History Tour & Trip Reviews

Fantastic trip through a little known region. Safe, incredibly beautiful, amazing history and a great cultiral experience.

$1750 for 3 days of touring and 4 nights accommodation. What a rip off, especially considering only 2 breakfasts were included and 16 adults plus a driver were squeezed into a Ford Transit minibus. I spent a whole day sitting twisted with one leg up 30+cm on the wheel which took up my leg room- still receiving treatment for inflamed muscles. Bus steamed up and aircon didn't work so only people in front seats could see the landscape or hear what the tour guide had to say. We were given 1 squeegee to share to try and clear the windows which was useless. Luggage put in a rusty trailer at the back that leaked so my feather down coat was saturated and stinky at the end of the first day. Tour Guide showed us the trailer from his last tour, which apparently was blown off by the wind and still lay on the side of the road. We were recommended to go on the Glacier Walk, which was a significant extra cost and booked in for 3pm. We only got to the glacier at sunset, which seemed an accident waiting to happen with poor light. 5 mins into the glacier walk and a 70+year old lady fell over, split her lip and broke her wrist. Mission aborted and a long walk back to the bus, including walking on loose planks over a river using phone torches to find our way. No walking tour of Reykjavik, no opportunity to do the Iceberg Boat Tour, no tree planting, no spotting bird colonies, no Skogar folk museum, even though all these were part of the itinerary. We were even told we didn't have time to climb the long windy set of stairs up to a stunning viewpoint at Skogafoss. Iceland is magnificent but this is the worst way to see the sites.

My extended family of 10 and our newly acquired family of 10 just finished the 16 day Scenic Yangtze Discovery Tour of China. I must say it was truly magical. I signed up initially to help my parents who signed on with 5 of my mother’s first cousins and spouses. I had no expectations. I didn’t even research one aspect of China. I thought it might be polluted, crowded and restricted. Much to my surprise, China is so beautiful, diverse and has such a rich history. Much of the texture and exquisiteness came from our tour guide Ocean. I don’t think there are words to describe the impact he had on the tour but on us personally. He is such a wealth of knowledge not only about China but American culture; he is professional yet personable and he demonstrates an unwavering work ethic. He was intuitive to our each of our unique needs and made sure no one felt left out of left behind. He somehow always had our group of 20 ahead of the crowds at every venue, activity and restaurant. His timing was impeccable. We hung on every word he said because it was also so interesting and informative. We learned so much about the destinations we were visiting but more importantly about the history of China and how these events led to the creation of the sites we were seeing. In addition to keeping us on schedule and teaching us all about China, he was always working on our next day’s itinerary – making sure reservations were in place, tickets in place, flights on time etc.… He is truly an amazing tour guide. He shared personal stories to help us relate, he shared his comedic and singing talents to keep us entertained and he made us all sincerely feel welcomed and loved in China. He gave us advice on purchases at the many destinations… jade store, silk store, tea store to name a few. He helped us schedule massages for most of our group in one of the towns. Ocean's kind and compassionate nature make him an exceptional person and guide. He quickly melded us into a close, family unit. I don’t think my experience, or my interpretation of China would be the same without his commentary. Everything about the tour was perfect – Ocean, the accommodations, the food, the transportation, the local guides, the weather and the itinerary. The only recommendation I would have is more fresh veggies available for the lunches (difficult with groups, I know). I hope to do another Ritz tours in the near future and would love to have Ocean as our tour guide! Thank you Ocean and Ritz Tours for a magical experience in China.

We recently returned from a 16 day trip to China. Our experience was wonderful. The guides were knowledgeable and personable. They took great care of us and made sure everything ran smoothly. They were always there waiting for us at the airport and made sure we got to our next destination. The accommodations were outstanding. We would highly recommend Ritz tours.

Lillian Li has been excellent in organizing each of our tours. She knows the highlights of each location, best length of stay and gets the Best guides and drivers! We have been very happy!

Jennie was awesome. Great tour

Below please find Ritz Tours response to my review. I found it's very formal, not productive. No paying attention to my/our reasons. We were talking about programming the tour, the itinerary, made some valued suggestions to improve it for future tours. The answer was offensive, not cooperative at all. Very frustrating for me personally and all my friends.
The Ritz Tours always answering very meaningless.

And yes, the Samurai show was interactive but the quality was very low. Enjoyable hardly to the toddlers and young kids. Let be realistic.
And the only reason for my reviews - to make future Ritz tours to Japan much better.

"We do apologize if the itinerary fell short of your expectations. We would like to point out that prior to making your reservation all guests have the opportunity to review the itineraries of all our tours available. In regards to the tour package you chose it did not include the visits you mentioned. Unfortunately we did not know prior to your departure that you would like to have visited these locations. If we had known we would have been happy to amend your itinerary, perhaps by adding extra time in Tokyo to visit the sites of your choosing.

We also apologize if the samurai show at Osaka's Samurai Cafe was disappointing. Most of our customers are pleasantly surprised by the quality of the included excursions. With this show's lighthearted interactive approach we understand that this may not be to everyone's liking. Our goal is to pick the best excursions possible during your trip to provide a fulfilling experience."

When I traveled to China with Ritz Tours everything was perfect, and I recommended it to all my friend when travelling to Japan. Unfortunately it was a big DISAPPOINTMENT.
1. Some cities we visited didn't have local guides. Out tour director hero helped us with all our needs on the trip, but didn't show professional knowledge of history, culture etc.He also didn't have a microphone when we visited temples, so we were not able to hear a word he said.
2. Porter service was not provided in this "luxury" tour. On the last day of our trip we walked with our luggage on the streets to the shuttle bus. And it was raining!
3. In every trip, even in Canada and Alaska, the bus driver brings a bottle of cold water per person per day on the bus. The weather was around 84 degrees and very humid in Japan, so a bottle of water was a necessity.
4. The Tokyo hotel was fine, but the Kyoto and Osaka hotels do not deserve even 4 stars. These over expensive hotels did not give us the impression that we were on a "luxury" tour.

I hope that Ritz Tours will improve on all the above to make their trip to Japan unforgettable.

In addition to my friend Mr. D. Spector already expressed opinion re. our recent September 15-23, 2019 tour to Japan.
This tour was planned very strangely in my opinion.

How the tourists can miss the Shrine of 1000 Buddhas?
The most popular, famous, street crossing in Tokyo?
Or observation deck in Tokyo?
Very strange, unprofessional to say the least - all three are amazing places, the must ones.

I led sightseeing tours for 20+ years and could not imagine such a poor programming.

The Ritz tours has to create programs more professionally thinking about diversified programs.

And The Samurai show in Kyoto was awful, the lowest possible level. The worst among the worst.

Sincerely,

Victor Rashkovich

The hotels did not seem to be up to usual Ritz standards. Some of them needed refurbishing. At one hotel, the robe was neatly folded in a drawer with horrible stains - Miyako Hotels and Resorts. I will try to attach the photo.

Also, some of the tour participants complained that the bathrooms were not cleaned daily.

I personally was offended by the Samuri show which seem to make a joke of the Japanese tradition. I think this should be eliminated from tour.

On the other hand, the food at the restaurants was very good. This was my third Ritz tour and I was somewhat disappointed.

The Western Balkans uncovered trip was amazing. Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable and helped me gain a deeper understanding of the history, culture, and people of the countries we visited. This is an area of the world whose history rarely, if ever gets taught in history classes in the US.

Jenny and all the tour guides were excellent. I am recommending the China trip and Rittz to all my friends

We had an excellent experience with Ritz tours to China. Tourist interest in China appeared to be down. Despite picking a popular time (Sept.) to travel in China there were only four guests for the entire 16 day package. Despite this, Ritz never considered canceling and provided an individual guide for the four of us for the entire tour. The guides were knowledgeable, friendly and fluent in English. Our small group size allowed easier and more efficient travel. There was no waiting for tickets or transportation. The guides took care of everything including helping us to check in at each airport. The hotel accommodations were very good and in two instances absolutely luxurious. Food was very good and in the case of the hotel buffets very bountiful and full of variety. During free time the recommendations of our guides helped us to find local shopping venues,public parks, restaurants and even successful navigation of the Beijing metro. Among many highlights, the Li River cruise, terra cotta soldiers, Great wall and Shanghai acrobats were standouts.
Our daughters toured with Ritz 12 years ago and had a similarly fantastic time. It's good to see that they are still doing a fine job.

Ritz tours has China down. If you are thinking of traveling to the Far East, Ritz tours is the one. The hotels are all 4 and 5 stars, the buses are new and clean, the guide ( Ocean) was tremendous. With that being said there are a few caveats. 1 all the rooms have twin beds. So if you want to sleep with your loved one. You will have to negotiate up front for bigger beds. 2 the “cruise” ship we were on (Victoria Jenna) was old and cramped. Once again you need to upgrade to a bigger room. The food on the ship was average at best. 3 China frowns on drinking so getting your favorite libation will be a struggle. Lastly, China doesn’t like the internet. There is no Goggle and WiFi is only good at the big hotels.

I traveled with Ritz tour 2x already. 1st in Europe our tour guide is Steven & 2nd in China tour guide is Jenny I’m giving them both Outstanding Job their friendly nice well prepared. I’m planning my 3rd to Ritz tour again . I enjoyed their tour excellent.