Quality Travel
[Traveller Statue in Spain. Courtesy Wikpedia: Travel]
Berrys Coaches
Established in 1920, Berry's Coaches is a family run business operating from the County Town of Taunton in the heart of the scenic West Country. On this web-site you will find details of our modern fleet of thirty standard and executive coaches available for private charter, together with an e-mail quotation form. Also available are details of our extensive day excursion programme and our London Superfast Express Services which operate daily between London and the West Country; reservations for day excursions or London Service can be made via this web-site. In addition details of our British and European Holiday Brochure is also available.
We hope you enjoy browsing our site, find it easy to navigate and look forward to you travelling with us.
http://www.berryscoaches.co.uk/
Mike Coles Worldwide Travel
Mike Coles has been in the travel business in one form or another since 1964. From then until 1984 he worked for a local shipping company in Teignmouth and boarded over 9,000 ships during those years. Included in his many jobs was booking seaman's tickets to many parts of Europe and North Africa.
During 1981, after a visit to India to visit his sister, friends started asking him for special rate airline tickets. Seeing the potential he founded 'Mike Coles World-Wide Travel'. On 1st November 1984 he went full time and employed his sister, for one day a week, who was then back in the UK.
The business expanded and in 1989 Mike and his wife Faith, purchased a retail property in Exeter. In the same year the company obtained an ABTA Licence and became a member of ABTA - The Association of British Travel Agents. As well as serving the public direct the telephone operation side of the business continuing to expand.
In 1991 the company obtained an ATOL Licence and became a member of the CAA - Civil Aviation Authority. Being members of ABTA and the CAA the agency guarantees the safety of public money and also adheres to the many regulations of booking travel arrangements.
Since the start of the business the company has been very fortunate in having excellent staff. The benefits of having a very low staff turnover have been proved over and over again.
Many of our staff have stayed with us for 6/9 years, some of our present staff 15/16 years +
The company has always endeavoured to keep up to date with the latest technology and has been using computers since 1986 when we purchased some of the first Amstrad PCW's on the market.
We turned one on last year and it still worked after 20 years!.
With over 24 years in the travel business, personal help and advice is a top selling point. With managerial and staff experiences that include staying in rat infested rooms in the bush in Africa, to sailing on the QE2 and 5 star hotels, personal experiences certainly contributes to close a deal!
http://www.mikecolestravel.co.uk/index.htm
National Express
This is an excellent network of individual coach companies in the UK that operate under the franchaise-name of National Express and Europe. They have a wide coverage of routings, comfortable coaches and a good record for timetable adherance. They often have special offers with seats at only 99p one way. http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx
Greenline
A well established travel company operating in the greater London, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Berkshire area. I have found their booking staff, supervisors and drivers all very helpful and in the main customer-orientated. http://www.greenline.co.uk
Greyhound (UK)
This company has opened operation in the UK in the last year or so. They operate selected routings at competitve fares. One needs to do a comparison before travelling to ensure that their fare is not bettered by another company e.g. their hop-on fare is higher than the National Express equivalent. http://www.greyhound.com/ http://www.greyhounduk.com/
Virgin
A recent journey on one of the Virgin trains was excellent. Thus I am happy to recommend the London to Manchester routing. The online-booking was through Trainline. The carriage was very pleasant and the seat allocated the same as booked.
http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/
Flight Centre
I've found this international travel agent very helpful. On one occasion they offered me a ticket that was £100 cheaper than the same journey offered by another company. Such a saving was much appreciated. I have used them in the UK and Australia.
http://www.flightcentre.co.uk/
Thomas Cook
I found this agency quite helpful. They specialise in holiday package deals. They do handle just airfares but I found online offers were better.
http://www.thomascook.com/
South West Trains
Having travelled on these on numerable occasions, I can recommend them for the helpfulness and punctuality. On one occasion, the first class fare was cheaper that the second, so I took advantage of such an offer. The difference in quality travel is noticeable. I usually seek to find the cheapest fares and as I can usually arrange my travel to fit the timing of the special offers, I have enjoyed some very reasonably priced journeys.
http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/
Etihad Airways
This is an excellent airline which I recommend with confidence. The customer service and general ambience of the company is very welcoming.
http://www.etihadairways.com
Opodo
This is the online booking service which I use most frequently. I find them efficient and thoughtful. One always rates a company on how they handle difficult or not so regular issues. Opodo rates well when one is unexpectedly needing to ask for a refund.
http://www.opodo.co.uk/
Expedia
This is another competitive online company. They can offer good fares at times and thus worth checking. A return to Hong Kong was around £350 with Air New Zealand which was a good price.
http://www.expedia.co.uk/
Yeovil Tourism
The Tourism Centre in Yeovil is one which I often use for booking coach fares. It is a pleasant office with a staff who are extremely helpful and committed to their work. Well worth visiting and a good example of what a tourist office should be like.
Trip Advisor
This is a networking/ resource site which enables folk to give feedback on all aspects of travel. Have found it a good site to use when desiring to give recommendation for a restaurant etc. Their update news is helpful too.
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/
Travel Counsellors
This franchaise offers one a more personal travel service. The prices offered can be reasonable but I found they were not competitive with the online booking. Of course, if you do not have time to do the web-searching then inviting TC to do it for you could be a valuable option. http://www.travelcounsellors.com/
New Zealand Tour Company
GoodCleanFun is a brilliant family-owned tour company in New Zealand. You are in excellent hands with them. The family has much experience of the travel world having been involved in overseas assignments for some years. Highly recommended.
http://goodcleanfunnz.com/Home.html
"Quality is never an accident, it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skilful execution"
Daedalus Aerospace company
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