Inside Travel Group Traveller Reviews

Our first trip to Japan was chosen as a way to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. We wanted our 16 day trip to be independent, with an emphasis on society and culture, hiking or walking based and avoiding the shopping, fine-dining, entertainment/nightlife aspects. We wanted exposure to inner city, mountain and coastal landscapes and traditional inns or ryokans more than once. We were happy to do a lot of train/bus hopping and wanted to link up with guides at crucial destinations for added insight to Japanese society (ancient and modern) and culture. This was my brief to InsideJapan Tours and they absolutely delivered. In 16 days, we are even more intrigued by Japan than before, and are now both reading novels by Japanese writers and trying to learn the Japanese language to become at least conversational for our next trip. Thanks to InsideJapan Tours, we started to miss Japan before we even left and our ears prick up whenever we hear Japan in the news because we now feel possessive of and connected to its society and culture in a way that feels permanent. A 40th wedding anniversary is pretty significant. Only something profound and perhaps even 'life-changing' is an appropriate partner to this momentous a celebration. A first time visit to Japan was a most worthy choice for our celebration and we are deeply grateful to all the wonderful people of Japan that we met along the way who without knowing, contributed to what has truly been a 'holiday of a lifetime'...and that cliche is absolutely appropriate. Thank you Japan!

InsideJapan Tours were faultless, from their first email response to my online enquiry. I did my research to find a well-reviewed travel company that specialised in Japan and had an Australian street address. Dan Campbell in the Toowong, Brisbane office responded with my every big and trifling enquiry promptly, having a quiet inobtrusive manner (can you tell he used to live in Japan??) that made every aspect of organising our holiday seamless and painless. I really wanted to find a company who would give us valuable access to not just the iconic sights and experiences etc of a country and culture, but to leave us with the feeling that we have had an intimate 'keyhole' view inside the life of the Japanese, present and past. We both feel we have achieved that goal, and we are trying hard not to unlearn all the good things Japan has taught us.

A symbiosis of skyscrapers and pagodas, neon lights and vivid landscapes, Japan is a buffet of culinary and visual feasts. A country steeped in deep reverence of tradition while rapidly embracing the future, Japan offers a unique perspective and experience like non other. My holiday was nothing short of amazing. I was lucky to sit audience and have a special look into the world of the Geisha. Saw amazing temples and shrines, in particular baskeing in the austere might of the Vairocana Buddha of Todai-ji. I experienced the vast and varied culinary world Japan has to offer. From izakaya too kaiseki and everything in between. Japan is one destination that every traveler must experience in their life time.

InsideJapan tours was nothing short of amazing. As a solo traveler planning can be quite daunting. However, with InsideJapan everything and more was accounted for and prepared for me. I was provided excellent service pre-tour and was very well organized for the tour, providing a plethora of interesting venues and activities.

We explored Tokyo and Kyoto with excellent guides, experienced the fascination and sadness of Hiroshima and enjoyed a night in a traditional ryokan on Miyajima where we partook of a delicious Japanese meal. We 'flew' between cities on the Shinkanzsen and reached Kanazawa prior to our trip into the mountains to Takayama where we were due to attend a festival before finishing our trip in the foothills of Mount Fuji in Hakone. Sadly in Kanazawa I was taken ill and had to return home from there thus missing out on the final part of the trip. The staff in the Japan office were wonderful and helped us to sort everything out. We couldn't be more pleased with Inside Japan Tours and hope to return and finish off our holiday if at all possible!

Inside Japan Tours are part of Inside Asia Tours and I can strongly recommend them for efficiency. friendliness and helpfulness. The tour we planned together was ideal for us.

A great mix of popular tourism with off the beaten track experiences that allowed me to experience the true Japan whilst indulging in my passion of trying local crafts and traditions. The passion of our tour guide for Japan and the way he shared this to us could not have been better. I left Japan with it holding a very special place in my heart, a stunning country with wonderful customs and beautiful people.

Inside Japan Tours could not have been any better, they provided a brilliant information pack pre tour and supported us daily on tour with extra information pages and a guide who's knowledge could not have been better, tailoring the tour to all the interests of group members. We had so many opportunities to communicate to local Japanese people, with excellent translation provided by our tour guide, whilst travelling on public transportation allowing us to experience the real Japan - Bullet Trains, Regional Trains, Local Trains, Metro, Riverboat, Buses and Taxi's. As I was travelling with a food allergy they were brilliant at ensuring I had options at all meals and were incredibly diligent at ensuring I was not given any food with cow's milk.

Our trip with InsideVietnam gave us such a fantastic insight into life in Vietnam. The activities we booked took us so close to locals and we had some excellent tours with really informative guides. The Vietnamese are so well set up to cater for tourists and go out of their way to make sure you have a good time. For us, the food and the people were the highlights.

This trip was booked through InsideAsia following an excellent trip to Japan two years ago. We will use the company again as we love this style of travel and find their local knowledge exceptional.

My wife and I have just returned from 3 weeks in Vietnam and Cambodia. We packed as many day trips and experiences in as we possibly could. Time and money restraints meant this wasn't just a standard package tour but everything was seamless. I know it's possible to make the same trip we did for less but hotel locations and flight bookings and back up when something's wrong are all worth paying extra for as this was my first time visiting these countries.

the planning and obvious experience and knowledge of this Inside tours trip meant everything was planned well and run smoothly. I have used this company before and would use them again.

It has been a long standing dream of mine to visit Japan and I was not disappointed. From the moment we arrived it was a whirl of exciting new foods, incredible places, breathtaking shrines and beautiful people. Honestly, it was so special. The wonderful mix of different cities - Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Takamatsu - gave us such a great insight into the country. We will definitely be heading back to Japan as there is still so much to see!

From the outset nothing was too much trouble. We were delayed in Hong Kong due to a typhoon and need to reschedule our first day. Inside Asia Tours were wonderful to deal with and it was no stress at all. Later in the trip we felt that we would like to make a another change and spend a day extra in Osaka. Again, they were wonderfully helpfully, quick to reply, polite and in general so helpful. In total, Inside Asia tours made our trip as perfect as it could be. I am so thankful for all their help and kindness.

A honeymoon that took us through a diverse experience of Japan, from the temples and serenity of Kyoto to the barely-contained chaos of Osaka. We also loved the mountains and temples of Shikoku, and the superb art of Naoshima. A really special, memorable trip.

Excellent service by a very knowledgeable and dedicated team at Inside Japan Tours, from the expertise used by our consultant to arrange the trip to the support given to us by their team within Japan. The organisation required to have all of our tickets arrive in advance (both here and there), the ease of making alterations during our holiday, the little touches such as letting the hotels know that it was our honeymoon, and the sweet gestures like our gift of tea, were all noticed and very much appreciated. Well done guys!

We spent 12 days touring Japan. Inside Japan Tours helped us create an itinerary to meet our our personal travel needs. We started our holiday in Kobe, where my husband attended a conference and our two teenage boys and myself enjoyed day trips planned by IJT to Universal Studios, Himeji and the outskirts of Kyoto.After staying in Kyoto, we travelled to Hiroshima and beautiful Miyajima Island before returning to Osaka, then on to Gora and finally Tokyo.

Our tour operator provided expert advice for travelling to Japan. Our consultant, Patrick Loyer, planned an itinerery that met our personal travel goals. These included travelling independently with professional help to best plan achievable travel routes which included interesting and traditional Japanese experiences.Patrick provided all this and more! IJT sent us a very detailed information pack prior to us leaving, which helped us to feel very well prepared for our holiday.

We went to Japan on a two week self-guided tour with Inside Japan.

The way they organise and set you up for your holiday is just brilliant - you have personalised booklets making it so easy to get around (particularly with such big language barriers it was so useful to have so much help to hand in a useful format). The support, pre and during holiday was just right - not too intrusive and very easy to deal with. It offered us exactly what we were looking for - an easy way of booking a trip abroad with all the help we could need but then an independent time when we were there. Their selections of accommodation and suggested activities were also spot on.