Travel diaries: On holiday with Kuoni travellers and the team

Both our travel experts and customers share one thing in common: a passion for travel. We asked a few of our jetsetters to share their Kuoni holiday experiences..

Lagoon Attitude, Mauritius
Tracy and Richard, Kuoni travellers

We always book with Kuoni as I like that they can tailor a holiday to my needs. I’m not one for sitting on the sunbed; we prefer to go out and explore the destination. We were looking for a holiday to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary, so we booked an appointment with Jaime Lockhart in the Chelmsford branch, who recommended Mauritius. We decided on Lagoon Attitude; I loved that it’s an eco-friendly hotel. A highlight was spending time with the marine biologist at their Marine Discovery Centre, learning about the work they do to protect the coral reefs. Kuoni’s Mauritian Wildlife Experience was also a brilliant day out, where we got to meet the island’s Giant Tortoises.

Just back from BodyHoliday, Saint Lucia
Luci Cowie, Customer Support

Saint Lucia has been on my bucket list for years. I wanted to experience a real taste of the Caribbean, and although Saint Lucia is small, it’s jam-packed with unbeatable views, beautiful people, and of course, great rum! A highlight of the BodyHoliday was the dining – especially the sushi and Vietnamese spring rolls at Tao, the Asian fusion restaurant, and the banana scones during the Champagne afternoon tea were divine – as were the sunset views. You can also do some impressive snorkelling straight from the beach, which I was not expecting. Without a doubt, I’ll be recommending BodyHoliday to our customers.

A summer trip to Scotland
John and Ruth, Kuoni travellers

We decided on an adventure closer to home and we booked the ‘Luxury Skye and Highlands by Sleeper’ itinerary through Kuoni’s UK partner, McKinlay Kidd. We travelled on board the Caledonian sleeper train from London and explored Pitlochry, the Isle of Skye and Inverness, staying in high-standard hotels throughout. We couldn’t fault anything on the trip; the scenery, transport and hospitality were superb. Our favourite spot was Kinloch Lodge, if not for the incredible dining alone. We travelled in August and I’m pleased to report that contrary to what you may hear about visiting Scotland in summer, the midges were not a problem for us!.

Outrigger Maldives Maafushivaru Resort
Steven and Sangita, Kuoni travellers

I’m usually confident at arranging my own trips, but for our honeymoon, we wanted to book through an agent so we could be sure that everything would run smoothly. We had our hearts set on the Maldives and Kuoni was the obvious choice, as they are a travel company well-known for their Indian Ocean expertise. Steve Yates in the Kuoni at Peter Jones store helped us find the perfect island. We wanted somewhere not too large and with a good choice of restaurants, and following his recommendations, we chose Outrigger Maldives Maafushivaru Resort. The island was stunning; it’s recently been refurbished and even though it's ultra-modern with quirky architecture, it was still in keeping with the paradise-like scenery.

On arrival, the staff had already booked us into all the restaurants; we loved Umi, the teppanyaki restaurant where the chef puts on a show with theatrical cooking. The hardest part of the day was choosing which cocktails to drink; there are over 90 to choose from! We’ll forever think fondly of our time in Maafushivaru and we’d love to return to the Maldives one day.

Church Point Two, Barbados
CV Villas, Laura Robertson, Store Manager, Kuoni Metrocentre

We headed for an autumn getaway to Barbados for some tropical heat. We travelled with friends and stayed at a private villa, which was a lovely change to a resort holiday. The villa was charming and spacious, just steps from the beach, and we hired a cook service who prepared the most amazing meals.

During the daytime, we hopped on the colourful reggae buses to explore the island and relaxed around the villa, dipping in the plunge pool to cool off. In the evenings, we dined out around sunset before heading back to the villa for rum cocktails after dark. If you’re travelling to Barbados, I’d recommend adding on the airport VIP Pass for a smooth arrival process; your Personal Travel Expert can add this to your holiday.

Zilwa Attitude, Mauritius
Monique Williams, Programme Senior Executive

We had an incredible holiday in Mauritius. We split our stay between two of Kuoni’s most popular resorts. Zilwa Attitude, which has a live-like-a-local vibe, and Preskil Island Resort, set on a private peninsula overlooking a bright blue lagoon. At Zilwa, we loved the street food at Taba J and the toes-in-the-sand barbecue lunch on their private island. Preskil has not long had a makeover and the new pool area and rooms are stunning. While there, we did the Plant a Love Tree experience in the Ebony Forest; it was lovely to help towards conservation and a definite highlight of the trip!

Kuramathi Maldives and Kandolhu Maldives
Ellen and Louis, Kuoni travellers

We chose to stay on two islands on our honeymoon to experience two sides of the Maldives. We spent most of our time on Kuramathi Maldives, a larger resort with Caribbean island vibes. There’s so much to do and a huge selection of bars and restaurants to choose from. We then pushed the boat out with a few nights on Kandolhu Maldives, where we were waited on hand and foot. It’s hard to choose a highlight from our stay, but snorkelling among all the colourful marine life was exhilarating. I’ve always wanted to swim with turtles, and on Kandolhu, they were everywhere!

Inspired?

This feature was updated on 19th September 2023. The information within this feature is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of print. Feature by Heather Flanagan.