I just want to say what a great experience I just had speaking with one of the Travel Specialists…read moreat Vacations by Rail! I talked with Aldo today, and I had several questions as I'm driving to the start point of the tour and needed to obtain specific departure times for the first day. I also needed fairly specific return times for the last day. Aldo was able to provide both departure and return times, and included additional information that will make it easier for me to determine the best place to house my vehicle while I'm on the tour. He was friendly, and patient, and incredibly helpful! He answered all my questions and was instrumental in providing information that will allow me to fully plan my travel. Thank you, Aldo, for your EXCELLENT customer service!

Their itinerary was what attracted us. The good... was the tour manager that accompanied us through…read moreout our trip. She was great. Every thing else was down hill. The bad... we requested and paid for upgraded hotels as we required a bit more space for medical reasons. Spoke with them several times to confirm, yet the first hotel had no record. As the room was too small, I paid out of pocket for the larger room as the assigned room was too small to navigate. The tour manager attempted to contact the main booking office several times and they did not reply. They have yet to reply to our requests either. They need to do a better job communicating as they provided us with train tickets to get to and from the start and end points of the tour, but very little information as to how to actually get there. They booked us and I paid for a post hotel stay near our departure airport . This hotel was supposed to have a shuttle to and from the airport/train station. When starting to arrange when we arrived at our departure airport, I contacted the hotel to arrange for the transfer to the hotel. They told me that the shuttle was not available for the next 4.5 hours and wished me luck to arrive there. The rest of this hotel issue is a separate issue, but as vacations by rail booked this for us, they have yet to respond to multiple requests to address the situation. Food provided by the tours at the hotel were mediocre at best. The saving grace was the onsite tour manager who went out of her way to assure a nice trip. Will not book with them again

This is our 2nd Caravan Tour which started in Rapid City on June 6th & ended ten days later in Salt…read moreLake City. Mike DeAngelo a retired park ranger guided us through the Badlands, Yellowstone & the Grand Tetons. He had daily readings, good jokes, inspirational videos, and really made our trip special. Our group of 43 had varied interests & fitness levels & Mike managed to cater our activities to everybody . Ray drove a luxurious motor coach along rural roads. He got us through bad traffic jams, managed to park in some tough spots and always had a bottle of icy cold water on hand. When he wasn't driving the bus, he was cleaning the windows, emptying our garbage, and filling his basket of snacks. Like our previous tour, Caravan took care of our luggage, tickets for attractions & whisked us from place to place. Hotels, many meals & tours were arranged. Pointed out were things not to miss & they were missed the first couple of times we came through these parts unescorted.

Simply put, this was a terrible tour. Up every day too early and the days were too long. By the…read moretime we arrived at our hotels, nothing was open. Most were too far away from anything, We were told to "take an Uber or cab" if we wanted to explore. Lunch stops were too long, would've had more time to explore. By the time you got to the hotels you were too exhausted. The Hotel in Vermont was the worst. First they put us in a room with one bed, while they had plenty of 2 bed ones. Only one restaurant was open by the time we got there, it was good but way too expensive. All the shops were close but were closed by the time we got there. Place was run down and rooms had alot of damage. The "breakfast" was a joke, not even continental. Newport was one museum (with a rude staff) and a long lunch stop. Mystic was barely 2 hours. Both were in one day. The lunches were not included, that was stated and expected. However, we always stopped in small towns with not much choices. All were expensive and weren't grab and go. How about a fast food joint? Rest stop? 7-11, etc.? Our tour guide Lynn was not terrible. Talked way too much about her personal life. She talked way too much as well. She mentioned her final tip at least 4 times, very crass and rude. Never really led any of our the tours besides on the bus, mostly dropped us off and picked us up. She changed alot of the tour to her liking, we bypassed alot that would have been more interesting. Saying " this place is great, but we don't have time" or "you can come back to see it". That's why I'm here now. We also had to leave early the last day beacuse 2 people out of 48 had an early flight. Tour started all flights after 12pm, she inconvinced the entire bus for 2 guests. We were all dumpped off at 9am at terminal A at Logan, most had fights out of other terminals and were told we can walk, or catch a free shuttle, or "tour Boston one last time". Not stated in the tour description. I could've caught a much earlier flight home. There were also alot of older people on the tour, including my father. She refused to adjust the tour to their needs. Everything was a long walk with few choices. Long days with short rest. Positives (reason for the one ) Our driver Joel. Joel was witty, funny and very nice. He is an excellent driver and was and always on time. He knew more about the destinations than Lynn. We met very nice people from all over the country, in particular many fine southern men and women. They were the best part, friendly and funny, lots of fun and laughs were had. Boston, Martha's Vineyard, Cape Cod, Plymouth were the highlight. Portland was nice as well, but we should've stopped in Kennybunkport as well. The final hotel in Ogunquit was beautiful and tge town was a close walk, right on the ocean, wish we had more time there. Simply put, i will never use Caravan again. Our first tour our west they were awesome, accommodating and our tour guide Tom was great. We had a few hiccups, but they were dealt with. Very disappointed

We finally did it! Our family trip to Europe. Our boys are big history buffs like my husband and…read moreasked for a trip to Europe to visit specific sites/locations they chose. We decided to start planning and quickly realized we were over our heads. We found Windy City by searching online. Dana did an amazing job of listening to our wants/needs while guiding us to make wise choices as we went along. It was a terrific trip that we will never forget and we are on to planning our next two trips with her already.

Windy City Travel helped us arrange a trip to London. Paula was very helpful in putting together…read moreour travel plan. Her assistance made the trip run smoothly and left us to enjoy a great experience in London.

I worked with Paul at swift passport & Visa services and he was prompt, courteous, and helped me…read moreget my visa the day before I left. Thanks again Paul for all the help that you gave me.

If I could give them zero stars I would. Swift Passport services used to be great. I've used them…read morefor the last six passports for my family. They are either under new ownership or they changed their system completely. There is absolutely no need to use Swift. When you call, they direct you to the US government website to find the passport application yourself. Then they have you make your own appointment with the passport agent, usually at the post office. Then, there is no one answering the phone ever. They call you back after you leave a voicemail so if you don't have time to wait for them to call you back, don't bother. You can expedite your own passport with the post office in two-three weeks or go to another passport expediting service. Swift used to be the best in town. They had an in-office staff, they even took the pictures right in their office. That appears to be gone. For $349 I expect more than an email basically telling me to do it myself.

Janet is a very skilled professional travel agent and a delight to work with. I was planning a 2…read moreweek trip to Europe with my family to celebrate my 50th birthday. Janet listened to our needs and gave us great recommendations from flights, hotels and everything in between. She did everything for us and shared her experiences going to Europe. My whole family met with her. She took the time to get to know each of us. I was getting even more excited planning the trip with her. Because of COVID-19, we had to cancel our trip. Janet worked hard and was able to get all of our charges refunded. That is a big deal! I will be using Janet again. Planning the trip with her in the future is something I look forward to doing.

Janet is fantastic to work with. When I have complicated travel itineraries, I contact Janet for…read moresourcing the best options for me. Janet seems to work 24/7 as any time I send an email, she responds promptly :) Janet follows up with a phone call or text... so her communication skills are perfect in my opinion. Janet is extremely patient and is a great problem solver. I have had several late changes to my travel itinerary and Janet has made the necessary adjustments without any fuss. I highly recommend JK Travel & Tours for both business and personal travel arrangements. Neil Mullan

John Conenna from Venus Travel is an expert on travel planning. He is truly AMAZING. Planning…read moreyour trip with John makes traveling a breeze. He is with you (WhatsApp) every step of the way. He follows up with reminders on tours and making sure you are totally happy with your hotel experience. He organizes all your travel documents (transports, flights, hotels, train tickets, and tours) and you leave his office feeling ready for your vacation. He gives you reminders the night before for scheduled tours (meeting points) and if there is a question you have he is available 24/7. He is the BEST!!!! Whether you need a whole package (flights, transportation, hotels, and tours, etc) or just hotels, transportation and tours, John is the go to person. Give him a call the next time you are planning a trip. John is very knowledgeable, friendly and personable and you will not be disappointed. He is truly AMAZING. John, thank you for making our trip so wonderful and memorable! We are so happy we found you. We will definitely go back to see you for our next trip. Cheers! Alice R.

I can't say enough about John. One of my wife's co-workers referred us to John after John planned…read morehis trip to Italy. We had already planned 2 cruises for Italy and Greece. John worked on our airfare, hotels in Athens and Rome as well as tours in Athens and Rome and Italy transportation. The hotels in Athens were both fairly small "boutique" hotels. The pre-cruise hotel had stunning water views from our room and the 3rd floor restaurant. The tween cruises hotel in Athens had a rooftop restaurant that overlooked the Acropolis. The staff at both hotels were incredibly accommodating for all our needs. Heading to Rome for 4 nights pre-cruise John set us up with private transportation to the hotel and to the cruise port. Perfect. The Mascagni - wow - it didn't hurt that the hotel upgraded our room. Again. Wow. Such wonderful staff. As an aside - John confirmed each and every hotel, tour, car and flight with the companies the day before we got there. And that ends all of John's plans for us....or it should have. The last 2 nights after the Italy cruise we relied on my brother-in-law to book an Air B & B for the 6 of us. BTW - welcome to Venice - the city with no cars and the canal bridges all have stairs. So they booked a 3 story walkup. So...who comes through and finds us a porter and private water taxi for our 9am flight by talking to the Air B & B owner (in Italian) and making the arrangements that saved our butts? No it wasn't Superman. It was John C. John - from the bottom of my heart - thank you for the memories.

I did not book a tour, but they assisted with getting a visa in order to visit China…read more My Chinese friend recommended this company to me when I asked her for advice for my trip to China. She herself was denied a visa (although she is Chinese) twice, until she sought the help of a tour agency. I am assuming because they are processing so many requests, having an agency helps. Since I am traveling with my large family, and did not have much time, I didn't want to take any chances. Oceania charges a minimal fee ($25) to help process the visa. The embassy charges $140 directly, and they charge $165. I felt that it was definitely worth it. As long as your passport doesn't expire this year, the visa is good for multiple entries for 10 years. Lily specifically assisted me, and was very kind and helpful. She guided us through the entire process. It's pretty straightforward but also very detailed. They will need all itineraries printed and if you have children, you'll need both parents' passports and the child's birth certificate. This was information I wish we knew in advance, but now you know. We spoke on the phone, and also corresponded through email. I am not Chinese, nor speak the language and communication was not an issue. In the future, I would definitely use Oceania again for my travel needs since they were so helpful with getting our visas.

I always come to Oceania Tours before booking any sort of travel. They are honest, sincere, and…read morealways helpful. If they can't give me a good price, instead of ripping me off, they will recommend I purchase tickets online to save myself money. Who does that these days?! That's awesome!!! Not only do I always feel I'm getting the best price, their customer service is unbeatable. When I needed my passport renewed or travel visas needed to be attained, the staff will go all and do all the paperwork necessary, so there was little work on my end. That helped A LOT since I had no idea where to start! They are especially phenomenal finding deals to overseas Asia. Bottom line...when it comes to anything travel, I wouldn't think about going anywhere else.

My daughter went on trip with this company and it was amazing. She had just finished 6th grade so…read moreit was one of her first big trips without parents. This program was exactly what we were looking for. They do a wonderful job of mixing enjoyment and giving back to the local community with service projects. My daughter went overseas with the tour and learned so much. I am extremely happy she was able to have this experience. Highly recommend.

You have the experience of a lifetime waiting for you with RLT!!…read more Super amazing trip, with an incredibly welcoming group. Each day filled with different activities from snorkeling, rafting, canoeing, hiking, biking and so much more! Counselors were always there to help and listen to you if you needed anything, also to provide extra supplies if you need them for the plethora of activities that we did. Each day was unique in its own way, I was never bored and there was always time to hang out after an exciting day. The service work was also amazing because you really felt like you were part of the community that you were helping. RLT staff that was not on the field was also super helpful every step of the way to keep parents informed as well make every event run smoothly. Special thanks to Nicole Smart for her readiness to help and skillful problem solving! I would do a trip with RLT any day, and would definitely recommend this camp. I made amazing memories and friends for life!

Shawn is terrific and world-class. I have worked with him on two separate occasions and he…read moredelivered above and beyond. Whether that be providing thoughtful guidance around the application process to taking the time to review my documents with a fine comb, his team supports you through each step of the way and is readily available. The really daunting task of applying for China Visa (and all the many documents) gets 100% simpler working with this team. Give Shawn & China Visa Solutions team a shout if you're looking for a positive, and smooth experience! cheers -

At the moment, going through the process of trying to obtain a Chinese tourist visa. However,…read morealthough there seems to be good reviews regarding Shawn, my experience with him thus far as been very difficult. So far, when I correspond with him by email, he comes across as arrogant, abrupt and rude. He has had my visa application since late December 2025 and up until the week of February 22 through 28, 2026, I did not hear from him regarding next steps in obtaining the Chinese tourist visa. When I finally heard from Shawn, he still did not provide clear procedures to complete the Chinese tourist visa. I've come to learn that an individual can easily procure a Chinese tourist visa directly with the Chinese consulate. However, at this point, since my application has been submitted with Shawn, not sure if I can still take this route since the trip to China will be in April 2026.

This review is for a trip booked in May 2024. We had about a month to plan a trip to Italy and…read morerealized we needed professional help. With such little time, we sheepishly asked Mena if they could help. We worked with Angel who, from my point of view, worked miracles. He helped us plan a twelve day trip, Milan, Florence, and Chianti. Including hotel stays, a tour app (Viator, we loved this and used it for 5 different tours, all of which were incredible - walked to the top (the VERY top) of the Bruneschelli's Dome in Florence, a wonderful walking tour in Milan starting with the Last Supper and traipsing through Milan exploring the historical context in which it was painted. Our trip included a rental car, wonderful hotels, and tickets on the Frecciarosa. No private tours, or private restaurant/wine/cooking/art. Just an incredible, special, beautiful experience from start to end. Thank you, Angel.

This is a long overdue review for a Mena Tours & agency. My wife & I were planning a trip for our…read more25th wedding anniversary back 12/2021 to one of our bucket lists to Barcelona Spain. Usually I would plan our trips but I was having some issues planning because of Covid restrictions & multiple locations. We noticed that Mena Travel had a small advertisement on the back of the church bulletin w/a contact on the ad. Jon/Juan was our go to for Mena Travel. While we didn't book our entire trip through Mena Travel Juan was able to help us w/a number of things that proved to be very helpful. We were going to Spain for 9 days & decided to split our time between Madrid & Barcelona. Jon mentioned that Iberia flew directly from Chicago to Madrid. We did book the airfare through Mena. One of the problems I have w/looking for hotels is not knowing the geography of the cities we're going to. Juan was very helpful w/offering us a number of locations in both Madrid & Barcelona leaving it up to us to pick our choice. Both locations ended up being centrally located in the downtown areas of Madrid & Barcelona. Since Juan lived in Barcelona for 2 years his knowledge of the city proved to be very helpful. He gave me a couple of suggestions for our 25th Anniversary dinner on 12/01/2021. The restaurant I selected based on his recommendation was an awesome place in The Gothic Section of Barcelona called Brugarol. (See my review)