Journeysmiths Reviews 

Faultless. Paul Hawley listened to what I wanted (a visit to Botswana with a specific non-safari element) and organised it with his team, including the right level of accommodation, the animals I wanted to see and seamless transport arrangements. I couldn’t have asked for more.

This is our second trip we have booked with Journeysmiths. We feel saving money for an experience and travel is way more valuable than “stuff”. If that is your view on life you cannot go wrong using Journeysmiths.
This trip took us to three places in Costa Rica and then to the Galapagos Islands. Wow Joanna did not steer us wrong. We never could have found the places we stayed or hooked up with the naturalist without her assistance. She spent time planning the trip and when we needed to make adjustments before departure she was all over making it happen.
The different environments, birds, and animals found just one place on Earth along with the people of the countries and the people you met along the way will be part of our lives forever.
For that special trip I would always just Jouneysmiths and Joanna and Ross who helped us on our previous African adventure.
What makes then different? They LISTEN and spend the time talking with you about what you wish your trip to be.
Thank you to Joanna and the entire team that work to assure you are safe, taken care of and experience exactly what you say you want to experience.

We have used Journeysmiths before and as a returning client, our expectations were obviously high. Joanna was brilliant - planning and organising our 7 week trip, working with their local partners, we ended up with a seamless and fabulous holiday in New Zealand, Australia and Singapore. We took many of Joanna's suggestions on board which were exceptional. Had it not been for that, we would have never included Tasmania which was one of the highlights. Thanks to Joanna for the time spent crafting this adventure with us, and for the meticulous planning throughout.

Have just had the most awesome trip to Botswana and Zambia. Paul at Journeysmiths listened to what we wanted and put together the most brilliant itinerary. The organisation was faultless. Every venue was of the highest quality which exceeded our already high expectations. We had the most amazing experiences, truly a trip of a lifetime. Thank you to all the Journeysmiths team. Can't wait to start planning the next trip.

Challenging my assumptions and tailoring my trip to what I wanted to experience, made my round the world trip simply fabulous!

This simply was the holiday of a lifetime! Joanna listened to what we wanted and exceeded all of our expectations. I will not hesitate to use these guys again. Their service and attention to detail is outstanding! I can't wait to book our next trip with them. I do not like giving people 10 out of 10, as I feel there is always room for improvement, but not this time, they really were 11 out of 10. Thank you so much Joanna and the rest of the team

Everything was perfectly booked, instructions clear and wherever we arrived at we were met and looked after-just brilliant and that was 6 different destinations in Costa Rica. Our agent Joanna had everthing sorted

We had a wonderful trip last year (2024) to Southern Africa booked through Journeysmiths, so decided to use them again for this years 32 day holiday to Peru, Ecuador & the Galápagos Islands in October/November 2025

Joanna’s expert knowledge & enthusiasm for these countries, together with really knowing all the places we visited and stayed, ensured we had the most memorable and magical experience which we will not forget for a long time!

We are very lucky to already have another holiday booked in February 2026 to return to Africa including a safari in Greater Kruger, 2 safaris in Tanzania, and a magical visit to see the Gorillas in Rwanda. We have total confidence in Joanna and Journeysmiths & that this holiday will once again meet our expectations

We will not hesitate to use them again to plan future trips and have already recommended them to friends

Everything was fabulous! The planning and support of the team to move dates twice when my partner became ill. The thought that went into the itinerary and sequencing- to ensure we had a wide variety of experiences. All the pre prep support and communication. The quality of the lodges and lodge staff - service was incredible. The game drives and guides were superb, ensuring we saw so much .. whilst respecting the environment. All of the transfers and meet and greets making sure that the transitions to new places were seamless. All in all (as someone who has travelled extensively) it was the best holiday I have ever had. Just perfect. Thanks to the team and Ross for all the planning and excellent customer service.

We've just returned from a wonderful trip to Zambia and Malawi, staying at 3 stunning locations. From our first enquiry to the actual holiday wasn't long at all, which makes it all the more impressive that everything went so smoothly, especially being escorted through airports, with seamless transfers! Thank you Journeysmiths, especially Paul, for working with Green Safaris to create such a marvellous, memory-filled holiday. If we ever had any questions, you were on it - simply brilliant!

We returned not long ago from our two week vacation/safari to South Africa. Everything went seamlessly from the moment we landed, enabling us to truly enjoy it all. Ross carefully listened to our hopes, areas of interest, and needs, helping put together an itinerary that ultimately far exceeded our expectations. I would highly recommend Journeysmiths without any reservations and plan on using them again for our next African adventure!

Paul at journey smiths was really great. Very knowledgeable and immediately got a strong sense of what we were looking for - he got it spot on. Holiday was everything we wanted and more

We have recently returned from our first trip to Africa as well as our first safari. We spent 10 days in Tanzania where we enjoy an experience of a life time, every single detail of our safari from arrivals, departures, lodge and camp stays, guides and shuttles were planned for us and the entire adventure flowed without a hitch. We are so grateful to Ross for his expertise and excellent communication skills for putting it all together.

Joanna at Journeysmith's created a great tour and we stayed at some excellent hotels and lodges. Colombia is behind some countries in the client hospitality stakes and doesn't have the same stand out attractions as other South American countries but there is plenty to do and see, including their own Lost City (but the necessary 4 day trek would have been too much for us and our carbon miles ruled out the helicopter alternative). Cartagena is buzzier and more compact than Bogota. The Amazon was wet.

Joanna looked after our travel arrangements for a 2 week tour of Colombia. We touched the most northern and southern point of this vast and wonderfully diverse country. Hotels, internal flights and pre-arranged activities were all superb. Communication second to none. I would not hesitate to use Journeysmiths again.

Paul and the rest of the team at Journeysmiths created the honeymoon of our dreams in Kenya and Zanzibar. At every step they kept us completely informed and pampered, and their expertise was second to none. From the moment we started planning to the end of our trip, we were incredibly happy with our whole experience. Any time we had a question, they answered immediately and were so helpful. The holiday itself was truly incredible. Every hotel was picked with care for both the best experience for my husband and its environmental and social credentials. My favorite was the Loisaba Lodo Springs hotel in Laikipia. In addition, we never had to lift a finger and logisitcs were beyond easy. It was so incredible that we're already planning another safari with Journeysmiths! If you want to go on safari, I cannot recommend Journeysmiths highly enough.

Ross organised an incredible holiday for us in Kenya, we did safari in three amazing locations which he tailored to our individual requirements. We then did a few nights on the beach to unwind. We had seamless transfers for every step, each separate location was fabulous and unique. The hotels he booked for us could not be bettered and the whole holiday was just fantastic. We will 100% use JourneySmiths again. Thank you Ross!

We used Journeysmiths to organise a safari trip for us. Ross was very knowledgeable and gave us very clear and detailed guidance on the different options and what would work well for us as a family (2 kids 10 and 14). Once we decided everything was organised for us and we were sent a very professional package with all the details and advice.

The holiday itself surpassed all expectations. We were met at every step by someone to help us to the next destination. It was seamless. And the safari lodges were breathtaking. The itinerary that was put together for us made sure that there was always something new and the perfect blend of different environments and adventure and relaxation.

Can’t recommend them highly enough. Will definitely be using them again.

Apart from the amazing hotels, stunning locations, first class service and wonderful food, the whole holiday was curated perfectly by Joanna and team. The logistics all came off without a hitch even when there were curveballs thrown at us at the 11th hour. Definitely recommend for those wishing to have a trip of a lifetime built around your own bucket-lists or adventurous desires. Peru has everything from rainforests to the Andes and the Inca trail doesn't disappoint. And the Galapagos is a living Natural History museum with out of this world animals - but shhhh don't tell anyone, or they'll all want to go!

Another excellent trip with Journeysmiths, with whom we have travelled over 20 times. This was a combination trip within round-the-world tickets, with a Silversea expedition cruise from Fiji to Tahiti, then self-driving around South Island New Zealand for three week after a few days in Auckland, and a three day stopover in Singapore on the way home. Joanna planned the trip with our wishes fully in mind, sharing bookings at various stages. It all worked really well, with all Journeysmiths' local agents being entirely reliable, and all the hotels chosen meeting our tastes and needs perfectly.