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What travelers are saying

"My feedback on ATJ is based on a requested quote for a trip to a well-known destination in the Himalayas. As any prudent traveler will do before booking any overseas tours, I "do my homework" and "ask lots of questions" before booking a trip. Especially when there are many options and different price points involved. In this specific case, I called to inquire about a typical 8-10 day tour, and was sent a copy of a proposal from a previous client as a sample tour. As a seasoned traveler, I did some simple online research on the 5 star luxury hotels included on that tour, and after removing those costs from the quote, I quickly realized I could not justify the daily per diems being charged for just the driver, guide, meals, Government fees, and other in-country expenses. After an initial exchange of emails, I was told that future ‘revisions’ to the tour proposal would require a NON-REFUNDABLE deposit of $1,000 before proceeding further. Moreover, they requested this NON-REFUNDABLE deposit of $1,000 without committing to a fixed final price for the tour, even though the tour was only 13 months away. This meant the I as the customer, was totally exposed and at the mercy of any arbitrary price hikes the agency might choose to unilaterally impose at their will. I declined and respectfully asked for a tour proposal with the lower daily per diems they had advertised in an email to me as their ‘starting quote’. They chose not to provide that. Realizing that this company was not meeting my expectations, I booked a tour to this country with another reputable company that: (1) Didn't ask for any non-refundable deposit during initial discussions of the tour - much less a $1,000 deposit (2) Didn't leave the final price of the tour as 'open-ended' - subject to unexpected increases at the discretion of the travel agency, and… (3) Didn't have what I considered as excessive daily per-diems for all non hotel-related expenses (i.e driver, guide, meals, Government fees, and incidental in-country expenses). While I cannot comment on the company as a whole, my feedback does reflect my experience in the one and only interaction with this agency. Although I was willing to pay top dollar for a luxury experience, the daily per-diems I was quoted simply did not match the value I felt I would be receiving. Others can judge and decide for themselves if these daily per-diems and strict business practices are consistent with industry standards, and whether this is a good 'fit' for their own travel needs. I would only suggest you do your homework and compare with other reputable agencies before booking your tour."

What travelers are saying

"My feedback on ATJ is based on a requested quote for a trip to a well-known destination in the Himalayas. As any prudent traveler will do before booking any overseas tours, I "do my homework" and "ask lots of questions" before booking a trip. Especially when there are many options and different price points involved. In this specific case, I called to inquire about a typical 8-10 day tour, and was sent a copy of a proposal from a previous client as a sample tour. As a seasoned traveler, I did some simple online research on the 5 star luxury hotels included on that tour, and after removing those costs from the quote, I quickly realized I could not justify the daily per diems being charged for just the driver, guide, meals, Government fees, and other in-country expenses. After an initial exchange of emails, I was told that future ‘revisions’ to the tour proposal would require a NON-REFUNDABLE deposit of $1,000 before proceeding further. Moreover, they requested this NON-REFUNDABLE deposit of $1,000 without committing to a fixed final price for the tour, even though the tour was only 13 months away. This meant the I as the customer, was totally exposed and at the mercy of any arbitrary price hikes the agency might choose to unilaterally impose at their will. I declined and respectfully asked for a tour proposal with the lower daily per diems they had advertised in an email to me as their ‘starting quote’. They chose not to provide that. Realizing that this company was not meeting my expectations, I booked a tour to this country with another reputable company that: (1) Didn't ask for any non-refundable deposit during initial discussions of the tour - much less a $1,000 deposit (2) Didn't leave the final price of the tour as 'open-ended' - subject to unexpected increases at the discretion of the travel agency, and… (3) Didn't have what I considered as excessive daily per-diems for all non hotel-related expenses (i.e driver, guide, meals, Government fees, and incidental in-country expenses). While I cannot comment on the company as a whole, my feedback does reflect my experience in the one and only interaction with this agency. Although I was willing to pay top dollar for a luxury experience, the daily per-diems I was quoted simply did not match the value I felt I would be receiving. Others can judge and decide for themselves if these daily per-diems and strict business practices are consistent with industry standards, and whether this is a good 'fit' for their own travel needs. I would only suggest you do your homework and compare with other reputable agencies before booking your tour."

What travelers are saying

"My feedback on ATJ is based on a requested quote for a trip to a well-known destination in the Himalayas. As any prudent traveler will do before booking any overseas tours, I "do my homework" and "ask lots of questions" before booking a trip. Especially when there are many options and different price points involved. In this specific case, I called to inquire about a typical 8-10 day tour, and was sent a copy of a proposal from a previous client as a sample tour. As a seasoned traveler, I did some simple online research on the 5 star luxury hotels included on that tour, and after removing those costs from the quote, I quickly realized I could not justify the daily per diems being charged for just the driver, guide, meals, Government fees, and other in-country expenses. After an initial exchange of emails, I was told that future ‘revisions’ to the tour proposal would require a NON-REFUNDABLE deposit of $1,000 before proceeding further. Moreover, they requested this NON-REFUNDABLE deposit of $1,000 without committing to a fixed final price for the tour, even though the tour was only 13 months away. This meant the I as the customer, was totally exposed and at the mercy of any arbitrary price hikes the agency might choose to unilaterally impose at their will. I declined and respectfully asked for a tour proposal with the lower daily per diems they had advertised in an email to me as their ‘starting quote’. They chose not to provide that. Realizing that this company was not meeting my expectations, I booked a tour to this country with another reputable company that: (1) Didn't ask for any non-refundable deposit during initial discussions of the tour - much less a $1,000 deposit (2) Didn't leave the final price of the tour as 'open-ended' - subject to unexpected increases at the discretion of the travel agency, and… (3) Didn't have what I considered as excessive daily per-diems for all non hotel-related expenses (i.e driver, guide, meals, Government fees, and incidental in-country expenses). While I cannot comment on the company as a whole, my feedback does reflect my experience in the one and only interaction with this agency. Although I was willing to pay top dollar for a luxury experience, the daily per-diems I was quoted simply did not match the value I felt I would be receiving. Others can judge and decide for themselves if these daily per-diems and strict business practices are consistent with industry standards, and whether this is a good 'fit' for their own travel needs. I would only suggest you do your homework and compare with other reputable agencies before booking your tour."

What travelers are saying

"Italian dream or a nightmare? I had the misfortune of booking a trip to Italy, THE ITALIAN DREAM, package, with my wife through wingbuddy for June 6, 2004. After the first flight from Edmonton to Toronto went very well, when I was preparing to make my flight from Toronto to Rome, the airline informed me that I could not make the flight to Italy because my passport did not meet the necessary requirements. The Transat airline told me to contact Wingbuddy to re-book my trip when my passport met the requirements, which I did immediately using Wingbuddy's emergency email. I received the reply that they were very sorry but that I had to be patient because they would never re-book my trip or pay credits, and they canceled my trip to Italy on the first day, which for Wingbuddy means that the process ended there and the services ceased to exist. I couldn't come to terms with the idea of losing a $7,000 trip, because most of the services were not provided by wingbuddy, such as the hotels in Italy, the bus trips, the meals, the visits to the museums, and even the return trip to Canada which, from Rome, was scheduled for eight days after they canceled my trip without informing me. Despite the fact that wingbuddy and its partners never did most of the services, I was left without seven thousand dollars, which I had saved with a lot of effort over two years. This, was money that immorally ended up in the hands of people who only see the profit in front of them without caring how it is acquired. Wingbuddy never proves that it pays for its services in Italy because it doesn't even know which hotels its clients are staying in. I was out seven thousand dollars, but from what I've read in some reviews of other customers, I'm unfortunately not the only one in this situation. There are lots of concerns all over. I just wonder how long our government will allow wingbuddy to continue having these non clear procedures about payments for services it never provided to its customers because it doesn't even have proof of such. I will never recommend Wingbuddy, because it's an agency that specializes in selling products and then never takes any responsibility for what it sells. Wingbuddy's responsibility ends at the moment you pay them, a way before you take your flight. Finally, I want to say to Wingbuddy that I don't need your whining as an answer, or that you weren't to blame for anything that happened, or that you paid for the services in Italy, because that Wingbuddy will never prove for the simple reason that in my case it never was paid. If wingbuddy paid, use this space to prove that the hotel rooms in Italy were booked in my and my wife's name, and that Transat did not use our return seats to Canada to sell to other customers. Clarity of procedures should also be one of your priorities, so that you become a credible company that your customers can trust and feel proud of. Until you do, you don't deserve the slightest trust from potential customers. I think the best and safe way to visit Italy is to book our own flights and contact a local agency in Italy to do the same tour. As far as I know, it will be cheaper and safer. Eduardo Mesquita"

What travelers are saying

"My feedback on ATJ is based on a requested quote for a trip to a well-known destination in the Himalayas. As any prudent traveler will do before booking any overseas tours, I "do my homework" and "ask lots of questions" before booking a trip. Especially when there are many options and different price points involved. In this specific case, I called to inquire about a typical 8-10 day tour, and was sent a copy of a proposal from a previous client as a sample tour. As a seasoned traveler, I did some simple online research on the 5 star luxury hotels included on that tour, and after removing those costs from the quote, I quickly realized I could not justify the daily per diems being charged for just the driver, guide, meals, Government fees, and other in-country expenses. After an initial exchange of emails, I was told that future ‘revisions’ to the tour proposal would require a NON-REFUNDABLE deposit of $1,000 before proceeding further. Moreover, they requested this NON-REFUNDABLE deposit of $1,000 without committing to a fixed final price for the tour, even though the tour was only 13 months away. This meant the I as the customer, was totally exposed and at the mercy of any arbitrary price hikes the agency might choose to unilaterally impose at their will. I declined and respectfully asked for a tour proposal with the lower daily per diems they had advertised in an email to me as their ‘starting quote’. They chose not to provide that. Realizing that this company was not meeting my expectations, I booked a tour to this country with another reputable company that: (1) Didn't ask for any non-refundable deposit during initial discussions of the tour - much less a $1,000 deposit (2) Didn't leave the final price of the tour as 'open-ended' - subject to unexpected increases at the discretion of the travel agency, and… (3) Didn't have what I considered as excessive daily per-diems for all non hotel-related expenses (i.e driver, guide, meals, Government fees, and incidental in-country expenses). While I cannot comment on the company as a whole, my feedback does reflect my experience in the one and only interaction with this agency. Although I was willing to pay top dollar for a luxury experience, the daily per-diems I was quoted simply did not match the value I felt I would be receiving. Others can judge and decide for themselves if these daily per-diems and strict business practices are consistent with industry standards, and whether this is a good 'fit' for their own travel needs. I would only suggest you do your homework and compare with other reputable agencies before booking your tour."

What travelers are saying

"Excellent tour guide & great choice of locations. Staff in head office - particularly "Lucky" who went the extra mile to assist when we need it."

What travelers are saying

"Horrific experience. What was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime for my Mom and I two years ago turned into a nightmare. We saved up for years for this trip. It was $16K for both of us (just for the tour) - this is ridiculously expensive. I thought it would be a quality tour with great transport. Nope. We travelled (outside of the trains) by public transport the vast majority of the time. They only paid for one taxi when it was raining to get from the hotel in Kyoto to the train station. I’ve been on 10+ tours around the world and not having planned transport was a shock. The worst part is - my Mom got sick and tested positive for Covid in the night before the official tour began. We texted our tour guide and she told us she “didn’t know what the tour company’s policy was because Covid guidelines kept changing in Japan.” This despite Inside Japan’s website stating that they had a clear COVID policy. The worst part was that she told us to make sure that we didn’t tell any hotel staff that my Mom had COVID, because they could “kick us out.” !!! When I asked where we would go, she mentioned something about the government having quarantine facilities but she didn’t know. We were freaking out at this point and were also told that we had to change rooms the following day because we weren’t scheduled to stay in that room (since we were supposed to have been setting off on the tour.) My Mom, who was quite ill and feverish at this point, was told that we would have to sit in the tiny lobby (where the only seating was an uncushioned, backless wooden bench) from 9:00-3:00 because they could not get us a late checkout/early checkin for our replacement room. I called the US phone numbers for the tour company for hours begging to have them get us late checkout. They “would look into it” and get back to us. By this time it was about 3am so, desperate, I called the so-called “emergency” line for Inside Japan listed in our tour notes. Well, the automated message that I received was in Japanese with no option to listen in English of to leave a message. Long story short. I don’t fault the company for not allowing to continue on the tour because my Mom had Covid; I fault them (and am still EXTREMELY angry two years later) for abandoning us with no information or solutions. It was, quite honestly, traumatic. We finally met up with the tour group for the last two days (on our own dime) and the found out that the tour was not what anyone expected. The other guests in the tour were disappointed in the hotels (we were supposed to stay in a hotel with our own private onsens; this did not happen); the lack of proper transportation, and the “gruelling” pace of the tour and walking expectations. One woman said they had tracked at least 25K on foot each day. This on a tour that was quoted to me as “the tour with the least amount of walking - very minimal” by the salesperson at the company. I had specifically inquired about this because my Mom has trouble walking. I was reassured (incorrectly) that she would be absolutely fine; when in reality, if she had been well enough to go on the full tour, there’s no way she would have been able to handle the level of walking. In short, this company is only out for a money grab and does not care about their guests. It was insanely overpriced and a complete letdown in all aspects. Never, never book a tour with this company."

What travelers are saying

"Wilderness Travel is the BEST company to choose for the Galapagos Islands! We went as a family of 7 and every expectation was blown out of the water. Their team in the office quickly and thoroughly answered all our questions leading up to the trip (and we had a lot), and once we arrived we felt like we had the islands entirely to ourselves! Obviously, the animals were incredible (I was able to see everything on my "wishlist"), but the trip leader is really who made this a once in a lifetime trip. Fernando was kind, patient, funny, and an encyclopedia of knowledge (of course I've forgotten 90% of what I learned already!) He would give short "presentations" at the end of most days explaining the history of the islands, the geology, evolution, Darwin, and how modern politics affect tourism (for better and worse), which added a whole other dimension to our experience.. The boat crew was also magical. We were welcomed with tea and hot snacks immediately after returning from snorkeling excursions, fresh juice and fruit after walks in the sun, and feasts every night with a shocking amount of variety in meals. We were also traveling with a young child and the staff was extremely helpful (even offered babysitting during dinner) in making our trip as easy as possible. We were on the boat "the Passion" and there was a wonderful outdoor dining table that we ate at almost every meal, giving us nearly 360-degree views of the islands as we sailed to the next destination. It's one of the nicest yachts I've been on -- multiple different areas to lounge, a big screen TV/movie area, spacious bedrooms, and there was even a HOT TUB on the top floor! We would go back again in a heartbeat!"