Insightvacations Reviews

Only 1 day out of 9 on luxury coach

The 40 seat luxury coach broke down at the end of day 1 of our 9 day Insight Vacations Wonders of the American West coach tour in May It was replaced for the rest of our tour by a 56 seater coach with significantly less legroom and seatbelts that didn t have the side adjuster that enables you to stop the belt rubbing into your neck if you re a certain body shape For us the reason for choosing Insight was their luxury coach so every day on the 56 seater was a reminder that to use a flying analogy we had paid for business class and were getting economy class We had booked through a travel agent because we d read the online reviews warning of Insight s poor communication The travel agent Freedom Destinations who supported us put forward our complaint to Insight Insight sympathised but cited their terms and conditions that don t require them to replace the luxury coach with one of the same quality To an extent I understand that they need to cover themselves for an instance where a luxury replacement isn t available on the day of the breakdown but not to provide one at any stage of the remainder of our tour feels like either poor contingency planning or cost-saving Insight refused our request for a cash payment as compensation Instead they offered a discount voucher for use on a future trip We declined the voucher as we do not believe it to be fair to only offer compensation that is dependent upon customers re-using a service and our faith in their organisation and their coach suppliers Holiday Motor Coach has been broken Such a shame because the sights on the trip were wonderful as were the people we travelled with 1 star to highlight the risks associated with a breakdown to other potential customers for whom the luxury coach is important

Waste of money

We booked an Insight vacation tour to Scandinavia and fjords last July i will start by saying that it is a major RIP OFF We paid 6500 USD per person for a 15 day tour That is around 928 USD per night per couple Our hotels are supposed to be 4-5 stars but our rooms were so bad No aircon no view most of our view was the back of the building where they dump garbage or the carpark The rooms probably cost 150-200 USD a night at most Only after contacting Insight head office on the 8th day that the room quality improved The 2 hour city tours that are included in the package is basically a 2 hour ride on the bus with a guide pointing out landmarks and various places of interest it was so fast you can t even take a proper photo In Copenhagen we passed by the iconic Nyhavn for 3 seconds Good thing we arrived Copenhagen a few days before the tour and had a proper tour around the city on our own You also have to pay for optional experiences like museum visits which were worth it and things like swedish meatballs dinner that we didn t participate in and didn t regret because the ones that went said it was underwhelming old and dusty Our tour director was inefficient condescending basically insulted some of her previous clients talked to us like we were children would not let anyone use the toilet on the bus ONLY FOR EMERGENCY - i can still hear her voice in my head since she told us every single day she was also constantly arguing with our bus driver and it was so awkward to listen to There is so much more that was wrong with the tour I am writing this review because I don t want anyone else to waste their money on this tour It was a horrible experience not only for me but most of our tour mates After we emailed insight they said someone will get back to us within 28 days What a joke and i realised later that it because after 28 days you can no longer leave them a review on Feefo I can and am happy to provide photos of the rooms and additional evidence like email correspondence with them

Do NOT travel with Insight

Customer service was terrible Firstly actually booking the trip was a nightmare because we couldn t even get ahold of the company for months to actually make the booking Secondly we had a member of our family with an illness on the trip and had to return home We did purchase the travel insurance recommended by Insight but they refuse to pay Insight also refuses to offer any sort of trip credit or compensation for the missed trip We are out over 10 000 and will not see a penny of it back

Avoid Insight Vacations in U S

I waited for several months before deciding to write a review about our recent trip with Insight Vacations In September 6-14 2024 during the National Parks Yellowstone tour we completed our 6th and final trip with Insight Vacations Not real sure what happened since our first Insight Vacation but it really has fallen out of our favor The travel director Manuel seemed very uncomfortable stressed and rushed in every aspect of planning and guiding this trip This creates additional anxiety to an already exhausting bus trip The driver Archie did a wonderful job One of the major problems we have noticed is cost versus quality of trip The trip was extremely draining and tiring We actually had to take another relaxing vacation to unwind from this drain I sure hope Insight Vacations can figure out a way to blend cost quality and actually spend more time at much nicer areas and less time with less desirable venues We will look for less stressful and more comfortable ways to travel We wish the best of luck

Insight Vacations refund challenge

Insight Vacations cancelled their April Best of Britain tour second year in a row and initially refused to refund my 700 I had not paid the full amount by the due date because we were waiting on a medical diagnosis for my wife which would have prevented us from travelling It eventually got resolved

Inconsiderate to locals

They might provide a good experience to their clients but parking on the pavement in Torphichen at a point where the road narrows and making it difficult for traffic to see doesn t enamour you with the locals Please feel free to look on the village Facebook page for evidence There is a large car park by the community centre where buses are easily accommodated and it s less than 2 minutes to walk from there to the pub

Spain has my heart

I ve done Spain 3 times including entirely on my own and this trip with Insight Vacations exceeded my expectations Maybe it was extra fun because of the holiday decor and general merriment of both the group and locals we encountered Our tour director was Betty and she was phenomenal She made it look easy she explained everything really well but also gave us time to rest sleep on the coach drive days She knew some great shopping spots for truly locally made souvenirs She was clear with our group about meeting times and locations She handled lots of dietary needs amongst the group and always made sure people were well fed Really enjoyed the flamenco school and show in Seville It was fun getting to learn the moves and what each little part means as I had no clue from my previous trips Lots of laughter as we all tried our best to replicate the moves The traditional paella cooking experience in Valencia was great Again didn t know before that the seafood paella isn t the traditional version Getting to meet the chef and his niece who walked us through each step the importance of each ingredient and then getting to share the final product was a highlight for me Plus the coach is fantastic The extra leg room was such a treat It also rained two days and Insight had umbrellas available for all guests if they wanted one How nice to not have to pack one Hotels were all well located within the cities with one exception due to a marathon happening on the day we arrived into Valencia I m sure the usual hotel made more money selling to the runners than for a group The backup hotel was very nice just had to use the coach more to get around

Magical tour of Italy

My husband and I did a recent tour to Italy with Insight Vacations Everything including the locations visited Travel Director accommodations and food were excellent The bus was brand new with exceptional leg room and the driver was a genius on those narrow roads Will be booking another tour with Insight next year

I had a great tour together with my

I had a great tour together with my wife in italy It was just amazing thanks