Fans View Of The Lions Tour With England Rugby Travel
Lions Fans who have booked with England Rugby Travel have been sharing their views on why they are going on tour, and why they have choosen England Rugby Travel.
Since releasing the official British & Irish Lions packages on 6 June 2008, England Rugby Travel has been inundated with hundreds of bookings from supporters who were eager to secure their place early so that they don’t miss out on the Tour to South Africa in May, June and July 2009.
Eager to find out what drove so many people to book so quickly, we contacted some of the very first bookers to get their thoughts.
Craig Gallier, a 34 year old mortgage specialist from Edinburgh was the very first person to book a Lions package with England Rugby Travel just minutes after they went on sale. Craig booked one of England Rugby Travel’s Caracal tours which takes in all three test matches, the Lions v Emerging Boks and visits Durban, Cape Town, Pretoria, a South African Game Park experience and Johannesburg.
Craig traveled to New Zealand in 2005 to support the Lions, and his desire to repeat his amazing experience and to travel to South Africa was too big an opportunity to turn down:
“I decided to travel with England Rugby Travel as I've had experience with them before. I found all the people working for the company were very good, and also the organisation of the tours was particularly well done. This meant when I had to make a choice of who to go with, I only really had one choice, England Rugby Travel (even though I am a Scot)”.
Craig isn’t alone, England Rugby Travel has taken many bookings from Welsh, Irish and Scottish Lions supporters due to the superb service and fully inclusive packages that we offer. In fact there are a range of different groups travelling to South Africa with us.
Melanie Parker, a Business Development Manager from Sheffield is traveling with sister Nicola, a Learning and Development Advisor from Plymouth. The two have never been on a Lions tour, and are excited about what the 2009 tour will have to offer them.
“We only had limited time to take off work so the Steenbok package was perfect! Our cousin is getting married in Mauritius the following month so it's save save save! (We really don't have such exotic holidays every year!). And how good would it be when asked what we did at the weekend to say, ‘oh I just popped across to Durban to watch the Lions win the first test”.
So why did a couple of sisters who are new to Lions tours choose England Rugby Travel?
“It was great to be able to be on the advanced register list and also to have the security of official match day tickets, transfers, as well as matchday Big Bars. And there's also the small factor of traveling with, and being part of a huge group of passionate Lions fans!”
Melanie and Nicola will be on tour with other like-minded fans, with over 500 already people booked on England Rugby Travel’s tours, the Lions Tour atmosphere with England Rugby Travel will be an experience not to be missed.
For a full list of tours available with England Rugby Travel, click here and view the range of tours, and pick the right on for you and your party. And remember, all of our packages include:
- International flights from the UK to South Africa
- Internal travel (internal flights and/or coach travel (where applicable))
- Return transfers from the airport to the hotel(s)
- Accommodation (including breakfast) on a twin/double basis
- Return matchday transfers between your hotel and the stadium
- Guaranteed official match tickets
- Exclusive access to the official England Rugby Travel 'big bar' experience on test match matchday, to kick off a superb day's entertainment
- Exclusive official adidas merchandise and clothing to ensure you're fully kitted out for the trip, including the official 2009 replica jersey
- Experienced, friendly and welcoming England Rugby Travel staff in attendance throughout your tour.
