Reviews

Review Details

• Review fromMichelle C

  Date: 28/11/2023

  1 star
  Went on a Thailand vacation and while the places we stayed at were nice they were all WAY out of town and the communication with this company with its guests and vendors was non existent. ****** ** *** ***** will ever use them again

• Review fromCindy M

  Date: 28/11/2023

  1 star
  UTO China Price Buster 10 day trip ** * ****. My October 2020 trip was cancelled due to COVID. They have since kept my deposit and upped the price of the trip. So I wouldn't lose my money (silly me) I rebooked to a similiar but much more expensive trip. The cheap price buster trip price is back and UTO is conveniently booked up so I can't rebook the original trip. I am unable to reach them by phone and their online chat agent gives standard lines which do not offer any remedies. So UTO continues to keep my money and they don't seem to feel any need to return my deposits or offer a similiar priced tour.

• Review fromSharon H

  Date: 28/11/2023

  1 star
  *** ******* **** *** **** **. We have a credit and now they are telling us if we use the credit we can’t use the discount code. And if we use the credit we have to pay in full. The trip we are looking into is two years from now. **** ** * **** *** ****** ***** 

• Review fromSara C

  Date: 27/11/2023

  1 star
  I booked UTO's discounted China tour in late 2018 (for travel in 2020) **** * **** ***** **** ********* * *** *** * **** ********* ****** ******** ** * *** *** ******** ** **** ******** What I didn't know, however, was that if something happens and your trip is canceled (mine was canceled by UTO, NOT by me at all) it is not refundable even if THEY cancel it. *** ** **** **** ****** They can cancel it but you get no refund, as if you are the one who canceled?
  I paid them almost $1300 ($400 was for our two Chinese visas), and when they canceled our trip due to COVID, they offered us a credit for future travel only and no refund option at all.
  Our credit was only for $900 since the $400 Chinese visas were good for 10 years, so we would be able to use those when we rebook, right? WRONG.
  First off, the initial trip was only $399 per person base-price, but every trip they posted after the COVID situation was a little one under control was in the thousands of dollars per person.
  They posted another trip just like the one we’d booked so we can rebook and use our ***** we paid them for (so don't have to pay that portion again, luckily, right?) Again - wrong!
  When I got the new trip in my cart, it looks like there is indeed a **** charged at $498 per person there that is making it $1000 more than it should be.
  I contacted them and they told me all their Chinese tours use "group visas" now and the 10-year visas I paid them $400 for already are now useless and I need to pay almost $1000 more for these new visas they are using. So I am stuck with a basically useless $900 "credit" that I cannot use without spending more than double my original trip.
  I am out $1300 (not a small amount of money!) and received ZERO useable services for that amount. * ****** ********* *** **** ** ** *** **** ********* ******* *** *** ** ***** ******* ** ***** ************ *** ******* ****** ******** ** *** * ***** ********** **** *** ******* ** ******* ***** ******** ** ***** **********

• Review fromJames L

  Date: 24/11/2023

  1 star
  *** ** * ***** ***** *** ****** ** *** **** **** ******
  My wife and I were excited when we booked a China/Japan tour. We had it planned to leave in 2022. COVID happened and delayed our tour. Then we rescheduled for March 2023. Same thing - COVID required cancelling. Now I am trying to book for 2025. Nothing but expensive add ons - ALL OF THE INCLUDED COST ACCOMODATIONS AND AIR FAIR ARE NOT AVAILABLE - requiring us to pay expensive upgrades for hotel and flights.
  *** ** ***************.
  So right now, I have a $3294 credit to use before 09/02/2023 or I forfeit my money. I'm certainly not going to invest more money with company knowing that if something gets cancelled, delayed or whatever that they get $3294 plus whatever else I pay to get a trip. So, this is probably an expensive lesson / loss. Cheaper to give up the deposit/credit than to pay more money and chase it.
  FYI - I had travel insurance. Insurance would not cover the cost because trip was cancelled by UTO and they gave me credit. ** ***** ***** ****** ********* **** ***** *** **** **** ***** ****** * *** **** ** ****** ****

• Review fromDonavan T

  Date: 23/11/2023

  1 star
  I booked a trip with UTO vacations in November of 2022 to travel to China and Japan in October 2023. Since I saw their deal on Travelzoo which I typically trust I paid for the trip in full. I received my trip confirmation, however they cancelled my trip for no good reason. Their communication is terrible.
  I wanted a refund, however their contract says they will only offer a travel credit.
  For an entire year I have only seen overpriced deals to use my credit.
  Unfortunately, I haven't seen any other deal like the one originally booked.
  **** ** * ***** **** *** ****** ***** 
  *** ***** ***** **** **** * ***** Their communication is terrible.
  Apparently, this happens often with this company. **** **** **** ********* **** *** *** **** *** *** *** ******* *** *********** **** ********** * ********** ******* *** ***** ** ******* ** **** *******

• Review fromJoan S

  Date: 23/11/2023

  2 stars
  We were sent to closed venues 5 different times. Out guide yelled at participants continually. We were rushed from place to place and told taking pictures would slow down the group. We had to find our own way to and from the airport with almost no guidance. The last hotel we were booked at, although really nice, was in an area with nothing but a train stop and a mall. When I wrote this and more, Rachel responded and apologized. She said she confirmed my experience and fired the tour guide.
  "Your feedback has been a wake-up call for us, as we take it very seriously. We have already taken immediate action by informing our local office in Japan to terminate Aki's employment and not consider him for future tours. We are committed to ensuring that no other customer has to go through a similar experience." Thank you for your patience and for giving us the opportunity to rectify our shortcomings. If you have any further comments or suggestions, please feel free to share them. We are here to listen and make your future adventures with us truly remarkable.
  **** ******** ******* This was what she wrote. She *** ***** ** ***** *** **** ***** ***** *** **** *** was unwilling to actually make things right for me and my ruined experience. When I wrote and asked how they'd make it better for me she wrote that they weren't interested.
  This is the fast food restaurant of tours. They promise you a lot, but once they get your money they stop returning calls. Prior to my departure my travel partner had a tragedy ** *** ****** ****** ********* ***. Not only was UTO unwilling to work with her, they were impossible to get on the phone.
  Having said this, Japan is gorgeous and the people there are lovely. I had wonderful conversations with **** drivers and people I met in the places I visited. The food was wonderful everywhere. And, I will be going back without a tour.

• Review fromMary Jo Y

  Date: 13/11/2023

  1 star
  *********** ** ********* We purchased a 10-day vacation package to China in February 2022, for travel on November 2, 2023. I made 3 payments in early February 2022, totaling $2,334. I provided all requested documentation, and waited for UTOvacation's email requesting final payment. I waited patiently for their email request, and I finally contacted UTOvacation advising that I still had not received a request, after the time I thought they would be sending it. They said, because we did not make a timely final payment, our trip was canceled. **** **** ***** ****** *** ********* **** *** ************ the option they offered was a credit on another trip. Any new trip (to any of their locations) would cost a lot more. I conducted an ongoing chat with UTO for over a week and got nowhere. Because of this, I tried to get a credit card refund, but **** couldn't help because the billing statement for the purchase was in the spring of 2022, and we didn't know there was a problem until the summer of 2023 (which is well beyond the credit card's 60-day within billing complaint time frame). During my lengthy chat with UTO, the company stated they sent a request for final payment to us. I kept EVERY email correspondence with UTO, and did not receive such a request. UTOvacation could not provide proof that they emailed the final payment request email to either me or my husband. In other words, that email didn't exist. **** *** ********** * ******* ******* *** * **** ****** **** *** *** ***** ******** ******* *** **** *** ** ******** **** *****  **** **** ******* ******* *** **** ******* ******* ** *** ***** ********* ***** ***** ** **** ***** ** ********** ******* **** *** ***** *** ************ ****** *********

• Review fromMarjorie T

  Date: 08/11/2023

  1 star
  The rates were too good to be true. I had a trip credit for a tour cancelled due to COVID in Beijing. July 2023 I tried to book at tour for February 2024 but the site would not accept my passport and would boot me off the site. After several online attempts I emailed UTOVacation. In early October 2023 I tried to book a trip for end of February 2024, but I couldn't upload my passport. The agent emailed me to book and bypass the passport feature, so I did and booked my dream trip. MY TRIP WAS SUSPENDED. You cannot call them. Their voicemail states to go online and chat with an agent. I was online and the agent would answer hello then leave. I would type a question and get an answer 20 minutes later. After an hour and a half, exhausted and frustrated, I gave up. Now the company states I need to pay additional fees to upload my passport because I am less than 180 days out. BUT the agent did not mention that I couldn't upload passport because I would have to pay additional fees. I attempted to cancel within 30 days of booking and get a full refund. Agent said I can't receive because I am cancelling less than 180 days before departure and will need to pay a surcharge to cancel, and no refund will be issued. Please help me get a refund of total monies paid.

• Review fromLani E

  Date: 06/11/2023

  1 star
  UTO Vacations based in Ontario, Canada *** ****** ******** They request you pay in full months before your departure and have all these required additional fees, i.e. gratuity for tour guides due prior to departure. They get you by offering a cheap tour package and we had to cancel. They won’t refund you, but only offer credit for their expensive tour packages. Thus, we lost $1000 and they profited *** ***** ******* ***** *** *** ******* ** **** ******* ********