If I could give ZERO stars I would! The ABSOLUTE worst experience ever; she took our money upfront, provided no hotel confirmations, much less an itinerary for the 8-day "hosted" trip. "Hosted" was a joke; we never saw her! Trying to get my $2000 back. Beware!! read more

A huge waste of time and money. Horrible communication. Dena was quick to get my deposit, but after 24 days had not done one thing to plan our trip. This was March and the trip is in May. I asked for my deposit back. She refused. Then she threw together flight and hotel the next day that was out of our budget. I had given her one when we first spoke. When I added up the cost of the hotels/flight/insurance she had chosen the numbers didn't match up. It was cheaper to book those things myself. So there was a lot of padding in that quote. Save yourself some stress (time and money) and do not use this person to plan your trip. I learned my lesson about not getting things in writing. read more

Don't walk, run!! Dena McDonald is a bad news. She booked a trip for us and quoted a price. What she did not tell us was that the was over charging us 400.00 per person to pay for another person who she wanted to go on the trip. I call Funjet to cancel my booking and I am told I will get a refund less the insurance, however, the 400.00 over payment is a loss. Great to know I have paid for someone to go a trip that I don't know. What a crook! read more

I cannot begin to recommend Dena @ Tiki Trips before saying the obvious. SHE IS AWESOME! We are now on our third trip completely and thoroughly planned by Tiki Trips and we have not had a single surprise, problem or concern with Tiki Trips. I love people that WORK, and Dena is busting butt at 10:30 PM & 1AM sometimes sending emails and correspondence to keep trip planning on course. This service is fabulous. All Our trips have been to 5 star resorts at prices that beat the major travel websites AND they include transfers and more bells and whistles. She is our go-to for trip planning anytime we save up for vacations read more

This is probably the worst travel agent in the history of mankind and I am not exaggerating. Dena is unpleasant and down right rude. Please don't make the same mistake I did. I just returned early from an unpleasant wine tour in California. I cannot fathom why she was disengaged other than she was busy taking pictures and posting to Facebook. But in a dying industry you'd think she would have made an effort. She did not ONCE speak to me during the 5 day trip. I was one out of 7 of her "customers". I could go on with her rudeness and lack of communication but I think you get the picture. If I could give her negative stars I would. read more

I DO NOT recommend using Tiki Trips and I wish I had read some reviews before doing business with them. At first, she was extremely nice and helpful. She told us that she would do this, and that, and this, and that for us. Nevertheless, once she got her money ($500 Deposit), the nice and helpful aspect went right out the window. In addition, her responsiveness and ability to serve clients was unprofessional at best. Then, when she did finally respond (2 1/2 weeks later), she provided elaborate excuses noting that WE should have called her instead of contacting her by email - she basically put the blame on us for not contacting her in a way that she prefers. Furthermore, it seems that this line of business requires responsiveness regardless of the method (email vs. phone). Needless to say, we dropped Tiki Trips. When I did call to end our business (or lack of) relationship with Tiki Trips, I was greeted with more excuses and was told that we could not get any of our $500 deposit back because the $500 was absorbed by all the "services" she provided. Yet, the services we received were limited to promises and future obligations. Bottom line: Unless unresponsiveness and unprofessionalism appeals to you, I would advise you to look elsewhere for your travel needs. There are many reputable travel agencies' out there which can provide outstanding service making your travel planning experience simple and stress-free. read more

Worst Travel Agent experience ever !!!!! I too wished I would have read more reviews on this site before using their services. Even the folks that recommended Tiki to me, later wished they had not done business with her. Never answered their phones (4 calls) because they were "out of the country" despite their promise to be available 24 /7. We booked a trip to Hawaii and Dena reserved a car that was much too small. I had to re-book a larger car just to get our luggage to fit and had to come out of pocket several hundred dollars at the airport. Upon our return, asked Dena to split the cost and she refused. What type of business doesn't want to make things right when THEY were in the wrong??. In a post-trip phone conversation, Dena went on about how the rental car folks are all rip offs and by calling them, she could have gotten us a much better rate. Not sure how that was going to happen when it was peak season in Maui and all of the smaller cars had been rented. Also went on during her pre-sales conversation about how she had lived there, knew everyone and could help us make our plans. She did nothing more than recommend the things that anyone could find in the hundreds of tour books at the bookstore or on-line. Agree with Aaron above, very nice and helpful until she has you locked in with your deposit, then you can kiss the rest goodbye. Service is terrible, follow-up is terrible and her willingness to assist when SHE WAS IN THE WRONG is non-existent. Gave the same excuse about the refund as she gave other reviewers "I can't give you any money back, it's too late". It's never too late if you want return business and good reviews. My advice to others is find someone who is reputable, honest and deals with their customers fairly. There are way too many great choices out there than to deal with someone who seems to be more interested in traveling on her agent perks than helping customers she takes money from. read more

Back in 2000, Dena added a boatful (and a helicopter-full) of magic to our wedding in Hawaii and honeymoon on a cruise through the Greek Isles. When we had the opportunity to take our whole family to Europe, Dena was our first and only call. She made Paris even more magic. We had no idea of the itinerary, hotels or any other details. Based on our experience 16 years ago, we knew if we left it in Dena's hands, we would end up amazed. And we were amazed every day - a 5 star hotel that used to be a bank, dinner at a local restaurant where we were the only tourists in sight, another 5 start hotel in the shadow of the Arc de Triomphe, and of course great insight on how to prioritize and attack all the unbelievable museums. And food, food, food. Even before we left, she gave us great advice on getting passports and homework assignments along with sharing her personal stories that added even more context and historical meaning to everything we experienced. To top it off we had a special Thanksgiving turkey dinner with the Dallas Cowboys game at a great local sports-bar. She even managed to have the Cowboys win. Words can't totally describe how much we appreciate the experience she was able to create for our family. read more