Swain Destinations Avis 224

While our itinerary, hotels, guides, transfers and experiences have been priceless throughout our month of travels it was the care and compassion received during a family health emergency that really exceeded expectations. Here’s an example ;
*we cannot imagine the emotional rollercoaster you have been through during your trip. We are so happy to hear that your daughter-in-law is due to make a full recovery. We'd love to help provide a little extra relaxation to let you know we are all thinking of you and your family.

Felt like George Swain was watching over us the whole time. Did a great job of easing us over the hurdles of weather related complications. All our hotels and guides were wonderful.

Very efficient and well thought out itinerary. My family, of 19 members with multi-generation needs and expectations, had so much fun and bonding moments, while immerse in New Zealand's best sceneries. Hats off to Georege and his team. Kudos 👏

Swain Destinations put together a wonderful experience in New, Zealand, Australia, and Fiji. With 9 flights and 8 hotels over approximately 3.5 weeks, this was incredible. The tours booked (small & private tours) made all of the difference and the hotels were fantastic! George Swain provided daily text messages on the drivers or tour operators for the next day. This was very much appreciated as it can be difficult to keep track with so much movement! I would highly recommend Swain Destinations for your travel to New Zealand, Australia, and Fiji!

This was my first trip booking through Swain. My best friend and I did 2 weeks in AUS and NZ. It was our first time in both places. Swain did an immaculate job, from helping craft our itinerary to arranging all our transportation and activities (and we did A LOT of activities). We had a total of 8 flights and traveled to a total of 5 places, yet we were completely at ease the entire time. Accommodations were first class. Once we boarded our first flight we knew we’d be in great hands and just sit back and enjoy the trip. Belkys worked with us directly to tailor this trip and she was very responsive and did a phenomenal job. I will 100% come back to Swain for future trips and particularly would love to work with Belkys again. Can’t thank them enough for the trip of a lifetime.

Everything was arranged ahead of time and the staff was always giving us a heads up to make sure pickup times and locations were set the day prior. All of our daily trips were well thought out and extremely enjoyable! The value for what we paid was fantastic

Having never been to Australia or New Zealand we wanted a trusted professional to help plan our trip. Grant from Swain Destinations designed an amazing trip for me and my family. With just 10 days to spend on the South Island we saw and did so many fabulous things!

Everyone of SWAIN’s drivers, guides and online team were excellent. All very professional, informative and accommodating. All activities were top notch. Learned very much about Australia and New Zealand, and nature that they so loving care for in every city. The constant internet communication concerning pick up times and activities helped calm this Senior couple’s anxiety about travel issues. Highly recommend!

I could not be any happier with our Australia/New Zealand trip booked with Swain Destinations. The detailed itinerary that Grant put together based on our conversations, and having the flexibility of making adjustments where needed was fantastic. Then, to be on our travels and have constant communication from George Swain with any new contact information for drivers and/or tour guides the day before was just the icing on the cake. It was a huge trip for us to take and not only having the detailed itinerary to refer to but then the additional communication that ensured we never had to worry about a thing just made the trip that much better. Thank you for helping us have the trip of a lifetime!!

A big Shout out Kudos to Swain Destination team.
Ian , George , Heather , Ann , Would like to express our utmost gratitude for very professional arrangements for Sydney - The world's best City.
All the arrangements were meticulous.
A big thank you to the suppliers.
George at- InStyle Chauffeured Limousines
All the Arrangements at the Four seasons hotel .
Bridge Climb team.
Derek at Sydney In Style
Diamond tours guide- Scott
Opera house guide
Captain Cook cruise .

We had a blessed trip of a lifetime.

Grant St. Clair planned my recent 3 week trip to Australia and did an absolutely fantastic job. The woman who planned my previous trip, Jan Miur, provided some additional insight and help also. The highlights would be the Murray River cruise (3 nights), the Ghan Train (Darwin to Adelaide), the Irwin Family Zoo, and my time in Melbourne and Brisbane…two beautiful cities with so much to do! I was totally spoiled and would recommend their trips to anyone!

We are mostly "roll your own" vacation planners, but realized we needed help to plan two "bucket list" trips, to Australia/New Zealand in 2022 and to South Africa/Victoria Falls in 2024. Kathryn is fantastic at figuring out what itineraries are "our speed" and setting up the level of support (drivers/tours/greeters) we need, which differed significantly in the two trips. The Swain organization provides great background information and support. Highly recommend!

I used Swain to help plan my dream trip fo Africa to celebrate my 50th Birthday. Best travel decision I’ve ever made. From the moment I started with the team at Swain, they were incredibly helpful, so responsive, never tired of my 1000s of questions and helped to curate the perfect trip for my dates and budget. They chose the best hotels, offered wonderful tour options and restaurant selections. Their local guides and drivers were so knowledgeable & friendly. Even traveling alone, I never felt alone because the reps were always checking on me. The highlight of my trip was my safari at the Kapama Buffalo camp.

I can’t thank the Swain team enough, especially Kathryn for all her help. I look forward to working with her again soon to plan another magical trip.

Garry planned a wonderful tour for the 2 of us. All the guides showed up on time and were wonderful. Hotels were in excellent locations, rooms had a beautiful view along with excellent food. Everything went as planned and gave us enough rest at times when we needed it. Swain's assistance was only a phone call away when our airline canceled our flight to Kangaroo Island. We called Swains for help and they answered immediately and arranged our guide to pick us up at the airport so we did not miss any tours. Garry was organized putting our trip together. I would definitely use Swain Tours again.

I have worked with Swain for travel in Australia and Africa. On both continents they have always exceeded expectations. I have never written a review until now, but I am truly impressed by their precision in handling the required covid tests for multiple country itineraries in Africa. Numerous travelers have been able to experience Africa with ease because of how easy to follow and clearly pre-arranged travelers testing and requirements. Experts in knowledge and service!

My family of four traveled with Swain Destinations to Finland in December 2021. It was just when Omicron was spiking in Europe and we were nervous at first but the Swain team walked us through all the protocols and because we felt like we were going to be in a very remote area (Finnish Lapland, in the Arctic Circle) we went on the trip anyway. When I say it was the best trip our family has ever gone on, I am not exaggerating. Everything from the moment we landed in Rovaniemi to the day we returned home was so special. Our guide, Miikka, was so caring and flexible, always making suggestions based on the days' weather and working so hard to ensure we would see the Northern Lights, despite December being a difficult month to get to see them. The food from our private chef at our chalet was AMAZING. We gave Swain Destinations our preferences and dietary requirements prior to traveling and everything was prepared exactly to our needs, and was still authentic, locally sourced and delicious. Every activity that was arranged was so wonderful - from the activities themselves being unique and in the beautiful Arctic setting, to the individuals who led the activities being legitimate Sami reindeer herders, champion husky mushers, and so on. I cannot speak highly enough of just how moved we were as a family to have these experiences together. We wrapped up our trip in Helsinki and got to experience the Christmas Markets and even Finland Day, which was beautiful and touching. I have to say that I thought a trip to the Arctic would be one and done, but now I want to go again in a few years when our children are old enough to do some of the more active experiences like ice-track racing, and helicoptering over the North Pole! We are already planning our next Swain Destinations trip, and cannot wait to see what they offer elsewhere, but I highly highly recommend their Finland experiences.

What exceptional service my clients, Mr. and Mrs. Kevitt Adler along with their adult daughter and son-in-law received from Grant St. Clair. They had a very detailed New Zealand with some Australia program and Grant was so knowledgeable, helpful and attentive to their every requests. We at Regency Travel could not have made this travel adventure for this family possible without him. We appreciate him and his knowledge and ability to take such excellent care of this family.

We all at Regency Travel have contacted Grant thru the years for our NZ and Australia customized travel arrangements and he has always succeeded in providing a wonderful, memorable sightseeing program with idea hotels for each individual request that we have made. We value and depend on him and how grateful we are that you have at Swain for us to contact!

Many thanks, Glenda Owen

Swain Destinations has the most knowledgeable and interactive staff. Everyone including the CEO is always available provide assistance or reassurance. They are always available to assist in closing a sale, appease a unhappy client or just provide moral support to us agents when needed.....
Best Suppler Australia, New Zealand and Africa!!

Would highly recommend the Ilala Lodge in Victoria Falls, and the Kapama South Lodge in Krueger area. Both were very nice! As was mentioned to us, unless you do a Botswana day trip or something similar, three days in Victoria Falls is plenty of time. In Victoria Falls our Boma Dinner was just an average experience. The Elephant encounter was very enjoyable. The evening Ra-Ikane river cruise done through the Ilala Lodge was very good!
The Peech Hotel in Johannesburg is very nice, but not close to anything else. The Soweto tour and Apartheid Museum are both very worthwhile experiences and informative in the struggles that South Africa faced and problems they have yet to overcome. We would say that all the arrangements made through Swain went off with out any problems. All of the tour guides were professional, and especially the private tours in Cape Town which were just fantastic!! In that regard, we would recommend that whenever possible make the tours private if your able to do so. The group tour to Cape Point and Simons Town should be private because so much time was spent picking up and dropping off at various hotels, especially when pickup times are not exact and people are not ready on schedule! In summary, we think Swain did an great job with planning, scheduling and with arrangements. Everyone was very courteous and helpful. Thanks again

Grant is very easy to work with! Professional, responsive, and knowledgeable. It has been a pleasure through the process.