2 independent reviews for Northern Pakistan holiday
Reviews for Northern Pakistan holiday
Christine Smale review 31 May 2017
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Drive through Shandu Pass and KKH to the China border, amazing scenery!2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Be prepared for VERY long days on the road3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Not really4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Disappointing! Trip could have been condensed into about 8/9 days and (probably the worst guide I have ever had on an organised tour)Read the operator's response here:
Dear Christine
We're very sorry and disappointed to read that you didn’t enjoy the trip. With regards to the drives, there are some long drives within the itinerary which we mention, and essentially the trip involves traveling between different places in the Himalayas – so driving is a key part of the itinerary, but the spectacular scenery on the way is usually seen as one of the highlights. However we understand that the guide didn’t allow sufficient stops for photos etc, which is of course integral to making these more enjoyable.
It’s clear to us that we need to better prepare future travelers for the nature of this trip regarding the drives, and we’ll be amending our information to make better mention of this in order to avoid future disappointments.
You also mentioned the guide. We’ve worked with this guide before and to be perfectly honest he has received good feedback from other clients, so I was rather disappointed to read your comments about this.
As a result of your comments we’re conducting a full review of this trip to make sure that we avoid any problems when we operate this in the future. We’re also reviewing whether we should work with this guide again in the future – as mentioned, he has worked well with previous groups but your comments have given us serious concern and we need to take these into account.
Please accept our sincere apologies for the fact that you didn’t enjoy this trip – this certainly wasn’t our intention and I very much regret that this was the case. We take all feedback seriously and I’d like to assure you that we’re currently in the process of discussing all of this with our local team in Pakistan, to see how we can improve things for future travelers – I appreciate though that this doesn’t have any bearing on your own experience.
We’ve therefore been in touch with you with a view to making amends for this, and I do hope that you will take us up on our offer and travel with us at some point again in the future.
Kind Regards,
Jim
Jim Troy review 1 Sep 2015
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
The landscape/topography is breath taking, everywhere, everyday. The mountains and valleys do surpass the phenominal Pakistani hospitality. I had 15 breathtaking days.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Think about what you want before you are there. In this fantastic environment, you can also white water raft, trek, climb, mountaineer...4 wheel drive etc. I was more than content with the cultural touring, some walking/treking, however there is so much more there if you are younger and more active than me. Because it is so beautiful and unique you need to plan the other activities in advance.There is no security problem, the food is great and not overly spicy, accommodation is good.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
my vacation provided employment and enjoyment to many locals. They are aware of environment and conservation. They are using limited solar power in many places. Many locals I spoke to were imformed about environmental issues.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
For beauty 10 out of10. For hospitality and friendliness 10 out of 10. For adventure 9 out of 10, (I took it easy..), could be 11 out of 10 with minimal effort. Comfort, 9 out of 10. Food 8 out of 10, nothing wrong with that, the street food is particularly good, sometimes not a big range to choose from, but for isolated regions it is good. Safety, 10 out of 10!Holiday Reviews
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