"Peru was the most exciting country I have travelled to. I loved working with Hands Up Holidays to create a holiday that was "just right' for our small group. The time in the village impacted every one of our group, giving us an opportunity to give something back to the country we fell in love with. The village embraced our tiny efforts and helped us maximise the short time we had. Thanks for a great experience - we are planning another trip (or more) for next year!"
Dr Liz Fitzmaurice, Jan 08, travelled to Peru with a group of doctors and others from New Zealand and England
"I speak for all the people attending, it was an amazing country, full of vibrant people, incredible scenery. It was a trip of extremes, in culture, climate and civilisation. We loved our time helping in the orphanage, and the island cruise topped it off well"
Peter Kelly, Oct 07, Travelled to Fiji from England
“Our stay in the Sunderbans (with our nine-year-old daughter) was without doubt one of the most important and rewarding - as well as one of the most fun - experiences of our lives. The chance to leave the developed world behind and immerse ourselves in the incredible beauty of nature and the rhythms, activities and relationships of village life was priceless. We all cried when we left and can't wait to go back.”
Lee Ann Merrill, Jan 08, travelled to India with her family
The holiday was superb and I received a fascinating insight into the country, people and culture. Both the guides and drivers looked after me very well. The hotel accomodation was excellent. My volunteer work was very enjoyable and I believe it helped, although I felt that I learned more from the students at the school than they did from me. I would certainly recommend this trip to others and hopefully will be able to consider similar holidays in the future.
Angela Pakes, November 2007 - travelled to Cambodia
"I loved every moment of this experience; I discovered things I didn't know about myself, and I have met some amazing and inspiring people who will remain my friends forever. It certainly helped put my life in perspective."
Chantal Khoueiry, May 2007 - travelled to India
"The trip was absolutely amazing!! Had a great time, it was exactly what I was looking for. Abdellah was a great host and working with the kids at the school in Talamanzou was an experience of a lifetime. I hope to return again in the future.
Bryan Baylis, March 2007 - travelled to Morocco
"Thank you for the great experience in Vanuatu I really enjoyed my time, especially on Tanna. It was a real privilege to be welcomed into a community and experience how they lived and that was all thanks to you. I will treasure my memories from my time spend in Tanna and we are already looking forward to doing something similar again sometime.Accommodation was good. Sightseeing activities I really enjoyed as we all got to see the real Vanuatu thanks to Hands Up's contacts.
I will be highly recommending Hands Up Holidays to my friends and family."
Russell Cathcart - travelled to Vanuatu in March 07
Well if I said it was awesome, fantastic, wonderful etc etc it still wouldn't convey how terrific my trip was!
Everything went perfectly and the 3 different guides I had (plus driver at the end) were all complete gentleman and a pleasure to spend time with. I went to the home of one guide to have lunch with his wife she was lovely and painted my nails.
The Friendship Village was fabulous. I got the formal welcome from the Director with the help of an interpreter. I worked in the classrooms…Hey I can teach math in Vietnamese!! At that level anyway. It was such a great place my guide couldn't keep away and was helping out too. Even the driver who was shy and had no English was putting his head in the rooms every now and then.
The children were between 10 and 16 mostly and were keen to talk. They were just lovely. I rode around on the back of 1st guide's scooter which was so much easier. Altogether a fantastic holiday which will live in my memory as one of the best.
I am now refreshed and rejuvenated and will think about China in the future (a friend went at the same time and just loved it).
Many thanks!"
Nancy Kerr - travelled to Vietnam in July 07
"Esta, our guide, was great. She was really friendly and easy going. She looked after us well, was organised with tickets, entry fees etc. She organised our breakfasts for us, and let us know when our other meals were ready. It was useful having someone who could translate around, although one of the nuns and a number of the locals spoke English which made it easier for us.
The accommodation in Vila was nice, clean, and comfortable. The staff there were very friendly and the service was good. The quality of the accommodation exceeded my expectations. The motel was located conveniently close to town.
The meals provided as part of the package met my expectations. We really enjoyed the Sisters' cooking in Tana. I enjoyed trying the local dishes that the villagers cooked for us on Tana.
I particularly enjoyed the round island tour of Efate, the Lepapa Island cruise, and the trip to Yassur volcano.
The tour of Villa on the first day was a nice introduction to Vanuatu.
I was touched by how appreciative the locals were of the work that we did. I feel that the work we did, did benefit the local community. The dispensary we did lots of paint work on is used by people all around the area, and the school now looks much tidier with its newly painted doors. I know that the electrical work done by Nick and Russell installing additional lights, and making the wiring safer was greatly appreciated, and they were able to pass some of their skills on to one of the locals who was the handyman for the mission. We taught a number of the local men how to paint and they did a lot of the painting work on the dispensary. The skills that the locals learnt while we were there along with the tools provided by Nick can hopefully be used to continue improvements around the Mission and school. I know that the Sisters had a few more painting projects lined up for the guys to get into.
This trip was a great experience. I felt that I got a really good insight into the Vanuatu way of life from the trip.I think that the trip was really well organised. I've told lots of people about my trip. Quite a few people have been really interested to hear about the trip and how Handsup Holidays operates, and have said that they would like to do something similar."
Aine Colson - travelled to Vanuatu in March 07
"Hello! We greet you now as man and wife!!
The honeymoon was great, we started off on Naigani for a relaxing week, then met up with Happy Homes in Suva to begin the work on the school there. Day one was spent mending a corrugated iron roof that was leaking of the small school; the next day we built a wall, and a cupboard under the stairs.
The next day we did two more walls, and enjoyed meeting Sujit and all the boys at Happy Home.What an amazing time we have had it has really lit the fire in us to continue volunteering; we can't wait to do more. We have decided to return to help again at the end of this year!
We had a great time - let us know what you've got coming up and we will pray for you, also stay in touch for the
future trips as we would love to come!"
Darren and Vanessa Morton - travelled to Fiji for their honeymoon!
“We had a fantastic time and we all felt it was a very worthwhile experience.Abdullah our guide was fantastic...We felt he had become a real friend by the end of our trip.The various riads were all fabulous! Sightseeing was fun, informative and interesting.
At the school we shifted a lot of sand and gravel and moved a very large pile of bricks. There was a lot of interaction between ourselves and the children so it was certainly a very valuable experience and we feel the project to be of benefit to the community.
We certainly feel that everyone should go on this sort of trip and gain insight and understanding of other cultures.”
Jay Kennedy, April 2007 – travelled to Morocco with her husband and two daughters
“I had the experience of a lifetime on my trip to Vietnam. On the ‘Hanoi & Hilltribes” trip we were able to experience not only the thrill and liveliness of the city ,but also the culture and breathtaking scenery of the Mountain region of Sapa.
The highlight for me was interacting with the local people, and being able to experience daily life, especially while volunteering at a local school and our time spent with victims of Agent Orange at the Friendship Village
It was a real delight to see the children responding to our time spent with them, and seeing how volunteers can make a real difference in peoples lives – even if only for a few days.
We had 2 fabulous local guides with a real passion for their country . They had a real knowledge of its history and great hopes for its future.
To top it off we were treated to a very high level of service, accommodation and delicious food!
I had the best holiday and cant wait to partake in some more adventures with Hands up Holidays!”
Jo Currie – May 2006, travelled to Vietnam as part of a group of four
“Wow! What an awesome trip, from the minute we arrived to the minute we departed! I think our friends and family are already sick to death of hearing about our "holiday of a lifetime"!
Thank you enormously for helping us create this spectacular trip and for making our dreams come true. The thought and the logistical planning that must have gone into our itinerary is just amazing, we were constantly amazed and astounded at each and every day. The hotels were just fabulous, each with their own charm and oh so luxurious, the excursions and the people that ran them were also just incredible, the professionalism and hospitality, wow! Argentina is one amazing country! We will take these memories to our grave that's for sure.
Anyway all that remains for me to say is roll-on our next holiday! I will most certainly be in touch once we have done some saving!
Take care and thank you again!”
Charlotte Varley – January 2007, travelled to Argentina with her partner Tony
"The trip was excellent. Linda was a fantastic guide, and so very much on the same wavelength as us. The community work was great and fascinating. We all agreed it is an ideal way to do a trip. Thanks very very much for it all"
Helen Harrison - September 2007, travelled to South Africa with her husband and two children
"It was challengingly different but definitely a valuable experience. I felt like I could do anything on top of that mountain! Living amongst the Iban people opened my eyes to a different way of living. I learnt so much!"
Olivia Lee - April 2008, travelled to Borneo as part of a group
View an introduction to what Hands Up Holidays is all about.
A mini-documentary about a Hands Up Holiday in Fiji
Watch a TV news clip about the launch of Hands Up Holidays