About us
Matt Knowles has owned Sea Escape TRAVEL since 1997, specializing in travel to Australia & The South Pacific. He is the recipient of FOUR prestigious Opal Awards from Tourism Australia for excellence in promoting Australia. Matt has personally traveled DownUnder numerous times, visiting every state & territory from Sydney to Cairns, Darwin to Perth. Adelaide to Tasmania, and many more in-between. He knows Australia and can arrange the simple to the most complex travel plans. In addition to Aussie Specialist certification, Matt is a Certified Destination Specialist (DS) and Certified Travel Counselor (CTC), and an Advanced SCUBA Instructor. Trips with diving can be easily arranged. Matt has dived around the world, including Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Matt does it all from custom trips to escorted adventures, animal encounters, food & wine, and aboriginal adventures. From moderate getaways to luxury escapes for couples, families and groups. With so much knowledge to assist his clients and his long standing relationship with his wholesaler, Matt is able to beat the internet prices, offer upgrades & discounts, and has special perks & privileges for his clients that can’t be found on the web. He is one of Tourism Australia’s top agents in North America, and is Sacramento’s ONLY Premier Aussie Specialist. His personal office is operated from his home, where he offers individualized service, attention to detail, and best value pricing to all. In addition to his multiple aussie awards, Matt was also designated as the Top Kiwi Specialist in all North America in 2009 from Tourism New Zealand. Add to that his certifications in Fiji, Tahiti, The Cook Islands & Hawaii, and you need not look any further for a local expert. ~ HAWAII Certiifed Destination Specialist ~ Mexico (Cancun, Riviera Maya, Cozumel, Los Cabos, and more) CERTIFIED ~ Fiji (MATAI) & Cook Islands Certified. He'll make this your best "escape" ever! ALWAYS looking for your best VALUE.
Business highlights
Services we offer
Customized Vacations & Honeymoons Escorted Tours to: Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, The South Pacific Islands ( Fiji, Tahiti, Cook Islands), & Africa ** NO mark ups, NO fee's.
Services we don't offer
US Domestic "air only" No trips to Eastern Europe, India, Middle East, or Northern Africa.
Amenities
Eco Friendly Accreditations
Yes
Emergency Services
Yes
Accepted Payment Methods
- American Express
- Check
- Visa
- Discover
- MasterCard
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Filter reviews by service
****this is a long overdue review, however, I just became a member of Angie's list and thought of Matt because my honeymoon picture from my last trip booked through him is sitting on my desk and I couldn't pass up an opportunity to share how wonderful working with him is!
"Your honeymoon to The Cook Islands was a fun trip to plan. Thanks for your kind words. I hope I can be of assistance for your next "escape". CHEERS! ~ Matt"
"I do remember this call, and I did call back regarding a Mediterranean cruise. I left message and didn't hear back. (I still have the voicemail msg she left). It's too bad as I have a relationship with my consortia that has deals to the med all the time, and could have used that to get a great deal."
"I hope I am able to help you in the future. Sorry this time didn't work."
After our home visit, Matt got to work creating a real itinerary with all the flights, hotels, and outings we wanted to include while making sure it would all fit into our budget. He communicated with us mainly by e-mail because that was our preference and worked with our busy schedules. After Matt made our real itinerary he sent us a quote and we put down a deposit to reserve all of our airfare. We paid our final balance about two months before our trip.
During our three week trip Matt stayed in touch with us by e-mail because he is genuinely excited for his customers and wants to make sure they are having a good time. He took care of us when one of our outings got cancelled due to poor weather by dealing with the operator on our behalf and getting us a refund when we returned from our trip. We didn't have to do a thing, but enjoy our time in Australia. We had an amazing trip and took so many fantastic outings suggested by Matt - we went scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef, we did a walkabout where we saw Kangaroos and Koalas in the wild, we went white water rafting, we saw the Little Penguins come to shore at night at Phillip Island, we rode the Kuranda Scenic Railway in the Gold Class car (a very sweet surprise upgrade from Matt!), and we did the Sydney Harbor bridge climb at twilight!
After our trip Matt loved hearing about how much fun we had on our trip and enjoyed seeing some of our pictures on facebook. I would definitely work with Matt again on future trips. He made taking such a big trip so much easier - I can't imagine how stressed I would be having to handle all those arrangements.
"Members, It was a pleasure to assit you with your "escape". I DO love helping people create their dream trips, and yours was no exception. I appreciaet your kind words, and look forwd to helping you again in the future. I offer very personalized service, attention to detail, and service after the sale. My passion is travel. Thank you so much for choosing to work with me, and for this kind review. CHEERS! ~ Matt"
Licensing
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