Inspiring Vacations

Fantastic experience: This will be our third trip / tour with Inspiring Vacations & wanted to thank Rachel for her assistance in organising this booking along with the additional tours. South America can be a challenging location re: flights & the advice / assistance we received was greatly appreciated.

Fantastic experience: Great customer service answering all our questions pre-trip. The guide. Yanet, spoke perfect English and had a commanding voice that all could hear (even those of us slightly hard of hearing). He was extremely knowledgeable about Cuban history, the people, economy, trees, birds, flowers, etc. We couldn't have been happier to have him as our guide. All arrangements went off without a hitch. Everyone was where they were supposed to be at the appointed time. He even arranged for a quick stop to let us see the smallest bird in the world for the birders on our tour. Highly recommend the tour. The scenery was amazing in the countryside. The beaches were great too!

Negative experience: We have been looking forward to our Inspiring Vacations trip to Spain, Portugal and Morocco, due to depart on 26th January 2025. We've unfortunately had to cancel the holiday after I fell and suffered a serious ankle fracture on the morning of 12th January. We totally understand that at such short notice, there are issues with cancelling flights and hotel bookings. It is however very disappointing that we not able to obtain any credit or refund from Inspiring Vacations, even for expenses such as an airport transfer and optional excursions paid through Inspiring Vacations. (We had no issue obtaining a refund for an airport transfer arranged through another provider). We hope to be able to go on this holiday in the future once I have completed rehabilitation from this injury and subsequent surgery, but would be extremely reluctant to book and travel with Inspiring Vacations again.

Fantastic experience: I have recently completed my holiday booking, helped by Stan. He made it easy to understand the process and phoned to check the next day that I was comfortable with my choices.

Fantastic experience: The process was smooth and hassle free, Taree answered questions and was able to link our three trips, the payment process was easy, though would be good to have a payment plan when booking multiple trips

Fantastic experience: I booked my travel with Blaire she was very helpful and professional. She assisted me with all my enquiries, even followed up with a phone call on her day off

Positive experience: Book through Inspiring Vacation agent, Billie. Very helpful and make booking simple and smooth.

Fantastic experience: Simple and very helpful support. I have had no problems with previous bookings with IV and expect the same from this one

Fantastic experience: Highly recommended Magical Morocco Every single day was well organised.

Fantastic experience: This is my first experience with Inspiring Vacations, initial impressions are excellent. My first contact involved some slightly complicated planning as I wanted to tie two tours together in different countries with a narrow travel window between. The advise, assistance and guidance have been outstanding, my plans are now in place, with minimal fuss.

Fantastic experience: Our booking experience at Inspiring Vacations has been exceptionally good. Billie has been so helpful and friendly through this process getting four couples booked and making sure we understand everything about the trip.

Fantastic experience: I spoke with Adam who was an absolute delight. He truly listened to what I wanted and then explained the best time to go based on that. I was excited to go in October this year but he knew I wanted a full snow experience so he suggested the best time was January. Bit cheaper and guaranteed of experiencing my fairytale. Thankyou Adam.

Fantastic experience: Tane was fantastic to talk to and very knowledgeable on our tour information requests. A pleasure to deal with.

Fantastic experience: Friedly and efficient service from Tori. Everything was done nicely and efficiently with "smiles". Though I can't see it in person, but I can feel it from the phone conversation!

Negative experience: Borderline criminal behaviour. 2K charged in an instant. Refund requested within appropriate window. I was advised it would be 15-20 business days for a refund to be processed. Not hit my account but processed! I sent a few emails to get this expedited and their customer service rep had the audacity to say it’s within their timelines. I got an email with an arbitrary screenshot suggesting my refund has been processed. It’s been a week… still no money

Negative experience: The mistake we made was giving trust and hoping for a reasonable service despite reading some very negative reviews before purchasing 2 back to back packages. Issues appeared after the full payments were made. Incorrect invoice was issued requesting additional payment, it took 3 staff with emails going back and forth to finally work out the issue, and didn’t even acknowledge the error. When our booking was finally allocated to a particular staff member, we couldn’t talk to her, for just a simple question, we were told by the call center that a “ticket” would have to be raised then to wait for the response; then we were told she was “not allowed” to make calls and communications had to be “through writing”. Then it was the experience of the tours: 1. 8-Day Authentic Turkey Premium Small Group Tour - We paid $7106 for 2 people, with nothing else but breakfast only on the last day, one would expect to have the “Premium” experience that reasonably justifies the price, it certainly wasn't the case, experience includes: * Istanbul - We were on our feet for over 5 hours from the start of the day, including riding on a very crowded tram; standing in the long queue with no pre-arranged group entry; finally arrived at restaurant for lunch at 2:45 pm. Although there are cruises around, the description of “embark on a boat excursion along the Bosphorus…” was - sitting on a public ferry (public ticket was around AUD 1.30/person) for about 2 hours and being told it would be too early to go to the airport for the evening flight if we get off earlier. *Kappadocia – It was close to 12 am when we arrived in the hotel room after the evening flight with the local budget airline, the supposed dinner was some dishes under clear wrap on the coffee table, including the stone cold chips in a takeaway container. Although there are plenty of cave accommodations in the township, with many restaurants and other activities available in the evening, however, with the remote location of the hotel we were in, some group members had to pay a very high price to have a glass of wine at the hotel in the evening, there was simply no entertaining, not even the TV was working. *Pamukkale - some group members were very upset when we were on the road for more than 7 hours without having lunch since leaving the hotel in the morning. The whole tour constantly reminded us it was a very high price we paid for a low quality product. 2. 14-Day Simply Morocco Small Group Tour - *Staff at the hotel in Casablanca had difficulty locating our booking because the booking was under a different tour company; the bed linen looked unclean; we reported the basin wasn’t draining properly but no one attended to the problem. *Hotel in Meknes - Some of the group members watched the hotel staff rushing into their rooms to remove the 330ml water bottles as they arrived, we can only wonder what kind of low rate it would be for the hotel to do so. The hotel has a nightclub below our room, the thumping loud music went all the way to 4 am, followed by the noise of staff moving tables and chairs with bright lights on. The tour leader even called the police at about 3 am, only to be told the hotel has a nightclub license so nothing could be done. We went to the reception at around 2:30 am, staff said this goes on every night, and all tour companies know this, does Inspiring Vacations Know? *The owner of the Dar Taijin accommodation proudly told us he has been working with Intrepid for many years and asked us to get onto the internet “say Intrepid is good”, seemingly not knowing we paid Inspiring Vacations for the tour, with the previous experiences in both Turkey and Morocco, we were certainly no longer surprised, it appeared to us that those were on sold tours. As I stated in my feedback to Inspiring Vacations - The experience we had from both tours will stay in our memory for all the wrong reasons; we certainly do not wish others to go through what we did.

Fantastic experience: Vietnam and Cambodia tour. The tour was well organised and the guides were very helpful and knowledgeable. Ha Long Bay and Ankor Wat were the highlights. Other notable events were Water Puppet show and Hoi An Memories show. Hotels were good to excellent. It would have been much better if the hotel in Saigon was in the nicer CBD area and close to the markets. Some guides spoke excellent English while others need improvement. Our Guide Simon from Hue to Hoi An was exceptionally good and spoke excellent English. Some of the street walks could have been avoided, especially through wet markets in Hanoi and Siem Reap.

Fantastic experience: My husband and I just completed a 12 day Sri Lanka tour with 4 days in the Maldives added on and had a wonderful time. This was a very comprehensive, well organised and interesting tour. So much to see and history and culture to absorb. We had a very knowledgeable tour guide Serva who is passionate about his country and took his responsibilities for our safety and enjoyment very seriously. He kept us engaged and interested with a wide variety of activities. All the accommodation was excellent with a good range of local and Western food. Travelling Sri Lanka for the uninitiated would be a challenge. I recommend a group or private tour.

Fantastic experience: Thoroughly enjoyed a recent two week holiday to Sri Lanka with Inspiring Vacations. Our wonderful guide, Assanka, and his assistant and our driver were awesome…friendly, approachable, flexible, safe and organised. The excursions included and our accommodation were great, so more than happy to recommend this tour with Inspiring Vacations.

Fantastic experience: Libby was very polite, professional and knowlegable. She answered all my queries and greatly assisted the booking for my holidy to Japan in 2026.

Fantastic experience: We had an awesome trip with Inspiring Vacations, such an interesting area rich in ancient history, both our guides in Egypt and Jordan were extremely knowledgable, neither let us down once and were extremely open to anywhere extra we wanted to visit. The highlight of our trip was the hot air ballon over Luxor during sunrise, it was brought to our attention by our guide Mohammed and was an incredible experience, the photo attached is us flying over Hatshepsut temple which we later visited with our guide.

Fantastic experience: First group tour ever to Sri Lanka and The Maldives, and it was better than expected. Good flights, great tour leader, fabulous fellow travellers. Everything went as planned. Well organised Inspiring Vacations and would recommend.

Fantastic experience: Booked a IV holiday to Japan for a party of four, and was lucky enough to communicate with Adrien. He was excellent in the assistance he gave and follow up e--mails were promptly delivered. The required paperwork was easily filled out on computer and returned with no problems. Thanks for all of your assistance Adrien.

Positive experience: We would vote it 8 out of 10. A very enjoyable experience with a great guide ( Yuko ). great food, Japanese people great hosts, and we travelled with a very friendly small group, which made the holiday. .we didn’t like; Some of the proposed ‘ 4 star hotels’, very poor in Osaka ( 2 star by Euro standards) and one had mattresses on the floor, one had no wardrobe nor anywhere to put the cases. If you have travelled with Cathay from Brisbane/ Hong Kong in an aging Boeing 777 300E, you will know how uncomfortable that is, so consider an upgrade.

Fantastic experience: I have found Taree an excellent travel agent who is very professional and knowledgeable. Nothing was too much trouble for her and she was very prompt in responses to my questions. It was a pleasure dealing with her.

Fantastic experience: I booked a rail holiday through Inspiring Vacations and paid a deposit. A few days later I was advised that on one sector of the trip our seats could not be together. I had booked the upgrades so was a bit disappointed. So I decided to cancel. I phoned Inspiring Vacations to cancel and they sent me a form to complete but I forgot to do immediately. Later I was contacted by Sarah to say the Rail company had a cancellation and we could be seated together however I had just booked an alternative trip. I found the customer service good, my trip was cancelled and I should get my deposit back soon. I was happy with the communication in regard to my booking.

Positive experience: Inspiring Vacations Expo day was very well run and very informative. I had all my questions answered and am looking forward to my Egypt Africa tour.

Negative experience: We were supposed to go to Cuba but the week prior they experienced a hurricane and earthquake. We tried multiple times to get updates via telephone , telephone messages, and emails without any luck, The hurricane caused major damage to Cuba and the state department listed Cuba as a category 3-"recommend not to go". Finally about 12 hours prior to our departure we got an email saying everything was good as the Cubans we used to these situations. Out of respect to the Cubans during this crisis we didn't think it was appropriate to go while the island was suffering. After the tour they sent us numerous emails asking us how we enjoyed the trip and to review them. It's been almost a month since the trip and I'm still getting emails about how I enjoyed the trip .I think this speaks volumes as to the lack of communication one can expect from this company. They asked me to review them so I did. I can't speak to how the trip actually went but i can speak to the lack of information leading up to the journey Maybe this will stop their emails about how i enjoyed the trip? Who knows!

Positive experience: Great vacation although 2 nights at "Home Phutoey River Kwai" was disappointing - food choice was limited and breakfast selection would be 2 star rating. Isolated location & not possible to leave Resort for alternate food venues. Lighting to individual cabins inadequate and dangerous in the rain.

Fantastic experience: Hand picked top destinations were provided in our 15 day tour. Met all my expectations and exceeded in providing high end balance of destination's, from sites of religious significance, gardens, cultural treasures and comfortable hotels. Expect the unexpected became our mantra, as for example we enjoyed French high end design at the Washi village. All images promoting the tour were included. A fabulous trip led by an excellent guide, Makiko and a reliable conscientious driver, Joe.

Negative experience: Recently completed a 14 day tour of Japan. Allguests on our tour 39 including us got on extremely well. Our guide Phil however left a lot to be desired. We stop at location he was 1st off the bus and gone. By time the last people got off he could 300 m away. Only other guests guiding people at back where to go. Left people in toilet. Changed itinerary to suit his own needs and where he wanted to see. Only got 30 minutes at some places and with the crowds , it nearly wasn't worth stopping

Fantastic experience: I have just returned from the 11 day Highlights of Peru Premium Small Group Tour. The whole tour was very well organised and packed a lot in, whilst still allowing enough time to explore and browse for ourselves where appropriate. Whilst Machu Picchu was the main draw card for me when booking this trip, I also particularly enjoyed the jungle part of the tour. All our guides were very helpful and knowledgeable, but our jungle guides were also exceptional at finding wildlife. I was also impressed that our Cuzco guide checked our blood saturations daily, to ensure we were all coping with the altitude. I am sure I’ll be travelling with Inspiring Vacations again!

Fantastic experience: This is the third Consecutive IV tour that I have taken and the second internationally. The tour guides are knowledgeable and helpful, the hotels overall good quality, and the itinerary not too rushed. It is also in general good value for money.

Fantastic experience: From the moment I phoned Inspiring Vacations and spoke with Patricia I received nothing but professional and friendly service. Nothing was too much trouble. I was wanting to book with another friend as a separate entity and this was done with ease and then the two bookings joined together. Since booking, the notifications via the portal have been informative and extremely professional. We do not leave until October next year, however if the same service continues up to and including the 38 day trip I will be very happy.

Fantastic experience: Really enjoyed our tour. Good team, all lovely people. Well organised tour. Good hotel Excellent trip and value for money. Thank you

Fantastic experience: We had a wonderful informative day gathering information about the World and how we can see it down in Melbourne. Paul was excellent at giving us some ideas about our trip and was excellent at supporting us re our payment plan as we already had another booking we had to pay the balance of. He was prepared to spend the extra time with us and at no time were we rushed or felt pressured. Paul was excellent and very passionate.

Fantastic experience: I have recently booked through the black Friday sales a Sri Lankan private tour with Romanie for 2025. She has been wonderful to talk to over the last few months and for me to ask any number of questions before we booked. I can't speak highly enough of her professionalism and patience throughout this process. We were that impressed, we have booked another tour through Romanie for 2026 with Inspiring. Looking forward to our next adventure

Positive experience: I'm actually stuck between 3 and 4 stars due to some issues. We had a okay experience with the Japan tour, the guide and components of the tour were great but two issues - One hotel was absolutely disgusting and we didn't sleep at all. The first room reeked of cigarettes despite being a non smoking hotel, the second was stale and hot like it hadnt been opened in months, the air conditioning then didn't work either. The whole hotel was exceptionally old and didn't look like it had been changed since it opened (looks like 35-40 years ago! As it reminds me of super old hotels in remote areas of Australia). Both rooms and several other travellers had bugs crawling in them!!! The other issue were fellow travellers - around 1/3 were completely rude, obnoxious and didn't listen to the guide or anyone else, so he had to keep repeating the most basic information about the hotels, meet times etc. Other passengers were also getting quite annoyed at them and by the end of the tour, some snapped back replies. Overall liked the stops and locations but the group tour aspect wasn't for us if it's not with like minded people. I think the low price point for this particular tour attracted different crowd.

Fantastic experience: An amazing holiday which was action packed and covered about all that could be covered within the timeframe. The safaris had us see leopard, elephants, monkeys, crocodiles, peacocks/hens and many other local species, close up and personal. Our tour guide, Tauranga, was knowledgeable and passionate about his homeland. Visits to the temples and sacred sites were very special and awe inspiring as were the beaches. Would recommend to everyone to visit this beautiful country.

Negative experience: Please be aware that the European Tours are on sold to a European Tour Company. They are disorganised and we did not have "the 28 day trip of a lifetime" that we were expecting..... Our Rome hotel was disgusting, ripped and dirty curtains, filthy and thread bare carpet and mouldy bathroom.

Fantastic experience: Adtien was helpful, respectful of my enquiries and changes to my first booking. I did feel that he was a little pushy at first, however, he was able to accommodate my changes and needs. A better outcome was reached.

Fantastic experience: I recently did the 9 day highlights of Vietnam tour through Inspiring Vacations. The itinerary, guides, hotels, activities etc. were all amazing. I learnt and saw so much within the 9 days of the tour. We visited 3 cities which were all so unique and beautiful in their own way. I definitely recommend booking via inspiring vacations and this tour specifically. I wish I could do it all over again! Thanks team!

Fantastic experience: This was my first time going to Japan with Inspiring Vacations, it has given me such a good impression, our tour guide Kubo and the driver Otto, they are very professional, Kubo is a very knowledgeable man, very pleasant to have him as our tour guide. Hotels were nice only one in Hamamatsu Crown Palais was a bit old hotel and smell unpleasant. I will go again with Inspiring Vacations for my next destination.

Positive experience: I recently completed the 14-Day Backwaters & Temples of Southern India Premium Small Group Tour with Inspiring Vacations. The temples in Tamil Nadu and the vibrant backwaters of Kerala were stunning. Highlights included the Meenakshi Temple and the peaceful houseboat cruise through Kerala’s waterways. Traveling with a smaller group ensured a more intimate and manageable experience. This tour offers a comprehensive look at South India’s highlights, It’s a good option for first-time visitors to South India.

Fantastic experience: Our trip to Borneo was really great and well organised, it met all our expectations, our guides were very knowledgeable and attentive.

Fantastic experience: I did an Inspiring Vacations Tour last month to Japan! Zac was our tour leader and he was fabulous! He was so knowledgeable on everywhere we visited.. His sense of humour made him very easy to get along with. Our group of 40 was big but everyone got along, was respectful and on time which made for a wonderful trip! Would definitely go on a tour with Inspiring Vacations again.

Fantastic experience: Wonderful tour of Japan. Our guide Nao was amazing went well beyond the expected offering us unplanned tours of our free days to hidden places he knew

Fantastic experience: My first time traveling with inspiring vacation to Japan, it went amazing. My guide Naomi made the tour run smoothly and organize. I didn't have to stress about the itinerary because everything was handled. I got to see alot of cities.

Positive experience: Have just completed a 12 days Highlights of Vietnam Premium Small Group Tour and Mui Ne Beach Break. We started in Hanoi, had an overnight cruise in Halong Bay, flew to DaNang (for Hoi An), flew to HoChi Minh City and then drove to Mui Ne. We organised our own flights and arrival transfer because the tour was sold as land only but we found out later Inspiring could have done it for us but we didn't know. From our arrival in Hanoi when we met our tour leader Tien we were provided with an excellent quality experience. Tien was knowledgeable, helpful, friendly and kept us all healthy and out of trouble. Our local guides were also very professional and informative (eg street food tour, Mekong Delta tour) We all enjoyed nearly every part of the tour. The sights we visited were interesting and/or enjoyable. The hotels were all lovely except for one which was a last minute change. All our drivers were very professional. Vietnam is a country of huge contrasts and I am sure there is so much more to see but as a taster of what this country can offer this tour ticked all the boxes. The last couple of days were spent at Sunny Beach Resort, Mui Ne which was a lovely resort and just perfect for a wind-down after a very full on tour. NB it is a good 3-4 hour drive so factor that in when organising a flight home.

Fantastic experience: 12 Day Grand Train Tour Of Switzerland 2024 Fantastic trip - outstanding accommodation so close to train stations - easy to walk Upgrade to 1st class on train - not much more but better views / seats etc well worth it SBB app for trains a must so easy to use - scenery just fantastic - all locations very easy walking - a truly outstanding trip and so well organised 3rd time Using INSPIRING VACATIONS exceeded expectations

Fantastic experience: We had a very enjoyable time on my first experience of a group tour - the 10 days 5 star memoirs of Vietnam tour. Very well organized with knowledgable tour guides, quality hotels and daily activities/tours while still allowing you time to yourselves to explore or take it easy in the afternoons and evenings. We particularly enjoyed the stay in The Pilgrimage in Hue - such a lovely spot! The cooking class outside Hoi A was also a great experience. Cheers to the inspiring vacation team for a great tour.

Fantastic experience: 19 day South America tour. Such a great tour with amazing guides and a varied itinerary. Highly recommended

Fantastic experience: Our 16 day tour of Japan was jam packed with great sites and very well organized. All of the hotels were comfortable, our guide made good recommendations for our free days and we made lots of great friends. This was our first tour. So glad that we went!

Fantastic experience: This is my second tour booked through Stan at Inspiring Vacations. Stan was extremely helpful, thoughtful and courteous in all of our exchanges. He even scheduled a time while he was on leave to help me finalise arrangements. He exceeded expectations on all counts.

Positive experience: Loved my experience Everything went as planned. Enjoyed all the tours and the hotels were very good. Would use Inspering Vacations again.

Fantastic experience: 9 Day Highlights of Thailand Tour - could not fault this tour from the hotels, sights and especially our tour guide who was very informative and well organised. Trip was as per itinerary and great value.

Negative experience: Everyone makes mistakes and it is how you deal with it that is important. Im currently waiting for a refund from Inspiring Vacations for over $6000. I booked a tour of South Africa in May. We paid over $12,000. We were informed in July "Unfortunately we have recently been informed that your booking is not confirmed due to operational reasons on the selected date". Luckily we found an excellent Tour company as we had already paid for flights and accommodation. It is now November and I have not received a refund. They are refusing to give me a refund only a credit note. Im waiting to hear if they have made a mistake and will refund my money or if there policy is to take your money for a tour which they can't deliver. Ill be back with an update.

Fantastic experience: We used Inspiring Vacations in our recent 16-day tour of Japan, and we had a wonderful experience -- both with the quality of the tour provided and the magnificence of Japan and the Japanese people. There were about 38 people total on our tour, and we were concerned that would be too many. However, our tour leaders did a great job keeping everyone and everything on schedule. We really enjoyed all of the hotels that were selected for our tour as the rooms were all modern, clean and well located within the various metro or country locations. The tour used private buses as well as a couple of public bullet trains for transportation throughout the country, and the buses were all modern, clean and well run. Because of our good experiences on this tour, we would choose Inspiring Vacations again for .future travels.

Positive experience: Recently travelled to Spain, Morocco and Portugal with Inspiring Vaccations. All the tours, we have to pay, which most of the travellers did not budget. At the end we paid lot more than the other tour agents. Most of the hotels were not even 3 stars. Also far from the town. Also the welcoming neeting, inspiring Vaccation should provide at least tea/ coffee. Specially when you arrive there on that day, so tired we need some refreshments. The coach provided was leaking and even the bags got wet.

Positive experience: Spectacular Japan 14 day tour. As first time going on an organised tour we were a little apprehensive but Phil our tour guide was absolutely brilliant. His daily emails were excellent. The majority of the hotels were good with smaller than average size room but quite acceptable. Our fellow your mates were a great bunch and we all got on very well. It was great to have the free time each day in late afternoon to recharge before going exploring the local areas around hotel. Highly recommend this tour.

Positive experience: It is the first time I have been on a tour holiday. I found the guide walked too fast and didn’t give us enough time to actual see the thing he was showing us. We stopped for lunch which was often cut short leaving us 45 minutes for it. By the time we evacuated the bus did a toilet stop , looked what was on offer and having to queue for it ,it was time to go to the bus. The bus seats were very small. And not much room for your legs. Japan is a lovely country and there were some highlights on the tour like the trip to herishama, buddhist temple .the deer park was too long there and so we could not go to see the palace gardens. That was disappointing for a few of the passengers I heard them complaining. The hotels were clean and quite comfy. I wish there was options to eat in them on a night. There was only a night time restaurant in the last place we visited and enjoyed just been able to go eat a nice meal and relax without having to traipse around after a long walking day.

Fantastic experience: Great trip, fantastic itinerary, many two night stops. Excellent behind the scenes organisation of all aspects of our adventure. IV delivered on what they promoted.

Fantastic experience: Garry & I really enjoyed our Inspiring Vacations trip to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Each country had its special places and highlights. All our tour guides were great. The one that stood out was Than Hoang who showed us the highlights of Vietnam for 9 days. He has a lovely personality and a great sense of humour. Very knowledgeable. He always put our needs first and was very “flexible”. We wish him all the best in the future.

Fantastic experience: My wife and I had a great time in Japan travelling with inspiration Vacations. The tour was as advertised and are tour guide had good English and great personal and was very informative. Money well spent and I would not hesitate to use this company again

Fantastic experience: 16 Day 5 Star Egypt with Nile & Lake Nasser Cruise from Inspiring Vacations is a wonderful experience for all those who enjoy ancient Egyptian culture. The tour is well organised and the local guides not only have great knowledge of history, but also offer practical advice and help. I particularly appreciated being picked up at the airport by an employee of Inspiring Vacations on exiting the aircraft. He helped with customs and passport control and with the luggage. This is a must have experience for everyone who wonders about the roots of civilisation.

Positive experience: I thoroughly enjoyed the 11day Authentic Japan tour. The activities were well planned and organised. The coach was comfortable and the driver was excellent. Our tour guide was very pleasant knowledgeable and accommodating and perfect English. The coach drive between cities was enjoyable and scenic with enough stops to rest and eat. I recommend familiarising yourself with the train network before you leave on your tour as it would be easier to navigate on your own on the free days during the tour. Safe travels.

Negative experience: I recently went with Inspiring Vacations to Japan and have highlighted positive and negative below: Good - helpful guide and friendly. Good location for all hotels Bad - they don't pick you up from the airport which can cost additional $300 to and from your hotel. You may not get a direct flight and landing at 6am after 18 hrs travelling to be told you have to wait till 3pm to check in is not great when you're exhausted and dirty. They take you to all the roadside services all the time so you don't get much chance to go to restaurants. There's some days you're just on the bus all day and don't see much. Overall, it was disappointing and the guide didn't gel the group. People just went off and did their own thing which is fine but I was by myself so was looking for a experience where we go out together as a group sometimes like I did on the China trip. Would not recommend this trip or company

Fantastic experience: We decided to use Inspiring Vacations to help with the logistics of traveling around Japan. Rather than deal with driving or taking trains to get around, we relied on Inspiring Vacations to help us with seeing different areas of Japan. Our tour coordinator, Makiko, was very organized and made the tour seamless. Our bus driver, Ken, was a pro at getting us to our destinations without a hitch. We would recommend Inspiring Vacations to anyone considering a trip to Japan.

Fantastic experience: I Have completed the Japan Tour By Rail including Hiroshima and Mia Jima Island ....It was a great Tour and we got a taste of many of the local attractions that Japan had to offer and see. I have used Inspiring Vacations twice for Holidays and am Happy with their Itinerary and how the tour flowed ....Hotels chosen were fantastic clean and very comfortable and some with great views.I would recommend anyone to give Inspiring vacations a try and see for themselves as every person has individual needs and wants from a Holiday. Just to give feedback to the company was one issue we had in Kyoto was we all thought we would travel south to Hiroshima but we needed to go back to Shin Osaka to take the bullet train to get to Hiroshima.....A small note in the Itinerary would of been helpful to explain this but No mention of this . We then proceeded to call the two emergency numbers and they both handled everything in an informative way and explained everything to us ....So Thankyou Penny and Sam .... We did get there in the end but would be great to be more clear for future Travellers..... Overall very Happy with My experince keep up the good work Inspiring Vacations cheers Mark

Fantastic experience: Our trip to Japan was nothing short of amazing. Inspiring vacations did an excellent job. Our guide Toshi was outstanding. He was so polite, extremely knowledgeable of the history and culture, and always made us feel welcome and safe. Incredible itinerary on the 16 day Unforgettable Japan tour.

Fantastic experience: Great holiday which went very smoothly due to being well organised.

Fantastic experience: My husband and I just booked a South African trip for 2025 and had a wonderful booking experience with Emma. We had done a lot of research of various companies online and after deciding on Inspiring Vacations had some questions which Emma was able to answer. We were not able to open our invoice and make payment and Emma called us and assisted. If the trip is as good as the booking service offered by Emma we’ll be delighted. Thanks for your help Emma.

Fantastic experience: With Inspiring Vacations we travelled to India with a 9 Day India's Golden Triangle & Varanasi tour. It was a wonderful way to see the sites of the Golden triangle including Taj Mahal and the wonderful Ganges river and sites of Varanasi. If your not a confident traveler like me to have a guided tour arranged through Inspiring Vacations is recommended. The guide, driver, assistant where excellent and made the trip special. Fully recommend Inspiring Vacations who where very responsive to all questions, before and during the trip.

Fantastic experience: I met Jayden on 'Live chat'. He was friendly, polite and had a great wealth of knowledge and patience in replying to my many questions re our forthcoming tour of the Rockies and Alaska. Emails were speedy to arrive. Inspiring V. are lucky to have him!

Fantastic experience: Loved the small group tour of Vietnam. Guides were great and so were the people on the tour, had a lot of laughs and good times. Hotels and transport also first class. Well done Inspiring Vacations.

Fantastic experience: Information abundant and clear on the booking and payment process. Not so keen on the massive transaction charges for credit card payment, so copped the nearly $10 for the minimum $500 card payment to secure free CBA Covermore travel insurance, and then direct deposited another $7K or so to avoid a much bigger charge. Fiddly! (I understand it may not be IV's call on this - roll on the Government inquiry into these practices).

Fantastic experience: Tane has been more than helpful from my very first enquiry. The booking process was made easy and I appreciate the assurance that I can contact the team at any stage. Thank you very much.

Fantastic experience: I have been in two tours now with Inspiring Vacations (Türkiye & Morocco). Both were well organised and provided unique experiences for each country. Communication with IV was exceptionally good and the guides were very knowledgeable and genuine.

Positive experience: Somewhat hesitantly, I booked the Borneo Discovery with turtle island small group tour. I had difficulty with my independent travel bookings & cancelled within the cooling off period & received my full refund within a few days. I then re-booked the same tour & am so glad I did! The itinerary was well paced, the tour leader was extremely knowledgeable & passionate about his country & its wildlife. As our tour group was made up of likeminded Aussies & Kiwis, we developed a genuine bond, created fantastic memories & shared lots of belly laughs every day.

Positive experience: Great trip to India. Excellent tour director and bus driver. Just beware that it is far cheaper to book tours whilst on the tour. Inspiring Vacations are charging approx $30 extra per tour. Very disappointed.

Fantastic experience: As I am not really computer literate, I was hesitant to make a Sri Lanka holiday booking online- perhaps a job for a travel agent.However Taree made the booking etc painfree- so, I and son,d in law are off in March without the aid of travel agents. Thank you Taree.

Fantastic experience: I’ve now been on one tour with IV and have booked two more tours. Laura, the tour customer service sales assistant, was very helpful with all of my questions, feedback and overall organisation. The process from start to finish was easy and communication has been clear and informative. Looking forward to my upcoming trips!

Fantastic experience: We had an amazing time on our 14 day Spectacular Japan tour. It was a great way to get to see not just the key highlights of Japan but also the countryside and things we wouldn't have thought of on our own. Big shout out to our guide Kubo, he is a very entertaining walking encyclopedia and really went above and beyond.

Fantastic experience: Taree was absolutely brilliant. She gave me time to check with my travel buddies as there were 6 of us and met all of our needs. She was informative and this is why we all signed up with her.

Negative experience: I have recently finished a tour in europe booked through inspiring vacations. I would recommend going elsewhere as the company does not make it clear what they are selling you. They booked me onto a tour run by Europmundo which is basically a multi-country hop-on, hop-off bus. This is not a tour from point a to point b with a single guide, it is a number of smaller trips between cities, with multiple tour guides, multiple buses and in multiple languages. All of the aussies on tour who were booked through Inspiring vacations were not expecting the sometimes disorganised chaos of the tour, however we were able to enjoy it with a good attitude. I feel very let down by Inspiring Vacations who have told me that they were very clear on what the tour consisted of, and if you read their website it is carefully written to ensure it is accurate but without being clear. Reading their description you would not have expected to have received the tour we did. The majority of the aussies on this tour were of the same opinion and most said they would not use inspiring vacations again.

Fantastic experience: The Egypt tour was fantastic!! Moataz was an excellent guide- took care of all our needs and was very careful that none of us got sick. Lots of bottled water, early morning starts to avoid the heat and clear directions. He went out of his way to to organise a tour to Alexandria for both of us. He accompanied us as well and did it as a courtesy. Very thankful to him. He was a walking encyclopaedia of knowledge if Egypt. Great tour with excellent company- very safe and looked after well.

Negative experience: We booked a tour of Sth Africa at a so called special price and since then they have added discounted flights and refuse to offer any compensation. Very poor on their and misleading advertising.

Fantastic experience: Awesome trip, our first time to Japan & loved it! Tour covered so much in 7 days & we loved every minute. Tour guide was fantastic too and had a great sense of humour as well as amazing knowledge of all historical events and culture.

Negative experience: We toured to Spain Morocco and Portugal in August 2024. It was one of the worst tours we have been on, and we have been on quite a few. The tour guides were not knowledgeable about the areas we traveled through. They would message us on what’s app about what to see but give no directions or actually speak with us while travelling the long distances. When we booked there were optional extras but none were available to book when it came time and none offered when we arrived. We had to ask for experiences we were expecting. Unfortunately the guides did not provide good recommendations and it truly soured our experience. The accommodation was always out of the way and we would have to get taxis or public transport to get to restaurants and the attractions. We would have to ask for maps and get directions mainly from the hotel receptions. I will never travel using Inspiring Vacations ever again.

Fantastic experience: This was a much longed for bucket list experience for me and Inspiring Vacations made sure I was not disappointed. The tour was well organised and gave a good taste and overview of a wonderful country and peoples. Our Tour Guide was brilliant and made sure we knew what was happening each day and that we were prepared. The tour was a good mix of site seeing and coach travel through some wonderful scenery ensuring variation and differing experiences. A good mix of old and new Japan.

Fantastic experience: Helaine was most informative and personable when we made enquiries at your Wollongong Travel Expo. We made a booking at the event. Subsequent to this I had a situation which I needed explained to me. I was somewhat unhappy with some information , but Helaine was able to placate the situation in a professional manner whilst still acknowledging my suggestions. Job well done.

Fantastic experience: My partner and myself where absolutely stunned about the whole trip and we still require time to discuss and evaluate everything , i think it's too early to say what's the best topic

Fantastic experience: Booking with Inspiring Vacations was effortless! Billie was helpful and knowledgeable. She linked out travel to our friends' accounts and has made the whole process seamless. Than you!

Fantastic experience: Excellent service as Jen is a Flights Manager not an Experience Agent, however she was fantastic!!! Only disappointed she didn't draw my name out of the hat for the trip discount LOL :-)

Fantastic experience: We have just completed an incredible 8-day “Best of Japan” tour, filled with unforgettable experiences. During our 8-day “Best of Japan” tour, we had the pleasure of meeting some wonderful new friends from US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Sharing this journey with them made the experience even more special. Together, we explored the bustling streets of Tokyo, took in the stunning views of Mount Fuji, experienced the vibrant Dotonbori district of Osaka and enjoyed the tranquil beauty of Kyoto’s temples

Positive experience: Online booking was easy compared to trying to get someone to call you back. I sent through an online query before I booked, but never got an answer. Then someone from Inspiring Vacations rang me (for something entirely different) and was going to put together an itinerary, however, she never got back to me.

Fantastic experience: Recently participated in our 1st tour [but not last] with Inspiring Vacations which took us to Japan. We have previously retained a competitor - but Inspiring Vacations now occupies a "go-to" status in our future travel planning. A great company with incredible attention to details. Communications were anticipatory and thorough. We are looking forward to our next tour with IV which will take us to Morocco.

Fantastic experience: Tori helped me organise my trip booking, I worry about online bookings. Tori was charming, explaining clearly what I needed.

Fantastic experience: When I tried to book the 19-day South America tour a few days ago, I was fortunate to reach Adam, the sales specialist at Inspiring Vacation. Adam clearly told me the number of seats available on different tour dates. Moreover, he indicated the airfare in January could be much higher if I moved the touring date later. In addition, he advised me to get sales credit if I could book the tour before the promotion deadline. He helped me retrieve the special booking code to get a bonus and secure the flight booking. I believe I will talk to the IV specialists first before I make a booking in the future. I feel highly appreciated for Adam's assistance.

Fantastic experience: My wife and I used this tour company to go to Italy. It was our first time going and we did not know this was an Australian company but because there were only three other people from the US and the others were from Australia or New Zealand but it only made the trip even better than it already was! The places we went to were incredible and the hotels we stayed in was wonderful. Our tour leader made sure everything ran smoothly and answered any questions we had. He was not just professional but had a great sense of humor and by the end of the trip we seemed more like family. The tour guides they set up were not only very knowledgeable but passionate. The buses were very comfortable and the drivers were amazing. I definitely will be using them again and referring my friends to use them.