In February I travelled to Australia for an incredible two-month trip. However, the one thing that marred the experience was the fact that I had booked over the Internet with Trek Australia (www.trekaustralia.com). I strongly urge that anyone wanting to book tours within Australia to NOT book through Trek Australia (besides the fact that it is so easy to book tours with the operators themselves while in the country). Here is my list of gripes:
Booking the tours:
Unless you live in Australia, Trek Australia will charge you in any currency they please, at any rate they wish to charge you at. I live in Canada, and they somehow dreamed up a balance in US dollars, which they then converted to Australian dollars and charged my credit card (without even confirming the amount with me beforehand). Comparing the total amount they charged with what they should have charged, I believe I was ripped off about AUD$400.
I had requested that they modify one of the tours to not include the first day's activities. No problem, they said, and indicated that they would take AUD$100 off of the tour price. This was not done, however they admitted to their mistake and promised the amount would be refunded to my credit card. After sending several e-mails this was still not done (no response), so I had to request my credit card company to reverse the charges. That was the only way I was going to get that money back!
The tours themselves:
The Trek Australia website indicates that one of the tours consists of a maximum of 20 people. However, at one point there were 44 people on the tour! And what was surprising was the fact that the one tour (18-day Aussie Outback) actually consisted of three separate tours operated by two separate tour companies, so I wasn't travelling with the same group of people the entire time.
The 14 Day East Coast Explorer tour ended up not being a group tour at all (which was what was implied on the website). I was travelling on my own which wasn't much of an issue, but it might be to someone who is anxious about travelling alone.
At one point, one of my vouchers had an incorrect pick-up time on it and I missed out on the entire day's activities.
The assignment of hostels (specifically the Koala's hostels) on the East Coast Explorer tour was extremely disappointing. There are a multitude of better hostels to choose from, at equal prices.
Again - on the East Coast tour the description for the Fraser Island getaway says: Hervey Bay is just a couple of hours north of Noosa. This is the gateway to Fraser Island where we will have a full day tour. On the Fraser Island day tour you will get a ranger guided walk plus have plenty of free time to hire a 4WD, go hiking along the various tracks or just relax by the beach." In reality, the voucher only gave me access to the resort on the island no tour. I had to pay an extra AUD$50 to get a proper tour of the island.
I had a voucher to stay at the Palace Backpackers in Brisbane, but on arrival I was told that no reservation had been made. Luckily there were beds left and I was able to stay there for the two scheduled nights.
Based on these experiences, I would definitely not recommend Trek Australia to anyone, nor would I ever book through them myself again. I have e-mailed them numerous times expressing my concerns but have never received any response. Two thumbs down for Trek Australia
Tanya
Toronto, Ontario
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