Don't just take OUR word for it... With thanks to them for their kind comments, here is what some of our past clients have had to say...

(To read comments about a specific holiday in which you are interested, click on the links below or simply scroll down the page.)

PS. If you'd like to speak to a REAL person who has been on a trip with us, just let us know and we'll be pleased to put you in contact.

Volunteering with Elephants

We had the most profound trip, with the Elephant Mahout Project.

This was the most life changing trip we have ever taken. So much was learned, shared, and taken with us. We took our Mahouts and their families out for dinner on the beach, on our last night there. Such a joy to spend time having fun with them after all they shared with us.

We both cried when we left our Mahouts and elephants, tears of joy and sadness, before, during, and after the ceremony Saturday morning. We highly recommend this holiday for everyone.

The home was beyond any expectation. Mrs Noi, was wonderful, and she is very helpful and kind. Hats off to whomever started this project, it is amazing. This trip will last us a lifetime… We cannot say enough about our experience.  Thank you all for making this possible.

My trip was wonderful.  Experiencing the Thai culture, making friends with my mahout, Mrs. Noi, and of course my elephant, were truly priceless experiences.  Some highlights were learning the commands in Thai to control my elephant.  My mahout was patient with my poor Thai accent, although cheeky!  I valued the time I spent with my mahout during downtime.  He taught me a lot, with as best English/Thai as we could manage.  Mrs. Noi is an invaluable resource as well as just truly an amazing person.  I can't say enough good things about her.

She was so welcoming and couldn't do enough for us.  She took the time out to show us around the area and she even got me some good deals at the weekend market.  I would definitely recommend this program to others and I am definitely considering Go Differently for my next big trip.

I had a wonderful experience at the Mahout Project. It was everything I hoped it would be. I was with a Mahout named Poht and an elephant named Sandy. I could tell he took really took good care of Sandy, and I was so grateful to him for that.

Mrs. Noi took excellent care of us while we were there. I even went and took some Thai boxing lessons several times, and she helped me sort out that. I got to spend the night at the camp, and several nights I went out to Pattaya for shows or to shop. I really enjoyed learning how to take the bus system and eating in small local restaurants or food stalls. And of course, the time I spent with Sandy meant so much to me, I was happy to sit with her and pet her for hours and hours endlessly!

I think this is a great program and I would love to support it in the future again. I want to go see Sandy and Poht and his family again someday.

We had an amazing time - Mrs. Noi was fantastic! She arranged for us to do so much extra stuff, like going to have dinner on the beach, taking a boat trip, going to the floating market and to pick fruit at Nong Nooch, to the temple. And the volunteer house is like a villa! Fantastic! And getting up close and personal with the ellies was just amazing.

I had the most amazing holiday, it was better than I ever expected, the elephants were amazing, I cried when I had to say goodbye!

My accommodation was wonderful, lovely big rooms plenty of fans and aircon and Mrs Noi was the most wonderful helpful and considerate hostess. There was no problem traveling by myself, the taxi was waiting for me at the airport and even when I walked to a nearby beach on the Sunday by myself I was perfectly safe.

This is not the holiday for everyone but if you are a true animal lover and find them amazing, then it certainly is.

I am so so glad that I took the plunge and did this and will certainly try other similar holidays which try and show the other side of other countries. Thank you for making this amazing experience possible.

It was really great, Mrs. Noi was amazing. She really made sure that I always had everything I needed and she went out of her way to ensure that I got to see the sights I wanted to see and that I got to really experience Thailand. I love that we didn't stick to the touristy not so authentic areas, but rather I really got to experience the local cultural. The camp was great, even with missing some days at the camp I had so much time to spend with the elephants, it was so much fun and everyone there was very friendly and welcoming.

Great accommodation and easy logistics all through the week.

Mrs Noi plays a pivotal role in making it all work, there seems nothing too hard for her to sort out and she's very intuitive at understanding volunteer needs.

Some good options for activities during the week, trip to beach on sunday and floating markets were highlights

Good food and coordination of food...

I had a really cracking week...

Everything you said was spot on, and I really appreciate all the valuable advice and reassurance you gave me before I left home. As you'd said, everyone was very helpful and friendly from the word go. Mrs Noi and Boonma both gave me a very warm welcome and really looked after me extremely well so I did feel well and truly spoilt, and I could not have asked for more - this of course really helped me to relax and just enjoy each day.

Boonma is such a lovely man. Communication was good fun - I hope he learned a little bit more English while I was there! I picked up some Thai, but his English was better. He was very patient with me when I tried repeatedly to climb off Moonme but ending up falling anyway. Meeting my elephant, Moonme, was very special and the whole concept of spending time with the family and Moonme was a very humbling and valuable experience, one which I will never forget.

After being there for three weeks, it was quite difficult to say goodbye to everyone... Going into the camp each morning and walking through with my piles of bananas really pulled at the old heart strings, with all the elephants reaching out with their trunks as I went by.

Being up close and hands on with the elephants was amazing. You don’t realise how gentle and inquisitive they really are. Don`t be scared of them, embrace it, you`re never going to get a chance to be this close again.

The trip exceeded our expectations; being with the mahouts and their families was brilliant and we could really see and understand how our taking part helps all concerned. The accommodation was fantastic and Mrs Noi is legendary! Her hospitality knows no bounds and she really made our trip special.

We wish to thank you and Mrs Noi for a superb holiday.  Your help and advice in the run up to the holiday was invaluable and you always responded quickly to any questions that we had.

Well, at long last we were able to fulfill our dream of spending a week with those magnificent elephants. The visit was a complete success and we left last Saturday with tears in our eyes.

Mrs. Noi could not have been more kind and giving. She is a warm and generous person and her love for all animals, big and small, was a joy to behold. She was happy to do anything to make us happy and I am now using the recipes she taught me.The housing was extraordinary with AC and a beautiful place to relax in.

Our time with the elephants and the mahouts was very the best time. It was amazing how quickly we began to think of them as OUR elephants and to begin to get to know them for the unique creatures they each are. We miss our morning visit with them to give them bananas and the afternoon shower time. All the times were great... the quiet times when we just sat on their backs and watched them graze as well as our forays out from the camp.

We were especially blessed with the very best mahouts imaginable. They took care of us and, although their English and our Thai were minimal, we shared many laughs.

Evenings were fun too with dinner on the beach with our co-mahouts-in-training and the final farewell with us, Mrs. Noi, all the mahouts and their families. What fun!

Thank you for supporting this valuable way of life and thanks for allowing us to participate.

Glad that we "went differently"!

Non and Punsab looked after me very well and have a very special place in my heart. Non was very patient and we had a few giggles trying to get onto Punsab, I hope her ears have recovered. I have fallen in love with Punsab and miss her very much, they truly are gentle giants. From someone who has a healthy respect for all big animals, I felt very safe and secure in 'command' of this beautiful mammal. My goal was to stand up on Punsab's back, I never achieved it but I did manage to manoeuvre myself quite well. It's left me something for the next time!

It is an experience I shall never forget. I would love to go out again as the Project is so well worthwhile. Everyone is so welcoming on the camp, with no right or wrongs, just take in the experience. I really can't put into words what I got out of this experience, I just hope one day I will get the opportunity to do it again.

We both had the most fantastic time, a truly amazing experience. My colleagues at my college are very envious after seeing my web blog and my pictures. Something we will both never forget!  What can I say about Mrs Noi?  She is the most wonderful, caring, hospitable, generous lady who simply cannot do enough for you, and also the most passionate person about the project and her beliefs. We came away best of friends!

All of the the mahouts, their families and staff on site were so friendly and very lovely people and it was a joy for us to get involved with a little English teaching, spending time with them and simply having a laugh.

I can’t tell you how much of a great and wonderful experience I had.  Mrs Noi was absolutely fabulous.  She and the mahouts treated me so well and made me feel as if I was part of their family.  I can’t wait to tell everyone I know of the terrific time I had.  Thank you, and everyone, for making this such an incredible experience.  I hope to return next year.

I just wanted to write to you and say thank you.  My boyfriend and I volunteered at the elephant camp this past April and had the best experience of our lives! We had such a wonderful experience, over 6 months later we are still talking about it every day!  I would recommend it to anyone and do all the time.  I have a co-worker who is saving to come and volunteer for a few weeks as well. I told him all about everyone’s smiling faces.

We travelled in Thailand for a month and volunteered at the camp for a week and we both said that the week we were with the elephants was the best part of the trip by far.  So great that Mark proposed on top of our elephants and now we are planning a wedding in April!  So thank you so much for all that you do and everyone involved in the elephant mahout project.  We will forever remember and always wish that we were back in Thailand with the elephants.

I think I can speak for us all in saying that the project was so much more than we were imagining. It was an amazing experience and we couldn't thank Mrs Noi and Aom enough for all they did for us while we were there.  They are a credit to the project.

I know I certainly have plans to return to the project hopefully later this year or very early next year. Thank you for your help in organising our trip, it certainly has created many memories which we will keep with us forever.

All in all a cracking adventure. I think we're still processing most of it, as it was as thought provoking as it was enjoyable. I'm very happy to say it's definitely not a 'Disney' experience.

What can I say? The whole trip was a dream come true and I have not stopped talking about the whole thing to everyone since I got back!

Mrs Noi and Arm were incredible throughout the whole trip, and went out of their way every day we were there to ensure we got the most we could out of our trips and to ensure that we were happy.

The project itself was a fantastic life changing experience that I will remember forever. Both my Mahout and Elephant were amazing and I got to learn and do something different every day that I was there. The relationships that I managed to build within just 2 weeks were incredible and it definitely felt like I was out there a lot longer (meant in the best way possible) because of the friendships that were made within this time.

I would definitely recommend this trip to anybody that wants to do something different/ challenging/ life changing and particularly for those that have an interest or love for elephants and conservation in general.

Please pass on my sincere thanks and gratitude to all of those involved in my experience in Thailand, including yourself for all of the valuable and useful information that you provided me with before my trip. I am sure I will be raving about this holiday for a long time to come.

Holidays in Thailand

Thank you so much for organising what turned out to be a truly special and memorable holiday!

Bangkok - the hotel was an excellent choice, good to have a swimming pool, and a good location too as we spent both evenings walking out from the hotel and wandering the local streets and night market.

The raft house on the lake - we all loved this, quite possibly the best 24 hours of the holiday, despite the basic accommodation! Our guide was lovely, and we enjoyed both walks with him, particularly the first one to the caves. It was a joy to swim in the lake and admire the spectacular scenery - very beautiful and relaxing.

Ko Yao - as you predicted, it was indeed lovely to indulge ourselves with some luxury and it was a great way to complete the holiday. We didn't have that much sunshine but there was only one day of rain and it was quite good to chill and read our books. A fantastic hotel with such wonderful accommodation!

So - everything worked well, all the transfers worked too, and we came back with thousands of photos between us to remind us of our time in Thailand. Thank you again for making it all possible, and I'm sure we'll be back one day.

The stay at the village was great.  The family was very welcoming and relaxed and struck a good balance between including us in things but also leaving us a little time for recovery in between.  It was great having Tui with us as interpreter, as although the family spoke some English we got a lot more out of it being able to ask questions through Tui.  The food was quite extraordinary; every meal was literally a feast with extended family appearing in great numbers and two meals being served simultaneously in different places at one point.  Very interesting and a privilege to be there.

Thank you for all of the hard work that you put in to our honeymoon. The trip was absolutely perfect- such a seamless and flawless vacation. It was an unforgettable experience, one that I feel was completely unique. We will absolutely be traveling through GoDifferently in the future- I have my eye on Vietnam and the Langur Project in Thailand!

We had a brilliant time. All your organization fell into place, transfers were on time, no delays, guides always charming and helpful.

Bangkok – the hotel was great, perfectly situated, very comfortable, lovely staff. We "did" the Grand Palace which was totally amazing and definitely a must-do for anyone visiting Bangkok.

Jungle House – quite an experience! But a good one. Not something for anyone afraid of bugs or bats. Bats would sweep through the hut as the roof was not enclosed and we would find their droppings on the floor in the morning! Again staff lovely, food delicious. Elephant trek enjoyable if rather uncomfortable, river kayaking lovely and relaxing. The guides have the most amazing eyesight for spotting things in trees – including snakes! Lake trip absolutely amazing – our guide spotted gibbons and a massive hornbill in the trees.

We did an island hopping trip on Christmas day, on a longtail boat going to about 4 different uninhabited small islands, stopping to swim, snorkel and picnic. Heavenly.

Finally the Novotel [at the airport] – why oh why aren't Novotels in this country anything like that one? It was very, very impressive and very very comfortable.

So all in all a very successful, fascinating and fun holiday. Thank you so much for all your efforts – you did a great job.

The trip was a great success, all of it really. The luxury 4 nights on the Island were welcomed after roughing it  in the homesteads although of course we had to put up with boring and lazy western tourists! The boys loved Bangkok, the island and the jungle. They say they want to go back next year, personally I would be interested to see Vietnam.

The stay at the orphanage was again wonderful but in a very different way.  It took us a little while to fit into the culture and to understand the very laid back but totally caring and efficient way things happened there.  We were captivated by the children and very impressed by Root and his colleagues.  The kind of experience which stays with you for ever and affects the way you look at life.

Fantastic trip, brilliantly organized, very thoughtful … we could not have done half the things we did without your help in organizing it and we are really grateful to you and to the many kind people we encountered, particularly at Andaman discoveries and the homestay family and the orphanage.  Thanks Nikki, we would recommend it wholeheartedly, a brilliant month.

Thank you so much again for your wonderful consideration and care, we felt in wonderfully capable and safe hands throughout and would definitely look to go through you for our next adventure rather than an Exodus-type 'amazing-by-numbers' affair. I'm sure everyone involved with the company have done this a thousand times, but everyone still managed to make it special for the first time for us, and that really IS special in our experience!

Holidays in Vietnam

We had a great trip – our guide, Thanh, was excellent. He is knowledgeable, fluently bilingual, and endlessly informative, and good with the kids too. We would like to travel with him as a guide again.

The trip was very well organised, and being a do it yourself traveller, we were not used to that, and it made life much easier on our first time to Vietnam. We were happy to give up some autonomy for the convenience of having it all organised for us.

Holidays in India

Just wanted to let you know we had the trip of a life time! India is amazing. Thank you so much for your part in making forever memories.

I just wanted to let you know we had an amazing time!!!

Sanjeev is an incredible host and we felt totally at ease and really well looked after by him!!  Favourite part of the trip was definitely the outdoors stuff (mouth of the Ganges, rafting, the safari, and waterfall we visited) and if I had our time again I would have planned to do more of that and less of the temples but the whole thing was bloody brilliant!!

Overall it was an amazing holiday!  Thank you so much!!!

Sanjeev was brilliant and made the whole trip very interesting and rewarding.  It was all very well organised and we found the tour to be just the right mix of the spiritual, natural and cultural aspects of India.

What a fantastic holiday!!  We had the most wonderful time. Firstly, thank you for all your excellent organisation and information before the trip – the bit about the toilet roll was essential!

Our guides were fantastic, behaving more like friends than anything else.   We were ‘shared’ between Sanjeev and his younger brother Sonu and from the onset we felt really well looked after.  They carefully introduced us to Indian life, explaining that they worked out what their guest’s needs and interests were and then tailoring the trip accordingly.  We got to visit a huge range of eateries ranging from posh restaurants to the equivalent of truck stops!  For the first week our guide paid for everything and I kept asking if he was keeping a tally of what we owed for our bit.  He was and sure enough an accurate (and incredibly cheap) list was produced.  This saved a lot of hassle when buying small meals and any entrance fees.  Where extra guides were needed it was all organised and other touts were fended off.

Transport varied between cars and trains mainly – the Indian rail system is good, once you have your seat – a bit crowded to get there!  No one can prepare you for the roads however; they are not for the fainthearted!!

The rafting was great fun and the temperature of the water a great deterrent for not falling in!  Plastic sandals useful for this activity, my leather ones took ages to dry and you do need some shoes to reach the raft.  Fantastic scenery as we travelled down the river.  We got to ride an elephant for a very relaxing stroll through the forest.  The various hotels were fine; the last one in Haridwar was a bit basic!  On the other hand Ananda was far from basic! and I would definitely recommend anyone to go and stay there: great rooms, food and spa treatments in a lovely relaxed atmosphere.  Finally The Imperial was so gorgeous and we had a meal in The Spice Route, a restaurant not to be missed.  Due to the fog and many guests, we moved to Le Meridian for our last night – quite a contrast from the old world to the new but equal luxury. 

To pick one high-light is difficult but the Taj at sunrise is truly impressive and the evening spent in the tribal village a great privilege.  What lovely people and I enjoyed helping the children with their English studies – I wish some of my students over here were as keen!

Thank you again for all your help and we are unreservedly recommending the trip to our friends.

All I can say is that we saw the real India, which I dont believe we would have seen if our guide wasnt S! The holiday was amazing and exceeded my expectations, it is an amazing country with some extreme contrasts in both people and scenery, and S exposed us to all of it in a very relaxed and informative manner. We saw a Bengal tiger! Highlight of the whole trip... can't wait for next year...

We had a fabulous time in India, made extra special by S who was the perfect, charming host. It was evident we were lucky enough to experience things that many don't when visiting India. We especially loved Haridwar, S's camp, the white water rafting and the national parks... We did have a truly superb time, please feel free to recommend us for a reference...

We had an absolutely wonderful time and the whole trip was fab. Unfortunately we missed out on the white water rafting and the stay in camp due to bad weather, but S made sure he found us other things to do on that day. There was no part of the trip that was dull or uneventful, and we ended up back at the Imperial in Delhi completely exhausted but very happy.

Back in the UK after a fantastic holiday... The tour was so good, and we were very lucky to have S as our guide - he certainly kept us going all week (he did once let us rest for an hour), with so many things happening, and such great planning and attention to detail. Even the tiger turned up on cue -that was a real highlight of the trip, I can still hardly believe we were following it on foot! Lots of other things made it a very special holiday, we packed so much in I feel as though I must have been away for weeks. S was not only a great conservationist and so knowlegeable about wildlife, but also very interesting on India's spiritual heritage and history (great stories!), and he was a very good companion, I really enjoyed his company all week, such a warm and friendly person.

Just want to let you know that it was an absolutley incredible trip. India is such a fascinating, amazing country and I spent everyday in awe of the culture, people, food etc... S was an incredible source of knowledge, and we were looked after very well. Thankyou so much.