AWAVE Travel Reviews 114

Thanks to Awave Travel for organizing an amazing boat trip in the Maldives! We charted the Gulfaam with 5 of us, and it was perfect! James arranged a great surfguide (Hailam) who took us to the best surf spots and dive spots. We also had a really good chef on board, who always made sure we were full 😃!
The trip was great! I’d definitely book again!

Epic times thanks to these guys. Dreamy surf trip in the mentawais. Perfect support and organization in deep Indonesia. Hope to organize another one soon

After months of excitement to meet friends in Maldives for a 5 star surf trip you cannot imagine the disappointment on arriving to be told the Boat which we had booked had mechanical issues and was not available—-which turned out to be rubbish as one of our team who arrived early saw our boat cruising off. Of course the small print says the operator has right to replace the boat but what they ended giving us was 2 star, they definitely hadn’t done their homework on finding a suitable replacement and simply left us to fend for ourselves on a Sunday afternoon in Male. Super disappointed with the way they handled it , there are many things they could have done to smooth things out but we were essentially given a take or leave it option. I would be very skeptical of this outfit - my advice - book with someone else!

Incredible. Perfect organisation, very friendly and prepared people. Giulia is really a fantastic girl who gives you lot of suggestion in order to satisfy all your needs. The best travel agency I have ever used.

We paid 6 months in advance for an amazing surf charter boat trip in the Maldives with Awave Travel. Giulia was super helpful in arranging everything.

Upon arrival at the airport we were suddenly told our boat was 'unavailable' and our group was dropped off on an old dive boat that was clearly WAY BELOW the standard or quality of boat we had booked and paid Awave Travel for. There also wasn't even a surf guide on board that we had paid Awave for. When we contacted the boat owner he said that he had sent the new boat details to Awave and that Awave had accepted this boat as a suitable substitute!

Upon contacting Awave Travel, Giulia and James said that the small print on our agreement allowed them to change the boat for 'one of the same standards and same price category'. Our replacement boat was neither and Awave did nothing to help, simply replying 'Sorry, hope you still have a great trip'.

All you expect of a surf travel agent is good communication and to make sure you get what you paid for. Awave failed on both counts.

Our boat was way below what we paid for and all we could do to improve the situation was demand the business owners find a surf guide for the boat (they had offered a dive master as it was a dive boat) and provide some free drinks for our crew. After several days of back and forth negotiations during the trip with the boat owner directly (Awave were not offering any help) the best we could get from him was $200 per person discount from our drinks bill. As we were on the boat already there was nothing else we could really do. I took photos of the drinks bill and discount and resolved to email Awave Travel when we returned and see what they said.

When we got back home and wrote to Awave, all Giulia and James could say was that this was allowed in the small print but they 'deeply apologise'.

So be careful when booking a boat trip through a travel agent like Awave who partners with unscrupulous local operators. Also, check a week before departure that the boat you booked is indeed available, and if not find out what replacement they propose. DON"T expect Awave to do this for you.

The boat we had originally booked was working fine, and after making a few phone calls we found out it had been booked out and was on another charter (and still had one cabin available for our week!). The local operator simply put us on his old boat to make some money with the cheaper option, and did so at the 11th hour so there was nothing we could do about it.

Great communication, fantastic care and attention from James who is very knowledgeable and approachable, and the product recommended to us as an alternative, Ayada, was a real paradise. We had very high expectations and we were really impressed with everything (apart from the the quality of the surfboards for hire). :)

Everything was perfect!

giulia from awave was so great to work with planning our surf trip to el salvador. she was quick to respond and answered all my questions, sometimes twice because i'm a nervous planner. she had everything handled and the trip was "the best ever" as i keep hearing from our friends and my husband. would definitely use the service again!

excellent service all the way . will use this service again

James and the team at Awave do great work! Our trip was seamless the whole way through, which is really all you can ever ask for...plus the waves were great

Great service. Quick response.

Super cool experience with AWAVE surf travel. As my first surf boat trip experience I couldn’t ask for a better time. James was really available and prompt answering all my questions. Definitely will consider it for a future surf trip.
Highly recommended!

Giulia and Awave were great. Highly recommended to others.

James is a legend & will get everything you need for your trip setup & take care of all your needs. It was super easy & he responds to all emails very fast!

James and his team are excellent, providing loads of info and were always on top of any questions we had: big and small. On top of the kind person on the other side, with real and spot-on replies (instead of some impersonal travel bot), the price is also very competitive. Many thanks James for your great services. Highly recommended and would definitely book again!

They were great for our trip to the Maldives. Very fast response times to any questions we had and overall really helpful.

We booked a trip to Niyama Maldives (13 - 20 May 2022) with Awave.

Before deciding to go to Niyama I had close contact with Giulia about what would be the best resort for that season. Giulia responded almost immediately and gave us good and detailled advice about the surf and of course also about the resort.

We had a great trip! The resort was just prefect as well as the service! Unfortunately the waves were a bit choppy and the wind cross/ onshore, but that's mother nature....... (and May is a very difficult month for the Maldives). We still surfed every day in fun size waves and had a great time.

Would definitely recommend Niyama as well as booking with Awave!

We had an amazing experience with Awave travel. They always answered our questions very fast and with very good advice while planning our trip. Besides we were very unlucky to get Covid 4 days before travelling, and Giulia promptly helped us to modify our travel plans without a hassle. When things go bad or don't go as planned, is very nice to have a good travel agency to help you. Thanks!

We booked with AWAVE Travel for our surf trip to Lohis in the Maldives. James (and his team) were really responsive and took away any concerns we had about such a big, once in a liftime (OK, maybe twice or three times in a lifetime...!) spend.
Questions were dealt with immediately. The resort and travel plans were explained clearly.
Having dealt with alternative providers before, I wouldn't hesitate to use AWAVE Travel again to book a surf trip.

We had a 10 days boat trip in north male. We were 8 friends in the sea farer, which happens to be the best choice for us, it was the perfect trip. The crew was great and we had a great time there. Can’t wait to go back