Salaun Holidays: 2026 Reviews, contact info, and practical details

Hello,

We are just back from a very beautiful trip to Jordan and Israel organized by Salaun Holidays, which was scheduled from September 16 to 26, 2022.
Meeting at CDG was set for 6:20 AM.

A good hour of waiting and two phone calls were necessary to finally see someone arrive!!!
Well, not a big deal, but unpleasant.

The flight on Air France was impeccable, and we arrived at Tel Aviv Ben Gurion without any issues.
We were greeted by our guide (Salomon) very warmly, and then we departed for the Grand Beach Hotel.
We settled into the room, which, according to your description, seemed to be of high quality, but was ultimately very average.
Unfortunately, we arrived on a Friday evening, and of course it was Shabbat, so there was no room in the restaurant. We were moved to a sort of event hall with no character where we were clearly bothering the waiters, and we were rushed out at 10:00 PM, closing time.

The bed was very average, cleanliness was borderline, the Wi-Fi was unusable, and the whole thing was very far from the expected quality.
Surprise, for Shabbat, everything is closed everywhere and a large number of Israelis, unable to dine at home, rush to hotel restaurants, which look more like cafeterias, with buffets.
Clearly, we were not expected because there were no tables prepared and it was difficult to get a plate for a quarter of an hour.
In short, the quality was more than mediocre given that the previous customers had already picked over the dishes.
Ten o'clock, we were practically pushed toward the exit, the restaurant was closing.

Later on, during the rest of the trip, the accommodation in the kibbutz was very decent.
It was the only place where we had a normal meal.

The rest of the trip was pleasant thanks to Salomon, who is incredibly cultured.
Heading to Jordan, at the border, I was ordered to go through four offices occupied by very grim civilians, all because I personally own a professional camera that is sold to the general public and has nothing special about it other than its size, which is a bit larger than standard cameras.
The guide was appalled and very worried.
A long succession of papers to fill out, photos of my equipment, and even a request for my father's first and last name, who would be 100 years old iii.

The rest of the visits were very decent, and the hotels were very mediocre except for Petra.

The visit to Petra, a magnificent site, was cut short by a sort of local racketeer during the tour, again regarding my video equipment.
He proposed paying $800 to continue the visit, so the visit was cut short because it was unacceptable, and we had a six-hour wait before the group returned.
Of course, there was no indication at the entrance, where it is in no way stated that filming is prohibited.
Organized extortion that should be reported to your future travelers.

The lunch stop was moved due to a lack of space, so it was clearly not planned.

The rest of the trip was correct and we returned to Tel Aviv to the pseudo four-star hotel.

Unfortunately, we arrived on a Friday evening, and of course it was Shabbat and Rosh Hashanah 2022 again, where everything is closed for three days, so the cafeteria restaurant was full and no table was set for us.
We had to wait for the Israeli customers to leave, which they didn't really want to do, and we were seated in a mismatched way on the more or less aggressive orders of the restaurant manager to finish the leftovers from the previous guests.
We ate in a rush in half an hour because the restaurant was closing.

We left the next day and enjoyed a warm aperitif offered by Salomon and our driver.
In short, a very beautiful trip, very good guides and drivers, but everything else was more than mediocre in view of the price of the trip and the reputation of your agency.

We are very disappointed personally, as is a very large part, if not all, of the group, which was otherwise very friendly.

In conclusion, beautiful landscapes, excellent guides, but everything else is not up to the expected quality.
The biggest criticism we have for you is that you should have anticipated that we were arriving during holidays and Shabbat and that everything is closed during that time.
It was totally impossible to get a coffee or any other drink because of the total closure of all the shops and cafes.
Personally, I do not have the Hebrew calendar, but you should have been aware and possibly moved this trip as originally planned.

It is certain that I will no longer book a trip with you, unless a commercial gesture is made for another service regarding a different trip, and I will not recommend your agency, especially since you were highly recommended to me by a friend who is himself a renowned tour operator.
Being in contact via Facebook with many "friends" and associations as a member of the French and International Transmitter Network, I reserve the right to publish this letter on the web.
Waiting for a serious response from you, sincerely.

PS: I think other people in the group will report these malfunctions to you and will not book a trip with you again.

I am also sending you a copy of this letter via registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt.

Hello everyone! What can I say about Salaun Holidays: the same thing as Stéphanie, they are serious! I have done 5 tours of at least 15 days with this travel company. Nothing but happiness! And they take care of you right from your doorstep, which is really nice. No worries about the car or train, and no carrying suitcases. It is all for a winning price when you consider the cost of airport parking or TGV tickets, not to mention needing a hotel room just to be on site on time. Egypt, Thailand, Mexico, California, Vietnam-Cambodia and I am leaving for India soon, always with Salaun Holidays. Excellent value for money, very competent guides, and the range of hotels and restaurants is top notch. No hesitation. And I do not judge this company only by the convenience of its website, which by the way, in my humble opinion, is very pleasant and matches the catalog. As for dealing with them, I have an agency 3 miles from my house, so I prefer human contact. But via the web, that should not be a problem either. Generally speaking, it is difficult to compare companies because the trips never have the same duration or the same services.
Review imported on 11/04/2020 from our old site Voyage-Net.com

Good evening. We just got back from a 10-day tour of Eastern America. The overall experience is average. We spent an enormous amount of time on the bus, and the bus wasn't comfortable enough for covering 2,600 km, though thankfully we had a good driver (Mike). Furthermore, the guide's explanations were very basic. We practically never had time to go shopping, which in my opinion is part of a trip. Also, a night tour of Washington (which wasn't on the document we were given) couldn't happen because only 28 of us wanted to participate. A shame! An optional excursion leaves the choice up to the individuals to participate, but it shouldn't be canceled just because a few people don't want to go (OPTIONAL). We weren't able to do some visits because by the time we arrived at our destination, everything was closed! Plus, the hotels (which were comfortable, I must admit) were located far from the center and, for the most part, didn't have any social areas like a bar, for example. We were ready to go to bed at 8:30 PM!!!! Yes, we are disappointed with the organization. Do other people have things to say about this trip? Claudie<br>Avis importé le 04/11/2020 depuis notre ancien site Voyage-Net.com

I have taken about ten trips, mostly in Europe, with this tour operator and I find that the services are generally interesting. Of course, depending on the trip, there can be nuances to take into account.

The positives:
- The drivers are professional, know their routes well, and are capable of providing additional explanations.
- The pre-departure transportation by bus or shuttle is convenient, but it also adds a bit to the travel time because it is a pickup service that can go through many small towns.
- The choice of hotels is generally good. You might come across some dated hotels, but in general, the hotels where you stay for several days are of an excellent standard.
- The tours are comprehensive and allow you to get a general overview of a country and see the essentials thanks to panoramic city tours (while staying on the bus) or with a local guide. This completeness also has a downside, as the trips can be quite long in distance, visits are timed, and unexpected events can disrupt the schedule (traffic jams, etc.).

The negatives:
- It might be a bit strong to list this as a negative, but this tour operator is very popular with a retired demographic. If you are under 50 like me, it is not rare to find yourself isolated among people in their sixties and older.
- The meals, although decent, are often a bit heavy (especially in the evening), do not take much advantage of local gastronomy, and are sometimes repetitive (it is not rare to have the same meal two days in a row).

If you take these points into account, you can have some great, comprehensive trips with this tour operator while being aware of the compromises that are sometimes necessary to accept.

Review imported on 11/04/2020 from our old site Voyage-Net.com

I just got back from the Salaun Holidays Northern India and Ganges Valley trip. There were 36 of us, including one person who had a lot of trouble getting around. Everything went well, and the guide always found a personalized mode of transport to get them as close to the sites as possible. We stayed in some very beautiful hotels (former palaces), though they were far from the cities so there was no chance to wander around. Anyway, the trip was tiring so we did not feel like going out at night. We only had 2 hours of free time during the entire circuit (16 days). Only half an hour in a bazaar. The guide had us visit much more than the program actually planned. Right from the start, he suggested we chip in 20 euros per person to cover tips (luggage porters, tuk-tuks, rickshaws, restrooms, and maybe some extra visits too). He offered us products sold by street vendors on the bus, which was more convenient because the sellers gave us the real price right away. The guide bought us drinks several times, their rum with Coke and roasted lentils (super good). I recommend this trip. The company that employs the guide called him and asked to speak to a participant. The manager asked questions about how the trip was going. The guide's name is Deepak Sharma, also known as Roy. He gave us a lot of information about castes and arranged marriages. He led us through the old towns on foot to show us their way of life. We did not get to use the pools, and we did not go to the bazaars as planned, but we saw many other things that were much more interesting, and too bad if I was not able to bring back a sari. Review imported on 11/04/2020 from our old site Voyage-Net.com

We participated in the trip to Indonesia (Java-Bali-Sulawesi). There were 46 of us, admittedly split into 2 groups, but we would end up in the same places, 5 minutes apart, knowing that bus 1 always had to be the first on the scene. We were in bus 2 (which was a bad draw), so I will give you a few examples of situations during the stay. If a meal was taking place in front of the rice terraces, we systematically ended up in the background. If there were explanations during visits (jewelry store, batik, etc.), there again, group 1 was already clustered around. The same thing happened upon arrival at hotels and during meals, where it happened that our only dessert was pieces of watermelon or papaya, since the first group, having started earlier, had devoured the cakes. Or else, the pumpkin soup was all gone. It must be said that after Java, where it was invariably watermelon and green pineapple, the desserts finally improved in Bali. So, you will understand that all these little things added up, and in the end, it became annoying, and that was the general opinion in bus 2. Yet, we all paid for the same service, and even more than some people, in our case. Indeed, at registration, we were asked for €100 for a flight supplement (€50 for each couple). In the end, there were empty seats on both the outbound and return flights. People in our group who signed up later than us did not have to pay this supplement. As for Sulawesi, there again, bus 2 was smaller than the first one, and we had to travel with our carry-ons on our laps or at our feet in a space that was already quite cramped. Part of the suitcases was put in bus 1, since it would not fit in ours. I do not think anyone from SALAUN tested the route in Sulawesi, because if they had, they would have realized that a 4x4 was more appropriate for the road conditions. Driving on such roads for so long, hats off to the driver. Also in Sulawesi, our guide was entirely under the thumb of the bus 1 guide, taking no initiative, with the phone constantly ringing for instructions, and we could only follow what bus 1 had decided. The bus 1 guide even said in an unpleasant tone that if we were not happy with the bus being too small, we just had to write to the company.<p>To finish with the positive points, the hotels were decent (except for cold water in Makassar on the way there and back). The guides in Java and Bali were competent. The food was decent, but in such a large group, you end up with the situations described above. We liked the side trip to Singapore, where the guide was really good. This was our 3rd trip to Asia, and we know very well that we are not going there to find the comforts of France, but to discover other regions, knowing that many people there live much more modestly than we do. Nothing to say about the welcome from the Indonesians, who were smiling and kind. On the other hand, it is your organization that needs to be reviewed. We therefore come to the conclusion, once again, that you must first and foremost choose a tour operator that mentions the maximum number of participants in its brochure. For such a trip, 46 people is too many. For us, 20 to 25 people maximum is the right number.