BIG 3 Tasmania - Port Arthur, Wineglass Bay, Cradle Mountain

Overall good but…

The 3-day trip was good: nice tour guides (I have 3 tour guides in 3 days), good itinerary arrangement, good time control, but… they did not pick me up at my selected hotel without notification. I started my trip in Launceston. The pick up of first 2 days was fine. However, when we arrived Hobart in the 2nd day, the tour guide wanted to drop me (and one lady from UK) off in the Tourist Information Centre. I told him I have selected the drop off point in their website and I showed him the confirmation email. He said he didn’t get that information from the company and he showed me his list. My drop off location was indicated as Tourist Information Centre in the list. He drove me to the hotel after seeing my email (otherwise I can’t imagine how could I walk for 20 mins with my heavy luggage…). And the 3rd day, I waited outside my selected pick up point. After 8 minutes passed the pick up time I started to panic (especially for what had happened the day before). I called the number in my email and being told that they didn’t receive pick up information and I had to “grab a cab” and go to information centre immediately if I wanted to join the tour. There were no taxis near my place so I decided to get their on foot. It was a 20 minutes walk and I had to run my head off in order to be there on time!!! Luckily I made it. I know the UK lady is in this tour as well so I asked the tour guide to check on her. The tour guide said she didn’t answer the phone and left at 7:35am. I assume the UK lady has left her own UK number while booking and used phone card in Australia (so did I) so they were not able to contact her. I feel sorry for her… hope that she could join the tour the day after. I already booked through their own company website months before the trip, but still they made such a mistake. I could have missed my tour if I didn’t make the call! Advice to people who are joining the tour, make sure you send reconfirm email to them for pick up time and location before the trip. 這次三天的旅行很不錯：導遊很好（三天換了三個導遊），行程安排合理，時間把控到位，但是……他們沒有到我預定的酒店接我！ 我的旅程從朗塞斯頓開始。前兩天的接送都很順利。 然而，第二天我們到達霍巴特時，導遊想把我（還有一位來自英國的女士）送到遊客資訊中心。我告訴他我已經在他們的網站上選好了下車地點，並給他看了確認郵件。他說他沒有收到公司的訊息，然後給我看了他的行程單，我的下車地點顯示為遊客資訊中心。 他看到我的郵件後開車送我去了飯店（不然我可能要拖著沉重的行李走20分鐘…）。 第三天，我在預定的接送地點外等到過了預定時間8分鐘後，我開始慌了（尤其是想到前一天發生的事）。我撥打了郵件裡的電話號碼，對方告訴我他們沒有收到接送訊息，如果我想參加旅行團，就必須「搭計程車」立刻去遊客中心。 我附近沒有計程車，所以我決定步行過去。步行要20分鐘，我一路狂奔才趕到！還好我最終還是到了。 我知道那位英國女士也參加了這個旅行團，所以我請導遊幫忙問她的狀況。導遊說她沒接電話，最後我們在7:35離開了。我猜那位英國女士預訂的時候留下了她的英國號碼，然後在澳洲用使用旅遊電話卡（我也是），所以他們聯絡不上她。我真替她感到難過……希望她第二天能參加旅行團。 我在好幾個月前就透過他們公司官網預訂了行程，但他們還是犯了這麼大的錯。要不是我打電話確認，​​我可能就錯過這趟旅行了！建議所有參加這次旅行的人，出發前一定要再次確認接送時間和地點。

Response from the operator: Thank you for the kind words about our guides, itinerary and time management. We'll be sure to pass those on! We do want to clarify for future travellers that a detailed confirmation email was sent two days prior, clearly listing all pick-up and drop-off locations. On Day 2 the Tour Guide was heading to the correct location at our general meet point. Accommodating a request to divert to a hotel on the day was a kind gesture, but unfortunately created an expectation for Day 3 that wasn't part of the reservation and hadn't been arranged with us. We always encourage guests to review their confirmation email carefully and contact us directly if anything needs clarifying. We're glad you made it and enjoyed the tour, and wish you happy and safe onwards travels.

via Tripadvisor

Heather is a great guide with Tours Tasmania.

We did three tours with Heather from Tours Tasmania while staying in Hobart. Maria Island, Mount Field/Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary and the Freycinet Peninsula. An excellent guide, very well spoken, knowledgeable and courteous. Each day was most enjoyable.

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The Big 3 a Grand Adventure

We just finished the Big 3 and wow it was really amazing how much you see in those short 3 days. We had 3 tour guides for the trip one for each day but they were all unique and equally great tour guides (Ian, Nick and Damian) they all provided a lot of information on many locations and also answered any questions asked with insightful knowledge of the area. Awesome tour I'll be recommending it to my family. ❤️ Laura and Jordan

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Comfortable and easy way to see Tassy

Really enjoyed the trip, was a super easy way to see Tasmania and just got to sit back and relax. On the second day, felt a bit more like a school trip as the guide was very pedantic with timings and even drove off when a couple of us were 10 minutes late back from a hike… Other than that had a brill third day with Damian going to Cradle mountain!! He really made us very comfortable and went the extra mile:)

via Viator

They openly will treat you as second grade customer, don't book with company!

Do not book by any means with this company, as they are not only not ashamed to treat you as second grade customer, but also not ashamed to say it openly and put it into writing! Never seen such rude and condescending communication. When I asked for a certain hotel pick up (that was advertised by both the agency and themselves) they did not want to pick me up there and gave me alternatives that require walking 20 to 30 minutes with 20kg luggage. Even though their eticket also stated a hotel pick up, and I chose the hotels from a list they say they stop at in all their advertisement (also the selling agency told me I could). Furthermore, while by car or bus it is only a few minutes (and at 6am off seasons the traffic isn’t the issue), it was a 20/30 minute walk (and I am staying at a pretty central location, near CBD). Even a one time request to pick me up one day you need to travel with luggage (20kg) they did not want help out, despite all the advertisement. They (literally) said that their "First priority always goes to guests who book directly with us", this is a literal quote. So, despite paying full price and doing the tour they think it is normal to treat client as second grade clients. The travel agency was also very shocked when they saw the email. They also tried to blame me for it. Stated that I was late my booking (6 days prior the tour start). Sure, that is not very early, but if you can’t keep your advertised promises, just don’t sell that tour. If six days is not enough for you to make the promised arrangements, you should be honest about it it and not sell it. Furthermore, their communication was condescending. Warning me basically to not take any luggage with me on other days, in capitals written. Although I asked to bring luggage on another day, they could have politely declined it, and there was no need for this condescending tone of voice. The condescending tone of voice was clearly noticeable in all communication. All was by email, because I tried calling them multiple times, but was redirected to the voicemail every time, including during their business hours. I have, in a polite way, pointed out that I was surprised my their communication and that it was not in line with their advertisement, as these levels of unprofessional behavior are unprecedented. However, instead of a apology or any kind of deescalation of their bad behavior, they pretended to give me “the official” answer, that they don’t pick up clients that booked you big international sites, despite me booking it through a smaller Australian business. They also said that I should take it of leave it, when they know that 2 days prior on an island it is hard to find alternatives. Obviously, I did not want to go on any tour where I will be treated as a second grade customer (while paying the full price and booking the exact same tours as some other guests)! They offered me a refund, which is good. So, apparently, their management approves of this behavior instead of apologizing for the rude communications, but I guess they’re not mature to admit the mistakes they made! So, yes, I got my money back, but they ruined your travel plans last minute and are beyond rude, without any form of self reflection! Don’t ever book with this company! Watch out for them, they also don’t put any listing on google maps, probably to avoid honest customer reviews!

Response from the operator: Hi EuropeanTraveler1234, We are sorry to see how upset you are, however, we feel a little clarification might help with the points you have raised. 1. When booking via our website you will see our full hotel pick up list that is available to guests during the booking process on our website. If you look over these details and then go to a third-party website to book, you will not necessarily have access to all of the hotel options via the third-party booking platform. 2. If your third-party website allocates an automatic pick up/drop off location at our General Meet Point, we will always consider any hotel pick up requests and we will assist with these, where possible. 3. We do not pick up and drop off to all hotels or accommodation locations, this is simply not possible for many reasons. If we are contacted during your travel planning stage, we can provide details to you that help with your travel planning, we are always clear and transparent with our information to ensure we best assist you to have a smooth trip. We cannot always fix things that present as difficult for you after the fact. 4. On tour days where we travel from Hobart to Launceston or vice versa, luggage is expected on these days, and we travel with a luggage trailer. On all other days, where we start and finish to the same location, our website, brochure and FAQ’s, all state the same details “Please only bring hand-luggage on your tour day, otherwise, we won’t all fit!” Again, we can only encourage you to get in touch with us directly, we are always happy to assist with local knowledge, and tips and tricks that help with your planning. 5. You were so overtly displeased and angry in your emails to us, that of course our team waived the Terms & Conditions to provide a refund to you, so you were free to make travel plans that better suited you. We do hope you were assisted by your agency to find a great outcome for your travels.

via Tripadvisor