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What travelers are saying

"My husband and I live in Canada, we spent February in Malaga Spain and booked a full day tour to Tangier Morocco on Feb 27th through website HAPPYtoVISIT. Julia Travel happened to be the operator. I received email confirmation from both HAPPYtoVISIT and Julia Travel confirmed the date and pick up location. We were advised that we had to call Julia Travel within 48 hours of the tour date to reconfirm our tour date with pick up time and location which we did as instructed. From very beginning of the booking to the phone call confirmation we were told that we were going to be picked up at 5:30 am at a bus stop in central Malaga. We got to the spot at 5:15 am that morning and waited until 6:30am and no one showed up to pick us up! We called Julia Travel at 6 am and the person who picked up the phone doesn’t speak English. We finally with a woman name Marta after 9 am who could speak English and were told that the bus was there at 4:30 am. This is simply not believable given the previous confirmations of 5:30 am pick up time. Obviously she just lied to us to get off the phone. She replied my email said any complaints should send to HAPPYtoVISIT since I have booked the tour through them. HAPPYtoVISIT issued me the full refund within 24 hours after I filed complaint, however the experience left us with very bad taste.what a waste of time and energy! Since the tour was towards our last days in Malaga that we were not able to rebook the tour with another company. My husband and I travelled extensively, this was the worst experience we ever had! Avoid using Julia Travel would be the advice!!"

What travelers are saying

"I had no idea what to expect, but what I experienced was way over what I could even imagine! The landscaping was eye candy for the soul no matter where you looked. It was enjoyable even when driving between sites. Hotels were well appointed, employees accommodating . . . loved the horse park accommodations!!!! Glacier climb, kayaking in glacial bay, hiking along the coast, Diamond Beach, etc. were all exciting and beyond words."

What travelers are saying

"Butterfield and Robinson just planned and executed a great, great trip for us to the Amalfi coast. All the services and hotels were wonderful and the guides were great fun and and well informed. Many nice surprises along the way and an itinerary we would have had trouble putting together on our own was effortless. All guides were well trained the transportation and drivers were polite and on time. The recommended hotels were amazing. We loved every minute of our vacation."

What travelers are saying

"First, let me say our tour guide Tomomi S. is hands down THE best tour guide I’ve ever had - knowledgeable, fun and made great efforts to ensure that we were comfortable and happy (MTSobek tour guides are independent contractors. Tomomi also works for other Adventure/Tour companies) Secondly, Japan is beautiful, clean and the Japanese people are very welcoming. The hiking in the national parks was amazing. It could have been a truly five-star experience if MtSobek had not cut corners so egregiously. The website said (at the time) group tours are 5-22 people. The tour gets canceled if the minimum is not met. When I paid there were TWO other people booked-a mother and daughter duo. Shortly before our departure date I called to see if the tour would be cancelled. I wanted my money back but Mt Sobek was “pleased to say that the trip would not be canceled”. In other words, I could not get a refund. At the last minute a guy named Matt signed up so there were four of us. Five days into the trip Matt left and took a train back to Tokyo. I said to him “You realize Mt Sobek is not going to refund you”. He said, “I don’t care, Mt Sobek scammed us.” With tax, the tour costs $11,645 for 13 nights. For that price there is an expectation that the accommodations Mt Sobek chooses would be decent and clean. We all fully expected a ‘traditional Japanese experience’ which often means no private bath and 8 out of the 13 nights we slept on futon mats on the floor. However, Mt Sobek consistently booked us in the cheapest Ryokans (hotels) in each area in which we travelled. Most of these hotels were unclean and very out-dated. One Ryokan they booked us in was listed on a hotel website for $40 USD/night when there were much nicer accommodations nearby for $100 USD/night. (The Japanese yen is way down, the luxury Park Hotel in Tokyo was $200 USD/night. A comparable hotel would have been about $800/night in Austin.). We were the only people staying in several hotels that accomadated many more people. The most egregious example of MtSobek’s booking the cheapest rooms is when we were booked at a large traditional ski lodge at the base of a spectacular mountain. It was beautiful on the website but had two very different wings. One wing was modern, clean and beautiful with simple beds. The other wing was very old (similar to a cheap Motel 6 that had not been updated since the 1970’s). The carpet and bathrooms were disgusting and like many of the Ryocans where we stayed the futon mats seemed as though they had not been cleaned In 30 years. Only after our tour guide checked us in did we realize we had been booked in the cheap rooms. I asked Tomo why. Immediately someone from MtSobek reached out to me and said, “gosh, I’m sorry you did not realize you were going to have a traditional Japanese experience”. Really? “Traditional” experience depends upon one’s budget. In the US, “traditional” to some people may be the Marriott, a Motel 6 or the Four Seasons Hotels. We were paying for a Marriott experience and received the one-star Motel 6 experience. Upon arrival in Tokyo I expected to be met at the airport by a driver (as many tour companies do). However, several days before our arrival dates in Tokyo, MtSobek sent an email telling us how to locate taking a city bus from the bustling Tokyo airport. That is interesting if you do not speak Japanese. MtSobek cleverly uses great photography and elaborate descriptions of the national parks and the hiking while using terms like “traditional Japanese experience with tatami-mat sleeping” to disguise sub-standard accommodations. At one point we were looking on-line at the very hotel where we were staying and did not even recognize it from the website pictures. The hiking was amazing. The group size was disappointing with just the three of us. I would absolutely recommend a hiking tour through Japan, just not with MtSobek."

What travelers are saying

"It was an amazing trip. Great cycling, great food and great people. I can truly say that this trip has improved my cycling. I have gained confidence and skills!"

What travelers are saying

"I had no idea what to expect, but what I experienced was way over what I could even imagine! The landscaping was eye candy for the soul no matter where you looked. It was enjoyable even when driving between sites. Hotels were well appointed, employees accommodating . . . loved the horse park accommodations!!!! Glacier climb, kayaking in glacial bay, hiking along the coast, Diamond Beach, etc. were all exciting and beyond words."

What travelers are saying

"It was an amazing trip. Great cycling, great food and great people. I can truly say that this trip has improved my cycling. I have gained confidence and skills!"

What travelers are saying

"We love all your tour leaders! You could tell how much they enjoyed not only the clients, but each other too, which made it really fun for all of us! They were laughting and really having a great time, but still doing an excellent job!"