most memorable parts of the vacation were climbing the beautiful Villarrica volcano and spending 4 days in the breathtaking wilderness of the Torres del Paine National Park. Everywhere we stayed we wished we had been able to stay longer - it is such as beautiful country. (more)Lauren Pavitt

We really liked having the freedom to explore on our own with the comfort of having a safety net. Self guided trips are the way to go. Our agent, Federica, was the absolute best. (more)Deborah Padovan

Memorable parts? Loved that every day was different, a great contrast of locations & hotels, mountain & lakes, bridges & canyons, beaches & restaurants Tips? Our best decision was to swap Budva for Ulcinj Local benefits? Definitely as at hotels and restaurants local food and wines were always a great option. Conservation of National Parks well supported with reasonable entry fees. Overall rating? All we hoped for and more (more)Elaine Margott