Stubborn Mule Travel Avis 

Having never before used a travel agent I used Stubborn Mule for a recent special family holiday to Mexico. They were fantastic from the moment I first spoke with them, and helped shape the most exciting and adventurous itinerary I would have struggled to have designed myself. Their hotel and activity recommendations were all spot on, my only worry is how high the bar has now been set as it'll be hard to beat this holiday! Cannot recommend highly enough.

We’ve just returned from a wonderful trip to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, organised through the team at Stubborn Mule - specifically Emma and Holly. From the very first phone call, planning the trip to ensure the right amount of adventure and relaxation, then fine tuning our itinerary - to the holiday itself, with 7 flights and 10 different accommodations; to the guided elements and the flexibility and responsiveness when we needed it - we simply cannot fault Stubborn Mule. Would highly recommend for anyone looking to plan a trip and make countless precious and lasting memories. We will be using SM for our next adventure.

We have just returned from an amazing holiday in Tanzania and Zanzibar. Stubborn Mule have been fantastic, helping us to tailor our trip so it was perfect for us. Their team have been responsive and knowledgeable. Their partner in Tanzania, Jaribu, were brilliant too, we really felt like we had the best safari drivers. Denis and Joseph were amazing with our children, helping teach them about the landscape, wildlife and even how to take better photographs! The itinerary and transfer points all ran smoothly and all of the accommodations were wonderful. I’d thoroughly recommend Stubborn Mule and a safari with children in Tanzania.

We have used Stubborn Mule several times, most recently for a 3 week trip to Madagascar for our family of 5. Their itinerary was perfect - challenging but with enough down time, and their support in country was really valuable (e.g. when the airline lost one of our bags). Overall - we would highly recommend them!!

Great travel company. The staff are very knowledgeable about the destinations and extremely helpful. Our trip to Costa Rica went very smoothly. All the local drivers turned up on time, the accomodation chosen by Stubborn Mule were great and the in-country contact was helpful and replied to messages quickly. I look foward to using them again.

We’re just back from our first Stubborn Mule trip to Tanzania and Zanzibar.

A huge thank you to Charlotte and Molly for taking my vague ideas of what we were looking for and building them into the fantastic and memorable holiday we’ve just had. It delivered on every level.

Thank you to Joseph who coordinated in-country and the biggest of thank yous to our guide, Emmanuel, for his knowledge, patience, spotting skills, respect for wildlife, smooth driving skills, flexibility, making us always feel safe and being all-around great company. Thank you for also making one teenager’s birthday very special!

I waited 38 years to see Tanzania and the landscape, animals, people and sunsets did not disappoint. We will talk about it for years to come.

We all had an incredible time and are left wondering ‘where in the world next?’!

The folks at Stubborn Mule were brilliant in helping us have a wonderful family experience in Japan. Travelling with teens, 14&15, we needed the mix of experiences that kept everyone happy and they delivered this in spades.

Always helpful the team organised our itinerary and accommodation for us. The self guide travelling on excellent public transport was easy; the private transfers to/from the airport were so polite, the all day guides in Tokyo and Kyoto were so knowledgeable and adapted to suit...I'm not sure they get many requests for stationery stores in and amongst the temples and shrines!
We organised flights ourselves and the Stubborn Mule team seamlessly incorporated these.

Can't recommend highly enough!

We have just returned from a 3 week trip around Costa Rica and Panama arranged for us by Stubborn Mule. Alex and Rachel were terrific in organising everything down to the last detail. They were patient answering my questions as we built the itinerary together and I felt we were in good hands straight away from booking to returning including support while we were there. I have two teen boys (15 & 17) and we had lots of great activities to keep everyone occupied throughout along with the odd bit of pool time. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Stubborn Mule for family adventures.

We've booked two family holidays with Stubborn Mule and both have been fantastic. They think of everything we might need or want, and include activities we'd never have thought of. It takes the hassle out of organising everything and allows us to sit back and enjoy the adventure, knowing everything's taken care of. They are a pleasure to deal with. Would recommend anyone thinking of a family holiday somewhere adventurous!

We're just back from another fantastic holiday arranged by Stubborn Mule, this time to Canada. The holiday was really special with so many superb moments that we are all struggling to choose our favourite. We had an amazing array of wonderful experiences from bear watching, to canoeing on Pyramid lake and bobsleighing on the olympic course in Whistler plus of course the awe inspiring natural scenery of a stunning country.

The beauty of working with Stubborn Mule is you get an itinerary bespoke to your family. We went through a number of iterations adjusting routes, number of nights in each location and activities with Liddy and Jess providing great advice and information along the way. Then, when a back injury forced us to reexamine our plans, they were amazing in helping us determine which activities would still be suitable including multiple conversations with tour providers to understand how bumpy the water might be!

Following all their planning the holiday went pretty much without a hitch. Unfortunately the float plane trip was cancelled due to smoke and then the weather. Although this was disappointing it was obviously unavoidable and it was dealt with efficiently by their local operator who contacted us in the morning and then liaised with the company to try to rebook the flight on our behalf (sadly this was also cancelled but ce la vie).

This is the second holiday we have booked through Stubborn Mule (Slovenia was also amazing), their meticulous planning ensures a stress free holiday, gives you unique activities which we would have struggled to find on our own and identifies the best local providers. We will definitely be looking to use them again in the future, we just need to decide where next!

We have just had the most magical extended family holiday in Kenya with SM. Despite travelling in a group of 12 the logistics couldn’t have been smoother. Each of the places we stayed exceeded expectations- and were perfectly picked to match the needs of our group. Everyone we dealt with was friendly and helpful - the safari experiences were unbelievable, and four days on the beach was the perfect way to end the trip! Thank you SM - we will be back for more!

Personal and diligent service. Loved the responsive nature of their communication by email and WhatsApp. Dealt with any issues promptly. Can't fault them

We have just returned from a wonderful 15 days in Vietnam. A fabulous trip organised by Stubborn Mule. Liddy & Jess organised a great tour, including lots of different activities to keep our teenagers (17, 16 and 13) busy as well as incorporating some downtime as well. The whole process from initial thoughts to the final execution was brilliant. Our local guides were so knowledgeable and friendly and were able to adapt to our specific needs on the day when needed. We particularly loved Pu Luong Nature Reserve, Hoi An old town and our brief visit to Saigon so learn more about the Vietnam/American War. I highly recommend Stubborn Mule - it is our 3rd trip with them and hopefully not our last.

This was our fifth trip booked through The Stubborn Mule, and somehow they continue to exceed our expectations every single time. Before each adventure, we think, “There’s no way they can top the last one,” and yet they always do.
Our Iceland itinerary was absolutely perfect. We had just eight days, and they curated an incredible journey that packed in the country’s highlights without ever feeling rushed. Every day brought a new adventure, and our kids (ages 12 and 13) were completely captivated from start to finish.
We zipped through icebergs on Zodiac boats, raced ATVs across black sand beaches, rode Icelandic horses to a spectacular waterfall, and spent what was arguably the highlight of the trip hiking to a secluded hot spring valley where we cooked lunch using geothermal steam, soaked in natural hot springs, and relaxed surrounded by breathtaking scenery.
They even orchestrated the perfect finale—spending the morning off the coast of Reykjavík spotting thousands of puffins and an incredible number of humpback whales, followed by a blissful afternoon at the Sky Lagoon before heading home. It was the ideal way to end an unforgettable adventure.
Every hotel was excellent, the pacing was spot on, and every detail was thoughtfully planned. The Stubborn Mule has an extraordinary talent for creating family adventures that are exciting, seamless, and genuinely magical.
Five trips in, they continue to raise the bar. We can’t wait to see where they take us next. Highly, highly recommended.

Just back from a fantastic SM family trip to Thailand! Faultless and smooth organisation by the SM team throughout which meant no stress and we totally maxed out what we saw and did while there whilst also having time to relax. Cant imagine what it might have been like without SM! Wonderful staff everywhere and so many wonderful experiences and memories made for a life time. Wonderful country! Hugely thankful 😀

Having booked my travel independently for the past 30 years, I was a little hesitant to put my trust in a travel company, but the desire for more adventurous travel in further flung places, coupled with a busy life, prompted me to reach out to Stubborn Mule. I am so glad I did. What a fantastic, personal service. From help deciding which country to explore, to tailoring the itinerary, picking fantastic accomodation, sharing local knowledge and advising on changes due to global conflicts, Stubborn Mule made it easy and stress free. The right amount of contact and updates, but not too much culminated in an amazing holiday to Sri Lanka for our family of 5. The trip itself was seamless, so easy, so fun and made all the better by the driver, Jude, provided by their partner LSR. If we could have taken him home in our suitcase, we would have! Would not hesitate to book another adventure through Stubborn Mule.

We love stubborn mule, we have booked three holidays with them and are going to book another for next year.
They make us do things that we would never normally do, which are extraordinarily fun!
The people we have used are so helpful and willing to bend over backwards to help us.
I would recommend stubborn mule to anyone who is looking for a good holiday booked for them!

It was a step into the unknown taking our 3 teenage children to Sri Lanka but thanks to Stubborn Mule, the experience was amazing and we had the best holiday. From the minute we got off the plane we were welcomed by Ranga, the best driver ever and then got looked after for the next 10 days. The Hotels that Stubborn Mule booked us were amazing and everything ran so smoothly- completely stress free. Thanks so much to Stubborn Mule-would never use anyone else

Amazing holiday in Costa Rica
Great activities
Everything was so well organised
Can't recommend enough for a stress free holiday that gives you a real feel for the country with fantastic trips and activities organised.

We booked a 17 day trip to Japan though Stubborn Mule travelling as a family with two boys aged 11 and 8 years. We booked via Stubborn Mule as we wanted a tailored tour that would be fun for both adults and kids alike. We were so impressed with their local knowledge and they had loads of tried and tested ideas. The private tour of the big city’s were amazing and showed us how to navigate the transport system (which once you know how is pretty easy) they arranged for travel cards, train bookings between hotels and gave us helpful advice which save us hassle and wasted time.
We manage to pack loads into our time away, it felt so seamless, as Stubborn Mule did all the leg work for us.
I cannot recommend this company enough! If you are looking for a bespoke, tailored hassle free adventure, you can’t go wrong with Stubborn Mule! We would use them again in a heartbeat. Thank you for such a wonderful trip.