Insight Guides Omdömen 74

Our second experience using Insight Guides made for a worry-free trip that included Cusco, Lake Titicaca and the Peruvian Amazon: transfers were always on time, flexible if we wanted to change times a bit, and drivers and guides super friendly. Of the three contact people who coordinated itineraries, I have to single out Benjamin who was so helpful, friendly and responsive. Suggestion early on that we opt for Titicaca Lodge rather than another hotel was made by our initial Insight contact, Jeferson, and was spot on: We could not have had a better experience on a floating island so thanks to Jeferson for that advice.
My advice to others: Double check the details and really pin down exactly what you are getting. The promised cooking class in Cusco was not as billed, and just involved us watching a busy kitchen prepare local cuisine for lunch -- which was good but definitely not hands-on as promised.
In the Amazon we had asked twice about the level of room we were getting; asked for Comfort which was an upgrade, were promised we were getting all Premium rooms but when we got to the Rainforest Lodge we were told we had booked a Standard which was super small. The lodge upgraded us to a suite which was nice and made a huge difference. Similarly our room in Lima was so small that we practically fell over each other -- even though we were told by Insight that all our accommodation was premium (it turns out we were in the smallest, cheapest room in that hotel). We worked with Benjamin to change hotels for our final two nights which cost a bit of extra but made for a much better experience.
So double check every detail that is part of the itinerary and make sure you are getting what you think you should be getting for your money. The devil is always in the details.

We had a great trip to Amsterdam, Berlin, and Prague. Everything worked as planned and was very smooth. The accommodations were all quite nice, the transfers and rides were smooth and flawless, the various guides were quite good, and the communication was excellent all the way around. Any needed adjustments were worked quickly and efficiently. Great job!

Everything went smoothly. Guides and driver especially responsive to needs as older travelers. Highly recommend.

This was my first time to book a private trip to Argentina through Insight Guides. They helped me to make a plan to see the nature and landscapes of Argentina for my first time visit. Although there were some administrative issues during the process, I was ultimately able to enjoy my planned itinerary smoothly. They would remind me of my departure times every day and promptly resolved any problem that arose, allowing me to enjoy a very comfortable trip in Argentina.

I was hesitant to use Insight Guides since I usually go with the travel company recommendations in the Rick Steves travel books, but a good friend of mine sent me the link to this company so I thought - why not try them. My husband and I were very impressed with the service we received from Insight Guides for our 13-day Scotland trip. Marcela, our travel agent from IG, listened to all my travel preferences which included 3–4-star hotel lodgings and some of the tour sites recommended by Rick Steves but then added additional tours which she thought we'd like. I have to say all her recommendations were excellent and ones I never would have thought to visit! When I was younger, I didn't mind "winging it" - enjoying the city we were in during the day and then searching for a hotel for the night when it was time to rest. Now that we're older I want to have all of these travel arrangements made in advance so we can see where we'll be for the night and ensure we get there before dark. Marcela's help in booking a rental car and getting us hotels in town, for the majority of our stay, made getting around much easier. The first day of our trip our airport pickup agent was late in picking us up and all I had to do was contact Marcela and she arranged for our airport pickup to came back to the airport and take us to our first hotel. It may not sound like anything out of the ordinary or exceptional but to me it was, because we arrived on a Sunday morning in a country, we knew nothing about, without a copy or our itinerary. The fact that Marcela was monitoring our itinerary to ensure we got off on a good start showed the dedication of this company to make every client's trip a special one. Due to illness 2 days before our trip, I was not fully focused on last minute travel details. While I printed the latest copy of our Scotland itinerary I left it on our printer at home. When I explained this to Marcela, she sent a softcopy to the Front Desk of our first hotel, where the staff printed it out and delivered it to our room. She also checked in with me the first 2 days of the trip to make sure I had everything I needed to enjoy Scotland. I will definitely use IG again - they go above and beyond a normal travel agency!

We loved our Japan trip, once of our best trips!

My husband and I have traveled to many destinations throughout the world and we usually plan everything ourselves, however we decided to use the travel experts for this trip. We had used Insight Guides for our India trip a few years back and it was amazing. We had booked plane tickets to Japan and the trip was approaching in a few month and we had nothing planned as we were super busy with work, so we reached out Insight Guides, yet once again.

We stayed 13 nights in Japan (Tokyo - 3 nights, Hakone - 1, Kyoto - 4, Osaka- 3, Tokyo - 2). This was the perfect itinerary for our first trip. I'm glad we stayed at least 4 nights in Kyoto.

Tom was wonderful to work with! We tweaked and customized the itinerary many times and Tom was very patient with us and always answered my many questions.

Our trip included a balanced of guided tours and free days to explore on our own. We loved our guided tours and our tour guides were wonderful! We did Tokyo at the beginning of the trip and the end of the trip on our own, but I loved how the itinerary offered some suggested sites to see on those day.

Tom arranged or our airport transfer from the airport to our hotel, and our transportation from city to city. For times when transportation was on our own - Tom provided multiple options. This was very helpful and we became pretty confident using the subway system.

We loved all the hotel options recommended, except for one, but it wasn't an issue. Breakfast was included, and wow - the food options were in abundance (all with Western & Japanese foods).

We had no issues during our trip, but if we did, I knew we could reach someone to help. I definitely recommend Odynovo and Tom! Thank you!

We had an amazing trip to Morocco. Insight Guides listened to what we wanted to do and made suggestions which gave us the trip we hoped for.
Our contact was responsive, efficient and helpful and we felt they were organised and on it when it came to the details. They passed us on to the local contacts who were similarly available and responsive.

Great experience trips all with guides and wonderful service

Insight did a great job setting up local support, local accomodation and tickets for our trip to and in the heart of Africa comprised of plane trip from Kigali to Bujumbura, bus trip from Bujumbura to Kigoma, speed boat trip from/to Kigoma to/from Gombe National Park (Jane Goodall chimp sanctuary), car and speed boat trip from Kigoma to Mahala National Park and and an on-the-spot charter flight 12 hours prior to departure with Nomad from Mahale to Arusha, as we changed our plans to take the train back from Kigoma to Dar on the spot.

Hotels booked during this journey were all excellent be it the Roca Golf hotel in Bujumbura, the Kigoma Hill Top hotel in Kigoma and the Greystokes Lodge in Mahale, the latter one being as close to paradise, as can be expected on this world.

The out-of-this-world experience in Mahale was contrasted by the sad state of affairs of Gombe's chimp trekking operation.

The border crossing experience from Burundi to Tanzania on land as part of the 12 hour bus trip made me be thankful again of the ease of travel within Europe.

A walk along the shore line of Lake Tanganijka in Bujumbura drove home again what it is like to have been born into this poorest country on Earth with kids offering my partner to look at their penis.

And standing on the spot of the meeting Mr. Stanley met Mr. Livingstone made as duly experience our arrival in the Heart of Africa.

We recently returned from a trip to Italy, organized by Annalisa at Insight Guides, and from the very first interaction, everything was handled brilliantly. We started with just a vague idea of where we wanted to go and what we wanted to see. After a few conversations, Annalisa crafted a wonderful itinerary that included Rome, Florence, Bologna, and Venice.

She was incredibly responsive and patient with my endless questions, and every detail of our trip was meticulously arranged — from hotels and private transport to train tickets, car hire, and guided tours.

One moment that really stood out was when one of our trains was cancelled at short notice. Before I even knew about it, I received a message from Insight Guides letting me know they had already rebooked us on another train with reserved seats. If we hadn’t used Insight Guides, I would’ve found out only when staring helplessly at the departure board in Rome station. That level of proactive support gave me real peace of mind.

We had the most fantastic experience in Italy and are already talking about our next trip. I cannot recommend Annalisa highly enough. If you're planning a trip to Italy, reach out to her — you won’t regret it. We’ll definitely be using Insight Guides again for future adventures around the world. It truly takes the stress out of travel.

Huge thanks to Annalisa and the entire Insight Guides team!

It was our 4th time with Insight Guides and again the experience was amazing, the customer service was top and it everything went according to expectations.
From trip planning, to the quality of the services, the guides provided and the proximity with the whole team was a top class experience.
As suggestions, we could have more time to relax and more activities like the Ramen museum or the Sumo experience.

Excellent service from the early beginning helping me to define my trip plan, to whole the ammenities and reservations done until the very last detail. I had my time invested on being overwhelmed by the Japanese culture, people, parks, fun and empathy and not worried about the hotel, the taxi, the bus, the road, the car... fantastic service as it lets you free to enjoy a real vacations!

We traveled to Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Our contact person, Moonika was always available and helpful. The drivers that picked us up and took us to our hotels were absolutely wonderful and prompt and our tour guides were fabulous and spoke perfect English. They always gave us a bit of history and local folklore and made the entire trip fun! I would hire this company again for all of our vacations. Thank you so much, Moonica.

This is the second time I rely on Insight Guides to help me plannning a travel abroad - the first experience was to Guatemala, and now to Mexico. On both occasions, the support received from Insight Guides was excellent, and the local partners recommended by them were outstanding.

Jane D. did an outstanding job of taking care of the details and accomodating their tours to our interests. The personal tour of the Wicklow Mts. in ireland was exceptional. All of the hotels she arranged, in spite of Bank Holidays & school holidays were great.
Only issue was final hire car, larger than requested but Avis worked with us to get a smaller vehicle.

Guides were wonderful, drivers excellent, great accommodations but the communication available while we were in Sicily was superb ! Any time there was any issue (and we did have a couple) they were sorted very quickly and competently.
Marianne, who put together our 10 day Itinerary was great, not an easy feat with 11 opinions/ requests!
Our only disapointment was Mt. Etna, the hike was too challenging for our group and would have been better had we had something with minimal hiking and vehicle/gondola as were available at the base.( Just to note: one of our group walks 10 miles a day but found it difficult).

Excellent trip put together by our agent for Costa Rica, who listened to us and assembled the schedule that we needed. A great balance of locations and hotels.

All the arrangements that Amilie suggested and we agreed to were wonderful. The places we stayed and visited, the drivers were perfect and enabled us to travel in Panama, with which we were very unfamiliar, with comfort and peace of mind. The special care she took to arrange a unique VIP tour was exactly, in fact even more than, what we were looking for. There was just one minor glitch in communication with a driver that gave us a temporary concern. But all was worked out in an hour. Thanks Amilie and Insight Guides. We recommend you without qualification.

Beware of Inside Guides' dubious links to overseas subscription companies
Once upon a time Inside Guides was a company one could trust. Ebooks could be downloaded safely and without problems. Now they seem to have paired up with some fitness companies in Cyprus whose app one has to use [apparently] in order to download the ebook after purchasing the hard copy. Then one is locked into some fitness subscription. if this is legit, it's an appalling practice by RG, if it is due to the Cyprus company hacking the RG website, it's gross negligence by RG not to ensure its customers can use their site safely.

We travelled a lot by different agencies. We got information about Costa Rica trip through the Insight Guides book. Our travel coordinator Jean Carlo listened to our wishes, suggested the itinerary and responded at once. He did a great job. Most important was, that every transportation was punctual, we never waited for the transfer. Local guides were excellent. Accommodations were good. We recommend Insight Guides definitively!