Michael Croft

I'm based in

Leeds

Available for new enquiries

Looking for help with your business travel? Find out how I can help here

It's Nice To Meet You

Hi I'm Michael, thanks for reading my webpage.

I am a travel expert based in Leeds with 37 years’ experience and I offer a bespoke service tailored to my clients' individual requirements. I arrange group, leisure and corporate travel to all parts of the world.

My areas of speciality include travel to Europe, Southern Africa (especially amazing South Africa where I can offer a range of unique, sustainably focussed experiences that no one else in the UK travel trade offers), and also the Caribbean, United States & Asia.

I am committed to playing my part in seeing that travel becomes more sustainable. Tourism is a key driver of many countries' economies, and we need to ensure that the benefits of it are shared fairly. In partnership with UK charity The Travel Foundation, I have undertaken training on sustainable travel practices, and conducted research into this subject in order to develop a range of tourist experiences in South Africa. These are focussed on ensuring there is the maximum possible economic benefit in the destination, and that this is shared as widely as possible. I am also recognised as a South Africa Specialist by South Africa Tourism in London.

If you're looking for something a bit more personal and bespoke than what the high street chains and internet offer, and if you like the idea of having a professional look after your travel arrangements, saving you time, hassle and money. please give me a call for a chat - or send a message from the link on my webpage.

Best wishes

Michael

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Explore my guides and blogs

Jo'burg & Soweto - essential reading

Jo'burg & Soweto - essential reading

I've been to Johannesburg five times in the last few years and cannot recommend the place highly enough. Very often the reality of a destination is different from the perception, and this is certainly true in this vibrant, interesting and welcoming city. From whatever perspective you'd like to view it from; cultural, historical, music & theatre, shop till you drop, party till you drop, football, c

07 Sept 2015 5   min read

Leeds Rhinos' Florida trip!

Leeds Rhinos' Florida trip!

I'm proud to count Leeds Rhinos amongst my clients. Next January the team will be in Jacksonville, Florida for their winter training camp and you could join them on this specially created trip. Departing on Tuesday 12th January for seven nights & returning on Tuesday 19th January. You will spend 3 nights in Orlando at Sheraton Vistana or the Sheraton Lake Buena Vista, followed by 4 nights at th

24 Jul 2015 3   min read

Azamara Club Cruises: France & Italy

Azamara Club Cruises: France & Italy

In mid-October 2013 I went on a fantastic cruise on Azamara Club Cruises with a group of friends. I thoroughly enjoyed this and would highly recommend Azamara to anyone looking for a high quality cruising experience, without any of the stuffiness that's sometimes associated with the more old-fashioned cruise lines. Azamara Quest is a small ship accommodating just under 700 guests, and with 400

18 Nov 2013 3   min read

Beautiful Botswana

Beautiful Botswana

After crossing the Zambezi River from Zambia and joining the Chobe River, we reached the land-locked country of Botswana. Bordered by South Africa to the south, Namibia, and Angola to the west and Zimbabwe and Zambia to the north, it is a land of stark visual contrasts with a whole host of wildlife spotting opportunities and populated by wonderfully friendly people. We spent two magical nights

26 Jul 2013 3   min read

Pilansberg National Park

Pilansberg National Park

For many years I had been under the impression that visiting the Game Reserves anywhere north of the Cape in South Africa would necessitate taking anti-malaria tablets for young children. How wrong I was! The Pilansberg Game Reserve is just two and a half hours' drive north from Johannesburg; it is in a malaria free zone and makes a brilliant introduction to safaris. The first lodge we visited

18 Feb 2013 3   min read

Namibian Cultural Tour

Namibian Cultural Tour

I recently visited the enchanting country of Namibia with a small group of industry colleagues, invited by the Namibia Tourist Board. We travelled to the north and west regions, from the capital Windhoek and spent time visiting the Hei//Omm, San and Himba tribes and learning about their rich and diverse cultures. Since returning I can say with confidence that you would not be disappointed if you t

22 Nov 2012 3   min read

A true Wonder of the World

A true Wonder of the World

Over the years I have been incredibly lucky to visit some amazing places, meet wonderful people and experience things that you just don't get in Leeds! One spectacle that will stay in my memory forever is the sight of the Victoria Falls near Livingstone in Zambia. Spectacular, majestic, awe-inspiring: superlatives that can't do justice to what you see before you. We spent two nights at the

28 May 2012 3   min read

Do not miss Johannesburg!!

Do not miss Johannesburg!!

If you have never been to Johannesburg and have negative preconceptions please forget them, head to the right parts of the city and you'll find it as alive and enriching as any of the world's best cities. You'd be doing yourself a disservice if you were to avoid Jo'burg over safety concerns, it really is the heart and soul of the country and I would advise everyone who can spare the time to try an

09 May 2012 3   min read

California Dreamin'

California Dreamin'

I count myself lucky to have two great friends living in California. Helen, my former work colleague, upped sticks and moved out to the West Coast of the US over ten years ago. Now living in the beautiful beachfront district of Santa Monica nr Los Angeles, I've visited this area many times and it has a real attraction for me. It's one of the places where I feel most relaxed and at home. One of

08 Jun 2009 3   min read

Enchanting Ethiopia

Enchanting Ethiopia

Without doubt Ethiopia was one of my most memorable travel experiences. The trip was a spur of the moment decision really; after watching a television programme about the Great Ethiopian Run in Addis Ababa, the capital city, I thought "I wanna do that!". So after very little persuasion my friend Gill agreed to join me and we embarked on our African adventure. We went to Addis to take part in the e

12 Jun 2008 3   min read

What my customers say

I work for a business owned by Colin Hale. I understand that Colin has used Michael regularly over the last 20-odd years. That should say it all. I am extremely happy with the service provided and will recommend Michael to my friends and colleagues.

Donald Shanks

Former QPR player

Michael is always very good. we always use him for our travel arrangements

Gary Hetherington

Chief Executive, Leeds Rhinos

Michael really understands South Africa and has come up with a great trip that really matches our needs. He's brilliant to deal with and super responsive.

Peter Hill

Worksop

Michael Croft is our Travel Counsellor. He is incredibly helpful and professional. He understands exactly what we want to get out of a holiday, and provides us with a range of options to meet our requirements. We've been on some fantastic holidays thanks to Michael: UAS, Australia, Italy and can't wait to go on our next adventure to Canada.

Adrienne Nichols

Harrogate

Many thanks for booking and arranging the holiday, really takes the stress out

Tim Heenan

Leeds

Always goes that extra mile with the simplest request always complied with and is very very understanding about our Computer illiteracy, an excellent ambassador.

David Cornish

Leeds

Well done Michael great job cheers.

Ann Stoker

Leeds

Very reliable and helpful

Caroline Brown

Leeds

Excellent service from start to finish and throughout, as always.

Matt Hamer

Cheadle

Michael Croft is always extremely helpful and very responsive.

Samantha Wynn

Sacramento, CA USA

No hesitation in using Michael. He is our "go to" travel agent Have already recommended him to friends and colleagues. Will continue to use his expertise and good service.

Phil Beeton

Leeds

Michael always does a good job for us.

Andy Green

Otlay

I have used Michael as my travel specialist for a little while now and I wouldn’t go anywhere else. His professional approach and expert advice is fantastic together with a wonderful sense of humour putting you at ease.

Elaine Thomas

Settle

Travel Counsellors is the best!

Hugo De Castro Simoes

Washington DC

Micheal is such a nice person. He is very knowledgeable and extremely helpful. Nothing was too much of a problem for him to change and adapt my itinerary as required. Thank you x

Gavin Richmond

Leeds

Michael is so friendly and helpful. It’s always a pleasure to deal with him.

Brian Wilson

Bridge of Weir

I tried independently to book my holiday online using several websites…without success! Michael made booking our holiday entirely stress free. I would definitely use and recommend Michael/Travel Counsellor for any future bookings.

Patricia Gardiner

Leeds

Michael is extremely pleasant and helpful and we have very much enjoyed dealing with him over many years.

Brian Wilson

Bridge of Weir

Excellent service

Henrietta McCalla

Leeds

First class

Robert Powell

Hibaldstow

Always use Michael. He is very professional, helpful and and patient. Would be happy to recommend him to anyone.

Philip Beeton

Leeds

Super responsive. Highly knowledgeable and knows how to get a great deal on long haul flights.

Peter Hill

Worksop

Great efficient service, would highly recommend

Leander Moss

St Helier

Michael is exceptionally helpful and pleasant. He’s very efficient and nothing is too much trouble. Highly recommend!

Brian & Mary Ann Wilson

Bridge of Weir

Always excellent & professional service from Michael. He looks at all the options & comes up with the best plan every time whilst ensuring a competitive price.

Margaret Pedder

Skipton

As before on previous holidays, Michael helped enormously with advice about our upcoming trip to South Africa.. His knowledge of the country is very valuable as he speaks from personal experience and has organised our trip to suit our particular needs and requests. He is always available to talk things through and always keeps us informed about the essentials of any holiday, flights, accommodation and how best to get the best from our holiday in terms of trips, excursions, food and drink. All invaluable. We would highly recommend Michael to any friends who were considering a holiday wherever that happened to be in the world. Thank you, Michael

Linda Harrowsmith

Leeds

I would highly recommend Michael to friends. He has provided us with excellent service when arranging our trip to Canada and an Alaskan cruise last September and even filled in complicated forms over the phone for both Canada and America which saved us such a lot of time and trouble. On a previous holiday booked with him he dropped off the tickets and documents at the house to make sure we got them in time for departure. He recently booked us on a small ship cruise to Croatia for June this year and he made sure we got the best flights and deal possible. He is well travelled himself and often has tips and advice gained from personal experience . I would say Michael is committed to giving a first class service and we are delighted that a friend recommended him. Thank you, Michael.

Linda Harrowsmith

Leeds

Really helpful advice (even when I keep changing my mind as to where I want to go!) Plenty of ideas and options too.

Susan Cox

Huntingdon

Michael is always so friendly and helpful. I love the different options he gives us and the fact that we can pick and mix his ideas to give us our perfect holiday.

Clare Ford

Leeds

Thank you for the flexibility and time spent to make sure mum will have the very best time she can. It's a birthday celebration as well as first time Italy trip, and your help takes away our arrangement worries so we can just enjoy the time.

Maureen Maritz

London

Efficient and very well informed, steered us in the right direction within the remit of the holiday we wanted to put together, all suggestions were based on sound experience and local knowledge.

Margaret Hemingway

Leeds

Ultra professional as usual.

Kenneth Goundrey

Mold

Friendly and professional, informative and genuinely interested in my holiday requests, I would rate Michael as first class. Nothing is too much trouble and when he says he'll ring or email, he does. I have every confidence that he'll get the best flights/accommodation possible. Our last trip was booked at the last minute, therefore there was very little time before we were due to fly. Rather than relying on the post to send our documents, Michael called in person and delivered them himself, and this after a long working day. Thank you Michael!

Linda Harrowsmith

Leeds

Michael took care to listen to what we wanted and put together a fantastic package with thought and care which took into consideration not only where we wanted to visit but how it would work for us as a family. Thank you Michael - we will be in touch soon about our next trip away!

Ruth Shedlow

Leeds

Great service from Michael. Responsive and flexible plus he always gets the best deals - brilliant!

Phillip Heath

Leeds

Michael has looked after us exceptionally well for a number of years, and we would have no hesitation in recommending him.

Brian Wilson

Bridge of Weir

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Tailor-made for you

Your holiday isn’t just a trip away. It’s a longed-for escape, time to reconnect with loved ones, or a dream adventure you never thought possible. That’s why I take the time to truly get to know you and understand your hopes and expectations, then use my experience, connections and passion for the destination to create a trip that makes those dreams a reality.

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Personalised service. Always

When you plan a holiday with me, you’ll be given my personal mobile number from the very first call. I’ll listen to your thoughts and ideas like I would a friend and arrange accommodation, activities, and flights that are all personalised to you. And I’ll share my personal tips and recommendations, so you can experience the true beauty of each destination.

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Stress-free travel, and more time
for what matters most

I believe your time away should be stress-free, easy, and seamless from start to finish. So, I take care of all the details for you - from ATOL protection, insurance, and flexible payments to access to the myTC app, which keeps everything in one place.

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Support when it matters most

If the unexpected happens, you can rest easy, knowing that I’ll handle any last-minute changes, flight cancellations, or disruptions before you even pick up the phone. So you always feel happy, carefree, and ready to make the most of every moment.

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07956 652921

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