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Reviews 823
customer Peter
Jul 18,2024Well organised, good itinerary, small group size, good specalist quides. But the resort was not up to standard as a resort and Hotel Stabia did not serve food after 3pm and breakfast was poor
Brigitte Robinson
Jul 17,2024We have used Cox and Kings 3 times now, once to design a tailored trip to South Africa, once going to Peru including the Belmont train, and we have now booked with Cox and Kings to go to Oman next year. Their holidays are always of high quality and competitively priced. Cox and Kings are always extremely helpful and accommodating. They care about their customers as we experienced in Peru when we almost missed our connection flight back; as they had heard of the delay they sent somebody to welcome us and rush us through the airport. The booking for Oman was not disappointing; they have accommodated and supported our tailoring with openness and were very helpful.
David
Jul 16,2024Holiday was easy to book, everything ran like clockwork, itinerary was interesting and well planned, hotel was excellent, guide was brilliant.
scotty
Jul 11,2024Requested to book a tour with an upgrade to business class flights. The initial cost quoted was ridiculously expensive and much more than the airline was charging on their website. After querying this, the cost came down to what I expected. Some unsuspecting travellers may not realise they could be overcharged a significant amount. We booked and the tickets were issued, but Cox & Kings had spelt one surname incorrectly (and we were Mr & Mrs with the same name). One new ticket was reissued which meant we were now on two separate airline bookings (not automatically sitting together but check-in were helpful). The tour itself was generally good (hence the 3 stars) but the accommodation at one hotel - the Movenpick Resort & Spa at the Dead Sea in Jordan was woeful. Most of the guests on the tour were unhappy at the condition of their rooms and several of us complained to hotel staff.
Jacqueline Mallett
Jul 02,2024Very good overall tour. Excellent,friendly and knowledgable tour guides. Most of the hotels were very good in great locations.lots of early starts and travelling but nothing too arduous and to be expected when visiting four different countries.The overall organisation of the tour was excellent.There were a few things that could have been better or not include, such as the hotel on lake Titicaca, we were told it wasn’t of the usual standard and it definitely wasn’t,we had to eat in the hotel as nowhere else in the vicinity, the food was cold and unappetising.The room was clean but had an awful smell of sewerage from the bathroom,the bar was not open, we were the only guests and not many staff. It seemed the whole point of going to this hotel was to visit the floating islands in the lake, and also to break up the long journey to La Paz,however unfortunately the boat to take us the islands broke down so we were not able to go. In my opinion this stop could have been missed out and we could have had more time in La Paz.
Gillian Wayne
Jul 02,2024Overall very enjoyable: Uzbekistan remains deeply fascinating (my fourth visit since 1978); our guide was very affable, helpful and mostly good, if not always on top of his brief; the hotel in Bukhara was excellent, welcoming and helpful, whilst that in Khiva was bang in the centre, in the walled city; we packed in a lot of varied experiences. All this was good and we would recommend the trip to friends, BUT this tour could be sharpened up: * reversing the itinerary from Tashkent by starting with Samarkand, then Bukhara & lastly Khiva (where we needed more time). To appreciate Samarkand's historic marvels, you need to be fresh, not tired after over a week's travel, as it's bigger, less compact and more challenging. Having made three previous visits to this magical city, I was sad for our group that they did not really enjoy Samarkand, even if they found it interesting. Also, the hotel was too far out: it should be much more central so that evening strolls to the key sites are possible. And any modern hotel for a western group should surely have an alcohol licence, especially after a full day's sightseeing! * changing the visit to Shakrisabz to make it by car over the mountains, not by coach on such tortuous roads. We spent nearly 5 hours travelling there and back on a hot day, which marred the experience. * ensuring that guides tell us in advance how much extras cost at hotels or group meals, eg. soft or alcoholic drinks in restaurants. At our final dinner by the Bibi Khanum Mosque, a Samarkand restaurant catering to tourists tried to charge our group a truly exorbitant sum for the same modest wine that we had paid many times less for elsewhere. Our guide was not much help whilst we negotiated a reduction.
Rohan Dale
Jun 29,2024We've booked two big holidays recently, both with your consultant Sher. He is very knowlegable with lots of helpful suggestions and endless patience to create the perfect experience for the two of us, in our seventies.
James Chadwick
Jun 28,2024Agents continued to keep abreast of requirements at all time and kept in regular contact.
Ingrid L
Jun 22,2024I was on the Classic Sicily tour from May 6-13th and have been in direct contact with you about several aspects which I feel fell short of my expectations of Cox and Kings. Yesterday I received the full results of your investigation. My main concern was the degree of physical fitness required and the lack of information regarding this in your brochure. I personally walked 38 miles during the week and I opted out of two half day trips. Two individual members of our group had rung your office to ascertain the amount of walking this tour involved and were given completely conflicting information. Your investigation states that it would be unusual for any staff member to provide incorrect information as to fitness levels required, but this is indeed what happened and I have no reason to doubt the integrity of those who reported it. I was very pleased to hear that from 2025 your brochure will include a better fitness guide with a level of difficulty for each tour. I feel this will be of great benefit to all future customers. Thank you for undertaking your investigation on my behalf.
Mr Peter Taylor
Jun 19,2024This was for me a bucket list trip to see the amazing Norman remains on Sicily - with some of the best Greek Temples in the world thrown in. In spite of some iffy weather, it met those expectations. The guide was extremely knowledgeable. However, we are not without our criticisms of this trip: 1. We were told by C&K that the trip was not strenuous. I ducked out of one walk and still did 90,000 steps in the week. Of the 18 of us, no-one was under 60 and some over 80 years old.... 2. The hotels were, let's say, OK - there is not one of them that we would ever book ourselves as independent travellers. This wasn't a budget price trip. 3. While the guide was in many ways outstanding - leaving us standing in the rain while he took his bags home and ducking out on the last night dinner were not good. 4. Previous trips with a different company (Saga) have always provided bottles of water on the coach every day - none provided. 5. As I said, this was about the Norman buildings - and they are wonders of the Medieval Age. Monreale is perhaps the biggest jaw-dropper, and it is just unfortunate that in 2024, they are doing conservation work on the Nave - but it wasn't until later I realised that we had not been shown the exceptional cloisters. 6. This Trip was from 6th - 13th May. The trip is not run every week - so why did C&K pick the week during which many Italian Schools organise school trips? At each major site, there were many busloads of teenagers crowding the site with varying degrees of boredom.
Sarah from Poole
Jun 17,2024I now know a lot more about how holiday packages are put together. Basically local companies put together tours which are then picked by people like Cox and Kings. A local guide is appointed who is independent of both and consequently has little power to vary anything in the itinerary. Even when the whole coach is telling him to change something. So this trip visited a lot of places but most of us had come here specifically to see Lecce, Alberobello and Matera. Whilst there was some flexibility in Lecce as we abandoned our 'free time' at the hotel in favour of spending it in Lecce, we were only able to spend a tiny amount of time in Alberobello and Matera. In fact, in Matera, there was not even time to have a sit down and a drink. In Bari I had to complain that we had spent so long visiting the list of obligatory churches, I was bursting for the loo (not to mention a cup of coffee). It was a constant feature - few comfort breaks, no morning coffee, no time to browse and, important to a group of 70+ year olds, to rest! Now we did see a lot of Puglia, all the places you would see on Instagram, but all so fleetingly it was impossible to get a real sense of the place. The best bits were when we had lunch in a private palazzo hosted by the owner, visited a wine producer and a cheese maker, all so passionate about their home or products. Marching around along with the rest of the tourists in traps like Polignano a Mare, with barely time for a gelato in the crowded central piazza, is not the way to get acquainted with a place. So in summary, we were exhausted with so many places to visit, disappointed by the lack of flexibility to cater for our needs to sit down, go to the loo, have a drink, browse, etc. but the two hotels were good (if too far from civilisation to go out for dinner) and the group was wonderful - we are still in touch.
Mr Keith Bennett
Jun 17,2024Amazing trip however the hotel in Saville was disappointing- central location - true - however not suitable for guests with even slight disabilities- make sure you check with your C and K operative before booking,
Mr P McNally
Jun 15,2024I have previously travelled extensively, but have generally done so independently; so this was one of my first experiences off using a third party. After extensive research I chose to travel with Cox & Kings, they offered the best value on paper and their itinerary fitted my requirements. From beginning to end the company matched and exceeded my expectations. From the accommodation to the guide I could not have wished for more. I will certainly choose to travel with them again.
Brian L
Jun 14,2024We chose a private journey for comfort and more choice but whilst this was true in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan it wasn’t in Uzbekistan. Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, good guide who worked really hard and tailored visits to reflect our interests. Transport comfortable and 4WD suitable for the roads. Our guide took us to restaurants that reflected our tastes as far as possible. Hotels good. Uzbekistan, hotels and visits to monuments were good. The places we visited were fantastic however the cars we travelled in were not fit for purpose - medium sized saloon, old and tatty barely room for us and our luggage and very uncomfortable on unmade up roads, we also broke down - our complaints were ignored. Where food was included we had no choice and far too much food, often oily and salty. We came to an agreement to order one dish but would have preferred to choose where to eat and what to eat where this was possible. When we ordered our own food on most occasions this was good - just the set meals that weren’t.Our lunch in a yurt turned out to be on a building site, alongside some broken down yurts and filthy toilets - the agent had changed the venue, we were initially taken to the one they normally used in error and this looked much better. Our guide was very knowledgeable about the places we visited Whilst we very much enjoyed our trip we did not feel that the organisation in Uzbekistan was as good as it could have been and would not use Cox and Kings for a private journey in future. A previous private journey to Central America with Cox and Kings had been excellent so we are not sure whether the blame lies with Cox & Kings or the agents they use in Uzbekistan.
Julia Edge
Jun 12,2024The agent who organised the trip, Marianela Tamariz, was friendly, helpful and professional.
Caroline
Jun 08,2024The Jordan trip was very enjoyable and overall had an excellent time. The 3 hotels were excellent quality with great food. The guide was very knowledgeable and the driver also excellent. We were only a group of 8 so maybe that helped. The only real criticism was that we didn't arrive at the Dead Sea resort until around 8pm due to leaving Wadi Rum later than planned and then for some reason taking a detour via Aqaba which served no purpose at all. We only had one full day at the Dead Sea resort as we left at 8:30 for the airport on the final day. Would have been nice to have an extra day at the Dead Sea for a bit of R&R. The Jordanian people were also most hospitable.
customer
Jun 06,2024A small box doesn’t provide me with adequate space. We booked two rooms on the Classic Sicily Tour the price of the 'SUPERIOR' holiday for 7 days was over £7K for two. The hotels were supposed to be 4 star and two of them would not even have passed muster as 2 star hotels (air con didn’t work; the rooms were often ghastly; fridges broken; dirty curtains, walls, and windows; stained torn carpets; cracked tiles; surly staff…. It really was awful - one of my rooms backed on to a service elevator with, for reasons unknown, the bed headboard positioned against the elevator wall); the quality of the food served when meals were provided was terrible, I haven’t eaten so consistently badly in years; the Guide was mediocre, the extent of the road travel required on this trip is ridiculous – you spend 50% of your time on a coach with air con that sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t and have to be out of the hotel each morning at roughly 8.15 – 8.30. All in all TERRIBLE; there is nothing luxury about the trip or C&K. I absolutely will never book with Cox and Kings or its parent A & K again. If, having read this, you still want to book - more fool you.
Beryl Howard
Jun 04,2024When it is a tour that I am looking for I always go 1st to Cox and Kings. They always have the type of tour that suits our needs. They are helpful, friendly, thorough and professional. Our Tour consultant was David Landinez. He was exceptional. Nothing too much trouble, patient, experienced and very efficient. Thank you.
SHL
Jun 03,2024The Cairo and Nile cruise was fabulous, everything had been thought of in advance and it was all high quality, from accommodation to travel arrangements. Though there was little free time and many early get-ups, it was definitely a memorable and superbly organised trip. Only niggle was the information given to us about how much to tip- these seemed rather excessive, presuming the excellent guides/drivers etc are well paid by Cox&Kings. Must mention Ovidiu David, our London based co-ordinator from the first enquiries about the trip. He answered every question in detail and was attentive and professional in every aspect over the many months. Thank you Ovidiu.
Kim Tulloch
Jul 18,2024Around every corner there was something amazing, we never ceased to be impressed! The itinerary was brilliant, everything ran like clockwork, the accommodation was sumptuous and the views spectacular! We will never forget it! Marco Serrano who was our guide for much of the trip was helpful, knowledgeable kind and encouraging, we were so lucky to have him ( and the others)