Inside Travel Group Traveller Reviews

Fitting Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam into two weeks was always going be to be fairly tight. Although very enjoyable in the main, too much time was spent travelling between destinations. That said, we did see a lot of all three countries - all of which are, to varying extents, in a period of great transition. Fascinating!

I have now travelled twice with InsideAsia. On both occasions I have been impressed with both their pre-tour organisation and whilst on tour. Both tour guides have proved knowledgeable, sympathetic and effective - as have local guide engaged on both trips.

We really enjoyed being able to plan the trip we wanted as we are not "typical" tourists. In addition to some of the traditional tourist items, we also were outside the big cities in places that didn't seem to get that many Western tourist. It was great to have the details worked out after pointing in our desired direction. Typically we spend a lot of time researching where to stay, but this time we didn't have to. Once we gave the criteria for what we were interested in, the recommended places turned out to be great. We intentionally spent a lot of time of different types of trains. Our JR passes were sent to us before the trip, and our transit card for subways etc was waiting for us at the first hotel. Our travel guide even had recommended train time and notes for which journeys we should reserve seats.

We gave InsideJapan the outline of what we wanted, and after some specific questions, they came back with an itinerary. After a few tweaks we were set (except for having to wait for the travel date to come). It was one of the smoothest trips we have ever planned, even though it was our first trip to Japan. We received both online and paper information that even included recommended train times. We were very grateful for the recommendations about luggage forwarding and mobile hotspot that made traveling with public transit a breeze. We are already trying to determine when we can book another trip with InsideJapan.

Visiting Japan alone I wanted hotels and travel to be sorted out and some cultural experiences along the way Inside Japan did all that very well and also provided helpful location guides i spent three weeks travelling on the train and stayed in 7 locations, all with no problems I love Japan and will definitely be back.

Inside Japan have a depth of knowledge of the country and provide a very good service

I wanted to see some out-of-the-way places and Mark Johnson at Inside Japan helped me put together a great itinerary. With his advice guidance and knowledge I was able to see some terrific places in northern Honshu. I did this alone as a two week add-on after spending an initial two weeks on a group tour (Japan Enchantment) which covered Tokyo Kyoto Kanazawa etc. The guide on the group tour - Ben Walker - deserves a mention. Very professional and knowledgeable, and a nice guy too. The information package they put together enabled me to navigate the different sections of my solo journey with relative ease (you DO get lost sometimes) but all train bus and walking sections went pretty much to plan. Inside Asia/Japan are very good at what they do. I'd not been on an organised tour before this, but all component parts of their package - transfers, standard of accommodation, advice and local knowledge- were excellent.

See above

My husband and I booked the holiday as part of our 10th Wedding Anniversary celebration and, since I've always been fascinated by the Japanese culture (okay, I'm pretty sure I'd qualify as an otaku), we decided to go to Japan. We started our journey in Tokyo where we stayed in Nakano and, to me, it was pretty much heaven, rivaled only by Akihabara, with its vast range of manga and anime shops. We also visited the outer market of Tsukiji market and tasted the delicious fresh sushi for breakfast. Oh, and who could forget about the maid cafe. It was like entering another dimension. All I could say was that I was glad none of my colleagues was there to see me with cat ears while going "moe moe." After Tokyo, we headed to Hakone where we feasted on the humbling site of Mount Fuji. We were fortunate enough to be able to see it with all its grandeur so clearly and we were just in awe whilst in its presence. We then traveled to Kyoto where the old world meets the new. Again, luck was on our side since we managed to catch a glimpse of a geiko and a maiko as they rushed across the streets of Gion to their appointments. Despite being crushed in the train during rush hour (be careful what you wished for!), it was definitely our favorite city throughout the trip. Although the short trip to Miyajima island was nothing short of amazing, especially with the torii which lives up to its reputation, it was eclipsed by our visit to Hiroshima Peace Memorial. The stories of the atomic bombing victims resonated within the heart of every single visitor there and the silence which descended every corner of the museum echoed louder than any spoken words could. Leaving the historic city behind, we continued our journey in Osaka, where we braced ourselves for none other than the dreaded capsule hotel. We were quite surprised that despite our apprehension, it was actually better than we anticipated. Probably because we didn't really have any loud snorers near us. Plus, it was clean and the breakfast was really good. Back in Tokyo, we ended our tour with a surreal experience in the Robot Restaurant. It was probably the most random thing we've ever witnessed in our entire lives. And yet, you couldn't help but being drawn into the energetic performances and we ended up loving every second of it. Yes, I could go on and on and on... and on and on.... about our holiday but it might take at least a day. I hope I've captured some of the fantastic experiences we've had; though words could not describe just how much we loved every second of the trip.

I think the best thing about the tour operator is the fact that they assigned us a very awesome tour leader, which totally made our trip. Yes, he's knowledgeable but what makes him a great tour leader has more to do with his personality and that speaks volume. Also, the tour was designed as a taster of all aspects of Japan and it achieved just that. Last but not least, the UK staff are really helpful and accommodating as well prior to the trip, which took out a lot of the stress and hassle we would've experienced had we organized the trip ourselves.

What if I told you that you could spend 10 days exploring an unusual and exciting country, with independence and the choice of what you want to do but within the framework of an organized tour where all your travel needs and accommodation and some of your food was sorted for you if you wanted it to be. And then,if I told you that you could have all of that for a reasonable price too? You might think I was joking , things like that that don't really exist these days do they? However, the holiday I just had with inside Japan met all of these requirements and more. I can't fault them on levels of service, information, arrangements, and Logistics etc. etc. you name it They were brilliant. They use local guides and local transport - you get a truly unique experience. Accommodation is great & good value for money, travel arrangements smooth and easily understood and the range of places we visited - in my case Tokyo, hakone, Kyoto, Hiroshima , Osaka and then back to Tokyo are amazing

Faultless. Really.

I traveleld to Japan for 10 days in November 2016. I visited Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto and Hiroshima. It was a truly great experience, as I enjoyed every city and the full Japanese experience. I specially enjoyed the local culture and the local food.

The service of IJT was outstanding from booking to feedback after my trip to Japan. They put together a 10 days trip at the very last minute and went the extra mile to accomodate my requests. I got very clear information and first class service. While in Japan, I felt I could rely on them any minute. It was a very user-friendly service.

My tour with inside japan was amazing, the consultant on the lead up to the trip was really helpful and answered any questions I had and seemed really knowledgeable. The tour leader was really friendly and approachable and really went above and beyond to make the trip unforgettable for us. The itinerary was packed and there wasn't much time for rest but I saw so much which I'm so thankful for and actually felt I'd been there much longer than I actually had been as we'd seen so much! I was a bit nervous as I'd never travelled alone before, let alone to the other side of the world, but those anxieties drifted away shortly after arriving and I'd have no hesitation doing it again. The accommodation was amazing and pretty luxurious considering it was the budget tour! Just wish I could have stayed longer!!

Inside Japan were fantastic, from Tim my consultant, to Brian the tour leader, both went above and beyond to make my trip as amazing as possible! Thank you :)

Travelling around Japan independently by public transport for 3 weeks to catch the Autumn colour

Very efficient and knowledgeable personal service

This trip provided an excellent insight into the life and culture of Myanmar. It was very well organised with a superb tour leader, high quality accommodation and safe and reliable transport between locations. Apart from seeing the wonderful pagodas and temples, like the Mahamuni Pagoda in Mandalay, the Ananda Temple in Bagan and the fabulous Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon we saw lots of local life too. There were standard visits to markets and workshops but the outstanding parts of the visit were seeing two major festivals - the Full Moon Festival in Bagan and the Golden Bird procession at Inle Lake - along with the leg rowing boat races. For sheer astonishment the prize goes to the Boditahtaung Pagoda - a type of Buddha 'theme park' with the second tallest Buddha in the world and Myanmar's largest reclining Buddha!

This was a very well organised tour from start to finish. I received lots of help and advice in selecting my trip and any subsequent queries were quickly and efficiently dealt with. The pre-tour information was clear and extensive, providing guidance about what to expect on the trip. The tour leader was excellent - she was friendly and helpful and had very good local knowledge which contributed greatly to the experiences and visits.