A new look for our Home Page

The new Audley Travel Home Page

I was looking at our Home Page yesterday and realised that it was about time we gave it a “lick of paint”. It’s not that there was anything inherently wrong with it, but, as they say, a change is as good as a rest. Plus there are plenty of new sections we have added to the site since we designed it, which needed promoting a bit more heavily to all our visitors.
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Road trip round Northern Thailand

Nick and Charlie pause for a break to take in the view on their Northern Thailand tour

Charlie and Nick, two of our Thailand specialists, recently returned from a great trip by car around Northern Thailand. I caught up with them today to see how it went, where they ended up and find out what they thought.

When telling people I was about to embark on a self drive trip with my colleague Charlie around the north of Thailand I was met with a mixture of interest and concern. “Have you seen how they drive in Bangkok?” But driving in Thailand outside the frenetic capital is a very relaxing experience due to the quiet, spacious roads and fabulous scenery. Having the independence to stop wherever you like is a great way to interact with the locals and adapt your pace of travel. Continue reading »

Audley wins an ULTRA!

Audley staff celebrate the ULTRAs win with a champagne breakfast

Today we had a wonderful surprise when we arrived at work to be welcomed by a Champagne Breakfast – along with more croissants, pastries and pain au chocolat than we could possibly eat (the local branch of  Sainsbury’s didn’t know what had hit them!)

The cause for all this celebration? We won ‘Best Small Tour Operator 2009‘ at the Telegraph’s Ultratravel Awards – known as the ULTRAs which we are, of course, absolutely delighted with.

The Audley ULTRA Award

The ULTRAs (Ultimate Luxury Travel Related Awards) is a highly prestigious award, voted for by readers of the Telegraph which means a lot to us.

So thank you so much if you voted for us – now I must dash back for another glass of champagne.

Carnival time on The Big Picture

The Big Picture - Carnival time

As always, the The Big Picture blog lives up to its excellent reputation with a new set of amazing photos.

It’s Carnival Season in many countries across the world; from the Mardi Gras in New Orleans to the Carnival in Brazil. View the Carnival photo set here.

If this gets you in the mood for visiting the Brazil Carnival yourself, avoid the crowds (and higher prices) by visiting during Rio’s Winners’ Parade (a week after the main Carnival). Better value and equally extravagant! Speak to the Brazil specialists

Audley’s Top 10 Favourite Websites

After being recently voted “Top Website 2009” by Wanderlust readers (thank you if you voted for us!), it prompted us to think about our own list of favourite websites.

After some thought and much discussion, we have come up with our favourite top 10 websites from the web development team here at Audley, shown below in no particular order.

See if you agree with our choices. Continue reading »

Audley voted “Top Website” by Wanderlust readers

John Brewer, Audley Director, collects the Wanderlust award for Top Website 2009 from Lyn Hughes, Wanderlust.

This year’s Destinations Show was as exciting as ever, with lots of our regular clients coming to see us at our stand, as well as plenty of new faces who were able to chat with our travel specialists face to face about their travel plans. We were certainly kept busy!

The icing on the cake was when we discovered we had been voted “Top Website 2009” by Wanderlust readers. What makes this award particularly special to us, is that it is voted for by the public.

So thank you so much if you voted for us – it’s a pleasure to know that our hard work on the website is well received. And if you didn’t vote for us, find out what all the fuss is about by visiting our “Top Travel Website 2009“!!

Burma article in The Saturday Telegraph

We were very pleased to hear from one of our regular clients, Philip Johnston, that an article he had written had appeared in a recent Saturday Daily Telegraph supplement. His piece, entitled “Swept away by the Ayeyarwaddy” is a wonderfully enchanting description of a moment in Burma. If you missed it, he has given us kind permission to republish it here. Continue reading »

New: Find a trip by “Holiday Type”

The new Audley Holiday Ideas section

If you are looking for inspiration on where to go on holiday with Audley, we’ve just added a new section to our website with lots of holiday ideas arranged by theme or “holiday type”.

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Christmas has arrived at Audley

Today is a big day at Audley HQ! Our christmas tree has arrived and much fun was had adding the decorations.   I’m the first one to moan when the shops put up their decorations in September! But with the weather feeling so cold, it really is beginning to feel a little more christmassy. Even the swans on the river outside the office paddled down to see what the activity was all about.

I’m just looking forward to a few mincepies and a glass or two of mulled wine once it’s all finished!

Audley voted “Top Thailand Tour Operator 2008″

Collecting Audley’s Friends of Thailand 2008 Award

We were thrilled to win the “Friends of Thailand” Award for Top Tour Operator 2008. These were the seventh Thailand Tourism Awards and the ceremony was held in Bangkok on 27th September 2008. Our Regional Manager for Thailand, Kate Dicks, went to collect the award. Continue reading »