Reviews

We have just returned from an excellent trip, Japan Uncovered. Blessed by outstanding weather, and in cherry blossom season this trip covered all the major sites that we most wanted to see in Japan. Our guide, Mina, was fabulous. Patient, knowledgeable and with a great sense of humour. Her English was excellent. Our group of 27 included English, Irish and Australian participants. A few of us had food requests and allergies which Mina took time to understand and to ensure that the restaurants were aware of.
Before embarking on a trip such as this though, I would urge people to do their homework. This is a trip designed to cover as many peoples interests as possible. Therefore, there will be occasions when you like certain activities more than others. This is not a personalised trip. This also applies to the food. Sometimes you will eat at fairly high end restaurants and sometimes the equivalent of a cafe. The food is predominantly Japanese because that is what people eat in Japan! I am not a huge fan of Japanese food but I tried everything and I was never hungry. The days are long and there is often quite a bit of walking. So when it is stated that a good level of fitness is required, that is what they mean. On the first day we walked over 20,000 steps as well as travelling by coach and boat; and recovering from jet lag. English is not widely spoken but with a smile and a sense of humour most things can be communicated. We were happy with all of the hotels that we stayed in but Japanese hotel rooms tend to be small and rather warm. There often isn’t a bar to relax in, in the evenings but the vending machines are excellent.
We will definitely be keeping our eyes peeled for other Wendy Wu tours but I think that this one will be hard to beat both in terms of cost and the amount of Japan that we were able to see. Just a couple of thousand photos to go through now.

Poor value. The guide had never travelled with a group and he had no idea what he was doing. Often he was lost at large historical sites and so a lot of time was wasted. We often did not have enough time to queue up to see the sites we were visiting.
The hotels were very good, however the lunch and dinner venues were often very cheap, rather nasty places. We often arrived late for lunches and the food was sitting waiting for us so cold. Not pleasant.
Lack of information in a daily basis. Such as where we were going, meal times etc.
The coach transport was of a very high standard with plenty of room. Great drivers.
In general I could not recommend this company. I feel the holiday was very overpriced for the service we received.

What a lovely ship. The staff were incredibly attentive. Once they knew what you liked, the next time, it was ready waiting for you, you didn't have to ask. They took an interest in you and were happy to chat to you. The accommodations were as good as any 5star hotel. The food was excellent. We got to visit the Captains Deck and Engineering and learnt about the excellent environmental processes on the ship. A lovely and very comfortable sundeck. A superb bar. An inclusive guide on the many landside visits by tender that you could choose to go on. My time on the Victoria Mekong was only 4 days and only part of my inclusive Wendy Wu trip of Cambodia and Vietnam, however, it was most certainly my favourite part. I was informed that the ships company is starting a seven day trip of the Mekong; now that would be very special.

Very patient advisor.

We had a brilliant time filled with so many experiences- it fulfilled my lifetime dream to visit Japan and see the ancient sites whilst experiencing modern Japan too. Our guide, Kaori was great fun and very informative. Whilst it was a whistle stop tour with a lot of travelling included, we had a good balance of time spent at attractions, having experiences and eating out at restaurants, sampling local cuisine. Being vegetarian we were very well looked after wherever we ate. We enjoyed shopping in quality outlets to buy lovely souvenirs. Our colleagues were great company and the group gelled really well. We had some free time at the end of the tour to enjoy Osaka and our transfer was easily managed too. The only shame was that on arrival we had to wait a further 2 hours at the airport before the next transfer bus which meant that we missed our dinner and nothing was provided for us on that first night. Luckily we could pick up some snacks from the convenience store. We were issued a refund but that wasn’t much of a welcome after such a long journey. Given that Wendy Wu arranged the flights they must have known this would happen so this was disappointing but didn’t spoil our overall experience. We had a great time in Japan!

We participated in Wendy Wu Didcover Japan 28 March - 9 April. overall this tour was disappointing and not nearly as enjoyable as tours to China and spain with other tour providers. teh 2 key disappointments were teh food - after 3 days of Japnes tyle banquets we requested some variety to the dinner menus - we did get one Chinese night which was excellent. We dined outside the tour on 2 evenings .
While our tour operator tried her best, her English was poor and she lacked flexibility. She did teh minimum required and did not see it as her job to address issues or to ensure we were happy.
Some of the activities were excellent - paper making and origami and gold leaf work, the castle at Osaka and teh boat ride as well as the 1000 Shintu gates, but overall there were too many temples. We were disappointed that the cable car was off due to weather but we did get to level 4 at Mt fuji which ws great.
hotels were a mixed bag with some really nice rooms and some very average ones.
i did reach out locally to the Wendy Wu representative in Japan and was told to talk to our tour guide.
we woudl not book with Wendy Wu again

Reasonable amount of data online, but then Hanna so helpful and patient while answering queries and sorting options - and eventually getting us booked up. Can't wait!

The tour itself was excellent but the hotels and the majority of the food was of the fast take away variety. For the price ,especially as food in S Korea is quite cheap, I expected , better quality meals.
I have recently returned from a Scenic New Zealand trip where both the food and accommodation was of a much higher standard
The Taiwan extension was good with an excellent hotel in SunMoon Lake
We used Wendy Wu for this holiday as there are few U.K. holiday companies who arrange tours to Korea/Taiwan . . Not sure if I'd travel with Wendy Wu if other tour operators such as Scenic covered the area
The guides in both Korea & Taiwan were excellent and relevant information and new when to keep quiet

It was amazing. Our courier Akiko was so helpful , nothing was too much trouble.

The tour was excellent from the beginning when it was first organised to the food and trips with our brilliant guide. We saw temples and shrines and learnt the history relating to them. We saw beautiful gardens and visited local restaurants as well as exemplary hotels.
It made me think again about the people and culture of Japan.

excellent tour and excellent guides to keep us informed and engaged

This was our first experience of using Wendy Wu. From the first point of contact with the company we received excellent customer service and this was reflected throughout our booking and during the Tour itself. The Tour was an amazing experience which we will never forget. The quality of the Hotels and food was excellent. Our guide was first class and ensured all the arrangements for the tour went smoothly and was extremely knowledgable as were the local guides in certain locations. The tour was full on with a lot of travelling, early starts and long days. However without this we wouldn't have had such a fulfilling experience. Would definitely recommend this tour to experience India joanna.solanki@n-compass.org.uk

A good tour to get a taste of China and to see a lot in a short time.
Good hotels (not always the best location) plenty of food at mealtimes (but the same food meal after meal gets boring quickly) very informative guides (who talk too much - constantly while on the coach beteween attractions and for too long at the attraction)) lots to see (but not enough time to explore properly) days are full with lots of travelling (early starts, little rest except between attractions and late finish after dinner). A full on tour that delivers some of China's must see attractions, but you'll need a rest when you get back!

For those that are considering the "Glories of China" offering from Wendy Wu, but remain doubtful if a multi-centre guided tour, in the best hotels with inclusive meals is a bit too expensive. May I tell you, I thought the same thing before I booked. But I am so glad I went for it. The Tour was jam packed with things to see and do. 2x internal flights, a 4 1/2 hour river cruise. Bullet train and Mag-Lev train journeys. Going to the top a skyscraper in Shanghai and viewing the city lights at night from a river boat. What an amazing spectacle. You will experience the hustle and bustle of cities and the more sedate pace of rural life. You can catch a show or two, or three. And if you're worried about the food, the cuisine was second to none, with a few local delicacies thrown in. There was always plenty to go around. Then there are the tourist landmarks, The Great Wall, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Yu Gardens, Xian city walls, The Terracotta army, Guilin Pagodas, and more. I came away wowed. And wanting to do it all again. Amazing!!

Multiple problems with the logistics of the tour, missed advertised highlights, some poor quality food, some unwanted additional "shopping" opportunities. Despite going to ABTA stage 1 arbitration Wendy Wu refused to offer what I considered adequate compensation, just £200. Wholly unsatisfactory will not be travelling with Wendy Wu again. Great for China but forget the rest of their white boxed offering which on this experience seem poorly researched. Customer Service response appalling but prompt.