i did the withsundays i was expecting something better since i paid a lot for this tour.the food was really bad and expensive..common i know that im on vacation but please the prices were very high and the food was not even great.the dinner was the worse one and they charge over 30dlls for a simple buffet. and the colonial resort was even worse the food sucked the rooms are full of bugs.it was very bad i will never go back the withsundays.. besides that place is for local and domestic tourist from australia so when they see someone that is not from australia they will look at you really bad and they will not give u the proper service.another thing is that at the resort at whitsundays all the employees from that resort live in the same place were all the guest stay ..so when u are passing by their rooms are open they are just on underwear or just smoking their rooms are really dirty that makes a bad impresion for the rest of the resort.if u have any questions just ask me .
Hey Charly, Damn was Whitsundays really that bad haha? I'm going on the Reefs and Rainforest tour on March 10th so what else should I be ready for when I stop in Whitsundays? Or atleast accent a few of the positives? Thanks a bunch.
Nah service is just bad in Australia.... Although I am proud to say service staff are paid a proper wage here, therefore don't have to ***** themselves for tips...
Western Highlights March 22, 2006 & London/Paris March 23, 2008!
Posts: 185 | Location: Australia | Registered: 09 Nov 2007
I went on the reefs and rainforest in July, I did the whitsunday's it wasn't bad in my opinion. It was the only place I saw wild wallabies which was cool, it's a relaxing place. The prices in Australia are expensive and I didn't think the food was taht bad. That's just for the resort part of the trip, you do have the option to go on a one day or two day sail at an additional cost, but honestly the resort isn't as bad as charly says it is.
Trina
Posts: 101 | Location: Thunder Bay, ON, Canada | Registered: 17 Jun 2007
i dont undesrtand why will people pay to go sailing for 2 full days but then again you are paying for your 2 nights at the whitnsunday resort. to me it just does not make any sense you are just paying twice... people on my tour that went sailing told me that they regret going sailing for 2 days they will never do it again.
Charly , you seem very negative....the Whitsundays are beautiful, the stuff you talk about almost seems secondary to the fact you are in one of the most beautiful places in Australia, if not the world. The Great Barrier Reef is after all a Natural Wonder of the World. And I don't think it was the locals looking badly at anyone from overseas....Maybe your negative attitude about hating EVERYTHING about the place they live and love put them off you? You can hardly expect someone to be nice to you if all you do is whinge how everything sucks and how much you hate the place? Here's to everyone trying out new places, having their own experiences and keeping an open mind
The 2 Days sail was a great experience. I do believe that Contiki does not market the sail properly.
The "yacht" we sailed on was a race winning racing yacht, built for speed not comfort. The bunks you sleep on are small and cramped, the boat was really hot at night, toilets are minimal.
That said, it was a great experience. I got to manually raise some sails, walk and swim on secluded beaches and hang out in a very intimate environment with a dozen of my tour mates. The food was mediocre but given that the stove on the yacht is little more than a hot plate, our chef did a great job. Its amazing how fast the boat can go powered by wind alone [it does have an electric engine when wind power is not available]. Would I do the sail again, maybe not, would I recommend it to others, for sure. Doing things that are different and to which you are not accustomed to is what Contiki is all about.
The Whitsundays are a wildlife sanctuary. Did my room have bugs, yes, was is unclean hell no! People need to understand that these are remote areas and not the big city. As for the pricing of food, what do you expect Contiki to do about it. The restaurants know they are on an island and therefore set their prices accordingly. Costs of getting their supplies to the Island have to be covered somehow.
Posts: 62 | Location: Canada | Registered: 18 Jun 2006
Anyone worried now about visiting the whitsundays = I wouldnt take on board anything Charly says... she blatantly lied in another post saying drinks are so expensive.... "$15 if you are lucky!"
from her other posts i have read she was way negative even before she went on a trip... it seemed to be doomed from the beginning. I dont even think a 5 5tar resort would have put a smile on her face!
I dont think service is bad in australia, I live here. I find some people can very rude anywhere in the world, but in general aussies are friendly and provide great service, at least from my experience. Except in retail lol there are some extremely rude retail staff out there. Not everyone though.
The Australian Economy is pretty much based on tourism so even if you don't work in the industry you are pretty mujch used to having them around and i am pretty offended that you think that we are rude if we find out you aren't locals. Also many of my friends have worked on the islands and for us employees it is apart of the experience working overthere that we get to stay at the resort and they have all said that it was some of the best times of their lives (Made so by the tourists) it sounds like you ahd a bad experience but don't try and put other people off of our beautiful country
Posts: 117 | Location: Brisbane | Registered: 18 Aug 2008
I realise everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I have to say I found this post to be almost offensive! It focused solely on the (minor) negatives such as food/price without mentioning any of the what I'm sure were amazing experiences not to mention it basically accused Australians of being racists who will give overseas tourists bad looks and improper service. Overall I don't think this post implies anything negative about the Whitsundays it just shows that Charly is a negative person with a bad attitude.
