After the Oakland USPS cancelling my appointment without notice, I was able to get an appointment…read moresame day here at Cal. Thank you so much team for providing this service and doing it well!

Came here with my friends who had appointment for their first passport…read more It's very efficient. Appointment made about a week prior, unlike post office, where you have to make appointment at least for a month. You got there, they check all the paperwork, a very brief interview and voila, you're done!

Wow the best place to take your photo for any passport or visa. The owner knows everything about…read morehow each photo has to be specifically for any visa or passport. I had to get a China Visa and I uploaded it right away and it worked. He even let me choose which photo I liked better. Will definitely recommend all my friends and family for any photo needs!

Came here for a very last minute passport photo for a child - for a non-American passport…read more Everything went easy breezy. I called beforehand, was told how long they would be open and what not to wear (extremely helpful), arrived half an hour later and got the pictures taken right away. For a really good price! The store itself feels a bit claustrophobic (I counted all the printers, it was over 20 lol) but also kind of cool. There are these little plastic animals on all the surfaces and printers and every nook and cranny of the place is crammed. The owner is a very friendly man who is great with kids. Enough said, we'll be back!

Thank you Krystian for taking care of our 2025 Japan Trip we had a blast! Thank you for the…read morepatience with me from the time I booked my trip until the last minutes changes. I am looking forward working with you on my next trip.

Jacqueline from Going Places Travel is what I call a "travel magician"! She was able to solve the…read morechallenging mystery my travel buddy and I presented: find two business class seats to and from the Middle East from our selected departure city in the USA. She patiently, tirelessly persevered until she found a great solution. My friend and I are enormously grateful.

Spencer Chase is a scammer. I wish I had read the recent reviews before paying him…read more I hired Spencer for assistance for a Chinese Visa application. Similar to other reviewers here, he initially seemed very responsive and knowledgeable, but then the delays and excuses started. Since he has had legitimate experience in this field, his excuses seemed reasonable, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. In the end, they were all lies. Here is an incomplete list of the excuses he used: "Waiting for the pickup notification" "Should be today or tomorrow" "It will definitely be next week" "They are a little backlogged at the Consulate" "Should be any day" "Will contact you soon, at the consulate now" "Should be getting the pickup ticket tomorrow" "They are prioritizing business first, ticket applicants second, and non-ticket applicants like yours third" "This delay is not typical" "Your application was batched with a tourism order last week" "I've been using all methods to try to get this done as soon as possible and it will be completed this week" "I got the pick up date and it's for next Thursday" "I just received one for another case that was submitted shortly before yours so it looks like we're almost there" All of these excuses sounded believable and made the process sound like it was always tantalizingly close to completion, but every one of these updates was a lie. Every. Single. One. I was a fool to have believed him. I hired Spencer in July when he promised it would be done in 2-3 weeks. I had to threaten him with legal action in order to recover my passport in November (4 months later, still with no visa in hand). After getting my passport back, I went to the consulate myself. The whole process took just 40 minutes (mostly waiting in line). It makes my blood boil just thinking about how Spencer strung me along for 4 agonizing months because he couldn't have bothered to go to the consulate for a mere 40 minutes. He exploited my inexperience and took advantage of my patience. My advice for anyone applying for a Chinese visa: do it yourself. The consulate updated their online application process in October 2025 so it's much smoother. If there is anything missing in your application, they'll tell you online exactly what you need. When it's time to submit your passport to the consulate in person, you just need to drop off the passport. The processing is super fast now because they've already reviewed everything online. And you don't have to pay a penny until your actually pick up your passport with the visa. Even worse than wasting your money and time, Spencer will ruin your travel plans and your mental health. He never planned on completing the work. Please don't make the same mistake I did.

I paid for preparing documents and my citizenship application, Spencer collected money from me…read moremultiple times for same work, and promised to refund the excess amount or I can use it as credits if I need further services. However, with no work completed and no updates, Spencer ghosted me when I called, multiple times. Eventually, I submitted the application by myself in April 2024 and asked for the refund. Spencer agreed to the full amount of $5,025 in May 2024, and promised to pay me gradually, but I have only received 1 payment, in amount of $200 on 5/28/2024. Until today, Bow Joy Services still owes me $4,825. I filed complaint via BBB, the complaint was closed with no answer from the business. I am bringing Bow Joy Services to SF Small Claims Court, but the Sheriff's office couldn't serve the defendant. What kind of person ignores Sheriff's notices or a court order?? Feel free to check for court documents on SF Small Claims Case Calendar: https://webapps.sftc.org/cc/CaseCalendar.dll?=&SessionID=D5E2D70387A13C09417EA608B4977BC76FC4B29C Date: 10/28/2024 1:30 PM Case Number: CSM-24-868867 I have suffered enough with this business, I hope there will be no more victims like me.

Nancy Smart was our travel agent for 25 years. She planned trips for us to Sourh Africa,…read moreAustralia, Great Britain, Portugal, Sicily, Croatia, Venice, Austria, Puglia... For each trip she deftly used our United miles to get us business class seats. No easy feat. She researched accommodations for us and as we aged, she booked us into places that she knew we'd love and feel comfortable in. When we asked her to make changes, over the phone you could feel her smile. Even when her health was failing, she worked with us to plan an exceptional trip to Puglia for my husband's 80th birthday. When I called her yesterday to ask her to help us plan a trip to Normandy; sadly, I learned she passed away a month ago. My heart is heavy, but I want everyone who reads this review to know she was good. She was the best. We will miss her. Ron and Helane Zeiger, Berkeley, CA

Northside Travel helped me book flights that I was unable to book online. They were speedy and…read moreprofessional and their fee was reasonable. Thank you!

Third Eye Travel have been doing trios for me since the 1990s. Great service whether I am…read moretraveling to Nepal, Vietnam, Thailand or anyway. Thanks.​

THT was used as an intermediary when my university was booking a study abroad trip. I knew when…read morebooking through a third party that there was gonna be an up charge for tickets and I was okay with that. Later found out was charged nearly double the going rates for tickets on the exact same flight through the exact same airlines. THT Booked NONREFUNDABLE tickets for twice the price of what a refundable ticket on the same flight cost. Which did not include any transportation to the airport or from the airport. Only for the flight. When confronted Ms Lama, stated the tickets were nonrefundable and said their would be a cancelation fee, funny enough with the $250 cancellation fee and her $100 service fee, if I canceled and rebooked I still would've saved over $100. Furthermore Ms.Lama spelled multiple students names wrong on the initial reservation and had to be fixed and checked. She made reservations and called and texted multiple students demanding credit card payments that day or we would lose the reservation. Overall part of the blame is on me for not doing my diligence and looking at tickets myself, part of the blame on the university for going through such a shady business. - upon further conference with other people who went on different study abroad trips shared similar experience when dealing with THT and Ms.Lama. Nonetheless would never recommend this business whether if it's a trip to Bhutan or a Uber to the closet bar. Hundreds of better options when looking for travel agency's.

Very, very overpriced. I paid the price, but was very unimpressed with how expensive this service…read morewas

Huge rip off! Prices of vaccines are super elevated. and you cannot take the vaccine prescriptions…read moreelsewhere. Shop on Chat GPT for recommendations and pharmacy prices and save $$$$ (The nurse we saw was very nice tho.)

I just returned from the Camino de Santiago trip in Spain and it was incredible! Hiking that…read moreage-old pilgrimage path, visiting gothic cathedrals and rural Romanesque churches, spending nights in incredible cities like Pamplona and Leon, often staying in a renovated monastery or church--wow! Our guide, Erik, brought it all together with nightly chats about the history of the Camino, bullfighting and Catholicism. Together with the other guide, Diego, they made sure we arrived at the right time, everything was prepared for us, and we hardly had to think about anything but enjoying the journey. Thanks MT Sobek!

I do not normally post reviews and was debating whether to post it but decided it would be helpful…read morefor others. I was on a hiking trip with this group (Dec 2025-Jan 2026) to Utah national parks. Instead of snowshoeing because of weather the leader (Preston) offered 10 miles hike in Bryce. This was not posted on the trip itinerary as an alternative in case of not appropriate for snowshoeing weather. There were 4 women in the trip including myself. Three -very fast hiker including one of them-trail runner. I was totally fit for the trip because of other recent hikes and other physical activities. However, I am a slow hiker but always reach the summit. In addition, the trail was covered with deep mud which slowed me down. I was left in the middle of the Bryce wilderness alone, no one checked if I was still behind. I lost sight of the others, and the trail was going to different directions, I did not know where to go and when I called the leader, he did not answer. I felt completely excluded, in a complete wilderness. It was really stressful as I am not used to be alone in the wilderness with no one around. This is unacceptable, what if something happened to me. I have never experienced this with any group before on any of my trips. Before this hike the leader said that I should not go or to go and hang around on the ridge and wait for them. He said they would not wait for me as I am slower than the rest of the group. Also unacceptable as the slow hiker should be accommodated, not just advise not to go. To tell the person who flew from east coast (others were from CA) not to go because I am slower than other - really rude. Alternatively, groups should be selected properly to align people who hike with same pace. On their site it does not mention anything about pace meaning that all hikers have to be accommodated. In addition, before the trip I specifically pointed to the sale person that I was looking a moderate hike. At another hike, there was raining, I got wet despite a rain poncho and I asked the leader to dry out in the lodge, he said -No, you will dry in the bus. I got really sick and it lasted 2 weeks when I returned to NJ. There was always unnecessary rush and not a polite attitude. Also, the leader spoke very negatively about some wild life - squirrels that he hated and kicked them of when they came closer. When I told him that he should not speak of any animals like this, he said that because they spread diseases. I have never heard anything like this in any of my trips with different companies. I am very sensitive about animals as many other people are. Regardless, a person with this attitude towards animals is not a good fit with nature and job he does. All leaders have to be advised to be cognizant in this regard. Very disappointing experience...

Exceptional, knowledgeable, totally professional. Worked with the team for more than 30 years.read more

I rarely write yelp reviews- but have had such a good experience working with Ellen at Ocean View…read moretravel that I really want to recommend her services to everyone! I travel often for work and occasionally coordinate large international group visits to the US. Ellen has helped me overcome every possible challenging travel situation with patience and skill: "The 14 person group won't learn who is granted a visa to travel or not until 3 days before our trip" "These two passengers want to visit an uncle after the group agenda" "I need to visit these 4 remote places in 4 countries on a tight schedule" and the list goes on. I book all of my work travel arrangements through Ellen. Her expertise saves me countless hours and is truly a good value.