Been considering doing Australia at sometime in the future and if I did the it with JY would go with the Singapore stopover.

However I've looked at the price and it appears to be approx £2,450 more expensive than virtually the same holiday with Travelsphere.

Yes Travelsphere do charge a single supplement of around £1,250 but it still works out £1,200 cheaper.

Sure they don't include any meals (except BBQ and one lunch) as far as i can see but only difference is JY include 23 beakfasts and 4 dinners which doesn't seem a lot for £1,200 (would have thought £400 max).

I'm not keen on going solo on a couples holiday but can't help feel I'd be paying far too much if i went with JY.

Will add 2 or 3 of the hotels named are different but looking at their ratings they seem similar and as wording states "this hotel or similar" can't really see a big difference there as the one named is not guarenteed so suspect we could easily end up in same as travelsphere.

Can you explain why the big difference in price (I used April dates with both companies).

thanks

Mick

No the price doesn't come in line, if I took up single occupency with travelsphere they would charge me an extra £1250 (single supplement) for having my own room.

However the difference is almost double that so as I see it an extra £1,200 is required.

As far as I can see its only Australia where this difference appears, on other hols i've checked going with travelsphere and paying the single supplement does closely match up with the JY price.

Both holidays with Singapore stopover.

JY (13th April tour) - £6548

travelsphere (22nd april) - £4098+ £1249(single supplement)= £5347

difference = £1201 = a lot of money.

As far as i can see the difference is similar on other dates aswell.

I've also noticed the big price difference in some holidays.

Could you be a little more specific please in your answer. If I book a single room with Travelsphere on this trip, I would still pay £1200 less than JY, and it would appear that the only difference is the breakfasts and the dinners, that Mick specifies, which doesn't go anyway to explaining the price difference.

Thanks

Stuart

I see I am being cornered here! I have been up to see the product manager and they have sent me down the following information regarding the price differences -

'The meals do make up quite a big difference in a hotel this can be around $30 a day so this would be approx £380 then you have the extra meals. We include a sounds of silence dinner which is approximately £100. The hotels are in fact different and tend to be 4* rather than the 3* so this would equate to £400 and as such in the next version of the brochure this will become apparent. Then there is an included Tramcar farewell dinner, again this is around another £100. I hope this helps.

Does this help answer your questions both?

Kindest,

Ben

Sorry not letting go here as I feel JY need to review their pricing even if making some events optional (like the diners).

1. Breakfast at $30 (£20), that seems very expensive ? are the all full monty cooked breakfasts because even expensive then and I'd be very dissapointed if paying that for a continental.

2. Not all the hotels are different, in fact the ones listed are the same for Ayers Rock, Sydney, Canerra & Melbourne.

The different ones listed are 4 nights Perth, 2 nights Alice Springs and 4 nights Cairns, so if these 10 nights (and hotels) make £400 difference that equates to £40 per night which seems very high.

Also the fact it says certain hotel but adds "or similar" leaves it very open that we could end up in the lower rated travelsphere hotel (some of which are only half a star different).

3. Two dinners at £100 each, assume this includes some sort of entertainment but surely at these prices they should be optional excurrsions.

4. Even accepting the above that still leaves another £220 difference.

As I said earlier i wouldn't really want to go solo on a couples holiday but must admit the price and feeling of paying far over the odds is putting me off this particular trip. I'm sure many others feel the same way.

Mick

No problem at all, it's good to discuss these things rather than let them go unaddressed, I wholly believe in that. However I can do no more in this debate, I have no exposure to the pricing strategy's and the reasons for choosing certain components of a tour over others, what I have done is feed back yours and Stuarts comments to the product team who are in a position to address your concerns and then feedback to me,

I hope this is OK for the time being,

Kindest,

Ben

Thats great can't expect more, just want to log my thoughts.

Australia is one of the holidays i'd love to do but just finding outside my budget at present and am sure others are in a similar position.

And when I saw it much cheaper with travelsphere (virtually my spending money difference) it got me thinking of what maybe i could afford.

Maybe in future JY will consider downgrading (slightly) some of the more expensive hotels to bring costs more inline with travelsphere.

Mick

That's no problem at all, I will keep you posted as and when. I appreciate your desire to go on this tour, it would be quite something!

I will update you soon,

Kindest,

Ben

I've been following this discussion with interest as Australia is on my list to do, hopefully in about three years time if all goes well. However, I've seen the price go up from £4,000 to almost £6,000 over the last two years and with the euro falling in value against sterling over the last year, this makes it even more expensive for me coming from Ireland! I accept the points you have made on behalf of JY/Travelsphere and that's the point that I have made to others when on holiday when they have brought up the price difference between the two companies - that JY includes more in the price, meals and excursions. To be honest, I'm glad that they do include more, even if this means that more has to be paid up front, as this then means that less cash has to be taken on holiday! It's been my experience that when a special meal e.g. the tramcar is optional, that just about everyone does it anyway and I'm happier to have this included in the cost of the holiday, or alternatively as a pre-bookable excursion. It's a nuisance to have to bring a large amount of cash (we don't have those cash passports in Ireland) or when staying at hotels if meals have to be paid for separately and I'm glad that most JY hols are half or even full board. Less hassle makes for a more stress-free holiday!

Best wishes,

Bob

Thanks for your comments, to all of you, much appreciated. This is now sitting with the product managers so we'll see where we end up, but I couldn't agree more about less hassle = less stress.

Kindest,

Ben

I have been reading this thread with interest as I am on the November trip to Australia.

I too couldn't work out why the cost of holiday was greater than Travelsphere but I wanted to travel with Just You and do it this year before the prices go up again!

Whilst there has been an explanation from your product team there still seems to be a shortfall of £200 in comparison with Travelsphere.

The itinerary for November has been changed and the meal in a Tramcar in Melbourne which was supposed to be our farewell meal is now on day 10 with no farewell meal on day 20. I would like to suggest to the Product Managers that in view of changes to the itinerary that Just You arrange a farewell meal in Cairns at no extra cost.

I would point out that Friendship Travel are now starting to offer holidays to Australia and therefore I think the Product Managers need to review their pricing to be competitive. I did check out the Friendship holiday, which is a lot cheaper, but it is shorter and less comprehensive.

Regards

Eve

Hi Ben

I have been reading this thread with interest as I am on the November trip to Australia.

I too couldn't work out why the cost of holiday was greater than Travelsphere but I wanted to travel with Just You and do it this year before the prices go up again!

Whilst there has been an explanation from your product team there still seems to be a shortfall of £200 in comparison with Travelsphere.

The itinerary for November has been changed and the meal in a Tramcar in Melbourne which was supposed to be our farewell meal is now on day 10 with no farewell meal on day 20. I would like to suggest to the Product Managers that in view of changes to the itinerary that Just You arrange a farewell meal in Cairns at no extra cost.

I would point out that Friendship Travel are now starting to offer holidays to Australia and therefore I think the Product Managers need to review their pricing to be competitive. I did check out the Friendship holiday, which is a lot cheaper, but it is shorter and less comprehensive.

Regards

Eve

Hi Eve,

I'd never heard of Friendship Travel and looked at their website after reading your post - they seem to be an inferior copy of Just You! I also looked them up on TripAdvisor and they got some really, really bad reviews - bad tour managers, exaggerated descriptions of what was included etc. so you have been warned! It's JY all the way for me, I've been on four hols with them and 2 more booked and I wouldn't want to travel with any other company - until I run out of holiday options that is! By the way, in case you're the cynical type I have no connection with JY and quite happily endorse them free of charge!!!!!

Best wishes,

Bob

Although I started this thread and still think this particular holiday is expensive despite the explanations, my comparrisons are purely based on travelspheres price.

There are other companies out there but I've heard some very bad reports including travelling with only 3 or 4 people.

JY are good and I'm confident will look into the pricing.

I've done 5 trips so far (and one with travelsphere) with two more coming up this year, all the holidays are good quality, that isn't an issue.

Mick

Australia is more expensive than people expect: eating out can be costly, so to have breakfasts and several dinners and a couple of lunches included is useful to the budget, but not just that it is part of the JY/social experience.

Breakfasts in the hotels are very good: continental and cooked with lots to choose from.

Dinners: Sounds of Silence, a very special experience and is a sell-out; Tramcar in Melbourne, magical, also very popular.

People usually have to book both of these several months in advance.

They are all-inclusive: food and drinks - alcoholic and soft drink options.

Another point to bear in mind is that single supplements don't guarantee a "twin room for single occupancy", quite often it can be a single room. With JY you are guaranteed the twin room.

So, depending on your budget and on what you want from the holiday, hopefully this info will help with the decision-making?

Australia is a remarkable country, with so much to see and experience, so however you go and whoever you go with it is fabulous.

that is a very helpful reply and I think answers the questions raised, many thanks!

Best wishes,

Bob

I have actually done 5 long hauls and 4 European trips with Just You in the past. I know how good the company is especially for long haul holidays and that is why I booked the holiday as I would rather pay extra and go with a Company I know and trust. I also note that in the brochure the feedback for this tour is 100% good or excellent.

Will post feedback on this site on my return.

Regards

Eve

Thanks for the input, your information is very useful.

With a bit of luck the pound may strengthen against the Aus dollar and get back to where it once was, that certainly would help the budget.

Mick

I have just read all the comments with great interest. I agree with Bob and I too am happy to pay a bit extra for included meals and excursions. This makes the holiday stress free without any hassle. Also, I am not sure if going with Travelsphere would guarantee nice large rooms such as those we get with Just You - I have been on 3 holidays with Just You and so far all rooms have been great. You may end up with an inferior room despite paying a supplement if you travel with other companies! At the end of the day the choice is up to an individual as to which company they travel with. Anyway these are my personal thoughts.

Jaya