Warsaw & the Baltic States (Small Groups, 8 Days)

Traveler Reviews

• H

  HestermarieJansenvanVuuren

  April 30th, 2019
  4.5
  All the local treats and samples of drinks that our guide introduced to us. Love the fact that you can have some free...
  All the local treats and samples of drinks that our guide introduced to us. Love the fact that you can have some free time and get to eat local or not some nights. Went with another group to Morocco after this and never again. No free time, only meals were at hotels, no respect for female travelers. Insight is definitely my first choice. Well done!Show more
  Traveled in July 2018
  

  Reply from: Insight Vacations

  We are delighted to learn that your experience in Warsaw and the Baltic States with Insight Vacations was a total success. We are even happier to hear that our tailored itinerary allowed you to see all the magnificent sights of Europe. Furthermore, we look forward to sharing more amazing destinations with you in the near future.

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• R

  ravinpatten

  August 13th, 2018
  3.0
  I would like to voice our displeasure over a recent trip I took with your company. I have taken several vacations...
  I would like to voice our displeasure over a recent trip I took with your company. I have taken several vacations with Insight before and always had an amazing time, I thought this would be no different. Below, please find our list of complaints about this trip we took to the Baltic States. We had always received a welcome email from our tour guide, talking about themselves (picture included) and the upcoming trip, this is a nice ice-breaker and helps to give you peace of mind as you start your journey, plus with the picture it helps you find them in the airport easier, as you know who you are looking for. This trip we never received a welcome email from our tour guide Anna Luthi, but came to find out, she sent emails only to those who were traveling onto Russia after the Baltic States. Our welcome dinner in Poland was in a very small restaurant, and with the unusually warm weather being experienced, some of the tour members had a hard time with the lack of air circulation in the restaurant. They asked if the air could be turned up more, to which the waitress was obviously annoyed, and complained to Anna and then she became annoyed with the group members for asking. This started the tension with Anna and the group. When getting ready to leave for Lithuania from Poland, we were told we had to go with "Plan B", pack our own lunches and we would stop at a rest stop. Our first stop, there was a McDonalds and store where we could get food. We were told to be at the coach at a certain time, but there were many people at the stop, and a couple was a few minutes late arriving back to the bus. Anna didn't know this, and we started to leave, once she was told one couple wasn't back, she became furious and once she found them yelled at them, and told them the everything would be backed up and it was a tight schedule. We realize schedules need to be kept, but they were no more than 5 minutes late and to treat them that way was uncalled for. We stopped to eat our "picnic lunch", where we stopped was an abandoned place at the border. We had to sit on the ground as there were no tables, benches, anything for anyone to sit on. Our group consisted of mostly elderly people, who had a tough time with this. This isn't something we expected from your company, we get eating on the way to a new place, but the conditions were deplorable. The trip took a turn for the worse once we hit Latvia, we were not informed where the city center was (It was a 1-2 blocks from our hotel), had we known that we could have spent more time exploring the city. Instead, we were very rushed the next morning, as we were only there one night. We decided to do the excursion to the park where there were houses and dinner, again had we known the city was, we wouldn't have gone on this excursion. We were eaten alive by bugs, as we walked through the grass in the park, while the guide was knowledgeable, he only talked about the architecture, and not much about the history of the city. During this excursion, many problems arose, once we got off the bus and started with using our "Vox's/Whispers", several in the group realized there ear pieces weren't working, the tour guide asked Anna if she could replace them, she said no, the people should have told her earlier and now it was too late. They didn't know they weren't working, and so to be treated like that was wrong, Also, they wanted to use the bathroom as they got off the bus, but again they were told no, because they had to start the tour, we were the only people there, I really think our tour guide could have waited a few minutes. The constant "No's", really take a toll and makes the trip become more and more negative. When we arrived in Estonia (again after having a Plan B lunch), we were told old city was 15-20 minutes from where we were staying, when in fact it was a 5 minute walk! Since dinner was on us, that first night, we were told to eat at the grocery store near the hotel, no suggestions of restaurants were given as choices. We found a restaurant on our own, but you should be able to depend on your tour director for help. It seemed to be more of a bother to ask her, as she became agitated very easily. When we toured the city, our tour guide was very knowledgeable, but at the time we toured, the city was very crowded. While that can't be helped,she could had worn something to make her stand out, or carried something. She would change where we were to meet her, but many couldn't see her. They voiced their displeasure with her, which got back to Anna, and Anna's response was to say, she was going to find a new tour director once they got to Russia, as she was tired of the complaints (very unprofessional). At our farewell dinner, the evening was beautiful, but we were not allowed to eat outside, we were taken into a very hot room in a restaurant, while Anna and the bus driver ate outside, again there were complaints and Anna became very angry. For those of us who only booked the Baltic States trip, we felt as if this was a burden and the real trip was the Russia one, as that is that all was talked about each day. It made it very hard to enjoy our time away.Show more
  Traveled in August 2018
  

  Reply from: Insight Vacations

  Thank you for sharing this with us. At Insight Vacations, we are fully aware of the important role that our Travel Directors play in the success of any trip. That is why all of our representatives are carefully selected and have received thorough training to be able to manage our itineraries with the highest level of professionalism. It is for this reason that it surprises us to learn about your experiences and we would like to assure you that our guests’ wellbeing and enjoyment are our number one priority. As such, we have shared your concerns with our internal team so that your comments can be addressed and also for us to take the necessary steps to ensure a better experience for our guests going forward. Nonetheless, we still hope that you were able to return home with lots of lasting memories of your time in Eastern Europe.

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