Garry was wonderful to work with. He was very patient, going through numerous iterations of a 3 week trip to New Zealand that included hotels, transfers, tours, boats, trains, air, and car rentals. Lots of moving parts. He stuck with me through all my changes, and provided his expertise to put together a great trip. read more

Grant St. Clair and George Swain down under provided wonderful itinerary and expert coverage throughout our trip. Rarely do you hear from travel advisor during the trip, but with Swain they stay on top of everything. Also the resorts selected, the city hotels, and excursions were uniformly top notch. I'd use them again in a heartbeat read more

We had an excellent experience with Swain Destinations, who booked our recent vacation to the Maldives. Their extensive knowledge of the many resort options helped to narrow down the choices and find the best match for us. Swain also created a customized set of activities at fabulous Cocoa Island, which contributed to a special and unforgettable holiday. Their expertise, professionalism, and helpfulness made this the perfect trip! read more

Swain Destinations has booked three amazing trips for us. First to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam and everything was perfect 5 stars plus. Next trip Austraila and it to was perfect! Last trip to South Africa where we were treated like royalty! Everything was absolutely amazing! All the tours on every single trip were 5 stars! Starting with being picked up and greeted at the airports. Everything went so smoothly. I referred them to a friend of mine and they booked a Safari through Swain and were extremely happy! Life changing trip for us all! I highly recommend them and will be using them in the future. read more

To say that I am disappointed in the service and quality of a trip provided by Swain Destinations is an understatement. They are hands down the worst company to deal with and are not worth the commissions they take to set up the trip. DO NOT BOOK THROUGH SWAIN DESTINATIONS! In general the whole vacation with them was not ideal (to say the least). We arrived at the hotel and that part was fine. The hotel was no where near the level or cleanliness that we expected, but the staff was nice and the restaurant on site was good - so all was okay. Late on the evening of the arrival - we received a call from Swain and we went over the pick up times and received a phone number for the local contact. The second day in Cairns - we went to our first excursion - Silver Swift - Great Barrier Reef excursion with Snorkeling and Dive. We were getting our stuff together to go down to the lobby 7:30am for our 7:45am pick-up when we received a call. The information the lady provided the night before was inaccurate - we were supposed to be down at 7:20am. We rushed out of the hotel room (leaving the contact number and my husband's sunglasses behind). When we arrived at the docks we went to get our excursion tickets only to find out that they never added on the dive. We had to find emails and numbers and send out everything to the manager who had to get involved to fix this error. Luckily the ship was able to add the dive on for us and we literally had to run to the ship as we were now making it late as well. The third day in Cairns - we went to our second excursion - Blazing Saddles ATV ride. Upon arriving we were asked for payment (despite having already paying Swain) and we explained we paid our travel agency and gave them the number we had. When we called the number the gentleman who answered said there was nothing he could do and we would have to call later or another (Australian number). We gave Blazing Saddles our credit card info and they attempted to call while we were on the ride, but when all was said and done they received the same run around and end up charging us almost $200. They said we would be able to figure out a refund once all was said and done - but I still have that charge on my card. The final day was supposed to be for our last tour to Chillagoe Caves, but that one cancelled and we received a refund (though I am not sure if it was the correct amount since we were never given a detailed invoice). Ultimately, short of the embarrassment for the delays we caused, the frustration for the errors in the bookings, and the double charges... I am EXTREMELY dissatisfied with Swain vacation company. The charged us a ridiculous amount compared to the prices online and the experience was not anywhere near what we paid for. read more

A friend of mine and I decided to take a trip to Australia and New Zealand. We contacted her travel agent who then booked us through Swain Destinations. What a gem of a find. We loved the personalized experience. We told them what we wanted to see and they customized our trip for us. We did a few" add ons" toward the end and again that was no problem. The price was perfect and lower than anything we found on travel websites. It was nice to know there was someone on the other end of the phone if we needed them and that they were keeping track or our movements throughout both countries. When you are two single ladies traveling in foreign countries that is a nice comforting thought to have. I would highly recommend this company. These guys are great! P.S the nice bound book with all our vouchers, tickets, and intinerary along with weather for both countries and other pertinent information was a wonderful surprise. We love you guys!!! read more

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!! I am most company's worst nightmare, as my expectations are hirer than most. Swain knocked it out of the park for my family and I. They scheduled an Australian DREAM VACATION!! We took a family of 9, ranging from 12 yrs old to 72 years old. Everyone was included and engaged in every activity. They balanced our schedule with days of leisure and activity. 5 STAR organization, period!! read more

I can't say enough about our experience with Swain! Gary was our guide in South Africa and would 100% recommend him to anyone! He was super knowledgeable about literally every topic and couldn't have been more friendly. He catered the tours (we were with him on tours in a private sedan for 3 days - two half day tours of Cape Town/Cape of Good Hope and one day of wine tasting in Stellenbosch) to exactly what we wanted which was SO much better than what I've heard from friends who did group tours on charter buses. Deerdra from Swain called us at each location we went to throughout the entire trip to ensure we arrived safely and our experience was as good as it could be. In addition, Swain made it so easy to travel throughout the country as every leg of the trip's transportation was arranged for us with a trustworthy driver. Absolutely worth the money as our experience was phenomenal. read more

Just returned from three weeks in Australia. Some of the time we were on our own and some of the time Swain took care of our bookings and everything went smoothly. The highest compliment is that the level of detail in explaining what we could expect and what we had to do was intense. You really could not second guess what was going to happen. The hotels and bed&breakfast establishments were great. The relatives were all very impressed. Tours were punctual and they were used to dealing with tourists so would know what your questions were going to be and had the answers. Tours with food were always top notch, tours where you had to purchase your own food generally at areas with a decent selection, Would I use them again, sure. The prices were exceptional. I don't know how they secured rates so low. read more

Beware of Swain Travel Services! Swain booked an African Safari for four of us. Although we saw fabulous animals and unique landscapes, the itinerary was tortuous. We were locked into hours of driving from Kenya to Tanzania and at least 50 of those hours was not on safari. The roads were terrible, so here we were, bouncing around in a Land Cruiser for inordinately long periods. On the final day, Swain's plan involved a van drive back to Nairobi airport (101/2 hours) to catch a plane back to the United States. As you can imagine, dear reader, we were exhausted! We had no knowledge of how arduous this journey would be beforehand. Driving times to our lodges and parks weren't clearly stated in the written itinerary. The very few that were, sounded easy and relaxed. On one of our calls to Swain (from Africa), we were told that none of their travel agents had ever taken this tour, although one or two employees had driven in the vehicles. We were also informed that these long drives were the nature of the "budget tour" we chose, even though we never requested a budget safari. We asked Swain if their travel service could help us book a flight from Arusha (in Tanzania) to Nairobi, which would eliminate the 101/2 hour drive on our last day in Africa. Needless to say, we received no help from this company. When we returned to the U.S., the four of us wrote Swain a long letter requesting some compensation for this uncomfortable and ill-planned journey. We received no response. read more

The total agenda, scheduling, and service by Swain for our recent 5 week travel in Africa was beyond my greatest expectations. Every location was spectacular. All the travel arrangements and custom private experiences were absolutely perfect. The safari and city guides were not only extremely knowledgeable, but were so pleasant that we instantly felt like their personal friends. And, even when there were a few minor transportation delays, the Swain staff always had the situation in hand before I had a chance to alert them. The overall total service by the staff at Swain was exceptional. Everyday, our "in Africa" Swain contacts reached out to check in with us. They are the best I have ever worked with. read more

We had the opportunity to travel to Australia to meet our son who was temporarily working there. I contacted my travel agent and asked for an itinerary. Swain produced a high end itinerary that did not meet our requirements. When I told my agent that I would like some modifications, she forwarded them to Swain. Swain's response was "Your client wants discount, we don't do discount". That comment was inappropriate and unprofessional. I booked 4 star hotels and tours online and saved about $2,000 over Swain's quote! To add to the insult was the quote for RT airfare from PHL to Sidney. Their quote was $400 higher that the same bookings I made. So much for packaging. I would never recommend such arrogance to anyone. read more

Book with swain if you want don't like sitting next to your family on a 13 hour flight. Book with swain if you want to leave 5 hours early for an airport that's 15 min away. Book with swain if you want a 7 hour layover after the 13 hour flight when there are 8 (count them 8!!) flights that get in earlier. I have never used a travel agent as this was a work function, and they just proved why this is a dying industry........had to put one star but this review is a ZERO!!!! out of 5 read more

I have been on tours all over the world but this is the only one I would rate lower than 3 stars. Swain Destinations booked us with two African tour providers who managed to reduce excellent hotels, guides, and game drives into an unnecessarily painful, anxiety-producing series of hauls, back and forth between parks. Here's the letter we sent to Swain's owner: As you know from when we spoke, the Kenya portion of our trip was less than satisfactory. The game drives were excellent. We witnessed an incredible array of unforgettable sights. The lodges were more than satisfactory. And our guide, Daniel was absolutely terrific. The problem, of course, was in the amount of time we spent in transit, trekking back and forth between destinations. When we left Nairobi for Masai Mara we spent six hours in transit, which was fine for the outset of our safari. But two days later we spent another six hours heading back up north past Nairobi to spend just one night - less than 24 hours - at Lake Nakuru. Then we headed south yet again, past Nairobi. Including a one-hour boat excursion on Lake Naivasha we spent an excruciating 10 1/2 hours in a jeep equipped with seats that were apparently designed for passengers who weigh less than 100 pounds, and that rattled so loudly that it was downright piercing. These are not exaggerations. In addition to the four of us whom Swain Destinations booked on this safari were a Portuguese gentleman, and a couple from Australia. We all agreed that the amount of time spent in transit was extreme. When the four of us arrived at the lovely Ol Takei Lodge in Amboseli National Park, we decided to review what we had been through and what to expect in our remaining time on safari. At this point we had spent more than 20 hours in excessively uncomfortable conditions strictly in transit, exclusive of any game drives, in just four days. Then we realized that coming up in just two days on July 8 we would once again be spending most of our day in transit crossing the border into Tanzania. In addition, on our day of departure on July 14 we would be traveling from Tarangire National Park back to the border then all the way back to Nairobi airport arriving three hours before our midnight departure which would be followed by another 21 hours in transit back to New York. Add it all up. We were going to have zero game drives on July 6 while in transit from one night at Lake Nakuru to Amboseli, on July 8 while in transit from Amboseli to Lake Manyara, and finally on July 14 from Tarangire to Nairobi airport. What your printed materials omitted in describing the wonders of East Africa and the amenities of the lodges is the inordinate amount of time spent in transit in Kenya, particularly in senselessly heading south, then north, then south again, frequently on what can barely be described as roads, in a vehicle that was definitely not built for comfort. Before transitioning into Tanzania we remained optimistic that the worst was over. By the time we arrived at Lake Manyara with our new guide, Mathey of Ranger Safaris, and his much improved jeep, we were exhausted. The rest of our 2-night stay at Lake Manyara was terrific. There were now six of us as the Portuguese man departed at the end of the Kenya portion of the safari. The six of us agreed that we hoped for smooth sailing for the rest of the Tanzanian portion of our adventure. Poor naïve us. When we departed Lake Manyara for Serengeti National Park, we were unaware of what a brutal trek lay before us. The drive to Ngorongoro was fine. Oh that view! But then, oh that road. The remaining route to Serengeti made the previous unpaved roads seem like superhighways. While the prior rough roads wreaked havoc on Sam's back and Ellis's buttocks, this road seemed designed as a medieval torture device. And on this road to torment we learned from our guide that we would return to Ngorongoro on the same road. We arrived at the Serengeti Serena Lodge after 11 hours, 6 hours of which were on pummeling roads. Serengeti was great. After two nights we headed back to Ngorongoro on the road to hell. We thoroughly enjoyed Ngorongoro. Then we departed for Tarangire National Park, which took us farther away from Nairobi for a 1-night stay. Then came the return to Nairobi Airport. We dropped the Australians off in Arusha so they could catch their departure flight to Zanzibar. By the time we arrived at the restaurant near the Nairobi airport, the four of us had spent a total of 13 hours in transit. And experiencing a final day of a torturous drive was the biggest screw up of all. For about $240 per person you could have put us on a flight from Kilimanjaro Airport to Nairobi and saved us a good seven hours of torture. Instead we spent more than 50 hours in transit over 12 days. There were even two occasions when Sam and Susan, and one occasion when Cheryl and Ellis, skipped an afternoon game drive because we were so beaten down. You dropped the ball on this one! read more

My husband and I just returned from our three week honeymoon in South Africa and Seychelles which we booked through Swain Destinations. This was far and away the greatest trip we have ever taken and that is all thanks to the fantastic team at Swain! Every detail of our honeymoon was looked after from start to finish, leaving the only thing for us to contemplate is what vineyard to get lost in while in Stellenbosch or what spa treatment to treat ourselves to while staying at the amazing safari lodges in the South African bush. The partners that Swain works with are of the highest caliber, going above and beyond to truly make your stay memorable. We will most certainly be booking our next journey through Swain! read more

Won't be using them ever again. They planned our trip to New Zealand and were uninformed, super over priced, unresponsive , and unreasonable. Customer service was non existent. They actually told us they hadn't been there for years. I was more informed than they were. Using Swain was a huge mistake. We are experienced travelers and never experienced such disregard for a customer. Customer service was a zero. Our future travel will not involve them. read more

To his credit, approximately 15 minutes after I posted the bad review yesterday, the owner of Swain called me to apologize. Thought it was only right that I publish that as well. If you call there, ask for Ian. read more

Timing of flight bookings were very poor in one or two cases. We had a 6am flight out of Cairns while we were staying at the Thala. I was told this wouldn't be a big issue since Cairns is only 15-20 minutes from the Thala - I knew this to be wrong because I had driven to Thala from Cairns on our arrival! It required us waking up at 0400 when we could have just spent the night before in Cairns. We also had 1 hour to connect to an international flight! Support and communication while in-country were unacceptably poor. When I noticed how tight our connection was to return home, I called around lunchtime the day before. Mr. Swain agreed that seemed a bit too close and told me they'd work on changing it. I sent an email that afternoon inquiring for an update. I received no response. When I called that evening after-hours, the girl who answered the phone knew nothing about it and informed us that Mr. Swain had left for the day. She then had to make calls to find out that our booking wasn't changed because our ticket could not be changed. Had our Qantas ticketing agent not kindly changed our flight the day of, we'd have missed our flight from Australia to the US which would have been a disaster for our families and children. In my opinion, if you run a high-end concierge-type travel agency, you do not leave the office without closing the loop of communication with the client. Assuming they know nothing has changed since you didn't call them back is not acceptable. That being said, the quality of the tours and experiences was top-notch. Well-tailored to what we wanted for the most part. All in all the trip itself was great, but the scheduling and communication left a lot to be desired. read more

I have used Swain for many years and their staff is extremely knowledgeable and courteous! Their customer service desk has helped several times when things have come up, like the out of season cyclone or the weather postponing a tour we had planned, they have always been able to either reschedule for us or acquire a refund if rescheduling won't work. I've trusted them countless times with my travel plans and would recommend Everyone to utilize them for their travel plans!! read more

I would like to express my disappointment in the organization of this tour organized by Swain Destinations. We spent more than half our waking hours on many of our days of vacation being transported from one hotel to another arriving just in time for a game drive and dinner only to wake up the next morning to be transported to another location the next day. There were days when we spent over ten hours riding in the jeep arriving at the hotel and being so sore and tired that we couldn't even get back in the jeep to do the game drive for which we were brought there for. The experience your tour company provided was not fairly represented in the brochures which we were given. Had I known that I was to be spending over 50 hours in transit many of which were spent getting bounced around over very rocky terrain I would never have signed up for this tour. The jeep rides in the rear 2 rows aside from being extremely long were so uncomfortable that the people had to rotate seats to keep our backs from the agony. While on the tour we spoke to Ian Swain the owner of this tour company and he was unhelpful and defensive. Susan L and Sam S read more