Greetings from the leafy suburb of Kloof in Kwazulu-Natal!
My name is Helen and I've been with Travel Counsellors since April 2008. I made this move after spending the previous 15 years working for various airlines, tour operators and retail agencies in SA and London. It was here my passion for travel grew as I handled varied travel arrangements.
Travelling to many destinations has been a joy and a privilege which I am grateful for. I've visited many cities around the world spanning the continents of Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, the Middle East and North America. Experiencing diverse cultures, meeting people from different nations and my adventurous nature are some of the reasons I love to travel.
Cruising the Inside Passage in Alaska was incredible. Viewing game in the Serengeti, Ngorogoro Crater National Parks and the Okavango Delta is something I'll treasure forever. Historical Europe and iconic cities like Hong Kong, New York, London, Sydney all have been wonderful. There are many more, and the list of places to see still too long!
I want to help you gather treasured moments and memories with your friends and families. Assisting you to get to your preferred destination is what makes my job fulfilling and interesting and I can’t wait to plan it with you. I will guarantee you an exceptional level of personal service and attention to detail. Working from home puts me in the unique position of being able to meet you where ever and whenever it suits you. I am not limited by standard office hours so feel free to drop me an email or give me a call when it is convenient with you.
You are also covered by our exceptional Financial Protection Plan which protects your money against supplier insolvency. No other travel company in South Africa offers this. So peace of mind travel is a vital part of the service.
I've also spent some time working at a game lodge and had numerous trips around South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Zambia, so really do know what to look for when it comes to planning the perfect safari. These are some great places for multi-generational family trips. Conservation and community focused lodges are my speciality.
Travelling in nature is my absolute passion, so also enjoy curating those "once in a lifetime" trips to far flung areas where you can explore the remote and pristine wilderness areas left in the word. Thinking of the exploring places your friends haven't considered? Think Arctic Circle, the incredible Northwest Passage and the land of polar bears. Or head south to Patagonia and onwards on an exploration ship to the icebergs of Antartica.
Looking forward to hearing from you and turning your dreams into a reality!
regards
My customer stories
Sent by Paola Bonetti Borella
Italy 05/09/2025
We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to Helen Aitchison for organizing such an unforgettable experience. With great competence, attention to detail, and a touch of creativity, you crafted a perfect three-day safari in Botswana, allowing us to discover the beauty and magic of the wilderness
The visit to Victoria Falls and the carefully planned excursions were the perfect addition, making the entire journey truly extraordinary. Thank you for turning our trip into a seamless and inspiring adventure—we couldn’t have asked for more!
Paola e Giansergio Borella
Sent by George Fleck
Seabrook Island, South Carolina 23/04/2025
Helen has been absolutely outstanding in helping us plan our trip to South Africa. She is superbly responsive, and she eagerly researched and offered many options for us to choose from to accommodate our schedule and preferences. We are delighted with the itinerary she has put together for us and and look forward to continuing to work with her. It has been our good fortune to travel to many locations worldwide and Helen is certainly among the very best travel consultants we have encountered.
Sent by Toure Lee
Pontiac, Michigan 23/04/2025
Helen is wonderful to work with! Excellent communication and her recommendations have been spot on.
Sent by Karen Dougherty
Dallas, Texas 23/04/2025
Helen knows her stuff: places, processes and people! She nicely balances taking input AND giving advice, and then comes up with a great range of options -- all built around the desires of our group. She pays attention to budget, secures choices quickly and is super pleasant to work with, even making the 8-hour time difference work somehow!
Sent by Steven Gill
Christchurch, NZ 23/04/2025
Helen, our travel agent was a delight to work with. Very professional and prompt.
Sent by Donna Fleck
Davidson, North Carolina 23/04/2025
Helen provides excellent service. She responds quickly to inquiries, presents us with varied options and price points, and efficiently completes all arrangements. She makes travel a breeze. Would highly recommend her!
Sent by Reza Khan
Port Washington, New York 23/04/2025
Very cordial and customer-oriented representative and timely response to our queries. Will definitely recommend others to use the service.
Sent by Jane Skinner
Padfield Park 23/04/2025
I can't fault this service. When major problems occurred due to a delayed overseas flight with different legs of the journey being disrupted, Helen Aitchison was with me all the way so that I got to my destination without any undue concern. I am 83 years old and travel overseas each year. I am entirely confident to keep doing this on account of this good service.
Sent by Timon Botha
Durban 23/04/2025
I am so pleased with the professional yet family-oriented manner in which Helen Aitchison treated me. Her rapid response and intricately detailed correspondence have made my first time traveling internationally a smooth, peaceful, and enjoyable experience. At no point did I feel uninformed or ignorant as she explained everything beautifully. All the necessary documentation was sent to me immediately. The TC App is also a wonderful way to ensure I have access to all information and documentation regarding my trip. Friends and family recommended Helen Aichison to me, and after the spectacular service she provided for me, I would highly recommend her to family, friends, and colleagues.
Sent by Catherine Cleary
Mtunzini 31/05/2023
Helen has been our agent for approximately ten years and we've had outstanding service from her on the many trips she has arranged on our behalf. We've been so impressed at her level of cllient service that we have recommended her to several of our friends
Sent by Gloria Bryen
GUADALAJARA 31/05/2023
Helen is fabulous! She can help with all your needs.
Sent by Renier Geldenhuys
Durban 31/05/2023
I had the most pleasant and helpful experience with Helen Aitchison, our Travel Counsellor. She was always readily available, and went the extra mile with our enquiries and requests, not to mention incredibly patient with my wife and I as we we're considering all our options, including financial ramifications before finalizing our travel arrangements. Thank you, Helen!
Sent by Lisa Philpott
Roswell, Georgia, USA 05/02/2022
Last year in June, we were lucky enough to visit South Africa and spent time with family. With Helen's help, she made our trip unbelievable. She arranged the best experience at Avoca Bush Camp in the Timbavati Nature Reserve. She helped us with our amazing beach trip. She was only a phone call or WhatsApp away for any question. She has a wealth of information. There were special treats along the way and she added special touches. We will most definitely be using Helen's services again. Thank you!
Sent by Kerry Harrison
JOHANNESBURG 21/06/2021
There are not enough words to truly articulate how incredible Helen is as a travel agent. Our entire family has used her for our international trips, I have used Helen for my work trips and most recently we used her to book a local Bush getaway for visiting USA family joining us.
Helen booked us at a Camp in the Timbavati - the sightings and Guide was incredible and it truly was an experience of a lifetime!
We all left mindblown! Helen has a way of understanding your budget needs and sourcing specials suitable to meet these as well as ensuring the quality and expectations of your trip are matched (within reason of course).
I will continue to recommend Helen to anyone I come across requiring any travel agent services. She constantly goes above and beyond, with little touches making the trip extra special, and she knows your needs even before you do. She is a true gem and incredibly rare!
Sent by Lara Olson
Kelso 03/12/2019
Our family travels a lot for work and pleasure - both in SA and internationally. We often need last minute tickets or have specific routing requests, but Helen always finds what we need. Even if our flights are not originating in SA, we have Helen book all our flights and car rentals. She saves us so much time knowing our seating preferences and checking us in before our flights. She is worth her weight in gold!
Sent by Dean Barnes
Winston Park 03/12/2019
Helen is exceptional, professional, with attention to important details, very knowledgeable, able to think with excellence for our travel needs, whether business or pleasure. Helen is absolutely consistent in all she does for us. Helen has now handled all our travel needs for over 20 years. I obviously recommend Helen for any forms of travel due to her vast experience and ability to quickly and efficiently give you excellent options to choose from. Helen will not disappoint you or let you down, only produce excellence.
Sent by Maureen Casey
Durban 04/02/2017
Having Helen as my personal travel agent over the last ten years has relieved me of all the stress of booking flights, accommodation and tours. Her service is beyond excellent. Her response time to any email query is fast and quotes are prepared on the same day. Her assistance and advice for visa applications is another service I really value. I love the fact that she knows my preferences, isle seats for international flights and window seats for domestic! I never have to worry about boarding passes as she emails them to me the day prior to flying which is wonderful. I appreciate her thoughtful emails or hand written cards prior to leaving, wishing me safe travels and welcoming me home on returning. I can with 100% recommend Helen to anyone looking for a personal travel agent. In fact, many of my friends are now clients of hers and like me, appreciate her vast knowledge and excellent service.
Sent by Sya Russell
Bothas Hill 03/02/2017
Helen has been booking our travel for over 10 years now. As efficient & reliable as ever, always going the extra mile & exceeding our expectations. Helen has also done the bookings for our foreign guests who have always been blown away by her level of service, attention to every possible detail you could EVER imagine & the care & consideration which goes in to every booking. Helen anticipates the needs of her customers even before they do!
Sent by Yvonne Bright
Durban, South Africa 28/06/2015
Helen has always given us professional, exceptional service, always going the extra mile, and finding us the best deal possible. My business will only use Helen for our travel arrangements.
Sent by Lorraine Kemp
Durban 20/06/2015
Thank you Helen - over the past few years you have handled my business and personal travel arrangements with utmost professionalism - your service and extensive knowledge has been something I have been able to rely upon.
Sent by Lorraine Davies
Pinetown 19/06/2015
It is an absolute pleasure to work with Helen, she is always so helpful and willing to assist.
She comes back promptly with any information required and willing to find out anything I want to know.
I will always come back to her for any further bookings I need to do, or any queries I might have.
Keep up the good work Helen
Sent by Michael & Bernadette Diamond
Durban 25/09/2012
Having dealt with many service providers, very few have performed and only a handful matched up to Helen's service. From the outset, after our very first meeting we realised that we were working with a professional. There is no doubt that Helen is passionate about her work. Her communication skills were key to instilling confidence in decision making. She indeed turned our dream into reality.
Sent by Roelof Brink
Ladysmith 21/10/2011
Holiday to Thailand: Out of 10 travel agents that I contacted in 2011, for my 1st international holiday, Helen was the only one that listened and answered all of my questions.
She is sharp and her knowledge on travel and the destination impressed me.
Dear Helen, I will never forget.
I hope that you are still a travel agent come 2013. Hong Kong and Vietnam, here I come!
Sent by Lynne Nell
Pietermaritzburg 28/09/2010
I had a crisis where I had to get my daughter back to South Africa from the USA in a hurry.
Emotions were running high and we were in a flat spin. Helen was the voice of sanity and reason amidst the turmoil. She arranged a very reasonably priced ticket, kept in constant touch with me and even sent very explicit instructions to assist my daughter at each step of the way.
She is an absolute STAR!!!
Sent by Sidney Rash
Durban 20/09/2010
Helen really helped me to get the flights that I needed, on very specific dates. In addition she helped me set up my SAA voyager miles account and my USA visa along with my travel insurance.
She was incredibly helpful and reliable, and I have been extremely happy and satisfied with my trip and the business from her! She even helped me with aspects that I hadn't even thought of. :)
Sent by Cindy Corbitt
Cape Town 07/07/2010
I recently dealt with Helen to book my holiday to Mauritius, at short notice. Helen listened well to my requirements & then offered various appropriate options for my holiday. Helen was honest with her advice & her service was prompt & efficient. Helen went out of her way to help me & her communication & follow up was superb. I'll definitely use Helen again in the future, should the opportunity arise.
Sent by Anne Balmer
Mtunzini, KZN 27/06/2010
Helen is a real pleasure to work with. Over the past three years she has booked trips for me to India (3 times), Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Germany and Rome. All trips have run like clockwork, due to Helen's incredibly efficient organization and meticulous attention to detail. Her communication regarding every aspect of our travel has been outstanding. She is excellent and I highly recommend her.
Sent by Philip Tennet
Durban 05/10/2009
Helen has organised two holidays for us. One was a month in the US for a family of four and the second a two week holiday in Italy. Both were superbly arranged with every last detail taken care of. Helen's attention to detail does not stop on return from overseas, she checks that everything was as expected and resolves any small issues that may have occurred. We will continue to support Helen.
Sent by Sarah Wait
Durban 02/10/2009
Helen helped us plan an absolutely magical honeymoon to Croatia. She assisted us with ideas, visas, tickets and the most perfect itinerary. The best part was her completely personalised service, which included meeting and seeing us at home and delivering everything to us in the comfort of our own home. We will never use any other travel agent and she has become a personal friend.
Sent by Elaine Korck
Kloof, Durban 08/05/2009
Helen has offered us service beyond the call of duty. We place confidence in her findings, and feel thoroughly spoilt when she constantly fetches, carries things, and reminds us of details we so easily overlook.
We are thrilled with the years of service she has offered us.
Sent by Mark Milne
Hillcrest 07/05/2009
Absolutely fantastic!! By far the best service I have ever received. Helen went the extra mile on more than one occasion. I highly recommend her...and to top it all, she provided very competitive prices.
Sent by Keir Tayler
Pretoria 15/04/2009
My wife, Callie, I have known Helen, for 16 years and found her to be warm, jovial, and interesting as a friend. We know she has experienced the globe as a traveller and knows the receiving end of what a lot of travellers request. We have asked difficult manoeuvres in air-travel being missionaries and found her advice and counsel extremely accurate, efficient and reliable. Simply the Best!
Sent by Peter Martin
Gillitts, Durban. 23/09/2008
We recently used the services of Helen Aitchison to book a trip for us from Durban to London via Dubai. We found all the arrangements made by Travel Counsellors, represented by Helen, were exactly as she had advised us. The trip therefore, went very smoothly and we were very happy with the service offered by this Company/Helen.
We would have no hesitation in recommending this company and Helen.
Sent by Edgar Tennant
Westville - Durban 11/08/2008
This is to confirm, that we have had only excellent service from Helen who is always prepared to go the extra mile in order to please her customers.
Sent by Jenny Casey
Durban 11/08/2008
I do a lot of travelling and have had experience with many travel agents and Helen really stands out from the rest. Her knowledge, patience and 'can do' attitude really makes working with her such a stress-free and pleasant experience. She has gone above and beyond in each booking I have made. I am especially grateful for her informing me of the complimentary Avis point-2-point transfers!
Sent by Chris and Gill Howie
Salt Rock KZN 10/08/2008
We have always received the most amazing service from Helen .She is always ready to go the extra mile and with great patience many times! Always calm, with a smile on her face. A truly GREAT travel consultant to have.
Sent by Jessica Uys
Durban 08/08/2008
I would highly recommend Helen as a travel advisor - her patience and flexibility is amazing and nothing is ever too much trouble. I was particularly impressed with her quick response to problems and the personal time and effort she put into ensuring resolution. It was good to know that everything was 100% taken care of.
Sent by Angela Raw
Windy Ridge Farm Cramond KZN 08/08/2008
Dealing through Helen for your travel arrangements is highly recomended. She gives you the best deals available, is quick in her responses to your requests and gives you great advice and lots of tips. I really enjoyed the personal touch. Thank you Helen for helping me plan my trip of a life time!
Sent by Mike and Jean Korck
Kloof 07/08/2008
There is only one word for Helens service and that is EXCELLENT....Helen goes the extra mile for your holiday to ensure the best holiday you have ever had. Thanks Helen. We sure will be booking with you again.
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My Blog
I absolutely live and breathe travel and I love to write about my experiences! Please take a look through my posts - you might find your own holiday inspiration.
I had been dreaming of visiting the Okavango Delta in Botswana since I was a young child. I remember watching BBC wildlife documentaries narrated by Sir David Attenborough and thinking this place was like paradise on earth.
Fast forward about 25 years and I finally found myself on a plane to Maun for what was one of my best trips ever. I cannot wait to return
It was February and this particula
I remember my first trip into Mpumalanga several years back like it was yesterday. I fell in love with this area of my country and have been back several times since then.
It is a province offering some incredible experiences and some jaw dropping views.
Most people around the world are familiar with this area for our famed Kruger National Park (shared with Limpopo province).
This is So
Kwazulu-Natal is a treasure trove for travellers and compared to popularity of other parts of South Africa, is often considered to be a bit of a hidden gem. With our Eastern boundary being the Indian Ocean and our North-Western border, the mighty Drakensberg, there is much to discover within her somewhat small surface area.
As mentioned, to the North-West of the province is the UNESCO Heritage ar
Mosi-oa-Tunya, or “The smoke that Thunders” is such a fitting name for Victoria Falls.
You don’t even have to visit in the height of the flood season to experience the wonder and majesty of this natural wonder, only an hour away from Johannesburg.
The water flows powerfully year around and boy is there a lot of water. The difference is really only your percentage of saturation! Be warned, tak
From 01 June 2015 all children under the age of 18 will be required to produce an unabridged birth certificate in addition to their passport when entering, departing or transiting South Africa.
Airlines will be forced to refuse travel to families not in possession of the unabridged birth certificate and this will happen regardless of the child’s nationality or regardless of whether the child i
To be given the opportunity to visit Tanzania – land of iconic destinations like Serengeti, Ngorogoro Crater and Zanzibar, was an experience that I will treasure for years.
We flew into the capital, Dar es Salaam on the direct SAA flight from Johannesburg and took a 45 minute transfer to the Sea Cliff Hotel. This 5 Star hotel offers excellent accommodation if you are stopping off en route to
Seychelles has always been top of my list of places to go. Ever since doing a training course provided by the Seychelles Tourism board many years ago, I knew I would love it. When I got the opportunity to go, I jumped at the chance and proved my gut instinct had been right all along!
The main attraction for me is the country’s attitude towards conserving their coastline and the plethora of mar
As a Dubai Xpert, I was recently hosted by Dubai Tourism on a whirlwind trip to Dubai. Having only transited through the city before, I really appreciated this opportunity.
Dubai surprised me at every turn. Considering its monumental growth to a modern, vibrant city in the last 60 years, it is remarkable to see it today.
Our base was the 4 Star Majestic Towers Hotel in Bur Dubai, the his
After being in the travel industry for over 15 years, it is hard to explain why Mauritius has eluded me until now. Thanks to our annual travel conference being hosted on this beautiful island, I can now see why it is such a popular travel destination for anyone.
Mauritius is a mere 4 hours away by flight with Air Mauritius, SAA or BA Comair. One minute you are in the routine of your busy, stres
Visiting a new destination is always exciting, so when I had the opportunity to attend our Annual International Conference in Marbella, Spain, I jumped at the chance to finally set my feet in Spain. I was not disappointed and in a relatively short time, I managed to take in a few of Spain’s beautiful cities and get a feel for what is truly a remarkable European country.
First stop was Marbella
What a joy to have a chance to share with you some of the highlights of possibly one of my best holidays I have ever had! I was fortunate to have been invited by Princess Cruises to board Diamond Princess for a cruise of the Inside Passage in Alaska. Clearly, dreams really do come true.
My cruise was a round trip from Seattle, a fantastic city to begin with and I would highly recommend you add
Hong Kong is a city that leaves the senses completely overloaded. With a multicultural population, everything from food to shopping, entertainment to relaxation is varied and cosmopolitan.
Flying to Hong Kong in Business Class on British Airways was second to none. The flatbeds and exceptional service made a 12 plus hour flight from London quite enjoyable!
I stayed on Hong Kong Island in the
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