I have been using Vacation Inspirations for virtually all of my vacations since 2018. The service…read moreI have received has been nothing short of fabulous by the staff at Vacations Inspirations. I have dealt with several staff specialists and everyone of them has always exceeded my expectations. Earlier this summer through Vacations Inspirations we booked a wonderful Viking cruise from Bergen, Norway to Stockholm, Sweden. It was a phenomenal 2 week cruise through Scandinavia. We have had the extreme pleasure of having Judy Simonson as our personal travel agent for the past several years and what great job she has done for us. We have booked cruises and land vacations with Judy and she always delivers all the pieces to fulfill our dream vacations. I cannot recommend Vacation Inspirations and Judy Simonson high enough for all they have done for us over the years. I think back to 2018 in Charleston, SC when I had my first contact with Vacation Inspirations and now realize how lucky a day it was for me. Through the years we have traveled to Europe several times, taken several River Cruises, several Ocean Cruises and even Rail Tours with the assistance of Vacation Inspirations and really enjoyed everyone of them without having any problems. Thank you to the whole staff at Vacation Inspirations

Not worth the investment. First booking Puerto Vallarta, 2 properties were more than what I could…read moreof done and the third property was a saving of $145, but they booked through Expedia which the property offered free transfer from airport if they booked directly with the resort. Because it went through Expedia we had to an extra $80, so saving was only $65. Next booking South Padre Island Texas was more money than what I could of done. The car rental was $5 saving from what I could booked. Spending 3-7k not worth the saving. Filled out online form twice and never got a response. When I finally called had to leave a message. Cheryl called back later that day and was helpful and friendly.

What appears to be a visitor information facility (such as might be sponsored by the local…read moreConvention and Visitors Bureau) is actually a place where people are recruited to listen to a presentation for a discount travel club (See my review of The Vacation Station at 229 Meeting Street). We found the desk staffed by an affable gentlemen who appeared to be in his 20s. Very friendly, but the quality of his knowledge of various tourist attractions in Charleston was very uneven (I guess depending upon his person experiences). Hence my rating of only 2 stars. In the course of visiting with us he suggested we attend "about a 45 minute presentation" about the savings available by using the Vacation Station to book your travel (He did not mention that you must spend several thousand dollars to join before you can book travel with them.) We were offered 4 tickets to our choice of a number of local attractions and a $50 prepaid Visa card in exchange for our attendance the next morning. If you choose to go to the presentation you will be asked for a $20 deposit to ensure you actually show up -- refundable when you walk in door, and it was, just as promised (an excellent trust building activity). The actual time you will spend on the presentation is closer to 1.5 hours, and you cannot leave before you are "signed out" or you will not get your free gifts. We received ours except that the prepaid Visa turned out to be a $50 check drawn on the Bank of America--which we took across the street to cash at a Bank of America Branch. (The bank charged us $6 for cashing a check drawn on their own bank since we did not have an account there, I can see why so may people hate BofA). I have reviewed the presentation at The Vacation Station's 229 Meeting Street location separately from this review.

Thankfully we did not fall for this scam. once the "agent" realized we weren't falling for his…read morecircus, he abruptly stood up and walked off to the next couple. This told us he was nothing short of an incompetent used car salesman. At the end of the day, we scammed him because we took the freebies... Carriage ride worth $100 and $100 meal. This whole outfit of a business was a complete circus. However, the FREE carriage ride and FREE meal was fantastic. Thank you, Vacation Station.

Caroline was a wonderful tour guide. She was humorous, knowledgeable, and kind. I also appreciated…read morethe staff helping my grandmother on and off the carriage. The horses are well taken care of and Caroline explained the city's guidelines/rules for the carriage rides well, too. We were able to get a good deal on the tickets, also. Would recommend! & shoutout to Caroline.

Great experience. Richard is the best! Ricky and Ironside also did a great job. The tour was…read moreperfect length. We enjoyed going down to the battery and seeing all the old houses and hearing about the history. It was very enjoyable

Our reservation was originally at 4pm but we were in the area early and asked if there was room on…read morean earlier ride. Yep, and no problem switching. Our guide was great. (He had red hair but I can't remember his name). He was entertaining with a few jokes here and there and very knowledgeable about the area. He answered questions along the way. It's interesting how the city manages the tours. We rode to a city station and they gave us a card which indicated which area we had to take. Each guide has some freedom in which route they take through the designated area. All of this means is that you could take the tour multiple times and see different things each time. You don't get a choice in where you sit but our group of two got the front seats. Great for unobstructed views but not so good when your nose fills with a whiff of what's in the horse diaper. Traffic and the carriage rides seem to get along well. The horses are well tended to and are rotated from the stables to pasture on a regular basis. We thank Cliff our horse for a fun smooth ride.

I'm happy to say I'm bumping my review up from three stars to four after giving Old South Carriage…read moreCompany another chance. During my first visit to Charleston a few years ago, I took one of their daytime carriage tours and left feeling... underwhelmed. I didn't learn all that much, the tour wasn't especially memorable, and I wrote that I'd rather have explored the city on foot. Fast forward to my most recent visit when one of my friends wanted to do the Haunted Carriage Tour. Since it was something different, I happily went along and I'm glad I did. Our horse, Ron, was a 2,000 pound French Percheron and wow.... talk about a workhorse! From what I observed, the horses seemed well cared for despite the small stable. It was fun learning a little about Ron before we set off. Our guide, Matt, was informative, engaging, and did a great job mixing Charleston history with the haunted stories. While I'm not really into ghost tours, I still learned quite a bit. In fact, my favorite takeaway wasn't haunted at all - it was learning the difference between a graveyard and a cemetery. This tour also had a digital component as we were prompted to scan the QR code to see photos of the individuals/"ghosts" he was talking about. The tour also gave us another opportunity to see Charleston from a different perspective and this time around I enjoyed riding through the historic streets by carriage. Overall, this experience was much more enjoyable than my first. The company clearly has these tours down to a science and if you're deciding between a daytime tour and the haunted evening tour, I'd surprisingly recommend the latter. I'm glad I gave Old South another chance.

My wife and I were in Charleston celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary and stayed at the French…read moreQuarter Inn. As part of our stay, I selected a private carriage ride, which was provided through Palmetto Carriage Works. From the moment we arrived, the staff was welcoming and efficient. They quickly handled a large group ahead of us and made sure we were on our way without much of a wait. When it was our turn, we met our driver, Brian, and he absolutely made the experience. He quickly picked up on how much we already knew about Charleston and tailored the tour accordingly. He seemed to have an endless supply of stories, history, and interesting details, and he kept us entertained throughout the entire ride. We laughed, talked, and genuinely enjoyed every minute of it. Brian was knowledgeable, personable, and incredibly engaging. I cannot recommend him or Palmetto Carriage Works highly enough. It was a wonderful part of our anniversary trip and an experience we will remember for a long time.

I loved the ride I learned so much about the city and it was a wonderful experience and I got to…read morepet the horse that I rode and the tour guy was very nice and answered all of our questions so it was a very enjoyable experience.I hope everyone else enjoys this experience to.Amelia (10 years old)

The stories were sensitive to the history of the jail and its residents and properly scary. I was…read morethoroughly spooked. Sarah was amazing and a great storyteller. One of the highlights of our Charleston trip!

Did the walking food tour. The guide was awesome! Very personable and knowledgeable. Sampled good…read morestuff causing us to back to a few places this week. Especially enjoined 82 Queen. Sample of She Crab soup was great. What was the stunner was the fried green tomato!

We have never used our membership since signing on in 2009, the way it was intended and it sounds…read morelike if we had we would be very disappointed. However, we did stay a week in Cayman Islands for $60, a week in Calgary for free, a week in Aruba for free, a week in New Orleans for $5, a week in New York City at the Hilton for free all because we signed on with Wholesale Travel. So i guess making a decision to spend thousands of dollars on the spot wasn't such a bad idea ;) That is not to say that everyone would experience this, but sometimes the risk pays off. It did for us. Over three years we have clearly made our money back in trips. P.s. Ot an employee, just a couple from Canada who got sucked into the same sales pitch that you did!

Absolutely worst presentation i ever sat through. The presenter had a total attitude, the plan did…read morenot make any sense. They did gave us free vouchers and 75 dollars to seat there. Would not do it again.