TripADeal - Byron Bay, New South Wales

Steve and Diane Moriarty

We had a fantastic time on the Grand Japan tour with great company! The days were long but we saw so much, we will definitely visit Japan again!

We would like to thank Eric for being such an excellent tour guide, very informative and would go out of his way to please everyone. Would also like to thank Mr Mizutani San our coach driver, we felt very safe in his hands.

Diane and Steve

Denise Kolera

Returned yesterday from the Grand Japan Tour and it was fabulous, my only regret is that it didn't go for longer. The itinerary was great, the countryside and cultural sites were sublime, the people so welcoming and polite, and our tour guide, Kayoko, was simply 5 out of 5!! She not only went above and beyond for me, but also for many others on the tour. I cannot thank her enough! Please note there are several "optional tour days" which you can sign up to do once on tour. As a couple, we spent just under $1000 AUD on these but, taking into consideration the cost of the overall tour, it was absolutely not an issue, and money very well spent. We loved every moment!
Highly recommend this tour to anyone of any age although, if you have mobility issues, please note there is some walking involved. LOVED IT!!!!!

Janice de Burgh

Ultimate Africa will be our fourth trip using TripADeal. The whole process of booking is so easy. If you don’t want to book online you can call one of the online travel operators. I have been fortunate enough to be assisted by Eric on two occasions, he has been so helpful, has answered all my questions and has been very patient. Well done TripADeal!

Theresa Pham

My sisters and I just spent 10 days in Japan (with 3 extra days as an early arrival add-on) organised by TripADeal!
We had such a great time, ate some awesome food and saw the beauties of Japan.

The tour was impressively organised and flowed quite smoothly with thanks of our experienced tour guide - Aiko (I think from Destination Japan), and expert driver Abi-San! It was good to not have to plan further itineraries as we knew we would be seeing beautiful sights as it was included in the schedule. Aiko was such a great addition to our group and provided us updates along the way, as well as sharing her knowledge, she knows so much about Japan and I cannot thank her enough. She expertly adjusted our timetable based on previous experience with tour groups, and what activities she knew we would enjoy more so that we could spend more time there. This aspect of the tour was a 10/10. Please pass on this feedback to her and Abi-San!

Thank you for a trip of a lifetime, we had a blast and met some lovely people from all around Australia too.

A number of things to improve on -
I think more on the ground work needs to be done in terms of the schedule, as most of the time is eaten up by traffic, and the transits are trying to cover a large amount of ground to fit in everything on the itinerary. Realistically, we spent no more than 1.5 hours (only 45 minutes at Mt Fuji 5th Station) at each location, but at times travelled up to 3/4 hours to get there. I think a few of us in the tour were taken aback about how much time (sometimes, 6 hours travel time on a bus) would be eaten up. Perhaps there needs to be removal of some stops all together to reduce the transit, or more transparency!

The flight times could definitely be improved, Unfortunately, our trip from Adelaide to Haneda included two 7-8 hour flights and a 6 hour layover in Singapore, which used up one of our days. On the last day, the airport transfer was booked with others so we spent 5 hours at the airport waiting for our flight (which took up another one of our travel days).

Even more so, our trip home from Japan included a 7.5 h hour flight, 4 hour layover in Singapore, another 8 hour flight to Sydney, and then a 4 hour layover in Sydney, which Virgin delayed, and then cancelled. I don’t understand how this was not a direct flight from Singapore to Adelaide. This was very stressful as initially Virgin stated they would not help anyone with the costs of an overnight stay. TripADeal was also not able to help us with much when contacted on this day. It would have been a 5 star review had it not been for the long layovers and turn of events on our trip home.

We ended up staying the night in Sydney and they rebooked us on a next day flight from Sydney to Melbourne (30min layover, 1.5 flight, and then another flight to Adelaide (1hr), this was then again delayed with only a 5 minute layover and we had to sprint to our next gate to be able to get home, over 24 hours later than expected.

I think in future, reducing layovers (which would reduce the risk of cancelled flights) and improving communication would be appreciated by TripADeal customers and improve the overall experience! The tour was good, but the flight experience was poor due to the unnecessarily long wait times.

All in all, thank you again and I hope you take into consideration my feedback and I am more than happy to discuss further if needed.

Theresa

Kathryn McDowell

There are very few words that can describe the wonder and amazement about this short but sweet trip to Japan.

Our guide Rajesh and our bus driver were both awesome and the trip was amazing.
We even got to have free days where we got to do our own thing.

I am hoping in future to book the 20 day one through these guys again.

Please be mindful that my friend and are in our youth (sorta) so if you are slightly struggling with legs, or pain, it is best to go with the optional tour so you can have assistance.

Don

Price was good. Service rubbish. Being close to 2m tall, I’m happy to pay extra for a seat. Can’t be done and zero reply from TripADeal when I wanted help. I can phone Vietnam for extra baggage. I’m also ineligible to buy an upgrade.

Vietnam airlines were excellent and the local tour companies have been great.

A little help initially would have been great. That’s what usually makes booking through a travel agency better than doing it yourself.

Pat Barrett

UPDATE : I FORGOT TO MENTION …. “I WAS THROWN OFF THE TRIP FOR COMPLAINING TO OUR TOUR GUIDE (OSAMA ). “ Dropped off the bus just outside of Luxor and escorted by 2 Egyptian co workers in a small sedan , for a 3 hour drive to the last stop in Hurgarda, where we stayed until our return to Cario. AND THE SAD PART IS, IT DOESNT MATTER WHAT YOU SAY TO TRIP A DEAL, THEY DONT CARE … AND SURPRISE, SURPRISE… they put a positive spin on everything.

Trip a Deal “2 for 1” Egypt deal …. Let’s get straight to the Nile River cruise….. a romantic twin sail boat down the Nile ? …enter the boat via a dusty paddock ,on to the muddy river bank, up the ramp with no rails to hang on to, no fridge in room, no constant air conditioning as the boats generators can only charge half the time, no cold beer or water (ice was supplied on last day into the community fridge/freezer on deck)… charged for water to the room…. Basic,basic,basic meals…..couldn’t open windows in rooms as they had no insect screens….And don’t complain to the TRIP A DEAL guide ….. AND don’t worry about sailing down the Nile, as a tug boat was used to tow us from one place to another….. LIKE THE BROCHURE….. NO !!!

Sandra

Returned home yesterday (4/9/24)
From a Grand Japan 15 day tour. A group of 10 friends and had an amazing trip. We had no problems with TAD staff when booking. Just amazing. Our Tour Guide (DON) was awesome. Very organised, knowledgeable and helpful not to mention funny. I would recommend him. Thanks TAD ?
Off to Vietnam in October with TAD.?