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Wendy Wu Tours Reviews

Wendy Wu Tours Reviews

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"We are never satisfied until you come back and travel with us again" - Wendy Wu, Founder & Chairwoman

At Wendy Wu Tours, we want to know what you think about the service you receive when you book with us and what you thought about your tour itself. It's this vital information that helps us to improve in the future.

With this in mind, we have teamed up with independent review company feefo. Once you have made a booking or returned from one of our tours, you'll receive an email from feefo asking you to rate your experience with us.

We then display these reviews right here, completely untouched by us, so you can trust them 100%.

We were humbled to receive so much positive feedback from clients affected by the onset of the Coronavirus crisis. We hope the positive experience of customers, who still managed to enjoy their tours even as the pandemic hit, shows how wonderful your experience will be once we all get travelling again.



We also have more fantastic reviews from around the globe on TripAdvisor, including many 5 star!

 
Rating
Customer Review

Japan Uncovered

Saturday 19 Apr 2025
Overview Rating:
Our Tour: average
Japan Uncovered – Review : Departure 29 March 2025

This was my third group tour with Wendy Wu. I’ve previously travelled to Vietnam and India and had an excellent experience in all respects both times which is why I came back for a group tour to Japan. I have dipped into various Japanese cities briefly a few times as ports on cruises. I liked what I saw and wanted to come back for a more in depth experience which is why I booked the trip for its comprehensive and varied looking itinerary.

1) I used Wendy Wu to book my international flights and upgraded to Premium Economy. The airline used was ANA which I found to be prompt and punctual on all flights. I flew to Tokyo Haneda then an internal flight to Osaka. My only niggle is that the timing of the flights meant I got to the hotel at 11.30pm well after every other member of the group so missed all the usual introductions and hellos. The flight home from Tokyo was excellent as I had a free seat next to me and effectively had the space and leg room that the business class seats had to myself. Pick up and drop off at airport was very good by luxury minivan ... as I was last to arrive and one of first to depart. Generally the rest of the group were just given tickets to the general airport bus ...not good and smacks of penny pinching.

2) Overall I found the tour to be good in terms of content and the itinerary – a balance mix of big cities and smaller areas. Id give it 1 3.5/5 overall - it would have be 4/5 but the Tokyo experience brought it down for me. There were however a few niggles which did impact my overall experience which I’ll come to shortly.

3) Group size of 26 – mixture of UK and Aussies/NZ. The UK numbers bigger than Aussies this time. A very pleasant group to travel with, however I think I would have preferred a smaller group of 15-20 as many of the areas visited were very crowded which can make it difficult at times. We had earphone/receivers but the sound was often very crackly.

4) I don’t think Level 1 is at all accurate for this tour – there are very many steps and inclines at a lot of the sites visited and also there are times where you're walking 10 mins from car parks to the entrance of a site and then walking even more. The pace felt quite relentless in the first 5 days and the bottoms of my feet felt very sore for a few days – sticking them in an ice bucket every night helped! Level 2 is probably more accurate. The pace slacked off a little as the tour progressed which was a relief! It is after all a holiday not a Boot Camp march. I walked around 85 km in total over the whole tour and didnt do some areas so the total walking if you did everything was in excess of that.

5) Guide Chiyomi (Chi) Nakata was excellent throughout – enthusiastic, friendly, informative and well organised. Guiding 26 people around often very crowded areas with no hiccups and no losses is no mean feat! She did a great job.
Drivers – all excellent safe drivers.

6) Hotels – generally of a decent quality and location but I had issues with 2 of them. Hotel Kanazawa in Kanazawa … my room was clean but felt dingy and depressing. The pillows were heavy and uncomfortable ..no idea what the filling was but I don’t think feathers or hollowfibre!.. the AC didn’t work meaning I had to open the window and keep it open all night ..very noisy since hotel was opposite the rail station.. and then there was the high step to the bathroom which I tripped on twice. It felt like being in a very basic student study bedroom. The initial response I got from Wendy Wu on this was that they were surprised as "never had negative feedback" on it before ..I don’t believe that one ..and that a team member had stayed recently and found it “basic but comfortable”. Well given that Wendy Wu is a big source of ££ to the hotel I suspect the room they had was far better than my cell.

The hotel in Tokyo was extremely disappointing. The hotel itself .. optimistically named “Sunshine Prince” is old, dated and in real need of a refurb immediately. The beds are rock hard, the décor is Travelodge 80’s era with scuffed walls and carpets and the AC barely functions – fortunately it wasn’t that warm in Tokyo, 20C tops - and then another high step to the bathroom. The lifts were extremely slow at all times other than early morning or late night. The location – for me – was terrible. The only positive I can think of is the convenience store on the ground floor. We were in Ikebukuro area which was quite a distance to the north of the city centre areas like Shibuya or Shinjuka. To get to the centre took around 40mins by bus or cab and similar on subway .. and subway can be very confusing if youre not used to it .. many lines, many exits and yes crowded. The only thing to wander around was the attached shopping centre. It felt a bit like booking a weekend in London and anticipating a West end hotel but actually finding out you're in Borehamwood. I much prefer a central location as that gives me the ability to wander round the surrounding area and get to attractions faster – couldn’t do that at this hotel which I have to say very negatively affected my stay in Tokyo. I’ve previously stayed closer to Shinjuka on previous pre-cruise nights and this was a much better experience. The tours in Tokyo were essentially all places I’ve seen before so I would have preferred the option to explore independently. The tours were practically identical to tours I've done from a cruise ship. Friends on another Wendy Wu Tour a week ahead of mine said that their Tokyo hotel was very good and much closer to downtown. I paid a LOT of money for this trip – no2 in my all time spending behind Antarctica .. where I got incredible bang for my buck.. - and with this Tokyo hotel I honestly felt ripped off, annoyed and feel that a big chunk of my time in the city was wasted and I seriously question why Wendy Wu uses this hotel... well I can guess ... ££ .. Wendy Wu dropped the ball big time here – why shoot yourself in the foot like that? If there was the option of cutting short stay here and heading home early I would have honestly done so.

7) Food – The Japanese food was consistently good but it did get quite repetitive after a while with a lot of it being bento and hotpot cook it yourself style. Western style was ok. On some occasions if I didn’t eat all the bits in the bento – eg cold veg isn’t my thing and neither is the slippery jelly kinds of tofu - I was hungry again only a few short hours later and searching for a convenience store. Quality of hotel breakfasts a bit hit n miss, luke warm always. Some restaurants for lunches better than others – the Italian restaurant in Tokyo for example where we were shoved into a corner near the entrance on high stools in the bar area where the actual restaurant itself … which you walked through enroute to the toilet was nice, spacious and NOT full. The food was OK but essentially looked like a plate of "everything on the menu". I would have liked more variety like simple but filling bowls of ramen or udon, some gyoza, teppanyaki, yakisoba etc. I'm certainly not convinced we had the best experience Japan had to offer food wise. Don’t think I’ll ever knowingly touch tofu again. Maybe an obvious thing to say here but if you dont like Japanese food that much then you probably will struggle.

8) Other. As to be expected there was lots of Shrines, Temples, Castles and Gardens... which do kind of blur into one after a while. There were some cultural bits such as Tea ceremony, Miso brewery, Sake brewery, paper making and a brief walk round a wasabi farm but they all felt very brief I would have preferred more like maybe how to do bonsai, meeting a local family, meeting Geisha and Maiko, making gold leaf, sushi making, Kabuki, Sumo or food tour round local food markets.

9) Overall – good varied itinerary, an excellent guide, very pleasant group of travellers but given the points raised above I cannot honestly say this represented good value for money and this is very different to my previous view of the Wendy Wu trips I’ve taken before where all aspects were completely outstanding. Knowing what I now know I'd advise a shorter trip and dont necessarily feel you have to go to Japan at the - most expensive - and busiest time of Cherry Blossom. You may well enjoy it more when its less crowded.

Inspiring India

Tuesday 15 Apr 2025
Overview Rating:
Our Tour: Excellent
This was a superbly organised holiday, which gave us a great introduction to the Northern part of India. Major pluses for us were the pacing of the tour, the generally high quality of the hotels and the fact that all our meals were included. We were delighted and impressed with the sites we visited, including temples, forts and other monuments, and enjoyed two exciting safari trips during which we saw tigers. It was also fascinating to explore the street markets of Bundi and be able to watch parades for the Hindu festival of Holi. Seeing the Taj Mahal was the experience of a lifetime.
Our guide, Jasvir, was very good - friendly, informative and considerate. He timed a number of visits to ensure that we avoided the hottest parts of the day and the biggest crowds, where possible. Our group was small (14) but this was beneficial because it meant that we got to know each other and bonded really well. We would highly recommend this trip to anyone thinking of visiting India for the first time.

Inspiring India

Sunday 13 Apr 2025
Overview Rating:
Our Tour: Excellent
From their efficiency in dealing with the closure of Heathrow on the day of departure to my return Wendy Wu were brilliant. Good standard of hotels which ranged from modern to more traditional. Exceptional guide who adjusted the itinerary to allow us to cope with the heat and was an absolute fountain of knowledge in both Indian history and present day. Good split between traditional sights and experiences. Thoroughly recommend.

Inspiring India

Sunday 13 Apr 2025
Overview Rating:
Our Tour: Excellent
Great trip. Well organized and thoroughly enjoyable. A lot of travel but you know that when you book and it's not really a hardship. Our guide Jazmir was brilliant - knowledgeable, funny and patient. A trip well worth doing

Inspiring India

Wednesday 09 Apr 2025
Overview Rating:
Our Tour: Excellent
Terrific holiday. We got caught up in the afternoon effects of the Heathrow fire but Wendy Wu staff were fantastic and managed to get us out only 1 day late. It's full on with a lot of travel but you know that when you book, hotels were great and everything was well organized. Our guide, Jazmir, was brilliant - knowledgeable, patient and funny.

Inspiring India

Tuesday 08 Apr 2025
Overview Rating:
Our Tour: Excellent

Wildlife of India

Tuesday 08 Apr 2025
Overview Rating:
Our Tour: average
Far too much travelling by old coaches inbetween lodges. No bottled water given out every day on the bus, jeeps etc. the same curries every mealtime sometimes lunch and dinner the same menu.
The coach driver didn’t know the way to first lodge.
The best jeep safari was actually a night one. It was an added extra where we actually followed a large tiger
The boat ride was rubbish.
Agra was amazing

Highlights of India

Monday 07 Apr 2025
Overview Rating:
Our Tour: Good
Can’t see the point in this request. I have already provided feedback directly to Wendy Wu.
Any constructive comments made about any issues good or bad that arose throughout the tour are in my experience never fully addressed - so what is the point of another review!!

Inspiring India

Wednesday 02 Apr 2025
Overview Rating:
Our Tour: average
The accommodation is fragile yet awesomely unique definitely comfy well equipped rooms ( 8 in total) The travel/ journey is bumpy Wendy Wu do make you aware so no complaints just conformation that it is a bumpy ride 95% of the time.
There are also steps, slopes, traffic and pathways which can be difficult to navigate again Wendy Wu makes you aware so no surprises.
I enjoyed my solo traveler experience the group I was lucky to be with had a huge impact on my fabulous trip.
I am unsure if I will book another Wendy Wu without firstly getting an insurance that I will not be involved in any visits to the hard sell locations ( this is why I have only scored a 3 ) I was taken into a jewellery, carpets, marble and textiles really hard sell were I felt trapped and harassed. Wendy Wu this is not what I signed up for 🤷‍♀️.
The food was awesome and plenty full you will not go hungry my least favourite was our last night and morning at the hotel in New Delhi plus no pool facilities although it is very close ( 5 minutes walk) to a shopping mall with plenty of bargains.
I enjoyed my tour it was like being in a film set , very busy lots to see and do with a busy daily informative schedule.
Added extras = $110 for the tips payable at the start of the tour as a joint group venture managed by tour guide. we also tipped at the end of the tour individually the 3 staff tip £40 each for travel assistant and the driver then £80 for tour guide is the expected amount. Drinks in the hotel and restaurant are more costly than expected. Water was available in every hotel complimentary and the travel assistant keeps you in an ample supply of fresh chilled water. I took my own coffee and travel sweets which came up trumps.
All of the humans I met during my adventures were fabulous happy accommodating kind and friendly.

Highlights of India

Wednesday 02 Apr 2025
Overview Rating:
Our Tour: average
The tour was extremely comprehensive and we saw so many jaw dropping things, but my comments are more to do with the experiences of two senior travellers with a lot of travel experience.
Although we knew it was going to happen, the long coach journeys were arduous, as India's rolling stock of passenger coaches are not to western standards in terms of speed and comfort. The roads are also not so fast and the scenery is monotonous. The train journeys were much better.
We knew that the standard of hotels would be variable, and whilst for the main, the accommodation was comfortable, clean and always had hot water, the organisation within the hotels was poor, bordering on the chaotic, and problems were rarely solved in a timely fashion. The tour also included all meals, and whilst there was nothing wrong with the buffet food, it was consistently tepid, unvarying in content, and had all the shortcomings of dining three times daily from buffets. When we ate on our own, we did much better in all aspects.
Our guide also proved to be a little bit of a problem. He spent a couple of days making remarks to my wife and I which were totally inappropriate for an international guest. Whilst he was very knowledgable, and could sort out problems, he was quite blatant in organising some to the activities so that he would reap commission.
If you are younger, liberal minded and have a wide window of what is acceptable in terms of discomfort, then this trip will do it all.

India by Rail

Monday 31 Mar 2025
Overview Rating:
Our Tour: Good
This was a very “full on” holiday, 14 days of travelling to many different cities/places in India with rail journeys and some internal flights. There were a lot of very early mornings 4am, 5am and 6am. The tour guide Girish was excellent, full of information and knowledge about his country. He always looked after us excellently and organised us very well especially with the train journeys, suggesting taking a small case or large backpack and leaving our main suitcases at the hotel in Delhi (we went back there 3 times!) This made it much easier on the trains as the overhead luggage space can be limited on the very full trains.
Most of the hotels were very good apart from the last night’s one which wasn’t great and the food was very disappointing (it was the farewell dinner which was a shame)
You will see the many varied sights and cultures of India but bear in mind that it will a be very tiring holiday, but enjoyable.

Rajasthan Panorama

Saturday 22 Mar 2025
Overview Rating:
Our Tour: Good
Great tour with very knowledgeable guide. Four stars as room at Tulip Hotel at Gurgaon was grotty. Have reprted this to Go India on feedback form. Given the cost of the tour I felt as regards this particular hotel they could have done better. Tips were organised in advance but in the 11 years since I last visited India I found that hotel porters and toilet attendants were generally expecting tips routinely on top of that.

Inspiring India

Friday 21 Mar 2025
Overview Rating:
Our Tour: Excellent
Incredibly well-organised tour which gives a wonderful introduction to India. The sights are so ancient and yet in amazing condition. It’s an onslaught to all the senses in a very positive and energising way. Highly recommended!

Inspiring India

Tuesday 25 Feb 2025
Overview Rating:
Our Tour: average
The itinerary is very good, but given the amount of time spent travelling long distances in a private vehicle, I was disappointed that the guide didnot tell us more about what we were passing by and also background information about the area.
I had NOT travelled all that way to "rest".
The proportion of time given to visiting venues was less than I wanted; I would rather have longer visits and not end up being dropped at the hotel mid afternoon when dinner was not til 7/7.30pm and there was nothing of much interest in the immediate environs of the hotels.
Given the level of ambient noise in India it would have been good to have audio connection with our guide ("whispers").

Christmas in India

Wednesday 15 Jan 2025
Overview Rating:
Our Tour: Good