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Hello forum,

I am an experienced traveler who has visited over 104 countries and dealt with many tour operators, good and bad, and Kensington Tours was by far my worst experience with any of them. I’m sharing my recent experience below in the sole hope that others considering this company will have some indication of what they are getting into.

-From the outset Kensington refused to provide names or contact information for any drivers or guides meeting us at during any phase of our trip.

-During one leg a driver almost failed to show up entirely, arriving over half an hour late as we were prepared to give up waiting and board a taxi.

-Kensington’s agents in Santiago had no knowledge of two meals confirmed on our itinerary.

-Kensington insisted we would be flying to Lima, Peru when our itinerary had us confirmed for Punta Arenas, Chile.

-Kensington scheduled a 5:20am car for a 6:00am flight , knowing that the airport was 35 minutes away.

-During a six hour drive from Torres Del Paine to El Calafate for which we had confirmed a box lunch, the lunch was forgotten by the guide, and no water was available for the entire journey.

-When inquiring about adding Machu Picchu to our schedule Kensington made no attempt to warn us that on February 13th the U.S. Embassy in Lima issued a security message for US citizens indicating a specific threat to kidnap U.S. citizens in the Cusco and Machu Picchu area.

-Kensington went ahead and charged $11,000 for the Machu Picchu trip to my credit card without my consent and with full knowledge that we were no longer interested. They reversed the charge only after being warned by the President of American Express Platinum that this was unacceptable behavior from a merchant affiliate.

I am not seeking any form of compensation from Kensington, but I hope that others will heed the above and spare themselves a similar experience.

Andy from Amagansett

World Traveller Since 1967

Hello AndyFromAmagansett

Welcome to Tripadvisor and sorry to have of your experience.

Interestingly there are already quite a few threads on Kensington Tours so it might have been better to just have posted your experience to an existing thread instead of create a new one. Anyway, you might want to post your experience to a thread for them in Peru. Here is a link to the search I just did for 'kensington tours' on the main Tripadvisor homepage.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Search?q=Kensington+Tours&sub-search=SEARCH&geo=&pid=3826&returnTo=__2F__#ssrc=f,o=0,c=global

Hope this is helpful and trust your future travel experiences will be better. Importantly, keep traveling. We have to take the good with the bad!!!

Having said all that, I must also comment that our accommodations were outstanding, and they weren't all five star either. Our agent did a fantastic job in suggesting places that were in great locations, unique, or historic and atmospheric. We were thrilled with each place we stayed for one reason or two others. In several of the places we were upgraded, which I felt was most probably due to Kensington. All in all ours was a great trip, and as a result, I have recommended Kensington to friends. However, I have to say that after reading what Andy went through and the bit of discomfort we experienced due to a lack of preparation and information by Kensington, I would have to attach a disclaimer to any future recommendations that I would give the company.

I wish I had seen this,post before I spent a fortune paying Kensington for a family trip to Budapest, Vienna and Prague. They utterly failed to provide the required services and left us abandoned rather than guided. Their hotel recommendation was poor and they have responded to my inquiries with rudeness and insult. I would never use them again or recommend them.

My Kensington Tours experience could not have been more different. I’ve done two trips (Kenya & Tanzania 2010 and Peru 2013). Their staff were extremely knowledgeable and always quick to answer my frequent emails and questoins. Our guides were always on time, super friendly and really knowledgeable. In Peru and especially Africa they went out of their way to keep us happy and exceed our expectations. Our guide Godfrey knew the craziest details about every animal and bird. On our last day in Maasai Mara my friend who is a photographer was disappointed to not yet have gotten the perfect elephant photo. So Godfrey changed our entire day and we focused on tracking the herds until he got the perfect shot. I’m planning Myanmar next – won’t hesitate to call Kensington.

I agree with this review wholeheartedly. I am also an experienced traveler - more like 45 countries. I agree that I have had good and bad experiences but thought that I knew what to ask for in order to get close to what I wanted. My "expert" at Kensington tours, however, rejected every good idea I had for our trip. This wasn't just incompetence; it was an arrogance.

I decided to take my wife to Iceland for her 55th birthday as she always wanted to see the Northern Lights. This year was the best year in 60 years. There were Northern Lights 27 out of 28 days in February and 4 out of the 5 days we were in Iceland. Although we saw them faintly from the city, we never really saw them. I suggested booking 2 nights to see the Northern Lights, since that was our main reason for going to Iceland, but I was told that it would not be necessary because Kensington Tours would take care of picking the right night. Just before I got to Iceland, the forecast for our first couple of days looked clearer than the rest. I then sent several emails requesting that our Northern Lights tour be moved up from the last night to one of the first nights. Instead of doing as requested, Kensington Tours managed to move our trip to the week after we left Iceland but failed to tell us of this change. As a result, after hearing people talking day after day about the amazing Northern Lights, on the day we expected our tour no one showed up. As a result, we booked a much more expensive tour to chase the Northern lights. Unfortunately, we took this tour on the only day we were in Iceland that the Northern Lights did not appear. The tour companies in Iceland have a policy if you do not see the Northern Lights, they will let you go for free until you do see them. Unfortunately, as Kensington Tours booked us for our last night in Iceland instead of the beginning of the week as I had repeatedly requested, we could not take advantage of this guarantee.

The other thing that we really wanted to do while in Iceland was a 3 hour hike on a glacier. When we arrived at the glacier there were two buses from the same tour company one for a 1 hour tour and one for a 3 hour hike, and total pandaemonium. We got off the bus and were called by a guide from the tour company to get our crampons. It was only after we were on the glacier that we learned that we and 2 other couples from our bus were on the 1 hour instead of the 3 hour hike.

When our concerns were raised with Kensington Tours after the fact, pointing out the dozen or more emails making it clear that the Northern Lights were the primary reason we were going to Iceland, requesting to pay for multiple Northern Lights tours, requesting our Northern Lights tour be moved to the beginning of our trip, and the fact that had any of these requests been honored we would have seen fabulous Northern Lights, Kensington tours initially only would not even refund the costs we incurred for these failed events. They had no understanding of the thousands of dollars we had wasted on a bounced tour. Nor did they appreciate that two professionals have difficulty taking time off from work and use them to arrange a vacation so it will be perfect when they do. Eventually, after multiple emails Kensington tours reimbursed us for the failed trips but totally refused to take responsibility for the failed trip or the cost of going again to see the Northern Lights.

If I have the time, I arrange our own vacations, but when pressed by the demands of my jobs, I rely on tour companies. I will forever regret the Google search that came up with Kensington Tours as experts for Iceland travel. I would not use them to book me a walk across the street and hope that you will read this and avoid the same mistake that I made.

If you want any more details on how unprofessional and unknowledgeable Kensington Tours was during out trip to Iceland, please contact me at [email protected].

ArcticMark - It is not advisable to post your personal email address in a public forum like this, as spammers and other miscreants can harvest it for abuse. I suggest you have the post deleted and then repost your feedback without email addresses included.

We too are very experienced world travelers. We chose Kensington to plan our family vacation to Thailand because we wanted a high quality customized tour that would include small children. Custom tour? No! Every excursion was a hotel lobby pamphlet tour that I could have arranged myself. We did not have one guide accompany us throughout our entire trip as we were led to believe. A guide would pick us up at the airport and deliver us to our hotel. The next day a different guide would show up to take us on our "custom" pamphlet tour.

We were booked in hotels very far from the planned excursions. It took more than an hour in Bangkok to go to our Palace tour. Then an hour back to the hotel. Then another hour to go on our evening "foodie" tour, and an hour back. Don't go for the "foodie" street food tour.

Then in Chang Mai we were booked into a substitute four star hotel (I'm not sure how they got four stars!) instead of the five star hotel on the itinerary. One family of four were split into two separate rooms on two different floors, even though we had requested and paid for connecting rooms for them almost a year in advance!

Then in Phuket we were an hours drive from our beautiful (but remote) hotel to the launch site to visit the Phi Phi Islands. Then more hours in the boat. The entire day was spent traveling in a van or in a boat with very little time to enjoy any sights.

We were scheduled to have a jungle safari walk in the morning (remember the rain), have lunch, drive the three hours to Phuket airport and arrive in Bangkok in the evening for a 6:00 am flight the next morning to go back home. Of course, international flights require you to be there two hours ahead of time, so we had to be at the Bangkok airport by 4:00 am. Terrible scheduling for our last two days. I called a local travel company and begged them to rescue us from Kensington's inept planning. So we got to Bangkok in the late afternoon instead of late at night. That helped even though we had to pay extra to Elephant Hills for the change in plans.

I didn't see any schedules for our in-country flights until we got to Thailand. I had vouchers for all the hotels and the little guided tours. So, I actually was the guide in charge of overseeing the trip, not Kensington!

For the price they charge for their off-the-shelf "custom" tours, you can do a lot better than Kensington. We will definitely never use them again.

Never on any previous trip with Kensington have their representatives failed to accommodate our group with suggestions and or requests for changes in our trips during the planning stages and or during the actual trip. In fact, they have gone out of their way to work with us. They are easy to communicate with while in country--I have emailed our representative before we turn in for the night and by the next morning, our answer to any question and or solution to any problems--potential or actual-- is waiting for us. In Nepal, our rep actually called the corporate offices of the airline we were flying with and made it possible for us to check our bags straight through to NYC instead of having to re check everything onto our connecting flight from Katmandu to Delhi.

I find it regretful that any individual feels "OK" about publishing such a negative review. I guess that one person's idea of adventure travel is not another man's idea of adventure travel. And, perhaps if our previous trips with Kensington had cost even a fraction of the amounts of money that you are mentioning....well, perhaps we would have "sweated the small stuff" more. Wow...an $11,000 charge. Glad you have a platinum card...we travel the world quite nicely with our green one.

I would not hesitate to travel with Kensington again and I highly recommend them to anyone thinking of traveling with them.

PS It is every US citizen's responsibility to be aware of travel warnings. That is not the responsibility of your tour company. I strongly suggest that you register with the US State Department prior to your next trip. The app for you smartphone--US State Department Smart Traveler-- is free and you will receive any warnings regarding in country related warnings to US citizens 24/7 directly to your phone.

I was recently asked for some recommendations on an Africa trip so looked up some old emails and itinerary to send a good friend. I took my mother there for her 60th birthday in 2009 through Kensington Tours. A close friend knew the founder of the company and highly recommended it. I did not expect any special treatment, but was surprised by the level of abhorrent service and after service. I had initially tried to sort out things directly with the company rather than post a negative review as I know how damaging that can be for a company that is dependent on online reviews. However, the only compensation we were offered was a credit to travel again through Kensington Tours, which my mother and I will never do again. Since I was looking up my old itinerary, I was curious to see whether others had experienced the same poor service for such an expensive trip such as a Safari and was relieved to see that others had taken the time to post the reviews.

There appears to be some others in this thread who have had good experiences with the company and I'm sure that some of the dealings must be positive or the company would find themselves out of business. However, I was surprised that there was an accusation that people take lightly posting negative replies. I think it is safe to say that when you consider online reviews, many are hesitant to post negative reviews so those who have taken the time must have truly had horrible experiences. We paid the company nearly $20,000 USD for a trip of a lifetime for my mother - it is not because we have platinum cards or travel that way typically, but my mother had wanted to go to Africa all her life. I wanted the experience to be the best it could be.

The main issue was our driver. He was horrible. He was lazy, rude, unhelpful, unwilling to accommodate and at times, scoffed at us. When we were travelling through an area where tze tze flies are abundant, he refused to close the windows and turn on the a/c in the vehicle despite our being attacked and bitten. We paid to have a private safari and the level of service was insulting. We tried our best efforts to give the driver a chance, but he was completely ruining our trip. It was so bad that by the 4th day, we contacted the company contact (which was very difficult to do) and requested a new driver to be sent. There was a great deal of resistance to this and I had to insist that either the company sent a driver or we would hire one and seek compensation from them even if that required legal proceedings. They did in fact send another driver who was a huge improvement, but by the time he arrived we were half way through the safari portion of our trip.

When we arrived at the Ngorongoro Crater, there was a confusion in our room booking. Apparently, Kensington had only booked us for one night instead of two. I had intentionally booked us for two nights at the accommodation there in order for my mother to have an opportunity to have a little rest before we continued through the safari (there were many nights we only spent one night at an accommodation in order to cover what we wished). Because of the mistake, the hotel manager was only able to offer us sub-par family accommodations in a much lower category room than we paid for. Not only was this a poor substitute for a great deal of planning on my part, but this meant we had to pack up and move again the second night to get the room we had paid for for at least the second night. When this was brought up with Kensington Tours on our return, they blamed the hotel for overbooking. There was no effort by the company to seek any refund for the rate of room we were offered nor was there any compensation offered to us for the money they took in payment from us.

Overall, the company seems to be ok, but is not a high quality product. If you are paying a substantial amount for a special trip, I would suggest considering another company to plan your details.

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Kensington Tours Review (My HONEST Experience)

I recently came across Kensington Tours, a company that specializes in creating customized, private-guided trips. I was impressed by their website, and decided to take a trip through them.

Kensington Tours offers a wide range of trips, including group and small group tours. They cater to various interests and preferences which makes them an attractive option for diverse groups of travelers. In particular, I was impressed to find out that first-time customers were pleased with their experiences, praising the logistics, planning, and knowledgeable local guides provided by Kensington Tours.

In this article, I will be telling you my opinion of this tour-booking company, based on my experiences of travelling with them.

Overview of Kensington Tours

Kensington Tours can be worth your money if you select the correct packages. However, some people have faced problems, so be careful when booking.

This company also provides experienced guides who will take you through all the sightseeing places and accompany you on tour. They are mainly used for traveling to foreign countries where people need to learn more about the local scene. The guides will know the local language and can interact with the locals on your behalf.

You won’t have to worry about anything other than your flights to reach your destination.

Services Offered

During my research about Kensington Tours, I discovered that they provide customized itineraries and personalized travel experiences. A wonderful woman by the name of Amanda Jex was my destination lead, and she was very accommodating to the last-minute changes we made to the itineraries.

Kensington Tours made our multi-country trips stress-free with efficient logistical services, such as on-time drivers, clear signage, and convenient train tickets.

Kensington Tours delivered a great bespoke European vacation for my visit to Italy and Switzerland. The company listened carefully to my family’s desires and tailored the itinerary accordingly.

Destinations Covered

Kensington Tours offers a variety of trips to different parts of the world. Some of the popular destinations I found include:

• Ultimate Ireland (Small Groups):  This 13-day group tour costs $7,775 and covers iconic Irish attractions.
• Northern Lights Escape:  A 6-day small group tour priced at $2,340, with a focus on chasing the mesmerizing aurora borealis.
• Iceland Discovery:  This 8-day small group tour, costing $3,950, takes travelers to the stunning landscapes of Iceland.
• Everest Base Camp Trek:  An adventurous small group tour that brings participants on a trek to the base camp of Mount Everest.

Pros and Cons of Kensington Tours

Kensington Tours gives exceptional service, tailored itineraries, and knowledgeable local travel guides. The company offers a wide range of  interesting trips  catering to diverse interests and preferences, such as small group tours in Ireland, Northern Lights escapes, and Everest Base Camp treks. Their flexibility and customization options make them appealing to travelers looking for unique or personalized experiences.

In addition to the impressive variety of tours, I was also happy with the accommodations, transportation, and overall logistics provided by Kensington Tours. Their level of organization and attention to detail contributed to a smooth and stress-free travel experience.

However, there have been instances where some travelers had  less than satisfactory experiences  with Kensington Tours. It’s important to note that discrepancies in service quality or tour expectations can happen with any tour operator and do not necessarily reflect the overall offerings of the company.

My main gripe with them is that they charge a very high cancellation fee ($350 per person). This makes it difficult to book a trip with them if you are not sure about when exactly you will be departing.

Nonetheless, potential issues to be aware of include inadequate accommodations or miscommunication in terms of expectations and itineraries . To avoid disappointment, I recommend doing thorough research on the specific tour you are interested in and reading multiple reviews to gather a well-rounded understanding of what to expect.

Can You Cancel Tours On Kensington Tours?

All cancellations of confirmed reservations on Kensington Tours will face a penalty of $350 per person. You will receive a full refund only if you cancel the tour 90 days before departure.

If you cancel a booked tour 60-89 days before departure, the penalty paid will be 30% of the booking price. Any canceled trip 30-59 days before the tour will face a loss of 50% of the program price. 

Any tour cancellation about 29 days before departure won’t qualify for a refund. The cancellation fees will be 100% of the program price.

How To Get Refunds From Kensington Tours?

You need to contact customer support to get a refund from Kensington Tours. You have the option to call them or send them an email on their registered email ID. 

They levy heavy cancellation charges even if you cancel a month in advance. They won’t be responsible for the cancellation fees imposed by the airlines and other associated services.

Is It Better To Trave With A Tour Company Or On Your Own?

It is better to go with a tour company if you are traveling to a different country. However, arranging the trip yourself is better when traveling within your own country. 

When visiting foreign countries, you will face many cultural and language barriers. These issues can cause trouble in planning your perfect trip.

Additionally, you may miss out on good tourist spots in foreign countries. This will not happen on guided tours since they know them all.

However, if you are familiar with the country and its language, you can travel alone. It will be a fun experience if you have the time to research properly. 

All in all, just adopt this rule of thumb 👉 Domestic Travel – Travel on your own; International Travel – Travel with a tour company.

Final Remarks 

In this article, I tried to give you an honest depiction of what traveling with Kensington Tours might look like.

I would suggest you try Kensington Tours if you have the budget. Just be sure to be clear in your communications and what you expect from the trip, especially the itineraries.

My name is Jeyn Dashner and I am the founder of WanderFever. I have worked as a travel journalist for many years, and exploring new places is my greatest pleasure in life.

Kensington Tours

Review Highlights

“ We decided that our priority was to see the sights of Egypt so we were super strict on avoiding raw foods of any type. ” in 4 reviews

“ The Hilton in Luxor, the Oberoi Sal Hasheesh in Hurghada, and for our last night in Cairo , the Kempinski. ” in 3 reviews

“ I have read the reviews but have still chosen to go with Kensington Tours primarily due to our assigned agent , Alistair Kiwana. ” in 2 reviews

Location & Hours

Suggest an edit

2207 Concord Pike

Wilmington, DE 19803

Serving Wilmington Area

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About the business.

Business owner information

Business Owner

Specializing in private-guided vacations, Kensington Tours offers travelers personalized experiences in the most remarkable locations in the world. Handcrafted itineraries, that span across more than 90 countries; expertise, and local insights have positioned Kensington Tours as a top contender in luxury travel. This unique approach has earned the company awards and recognition by the most recognized travel publications including National Geographic and Travel and Leisure. …

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We've done 3 extensive trips with Kensington Tours. Each one was expertly planned incorporating our input on the destinations and detailed itineraries. We have opted to travel "hosted," with KT, meaning they set up and book all itineraries and travel arrangements. Their hosts meet us at the airport when we arrive, and transport us to our hotel. Each time we change locations (new city, new hotel) they provide transport to the train station and make sure we're on the right train and car. When we arrive they transport us to the new hotel. We were driven from Tokyo to Hakone, as part of an 8-hour guided tour, just us with a driver and a guide. They make all travel reservations, book hotels, set up local guides, and purchase all tickets. With KT handling all travel logistics, for us, this relieves the most stressful elements of travel. I'm recounting our recent 18-day excursion to Japan. We traveled to 6 cities, 2 or 3 nights each. Tokyo, Hakone, Takayama, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Osaka. According to our plan, KT provided guided tours on about half of the days overall. Either a 4- or 8-hour excursion. The tours were guided by local experts and each guide was enjoyable and knowledgeable. The remainder of the time in each destination we were on our own. Our KT travel expert provided valuable suggestions for things to do on our own time. He also provided super advice on restaurants. Over 18 days, KT's execution of our complex travel itinerary was FLAWLESS. Perfect. Never a missed connection. Always prompt. They were equally perfect in our previous trips. The itinerary planned for us was beyond expectations. We even had a terrific cooking class in the apartment kitchen of our instructor In Kyoto. We give Kensington Tours the highest marks!!! We'll be traveling with them in the future.

Kensington Tours may rip you off. Kensington Tours is a vendor with nasty, pushy old school sales tactics and sketchy opaque pricing to get you fleeced in my opinion, read on ! Kensington Tours pre-charged my Amex Centurian card a staggering $85,985.00. for 6 nights without international airfares in one cost-opaque invoice. This consisted of a simple assembly of 9 hotel room nights in 3 locations, 6 in-country economy flights, 3 airport pickup/drop offs, a 2 day 'tour' and a 1-day expedition on a small boat. It was so bad we declined the 2nd tour day and boat trip. The full retail cost of the trip, which would include profits to Kensington Tours, is estimated at $30,140.47 versus their invoice of $ 85,985.00. That is a staggering overcharge of $54,859.43. see details below. The experience should have been amazing for this amount of money, but the cost was so egregious for the average to low quality of the tours, flights, boat, and cheap or kerb-side restaurants and food establishments I decided to assemble the full retail price for these activities by speaking directly with all the major vendors. These are mostly time-specific cost comparisons on the days we were there. Both hotel general managers informed me the costs were about the same as on the previous days for the day extensions they quoted. i.e. peak season pricing. The full retail costs I've assembled would include any tour outfits profits on the hotel, airfare and lunch as they buy wholesale. It should be a close season-specific estimate. This was verified by a call from Kensington Tours Director of Asia sales who confirmed she couldn't reveal room prices because they have contracts with the hotels for discounts over retail. Kensington Tours provided near zero value, I also didn't get the typical additional hotel $ benefits, comped amenities and prestige of direct Centurion bookings, instead the reservations showed as a lowly Kensington Tours operator booking. Kensington Tours unilaterally declares their sales brochure is a de facto contract agreement without either attaching the contract doc to my knowledge or getting a counter signature, i.e. it's not a contract and would never hold up. They attempt to hide behind 'private discount contracts' with hotels and insinuated to me costs were 3x reality The comped me back $30,000.00 because I have some leverage, it should have been $55,000.00. I'm still considering whether to file a quick suit, they'll eat at least the balance defending against me in attorney fees. I'll see if I can be bothered to do that. I probably will, to let others know to be careful and not use an outfit like this. Hopefully save folks their hard earned money. My bottom line, Kensington Tours is a disgrace run the other way. Paolo T Here are the cost details: #1 HOTEL : CHANG MAI : FOUR SEASONS 3 BEDROOM VILLA RATE: THB 179,250 + 18.7% TAX & SERVICE CHARGE PER NIGHT X 2 (2 NIGHT STAY) COST USD: $10,262.06 COMMENTS: PRICE FROM HOTEL #2 HOTEL : KRABI : PHULAY BAY ROOM 1 VILLA RATE: THB 63,000 + 18.7% TAX & SERVICE CHARGE PER NIGHT x3 COST USD: $5,409.18 COMMENTS: PRICE FROM HOTEL ROOM 2 VILLA RATE: THB 78,500 + 18.7% TAX & SERVICE CHARGE PER NIGHT x3 COST USD: $6,741.18 COMMENTS: PRICE FROM HOTEL #3 BOAT : PRIVATE SPEEDBOAT FULL DAY RATE: THB 36,251 FOR 3 PERSONS INCLUSIVE 17% COST USD: $1,034.93 COMMENTS: TRIP DECLINED. PRICE FROM BOAT VENDOR #4 THAILAND IN COUNTRY FLIGHTS BANGKOK AIRPORT TO CHIANG MAI RATE: $211.40 USD PER TICKET ECONOMY x3 $634.20 + TAX COST USD: $634.20 PRICE FROM CARRIER CHANG MAI TO KRABI RATE: $256.00 USD PER TICKET ECONOMY x3 $768.00 + TAX COST USD: $756.00 PRICE FROM CARRIER KRABI TO BANGKOK AIRPORT RATE: $195.80 USD PER TICKET ECONOMY x3 $587.40 + TAX COST USD: $587.40 PRICE FROM CARRIER #5 KENSINGTON TOURS : ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL SERVICES ROUND TRIP TRANSPORT FROM AIRPORT TO HOTELS ESTIMATED COST PER TRIP: $150 x6 ($900) INEXPENSIVE TRIPS + LUNCH ESTIMATED COST PER TRIP $500 x2 ($1,000) NO PRIVATE TOURS #6 MANDARIN ORIENTAL HOTEL BANGKOK DELUXE 2 BEDROOM SUITE RATE: THB 98,600 + 18.7% TAX & SERVICE CHARGE PER NIGHT x1 COST USD: $2,815.52 (ONLINE ESTIMATE) TOTAL ESTIMATED COST: $30,140.47 KENSINGTON ESTIMATED COST 80% $24,112.37 KENSINGTON COST PROFIT 20% $6,028.09 KENSINGTON TOURS AMOUNT CHARGED TO CUSTOMER: $85,000.00 COST DIFFERENCE: $54,859.43

Do not use - way overpriced. I have used Kensington for trips to Greece, Portugal, and Zimbabwe in the past. I started to use them for a 15 day trip to Japan and they quoted me a price that was over ten thousand dollars then what I managed to get for myself. Incidentally, I booked higher class hotels than Kensington offered and still came in a lot cheaper. I realize that tour companies need to make a profit but I am not interested in being gouged. With internet services available (I.E. Hotels.com/tours by locals) - with a little work, individuals can put together an itinerary themselves and come out WAY cheaper.

We have used Kensington tours for three trips over the past 10 years: the Amalfi coast, southern Spain, and in October the Scotland Ireland Explorer tour. All three trips were excellent, and everything went as planned--airport pickups, tour guides, transportation between cities. We had two exceptional drivers in Scotland and Ireland. All accommodations were good to excellent. The only reason I gave 4 stars is that they're very expensive. I was able to duplicate their Portugal tour by booking it all myself for half the price, but this is not always easy or feasible. We've always been very satisfied with our Kensington tours.

Eilean Donan Castle, Scotland

Glencoe, Scotland

My wife and I took a two week Egypt package starting 18 Sep - just before the current troubles. Moe Sami was the sales guy and he was excellent. I did not find the pricing out of line with other estimates. Sorry for the long review. - MEDI Travel appears to be the in-country agent for Egypt. The Kensington/MEDI crew were awesome. We were met EVERYWHERE and at every stop by multiple reps - At every airport arrival/departure we were escorted through as much of the immigration/security apparatus as was possible by a MEDI "fixer". - MEDI uses local, free lance tour guides. Ours were awesome with EXCELLENT English. Not surprisingly all were licensed in Egypt and 20+ years experience. We had Sally in Cairo, Ayman in Alexandria, Ali from Luxor to Aswan, and Hamad (I think) at Abu Simbel. All drivers were SUPERB. - Hotels were great. During the trip planning phase I felt like there might be better hotels available but I deferred to Moe. When you are in Giza, I just can't think of a better location than the Marriott Mena. Our room and every hotel meal faced the pyramids. The pyramids are not off in the distance, They are right in front of you. Great pool. Luxor Hilton was nice but we arrived late in the evening and departed early so did not get to enjoy it. Ritz in Cairo was also very, very nice - a four day river cruise on Sonesta St George was part of the package. SUPERB ship staff. We've never been on a river cruise. Wait until you see the Nile River cruise activity. I think it is unique. There are a huge number of cruise boats on the river and the whole scene is controlled chaos. Now that we've completed the trip, I think the river cruise was the best way for us to see the sights from Luxor to Aswan - Avoiding travel sickness. We decided that our priority was to see the sights of Egypt so we were super strict on avoiding raw foods of any type. No issues. I did buy a GRAYL water filter and it worked awesome for times when we needed water. BTW - because most of the bathrooms at tourist sites are attended, they are very clean!! - Tipping. I see comments from travelers that feel the "tipping culture" is a scam. I do not see it that way. Tipping is a big part of the Egyptian travel industry and I'm comfortable with it. The Tipping Guide in the Kensington Country Guide was OUTSTANDING. We applied a lesson learned from a previous trip. Although you can buy local currency, it is always hard to find the small bills you need for porters, bathroom attendants. USD and Euros are accepted as tips everywhere. We took a couple thousand USD (with one hundred $1 bills) for all our tipping (guides, drivers, porters, etc). Maybe we were over tippers but I don't care. Kensington/MEDI people were always with us and I gave everyone of them a tip. The service was great and we felt welcome - This tour is medium to high exertion - the summer heat had still not dissipated. Hot as anything at Abu Simbel. Climbing in the pyramids is not for the faint of heart. The recurring thing I observed at all stops was the uneven footing because the floors you'll walk on are a combination of "new' stone, and the "original" stuff from 3000 years ago and its all mixed up!! - Don't wait to go if Egypt interests you. The longer you wait, the less you'll be able to do and explore.

When they are good, they are good, but when things go poorly they do not offer assistance. First if they tell you your drivers all speak English saying hello must qualify because many of our drivers had little English skills. We had taken Italian so we were able to navigate the issues, but without it we would have been lost. Second, if they tell you that things can be changed while your on your tour be skeptical. We ask for a couple of changes and neither were actually worked on. Our drivers were normally late or canceled at the last minute making us responsible for our own transportation. The drivers had little clue where we were to meet the tour guides. We were just dropped off and had to rely on our abilities to talk to locals for directions. Lastly, if they tell you they will reimburse you for getting your own transportation when they fail just don't expect that to happen. The owe me 100€ that I doubt I'll ever see. I'd be hard pressed to use this service again. On the good side most of our guides were fantastic.

My wife and I spent a substantial amount of money with Kensington on a Japan trip. We experienced a multitude of issues on the trip. Tour guides with no structured itinerary, no vehicles when we had scheduled cars, wrong/too small cars for pick ups that couldn't fit our luggage. Extremely disappointed given that we paid a small fortune for this service. Look elsewhere.

While Kensington was great about holding our COVID dollars for two years, I was very disappointed when the chose to take even more aggressive profits on our revised plans. We paid too much for everything we did with them in Scotland. I'm ok with a premium for managing things but Kensington was completely inflexible when we tried to get a fair value out of our tour. They basically found decent tour guides and hotels then marked them up so aggressively, we challenged them and they refused to accommodate us. We have been to 97 countries and seven continents and this is the only tour company that I would never use again.

I have read the reviews but have still chosen to go with Kensington Tours primarily due to our assigned agent, Alistair Kiwana. We did get bids from other companies, and Kensington was very competitive. And Alistair, by far was the best we spoke to in terms of being personable and understanding travel and Africa extremely well----and so we decided to go with him and as a result Kensington. Alistair has been prompt, has thorough knowledge of Africa and has taken the time to listen to what our goals are for this trip and worked very hard to accommodate them from a planning perspective. I can't say enough about his attention to detail and his willingness to listen and his ability to plan from there. When we return, we will make sure and leave another review on the actual trip, which I am confident will be extraordinary.

Just returned from 21 day baltic state and Scandinavia.No one has contacted us to ask of our experience.Tour way to expensive for services provided.Absolutely zero personal service.Tried contacting emergency numbers given out for certain countries, phone and or text not returned.Two countries private guides could hardly speak English.Seemed we never got great hotel rooms that qualified as deluxe or superior.Our family of six spent way to much money with this untrustworthy company,Wish I had read peoples previous reviews before booking with them.We travel extensively but will never consider using Kensington tours

12 other reviews that are not currently recommended

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Reviews 4.8.

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Our Turkey experience

There are two things that make a trip great: the place you visit and your trip companions. Turkey is amazing, of course, but we would like to extend our most sincere thanks and praises to our tour guide, Ozcan Davascan. Oz is truly a treasure. His knowledge of the country, its history, culture and traditions is unbelievable. He can delve into small details which open a totally new perspective on the events of the past and the historical figures. He is equally well versed in the architecture, ancient history of Efesus, and the details of geological formations. He is an easy going person, highly courteous and professional. Oz, many thanks for your help! We are very lucky to meet you! World travelers: if you are traveling to Turkiye make sure to ask for Oz to be your tour guide. We also would like to thank our Kensigton Tours curator, Julienne Bourgeois, for a well planned and meticulously organized trip. Many thanks, Julienne!

Date of experience : October 11, 2023

Reply from Kensington Tours

Hello Zezik, We're delighted to hear about your fantastic Turkey experience! It's true that a great trip hinges on both the destination and the companions. Turkey is indeed amazing, and your praise for your tour guide, Ozcan Davascan, is well-deserved. We are glad to read about Julienne Bourgeois, your Kensington Tours D.E and her meticulous planning. We're thrilled you had a wonderful time and appreciate your recommendation to request Oz as a tour guide when traveling to Turkey. -The Team at Kensington Tours

Our planner, Monika, did a superb job of listening to our interests and desires for our trip of four to Greece. The transfers from airport to ferry to hotels and back were smooth, safe, and often helpful if we seemed confused on arrival to new locations. The guides were highly certified and it showed in their tours. The accommodations were very comfortable and either convenient to the particular location or offered amenities worth being a little distance away. We all four gave our trip an A+ and would not hesitate to recommend Kensington to friends and family.

Date of experience : September 16, 2023

Hello Judy M, t's wonderful to hear that Monika, your planner, crafted a Greece trip that perfectly matched your interests and desires. The smooth and safe transfers, along with certified guides, enhanced your travel experience. Comfortable accommodations in convenient locations added to your satisfaction. We're thrilled to receive an A+ rating from all four of you and greatly appreciate your willingness to recommend Kensington to friends and family. Thank you for your kind words and endorsement! -The Team at Kensington Tours

Perfect trip

I cannot praise Kensington and Dev Jai enough for a wonderful adventure in India. The communication between our Kensington reps and local guides was excellent as every event was flawlessly coordinated. Thank you Dev for your professionalism and expert advice to keep 2 ladies travel in comfort and safety.

Date of experience : February 06, 2024

Dear Julie, Thank you so much for your review of your experience with Dev and Kensington Tours in India. We pride ourselves on our local partnerships and relationships. It is great to hear you enjoyed comfort and safety from Dev's expertise and assistance. Thank you, -The Team at Kensington Tours

Aileen, our destination expert planned a wonderful trip for us. All the hotels on Oslo and Bergen were downtown in perfect locations. The farm we stayed in Aurland was the best part of the trip. Our activities including biking and boat trips on and fiord and hiking on a glacier. We would love to go back.

Date of experience : June 09, 2023

Hello Scott Parks, Thank you for your kinds words! We're glad to hear that Aileen, our destination expert, planned a wonderful trip for you in Norway. It's great to know that the hotels in Oslo and Bergen were conveniently located, and the highlight of your trip was staying on a farm in Aurland. The activities, such as biking, boat trips, and hiking, added to your memorable experience. We appreciate your kind words and hope to assist you in planning your next trip to Norway or anywhere else that's on your wishlist. -The Team at Kensington Tours

Kensington Tours -- specifically…Deborah O'Donnell

Kensington Tours -- specifically Deborah O 'Donnell. She is truly amazing. I am a travel agent and she has helped me put several trips together for clients. She has done an amazing job and my clients have raved about their experience! I have also received referrals based on the great travel experience that she has helped put together. Her communication is great and she listens to my needs on what my clients want and expect and delivers an awesome product.

Date of experience : August 30, 2023

Hello Clarissa Streetman, Thank you for your kind words about Deborah O'Donnell and Kensington Tours. We're delighted to hear that Deborah's expertise and dedication have resulted in exceptional travel experiences for your clients. Your referrals are a testament to her outstanding service, and we appreciate your trust in us to deliver memorable journeys. We look forward to continuing to provide exceptional travel services. -The Team at Kensington Tours

Kensington Tours may rip you off.

Kensington Tours is a vendor with nasty, pushy old school sales tactics and sketchy opaque pricing to get you fleeced in my opinion, read on ! Kensington Tours pre-charged my Amex Centurian card a staggering $85,985.00. for 6 nights without international airfares in one cost-opaque invoice. This consisted of a simple assembly of 9 hotel room nights in 3 locations, 6 in-country economy flights, 3 airport pickup/drop offs, a 2 day 'tour' and a 1-day expedition on a small boat. It was so bad we declined the 2nd tour day and boat trip. The full retail cost of the trip, which would include profits to Kensington Tours, is estimated at $30,140.47 versus their invoice of $ 85,985.00. That is a staggering overcharge of $54,859.43. see details below. The experience should have been amazing for this amount of money, but the cost was so egregious for the average to low quality of the tours, flights, boat, and cheap or kerb-side restaurants and food establishments I decided to assemble the full retail price for these activities by speaking directly with all the major vendors. These are mostly time-specific cost comparisons on the days we were there. Both hotel general managers informed me the costs were about the same as on the previous days for the day extensions they quoted. i.e. peak season pricing. The full retail costs I've assembled would include any tour outfits profits on the hotel, airfare and lunch as they buy wholesale. It should be a close season-specific estimate. This was verified by a call from Kensington Tours Director of Asia sales who confirmed she couldn't reveal room prices because they have contracts with the hotels for discounts over retail. Kensington Tours provided near zero value, I also didn't get the typical additional hotel $ benefits, comped amenities and prestige of direct Centurion bookings, instead the reservations showed as a lowly Kensington Tours operator booking. Kensington Tours unilaterally declares their sales brochure is a de facto contract agreement without either attaching the contract doc to my knowledge or getting a counter signature, i.e. it's not a contract and would never hold up. They attempt to hide behind 'private discount contracts' with hotels and insinuated to me costs were 3x reality The comped me back $30,000.00 because I have some leverage, it should have been $55,000.00. I'm still considering whether to file a quick suit, they'll eat at least the balance defending against me in attorney fees. I'll see if I can be bothered to do that. I probably will, to let others know to be careful and not use an outfit like this. Hopefully save folks their hard earned money. My bottom line, Kensington Tours is a disgrace run the other way. Paolo T Here are the cost details: #1 HOTEL : CHANG MAI : FOUR SEASONS 3 BEDROOM VILLA RATE: THB 179,250 + 18.7% TAX & SERVICE CHARGE PER NIGHT X 2 (2 NIGHT STAY) COST USD: $10,262.06 COMMENTS: PRICE FROM HOTEL #2 HOTEL : KRABI : PHULAY BAY ROOM 1 VILLA RATE: THB 63,000 + 18.7% TAX & SERVICE CHARGE PER NIGHT x3 COST USD: $5,409.18 COMMENTS: PRICE FROM HOTEL ROOM 2 VILLA RATE: THB 78,500 + 18.7% TAX & SERVICE CHARGE PER NIGHT x3 COST USD: $6,741.18 COMMENTS: PRICE FROM HOTEL #3 BOAT : PRIVATE SPEEDBOAT FULL DAY RATE: THB 36,251 FOR 3 PERSONS INCLUSIVE 17% COST USD: $1,034.93 COMMENTS: TRIP DECLINED. PRICE FROM BOAT VENDOR #4 THAILAND IN COUNTRY FLIGHTS BANGKOK AIRPORT TO CHIANG MAI RATE: $211.40 USD PER TICKET ECONOMY x3 $634.20 + TAX COST USD: $634.20 PRICE FROM CARRIER CHANG MAI TO KRABI RATE: $256.00 USD PER TICKET ECONOMY x3 $768.00 + TAX COST USD: $756.00 PRICE FROM CARRIER KRABI TO BANGKOK AIRPORT RATE: $195.80 USD PER TICKET ECONOMY x3 $587.40 + TAX COST USD: $587.40 PRICE FROM CARRIER #5 KENSINGTON TOURS : ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL SERVICES ROUND TRIP TRANSPORT FROM AIRPORT TO HOTELS ESTIMATED COST PER TRIP: $150 x6 ($900) INEXPENSIVE TRIPS + LUNCH ESTIMATED COST PER TRIP $500 x2 ($1,000) NO PRIVATE TOURS #6 MANDARIN ORIENTAL HOTEL BANGKOK DELUXE 2 BEDROOM SUITE RATE: THB 98,600 + 18.7% TAX & SERVICE CHARGE PER NIGHT x1 COST USD: $2,815.52 (ONLINE ESTIMATE) TOTAL ESTIMATED COST: $30,140.47 KENSINGTON ESTIMATED COST 80% $24,112.37 KENSINGTON COST PROFIT 20% $6,028.09 KENSINGTON TOURS AMOUNT CHARGED TO CUSTOMER: $85,000.00 COST DIFFERENCE: $54,859.43

Date of experience : December 28, 2023

Dear Paolo, It is extremely disappointing to read your review of your trip experience with us over the Christmas and New Year period. We would like to speak to you directly but we don’t seem to have your contact information as your trip was booked with another agency. Would you be so kind as to please contact our customer care team by email on [email protected] and provide us with the best details to contact you on as we would like the opportunity to speak with you about your trip. - The Team at Kensington Tours

50th wedding anniversary trip

Megan organized a vacation that will be remembered forever! It was our 50th wedding anniversary this year and I wanted to go to Scotland and England. We stayed in the best hotels available and a couple of castles! I felt like a fairy tale princess. The drivers/guides we had were excellent and extremely knowledgeable. My favourite was Steve Cairns who took us all around the highlands. He was such a nice and caring guide who went beyond the call of duty and has a terrific sense of humour!

Date of experience : August 12, 2023

Hello Elaine Cook, We are thrilled that Megan was able to create a memorable 50th-anniversary vacation for you. Scotland and England, with their castles and enchanting landscapes, provided a fairy tale backdrop for your celebration. We take pride in our knowledgeable and caring guides like Steve Cairns, who add that extra touch of magic to your journey. We hope your anniversary trip was filled with unforgettable moments and cherished memories and hope to be part of many more milestone with with in the future. -The Team at Kensington Tours

Thank you Susan with Kensington

Thank you Susan with Kensington! My clients wanted a trip to Rome, Forence and Venice with an ending in Ireland. Susan put together the most amazing and memorable trip for them. She was very responsive, thorough and avalaible for the last minute particulars. We couldn't have done this without her! We are true Kensington fans and cannot say thank you enough!

Date of experience : June 19, 2023

Hello, Thank you so much for your kind words. We're so happy that Susan could create an amazing and memorable trip for your clients, encompassing Rome, Florence, Venice, and ending in Ireland. We will be sure to share your glowing review with Susan and truly look forward to creating more memorable trip with our partnership. The Team at Kensington Tours

We had the best experience ever with Susan!

We had the best experience ever with Kensington Tours. Susan Barone did any amazing job with our trip. We felt that everything was very thought out and done the way that we wanted. The service was truly amazing. We had recommendations, travel guides, tickets anything we needed delivered to the hotel. We had a little treat waiting for us in every new hotel we went too from our agent and Kensington which made our honeymoon just that much more special. I would definitely recommend this company if you are traveling to Europe!

Date of experience : July 01, 2023

Hello Alexi Arjona, Thank you for sharing your wonderful experience with us! It's fantastic to hear that your trip was so well-planned and that you received top-notch service. We're delighted that the thoughtful touches by Susan added to your honeymoon's specialness. Recommending us for European travel is greatly appreciated, and we look forward to assisting you with more adventures in the future! -The Team at Kensington Tours

My clients went to Egypt and LOVED it!

I recently had clients who visited Cairo, Egypt and had this to say, "I knew Egypt would be amazing, but you and Kensington made it perfect." He said the tour guides and Egyptologists could not have been more friendly, and he mentioned that he added activities (a hot air balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings!!) mid-trip, and it was handled seamlessly. I appreciate the peace of mind that comes from the professionalism and service that Kensington provides. Thank you, Moe Sami, for curating a fantastic vacation for them and making me look like a rock star! ~Rebecca with Wishes Family Travel

Date of experience : June 12, 2023

Hello Rebecca, We're thrilled to hear that your clients had a fantastic time in Egypt with us! It brings us joy to know that they enjoyed the tour guides, Egyptologists, and the added activities. We take pride in providing professional and seamless service, and we're grateful for your kind words. Thank you for trusting Kensington Tours to curate a memorable vacation for your clients. We appreciate your partnership and look forward to making many more unforgettable travel experiences together! -The Team at Kensington Tours

I highly recommended Kensington Tours

I highly recommended Kensington Tours, and specifically Bethanie Willner who was our "Destination Expert" on a family trip to Paris/Florence/Rome (with lots of other stops in Italy too). To be able to travel with family of 6 and not have a care in the world, priceless. Tours were all arranged and were exactly as described, drivers and guides were always on time. And even when we had a little emergency, I knew who to call right away in Italy and Bethanie also followed up. Bethanie was always willing to hear feedback and make adjustments to make the trip be exactly what I wanted. I enjoyed working with Bethanie so much that I have already planned another trip to Germany.

Date of experience : July 13, 2023

Hello Clara Kippes, Thank you for your wonderful feedback! We're thrilled to hear that your family trip to Paris, Florence, and Rome, as well as other stops in Italy, was a memorable and seamless experience. Bethanie Willner takes pride in crafting personalized journeys, and we're glad she could make your trip exactly as you envisioned. We look forward to helping you plan your next adventure to Germany. Your trust and recommendation mean the world to us! - The Team at Kensington Tours

Fabulous trip to Ireland

From start to finish Rachel was terrific planning the perfect trip to Ireland for 4 of us. We were not familiar with the country at all and in a week we saw everything we wanted and more. We moved 3x and everything I was seamless. Each hotel kept getting better and better and so did the sites! We can't wait to use Kensington's tours again on future vacations!

Date of experience : October 06, 2023

Hello Christine Marie Weisberg, It's wonderful to hear about your fabulous trip to Ireland, expertly planned by Rachel. Your seamless journey, the improvement in accommodations, and the delightful sights are all indicative of a well-crafted itinerary. We're thrilled that you had such a great experience and look forward to assisting you with future vacations. Thank you for your kind words and trust in Kensington's Tours! -The Team at Kensington Tours

Karolina Stringer on the Kensington…

Karolina Stringer on the Kensington team made planning a high-end Northern Italy trip for an affluent client painless! Start to finish she was helpful and responsive. Client was thrilled and one couple had very high standards. It was a home run!

Date of experience : June 01, 2023

Hello Janet Harris, Thank you for your wonderful review! We're delighted that Karolina Stringer provided a seamless experience while planning your high-end Northern Italy trip. Our team takes pride in meeting even the highest standards, and we're thrilled to hear that your clients were thrilled with their journey. We look forward to assisting you with future travel adventures with Kensington Tours. -The Team at Kensington Tours

Difficult to navigate and provide…

Difficult to navigate and provide information. Very frustrating. I have been on multiple trips with multiple companies and never had a problem like this.

Date of experience : January 05, 2024

Dear Judy, Thank you for bringing the issues to our attention. We are sorry your trip planning process is frustrating as that is absolutely not what we aim to deliver to our clients. Please know your Destination Expert and their director have been made aware of your feedback and will be in touch with you. We hope to address any issues you have right away, sorry for the delay in responding to this comment. Sincerely, - The Team at Kensington Tours

So so in terms of value add vs organizing on own with tripadvisor and hotel concierges.

A few things were well organized but other days were unmitigated disasters. Used them to plan a family summer vacation in Spain. The value add is negligible. You have to go thro levels of indirection to get any responsiveness or on the fly changes. Need to Call a person in canada who has to connect to someone in spain and get back to you later. Often too late to make an impact. For approximately 5k per day for 4 people not including hotels except 3 nights, got.some drivers with no english, no guide on the ground or immediately responsive contact person beyond hours of tour time. We expected food on 5.5 hour train ride, which became a 7 hour ride with train delays plus 1.5 hour car ride, but got nothing and were left starving for nine hours and had to face the stress of no flexibility to move or change evening program one day. Restaurants in spain dont open till 7 or 8 pm. So while we were tired, and starving, two bailed and 2 of us braved the evening tour still starving. Scheduled events were spotty in quality, worst being in granada where the guide rushed us thro the alhambra albeit in an engaging way, and then had no clue where to find us vegetarian tapas options. He shaved two hours off his assigned time with us as well. Other guides at least were sincere in helping us understand their cities though some did a much more engaging job than others. We did book with little notice and were promised some flexibility, but just got told things are non refundable and non changeable. Cant even get a person to talk to if we want to modify when i book a tour thro say tripadvisor i get way more communication options. Had a better experience using Kensington for a costa rica trip, but costa rica in general is much more tourist friendly. I had so much trouble with simple things and absolutely worse than a good hotel concierge.

Date of experience : July 05, 2023

Hello Sudha, We appreciate you sharing your detailed feedback about your recent experience with us. We apologize for the issues you encountered during your family vacation in Spain and the lack of value you perceived. We are committed to addressing your concerns and providing a resolution. Our Client Experience Manager will be connecting with you soon to discuss your feedback in detail and work towards a satisfactory resolution. Thank you for bringing these matters to our attention, and we appreciate your patience as we work towards addressing your concerns. - The Team at Kensington Tours

I worked with Noraly on a trip to the Galapagos with fairly short notice. She was a dream to work with and was able to send several variations of the trip to make sure it was just right for my clients. She was responsive, understanding, and got creative when needed. She never made me feel like a burden with my questions and I greatly appreciate that.

Date of experience : August 14, 2023

Hello Teresa, We're so glad to hear about your positive experience working with Noraly to plan a trip to the Galapagos on short notice. Her responsiveness, understanding, and creativity ensures your clients had a tailored and memorable experience. Your questions are always welcome, and we're here to help. Thank you for choosing Kensington Tours! -The Team at Kensington Tours

5 stars from start to finish

I worked with Susan Barone on a small group trip to Italy and could not have asked for anything better. Susan was always available and helpful and put together the perfect trip for our clients. We had some last-minute changes and Susan never complained and handled everything with grace and a smile. She even called our clients to check in on them during the tour just to add an extra personal touch. I received rave reviews from clients and that is all thanks to the hard work Susan (and Kensington) did on my behalf. I hope to have a need to use Susan again soon!

Hello Debbie Rowlands, We're thrilled to receive your 5-star review! So glad that Susan Barone's dedication to crafting the perfect trip, her flexibility in handling last-minute changes, and her personal touch truly made the difference. It's wonderful to hear about the rave reviews from your clients, and we look forward to assisting you with another exceptional journey in the future. Thank you for your kind words and trust in Susan and Kensington Tours. -The Team at Kensington Tours

I contacted Kensington Tours several times

I contacted Kensington Tours several weeks ago to get assistance for a tour in Sicily. I reached Dario Beric, who worked hard to find an appropriate tour for me. Because I was trying to coordinate the tour with my son, my plans changed several times. Dario remained patient and flexible. In the end I did not move forward as my son's plans were not firm. I was disappointed that I had to cancel my plans with Kensington, but I would certainly use them in the future. Dario is a polite and professional representative of Kensington, always a gentleman. I highly recommend him.

Date of experience : September 07, 2023

Hello Rita, We appreciate your understanding and flexibility during your interactions with Dario Beric at Kensington Tours. While your plans may not have materialized this time, we're glad to hear about Dario's professionalism and patience. Should your future travel plans align, we look forward to assisting you in creating a memorable experience. Thank you for the kind recommendation. -The Team at Kensington Tours

Without a doubt the best vacation of our lifetime!

Without a doubt the best customer service on the planet! My vacation coordinator (Megan Harvey) was a true gem. She was so hands on, listen to what we wanted and provided a once in a lifetime experience for our family. We went to Italy, France, and London. We wanted to create memories of a lifetime which is exactly what Megan and the team provided!!! I will always go to Kensington for all of my travel needs! it’s customer service like Megan’s that has made us loyal customers for life!

Date of experience : June 14, 2023

Hello Debbie Monti-Keland, Thank you for your incredible feedback! We're thrilled to hear that Megan Harvey and the Kensington Tours team provided you with the best customer service and created a once-in-a-lifetime experience for your family during your trip to Italy, France, and London. We appreciate your loyalty and are honored to be your go-to for all your travel needs. We look forward to continuing to exceed your expectations and creating more amazing memories for you in the future. -The Team at Kensington Tours

Grateful to Megan and Kensington Tours for Making me look like a rockstar

I worked with Megan to craft the perfect vacation for my clients going to Ireland. Megan went above and beyond to make sure my clients had the perfect experience, even when a last minute cancellation from the supplier threatened to upset their most-wanted activity, saving the day by finding a replacement. My clients comments said it all: "This vacation was so wonderful! I didn’t want to leave. Thank you so much! You did an amazing job. I told my husband I’m moving to Ireland to the alpaca farm. Also a few days in, he thanked me for arranging the trip. I told him I just spent a ton of money and did nothing. I also can’t remember a recent vacation where I didn’t want to come home"

Date of experience : August 28, 2023

Hello Breanne Crawford, We're delighted to hear that Megan and the team helped you create a fantastic vacation for your clients in Ireland. Megan's dedication to ensuring a seamless experience and her ability to handle last-minute changes reflect our commitment to client satisfaction. It's heartwarming to know your clients had such a wonderful time and left with unforgettable memories. The alpaca farm and the entire trip seem to have left a lasting impression, making it a truly special experience. Thank you for choosing Kensington Tours, and we look forward to assisting you with more remarkable journeys in the future. Your clients' happiness is our greatest reward! -The Team at Kensington Tours

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Reviews 4.8.

1,389 total

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Communication is Key

Having an organization that communicates well not only with us but also with each other makes all the difference. I had to talk to several different people at Kensington during our trip and everyone seemed to be aware of everything that was going on. Minor things that could have mushroomed into a disaster were resolved quickly and dealt with professionally. A great team effort! Thank you!

Date of experience : 16 April 2024

Egypt,never visit alone without proper guides.

Jovita Jarrell from Hyssop travel made our itinerary for Egypt thru Kensington tours as per our custom dates due to our daughter school schedule.We were really happy we did arrange it well.Egypt is not a country to be visited without proper and knowledgeable guides. Tourist traps are in every inch of Egypt.All the guides thru Kensington tours were excellent and saved us from getting into trouble with the hawkers.Every tour attendant from the airport or the drivers in Cairo,Aswan,Luxor or Hurghada were great.Always on time.Even on cruise St Sonesta attendants were great.There are too many to name.Bottom line is this,according to the guides Kensington and one other tour company are the most respected in Egypt.Better to be prepared when you go to this historically rich but economically very poor country. Thanks again to Joivita Jarrell to make out trip great.

Date of experience : 25 March 2024

Egypt = Trip of Lifetime!

We are so beyond grateful that we chose to work with Kensington Tours on our recent family trip to Egypt. This is a destination where you need to have seamless arrangements in advance and Kensington absolutely delivered! We worked with travel expert, Moe S. to make all of our trip arrangements for Egypt and without any hesitation, we highly recommend him for planning any of your travel needs. Moe was extremely knowledgeable, prompt in answering any questions and providing any helpful information prior to traveling to Egypt. The hotels we stayed at were great and our Nile Cruise was outstanding, as well! Our airport handlers, drivers and city guides were all exceptional and our entire family enjoyed their knowledge, humor and professionalism.

Date of experience : 30 March 2024

John Dawson

The agent assigned to my vacation was friendly, helpful, and efficient. There were no package tours that travelled to the various spots where I wanted to go in South America. He put together a wonderful custom itinerary, and took into consideration all my preferences along the way. This was truly a job well done! Thank you, John, and thank you Kensington!

Date of experience : 24 February 2024

A Trip of a Lifetime

My wife and 3 of my adult children just got back from a 12 day tour through Japan. Our travel agent recommended Kensington and that was the best recommendation she could ever have given us. Loann was fantastic and she organized a trip itinerary that we fell in love with. It gave us a true taste of Japan without running us into the ground. All of the guides on the ground in Japan were fantastic. They were enthusiastic and very knowledgeable. All the sites and excursions were that we saw were simply breathtaking. We wouldn’t have changed one thing that Kensington provided for us. Thank you so much for making this trip an unforgettable experience of a lifetime!

We have used Kensington Tours twice…

We have used Kensington Tours twice now, once for Iceland and more recently Paris. I can’t say enough good things about both experiences. Each trip was expertly catered to our interests and they do an amazing job vetting the private guides…above and beyond expectations both times and we will be sure to use Kensington Tours again !

Date of experience : 23 March 2024

Reply from Kensington Tours

Dear Laura, We thank you so much for your lovely review. We do take pride in our partnerships with local guides and experts. It is so great to read your experience was well catered to your needs. We can't wait to host you on your next journey! Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

This is the 4th time we have used the…

This is the 4th time we have used the services of Kensington Tours. They have very knowledgeable people with any country you may be interested in visiting and will then customize an experience for you based on your interests and budget. Also you have a 24 hour contact wherever you are if you encounter any issues or have any questions. All tour guides were very professional and personable which created a very memorable and enjoyable experience.

Date of experience : 19 February 2024

Costa Rica - Great trip and Kensington great tour

Camila Rico did a great job in planning our trip to Costa Rica. She listened to what we wanted and planned the trip around our interests and lifestyle. We spent 4 nights at The Springs Resort in Arenal. The staff at the hotel were outstanding, remembering our names, and always friendly. Our guide for 3 days was Diego Ramirez. He was knowledgeable, prompt and took us to some out of the way places. Guillermo Vargas was our guide and Waddy was our driver in Monteverde. We stayed at the Senda Monteverde. The rooms are comfortable and updated. Here too the staff were great, helpful, and friendly. Our last 3 nights were at the Arenas del Mar. This is a must visit hotel. The rooms overlook the ocean, the staff, like at all the other hotels, was outstanding. Very friendly and caring. We had a guide to Manuel Antonio Park one day. Camila booked us a catamaran ride with Planet Dolphin cruises. This was a fun morning relaxing, eating, and drinking on the catamaran. I would recommend Kensington Tours and Camila Rico for Costa Rica

Date of experience : 05 April 2024

Vietnam and China Two Week Trip

Vietnam and China Two Week Trip: Kevin Smith of Kensington Travel did an excellent job of setting up a fantastic itinerary and making sure we were supported every step of the way. Trip of a lifetime.

Date of experience : 06 April 2024

Kensington & Aileen always do an amazing job!

Kensington always does an amazing job! They are so specialized in the destination, you always feel in great hands. Aileen was a miracle worker, and we managed to put together a wonderful, last-minute trip to Norway, for my clients. I know they'll have the best time, and there will be lots of personal Kensington touches, they can look forward to! Thank you!!

Date of experience : 17 April 2024

Dear cmachotka, We are thrilled to read that your clients received our personal, customized service for an epic journey ahead. We really cherish our relationships with Travel Agents, and we look forward to working with you again in the future. Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

Personal Heritage Journey to Okinawa

This was a joint venture between Kensington Tours and Ancestry.com, and the main purpose was to visit my grandparents' ancestral villages in Okinawa and potentially meet distant relatives. I had high expectations going into the trip, and my expectations were exceeded. Everyone involved, from Jeremy (Kensington), Kyle (Ancestry), Yuzo (genealogist), Suiko (guide), the drivers, etc., all worked to ensure this was a trip of a lifetime. The hotel (Double Tree by Hilton, Naha) was also in a great location. I give the Personal Heritage Journeys program my highest recommendation.

Date of experience : 07 April 2024

Dear Jon, We are so happy to read your review. It is wonderful to know Jeremy was such a big part of exceeding your expectations for your ancestry trip. As well as all parties involved that made your experience special. Thank you for taking the time to write your review, and ultimately, your praise and recommendation. Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

Anit Singh and Kensington do an…

Anit Singh and Kensington do an outstanding job! This was our second trip with Kensington, and if you wish to travel in comfort and security and have a great adventure, this is the best company to use. Many thanks for all your effort Anit!

Date of experience : 17 January 2024

Dear Eric, Thank you for taking the time to tell us about Anit's outstanding work for your second trip with us. We really appreciate your kind recommendation. Looking forward to hearing from you again soon! Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

Working with Caroline Flarty is a Joy

Working with Caroline Flarty is a Joy Caroline helped me with a family trip to Paris, Annecy & Chamonix and it was amazing. She was very knowledgeable and redirected this family to alternative areas when their desired locations were not seasonal. They LOVED their trip and their daughter got to celebrate her sweet 16 in the most magical way. I can't say enough about her thorough communication style and look forward to working with her again. She is the best.

Dear Laura, Thank you for your kind words for Caroline. We are so happy to read about how integral she was to your family's experience in France. We hope to host you for other memorable family trips in the future! Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

Customized & Help for Us

Really enjoyed how the experience was customized for our needs and wish list. Securing the right show tickets, helping with city/museum tours, and restaurant experiences. The price was competitive with a large high end group tour but just for us. Every trip there will be an issue. What was impressive was the help on the other end of the phone to make sure we had the right flight, insurance or last minute tour change. Our family was a teen (new to overseas travel) with 2 adults (its been 20+ years)

Date of experience : 20 March 2024

Dear Sandra, Thank you so much for taking the time to post your review. We are elated to read how you found our services to be customizable to what you and your family needed. It is also great to hear you received assistance smoothly through our 24/7 phone line. We hope to work with you again one day on another special family vacation! Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

The easiest way to travel!

We have used Kensington Tours in Morocco, Portugal and Angkor Wat/Bangkok. We cannot praise our experience with Kensington enough. They are thorough in the planning, keep you informed during the planning process and the experience is flawless. We have enjoyed each experience thoroughly.

Date of experience : 22 March 2024

Dear Barb, Thank you so much for your review. We are so pleased to read about your experiences traveling with us. We can't wait to host you again soon! Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

Amazing but leaving was like leaving family!

Just got back from Egypt and Jordan a week ago. Kensington Tours was awesome. The drivers and guides were friendly and knowledgeable. In my heart they are family! The Tour Directors were helpful and so nice! Again, like family! The airport assistance was was spot on. I felt safe The entire trip. The itinerary was good. I caught a cold and had the flexibility to scale back a little so I could rest a little. The guide and driver made sure I got the proper cold medicine and plenty of tea and food to soothe the throat. Like I said, it was like family! I can't thank Kensington enough for making my trip so wonderful!

Dear Donna, Thank you so much for your great review! We are very pleased that your trip. Drivers and guides with local knowledge and culture are a huge part of your travel experience. We love to read about your personalized experience and how you were well taken care of. We hope to be able to assist you for more travel in the future. Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

Egyptian Tour

I would like to thank Kensington for organising one of the very top trips of my life. I've been to over forty countries and I am so pleased with your service. I particularly I have to single out two people, my guides Marwa and Hassan. Marwa and Hassan alike were incredibly knowledgeable, professional, courteous and helpful. They bought the trip to life and they both exceeded expectations in every regard, they were truly excellent. The drivers were also very professional and safe and I would like to mention Ibrahim particularly. The boat was very comfortable and the staff exceptionally professional. My only comment to help would be the lack of WiFi on the boat because it was only available in the reception area and I still had some work to do and make calls, so that was the only gripe on the entire trip but I understand all of the boats are the same in that respect. The set up, and follow up led by Moe and Mohammed was excellent. Thanks Kensington team!!

Dear Philip, Thank you so much for your review. We are ecstatic to read that it was a top trip for you. We are delighted to pass on your praises for Marwa and Hassan to our local partners. We know how quality guides can really make your whole trip! Thank you for the feedback for your drivers, like Ibrahim. As well as your kind words for Moe and Mohammed. We are sorry to hear about the poor wi-fi. We are so glad you still had the trip of a lifetime. We look forward to working for you again in the future. Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

Great trip to Port Douglas thanks to Emma with Kensington Tours

Emma our tour planner was able to quickly put together a package trip to Cairns / Port Douglas which worked perfectly for our last week in Australia. We stayed in a darling boutique hotel, had prompt/fun drivers and knowledgeable tour guides who made our trip a success. Thank you Emma and Kensington Tours!

Date of experience : 11 March 2024

Hello Corina, Thank you for your fantastic review! We're delighted you had a great trip to Port Douglas with Kensington Tours and Emma as your Destination Expert. Your kind words mean a lot to us, we'll be sure to share this Emma and the rest of the team. We look forward to welcoming you on another adventure with us in the future! - The Team at Kensington Tours

Terrible Kensington Attitude

Almost a year ago I contacted AmEx Centurion travel to discuss a trip to Japan. We normally just need air fare and hotels. But in 2020 for a trip to Peru, there were a lot of logistics involved so they suggested we let Kensington plan the trip. The team in Peru was easy to work with and what would have been a great experience did not occur due to the pandemic. We are very experienced travelers, and have traveled in Asia on our own, but friends had told us that due to extreme language barriers, and rigid customs, Japan was a difficult country to travel without a guide. AmEx suggested a private escorted tour. They mentioned several companies but since we knew of Kensington from Peru, we decided to go with them. My husband still works full time, so though we travel overseas several times a year, we keep the trips down to under two weeks at a time. Kensington offered us their stock tour. I explained the following and was assured that once we paid the deposit the tour would be customized to meet our needs. I wrote to Kasia Kapuscinka, via Centurion, the following and much more: We would like to go on a food tour (they never included that) spend a night in a Ryokan, see a tea ceremony. I gather that the bullet train is the best way to travel from city to city. I know that there is so much more that would be of interest to us but do not want fluff to fill in the hours. -We are NOT interested in Sake, Sumo wrestling, Samurai, Anime or electronics. I do not like crowds so rush hour trains or activities would not work. Some of the changes were made immediately when I insisted on cutting down the number of guided hours for each day. For example I knew that we did not want to see 5 temples in a row, and despite being a member at 8 NYC museums, our time limit per museum is no more than 2 hours. I am a very good cook and enjoy food markets but an hour or two at a market is more than enough. We cut down the number of hours Kensington had to provide guides by at least 20 hours, but never asked them to reduce the cost of the tour. We were told that it was too far in advance to make more changes. But over and over again I emphasized that I do not ride the subway in NYC and would only do so in Japan at non rush hours. I also explained that we were on vacation, did not want to start early in the mornings, wanted time for lunch and expected to be back at the hotels an hour before our dinner reservations so we had time to change our clothes. Fast forward to March when we asked to finalize the trip. The team in Japan insisted it was too early to do so and then kept saying the same thing until 3 weeks before the start date. At that time they acceded to some, but not all, of our requests. And after that, when we pointed out errors, they said it was now too late to make changes. When I pointed out that they still had us on the train at rush hour, they had the nerve to say that if we wanted to use a taxi instead, we would have to pay for it ourselves. They also had early morning start times, another of our requests that they ignored. This was reasonable on travel days, but not reasonable at other times. Next problem was Sunday, May 12. We had cut back drastically on the number of hours in Hiroshima. We did not want photo ops or castles. We had only one destination in mind- the Peace Museum. The very first itinerary had a 12 hour day in Hiroshima with a scheduled start time of 8:00. We cut it down to a total 5 hour day. But team Japan ignored us and booked the original 8:00 start, gave us too many hours in the city, and refused to change the tickets. The people at Kensington in Japan are arrogant, self-serving employees who do not understand that they are in the service business. I am the client. I paid for the trip and their job is to make every aspect work for me. If they do not understand how to do so, or just do not care to do so, they should find employment elsewhere. The differences in attitude between Peru and Japan was glaring. If Kensington cannot provide stellar service in Japan, then they should not offer trips in that country.

Date of experience : 04 April 2024

Dear Nadine, Thank you for raising your concerns of your current booking experience. We are disappointed to hear that the trip planning process with Kensington Tours through your Travel Agent has been aggravating. Our sales team who has been working with your Travel Agent has informed her of your disappointments. Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

If I could give a zero I would

If I could give a zero I would. Very over priced, ( $500 more for airline tickets) no communication,( takes days to get an answer) no confirmation of tours. Nothing is ever their fault. We have answers back from the hotel immediately. They claim no one answers The calls. I finally had to forget Kensington and book it all myself.

Dear Claudia, Thank you for expressing your concerns in your review. Our sincere apologies go out to you for the mistakes you have found during your experience. Our sales directors are in touch with you and your Travel Agent to hopefully assist however we can. We look forward to being in touch with you when you return home, to hear more about your experience and hopefully come to a fair resolution for you. We take your feedback very seriously. Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

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Reviews 4.8.

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Communication is Key

Having an organization that communicates well not only with us but also with each other makes all the difference. I had to talk to several different people at Kensington during our trip and everyone seemed to be aware of everything that was going on. Minor things that could have mushroomed into a disaster were resolved quickly and dealt with professionally. A great team effort! Thank you!

Date of experience : April 16, 2024

Egypt,never visit alone without proper guides.

Jovita Jarrell from Hyssop travel made our itinerary for Egypt thru Kensington tours as per our custom dates due to our daughter school schedule.We were really happy we did arrange it well.Egypt is not a country to be visited without proper and knowledgeable guides. Tourist traps are in every inch of Egypt.All the guides thru Kensington tours were excellent and saved us from getting into trouble with the hawkers.Every tour attendant from the airport or the drivers in Cairo,Aswan,Luxor or Hurghada were great.Always on time.Even on cruise St Sonesta attendants were great.There are too many to name.Bottom line is this,according to the guides Kensington and one other tour company are the most respected in Egypt.Better to be prepared when you go to this historically rich but economically very poor country. Thanks again to Joivita Jarrell to make out trip great.

Date of experience : March 25, 2024

Egypt = Trip of Lifetime!

We are so beyond grateful that we chose to work with Kensington Tours on our recent family trip to Egypt. This is a destination where you need to have seamless arrangements in advance and Kensington absolutely delivered! We worked with travel expert, Moe S. to make all of our trip arrangements for Egypt and without any hesitation, we highly recommend him for planning any of your travel needs. Moe was extremely knowledgeable, prompt in answering any questions and providing any helpful information prior to traveling to Egypt. The hotels we stayed at were great and our Nile Cruise was outstanding, as well! Our airport handlers, drivers and city guides were all exceptional and our entire family enjoyed their knowledge, humor and professionalism.

Date of experience : March 30, 2024

John Dawson

The agent assigned to my vacation was friendly, helpful, and efficient. There were no package tours that travelled to the various spots where I wanted to go in South America. He put together a wonderful custom itinerary, and took into consideration all my preferences along the way. This was truly a job well done! Thank you, John, and thank you Kensington!

Date of experience : February 24, 2024

A Trip of a Lifetime

My wife and 3 of my adult children just got back from a 12 day tour through Japan. Our travel agent recommended Kensington and that was the best recommendation she could ever have given us. Loann was fantastic and she organized a trip itinerary that we fell in love with. It gave us a true taste of Japan without running us into the ground. All of the guides on the ground in Japan were fantastic. They were enthusiastic and very knowledgeable. All the sites and excursions were that we saw were simply breathtaking. We wouldn’t have changed one thing that Kensington provided for us. Thank you so much for making this trip an unforgettable experience of a lifetime!

We have used Kensington Tours twice…

We have used Kensington Tours twice now, once for Iceland and more recently Paris. I can’t say enough good things about both experiences. Each trip was expertly catered to our interests and they do an amazing job vetting the private guides…above and beyond expectations both times and we will be sure to use Kensington Tours again !

Date of experience : March 23, 2024

Reply from Kensington Tours

Dear Laura, We thank you so much for your lovely review. We do take pride in our partnerships with local guides and experts. It is so great to read your experience was well catered to your needs. We can't wait to host you on your next journey! Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

This is the 4th time we have used the…

This is the 4th time we have used the services of Kensington Tours. They have very knowledgeable people with any country you may be interested in visiting and will then customize an experience for you based on your interests and budget. Also you have a 24 hour contact wherever you are if you encounter any issues or have any questions. All tour guides were very professional and personable which created a very memorable and enjoyable experience.

Date of experience : February 19, 2024

Costa Rica - Great trip and Kensington great tour

Camila Rico did a great job in planning our trip to Costa Rica. She listened to what we wanted and planned the trip around our interests and lifestyle. We spent 4 nights at The Springs Resort in Arenal. The staff at the hotel were outstanding, remembering our names, and always friendly. Our guide for 3 days was Diego Ramirez. He was knowledgeable, prompt and took us to some out of the way places. Guillermo Vargas was our guide and Waddy was our driver in Monteverde. We stayed at the Senda Monteverde. The rooms are comfortable and updated. Here too the staff were great, helpful, and friendly. Our last 3 nights were at the Arenas del Mar. This is a must visit hotel. The rooms overlook the ocean, the staff, like at all the other hotels, was outstanding. Very friendly and caring. We had a guide to Manuel Antonio Park one day. Camila booked us a catamaran ride with Planet Dolphin cruises. This was a fun morning relaxing, eating, and drinking on the catamaran. I would recommend Kensington Tours and Camila Rico for Costa Rica

Date of experience : April 05, 2024

Vietnam and China Two Week Trip

Vietnam and China Two Week Trip: Kevin Smith of Kensington Travel did an excellent job of setting up a fantastic itinerary and making sure we were supported every step of the way. Trip of a lifetime.

Date of experience : April 06, 2024

Kensington & Aileen always do an amazing job!

Kensington always does an amazing job! They are so specialized in the destination, you always feel in great hands. Aileen was a miracle worker, and we managed to put together a wonderful, last-minute trip to Norway, for my clients. I know they'll have the best time, and there will be lots of personal Kensington touches, they can look forward to! Thank you!!

Date of experience : April 17, 2024

Dear cmachotka, We are thrilled to read that your clients received our personal, customized service for an epic journey ahead. We really cherish our relationships with Travel Agents, and we look forward to working with you again in the future. Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

Personal Heritage Journey to Okinawa

This was a joint venture between Kensington Tours and Ancestry.com, and the main purpose was to visit my grandparents' ancestral villages in Okinawa and potentially meet distant relatives. I had high expectations going into the trip, and my expectations were exceeded. Everyone involved, from Jeremy (Kensington), Kyle (Ancestry), Yuzo (genealogist), Suiko (guide), the drivers, etc., all worked to ensure this was a trip of a lifetime. The hotel (Double Tree by Hilton, Naha) was also in a great location. I give the Personal Heritage Journeys program my highest recommendation.

Date of experience : April 07, 2024

Dear Jon, We are so happy to read your review. It is wonderful to know Jeremy was such a big part of exceeding your expectations for your ancestry trip. As well as all parties involved that made your experience special. Thank you for taking the time to write your review, and ultimately, your praise and recommendation. Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

Anit Singh and Kensington do an…

Anit Singh and Kensington do an outstanding job! This was our second trip with Kensington, and if you wish to travel in comfort and security and have a great adventure, this is the best company to use. Many thanks for all your effort Anit!

Date of experience : January 17, 2024

Dear Eric, Thank you for taking the time to tell us about Anit's outstanding work for your second trip with us. We really appreciate your kind recommendation. Looking forward to hearing from you again soon! Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

Working with Caroline Flarty is a Joy

Working with Caroline Flarty is a Joy Caroline helped me with a family trip to Paris, Annecy & Chamonix and it was amazing. She was very knowledgeable and redirected this family to alternative areas when their desired locations were not seasonal. They LOVED their trip and their daughter got to celebrate her sweet 16 in the most magical way. I can't say enough about her thorough communication style and look forward to working with her again. She is the best.

Dear Laura, Thank you for your kind words for Caroline. We are so happy to read about how integral she was to your family's experience in France. We hope to host you for other memorable family trips in the future! Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

Customized & Help for Us

Really enjoyed how the experience was customized for our needs and wish list. Securing the right show tickets, helping with city/museum tours, and restaurant experiences. The price was competitive with a large high end group tour but just for us. Every trip there will be an issue. What was impressive was the help on the other end of the phone to make sure we had the right flight, insurance or last minute tour change. Our family was a teen (new to overseas travel) with 2 adults (its been 20+ years)

Date of experience : March 20, 2024

Dear Sandra, Thank you so much for taking the time to post your review. We are elated to read how you found our services to be customizable to what you and your family needed. It is also great to hear you received assistance smoothly through our 24/7 phone line. We hope to work with you again one day on another special family vacation! Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

The easiest way to travel!

We have used Kensington Tours in Morocco, Portugal and Angkor Wat/Bangkok. We cannot praise our experience with Kensington enough. They are thorough in the planning, keep you informed during the planning process and the experience is flawless. We have enjoyed each experience thoroughly.

Date of experience : March 22, 2024

Dear Barb, Thank you so much for your review. We are so pleased to read about your experiences traveling with us. We can't wait to host you again soon! Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

Amazing but leaving was like leaving family!

Just got back from Egypt and Jordan a week ago. Kensington Tours was awesome. The drivers and guides were friendly and knowledgeable. In my heart they are family! The Tour Directors were helpful and so nice! Again, like family! The airport assistance was was spot on. I felt safe The entire trip. The itinerary was good. I caught a cold and had the flexibility to scale back a little so I could rest a little. The guide and driver made sure I got the proper cold medicine and plenty of tea and food to soothe the throat. Like I said, it was like family! I can't thank Kensington enough for making my trip so wonderful!

Dear Donna, Thank you so much for your great review! We are very pleased that your trip. Drivers and guides with local knowledge and culture are a huge part of your travel experience. We love to read about your personalized experience and how you were well taken care of. We hope to be able to assist you for more travel in the future. Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

Egyptian Tour

I would like to thank Kensington for organising one of the very top trips of my life. I've been to over forty countries and I am so pleased with your service. I particularly I have to single out two people, my guides Marwa and Hassan. Marwa and Hassan alike were incredibly knowledgeable, professional, courteous and helpful. They bought the trip to life and they both exceeded expectations in every regard, they were truly excellent. The drivers were also very professional and safe and I would like to mention Ibrahim particularly. The boat was very comfortable and the staff exceptionally professional. My only comment to help would be the lack of WiFi on the boat because it was only available in the reception area and I still had some work to do and make calls, so that was the only gripe on the entire trip but I understand all of the boats are the same in that respect. The set up, and follow up led by Moe and Mohammed was excellent. Thanks Kensington team!!

Dear Philip, Thank you so much for your review. We are ecstatic to read that it was a top trip for you. We are delighted to pass on your praises for Marwa and Hassan to our local partners. We know how quality guides can really make your whole trip! Thank you for the feedback for your drivers, like Ibrahim. As well as your kind words for Moe and Mohammed. We are sorry to hear about the poor wi-fi. We are so glad you still had the trip of a lifetime. We look forward to working for you again in the future. Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

Great trip to Port Douglas thanks to Emma with Kensington Tours

Emma our tour planner was able to quickly put together a package trip to Cairns / Port Douglas which worked perfectly for our last week in Australia. We stayed in a darling boutique hotel, had prompt/fun drivers and knowledgeable tour guides who made our trip a success. Thank you Emma and Kensington Tours!

Date of experience : March 11, 2024

Hello Corina, Thank you for your fantastic review! We're delighted you had a great trip to Port Douglas with Kensington Tours and Emma as your Destination Expert. Your kind words mean a lot to us, we'll be sure to share this Emma and the rest of the team. We look forward to welcoming you on another adventure with us in the future! - The Team at Kensington Tours

Terrible Kensington Attitude

Almost a year ago I contacted AmEx Centurion travel to discuss a trip to Japan. We normally just need air fare and hotels. But in 2020 for a trip to Peru, there were a lot of logistics involved so they suggested we let Kensington plan the trip. The team in Peru was easy to work with and what would have been a great experience did not occur due to the pandemic. We are very experienced travelers, and have traveled in Asia on our own, but friends had told us that due to extreme language barriers, and rigid customs, Japan was a difficult country to travel without a guide. AmEx suggested a private escorted tour. They mentioned several companies but since we knew of Kensington from Peru, we decided to go with them. My husband still works full time, so though we travel overseas several times a year, we keep the trips down to under two weeks at a time. Kensington offered us their stock tour. I explained the following and was assured that once we paid the deposit the tour would be customized to meet our needs. I wrote to Kasia Kapuscinka, via Centurion, the following and much more: We would like to go on a food tour (they never included that) spend a night in a Ryokan, see a tea ceremony. I gather that the bullet train is the best way to travel from city to city. I know that there is so much more that would be of interest to us but do not want fluff to fill in the hours. -We are NOT interested in Sake, Sumo wrestling, Samurai, Anime or electronics. I do not like crowds so rush hour trains or activities would not work. Some of the changes were made immediately when I insisted on cutting down the number of guided hours for each day. For example I knew that we did not want to see 5 temples in a row, and despite being a member at 8 NYC museums, our time limit per museum is no more than 2 hours. I am a very good cook and enjoy food markets but an hour or two at a market is more than enough. We cut down the number of hours Kensington had to provide guides by at least 20 hours, but never asked them to reduce the cost of the tour. We were told that it was too far in advance to make more changes. But over and over again I emphasized that I do not ride the subway in NYC and would only do so in Japan at non rush hours. I also explained that we were on vacation, did not want to start early in the mornings, wanted time for lunch and expected to be back at the hotels an hour before our dinner reservations so we had time to change our clothes. Fast forward to March when we asked to finalize the trip. The team in Japan insisted it was too early to do so and then kept saying the same thing until 3 weeks before the start date. At that time they acceded to some, but not all, of our requests. And after that, when we pointed out errors, they said it was now too late to make changes. When I pointed out that they still had us on the train at rush hour, they had the nerve to say that if we wanted to use a taxi instead, we would have to pay for it ourselves. They also had early morning start times, another of our requests that they ignored. This was reasonable on travel days, but not reasonable at other times. Next problem was Sunday, May 12. We had cut back drastically on the number of hours in Hiroshima. We did not want photo ops or castles. We had only one destination in mind- the Peace Museum. The very first itinerary had a 12 hour day in Hiroshima with a scheduled start time of 8:00. We cut it down to a total 5 hour day. But team Japan ignored us and booked the original 8:00 start, gave us too many hours in the city, and refused to change the tickets. The people at Kensington in Japan are arrogant, self-serving employees who do not understand that they are in the service business. I am the client. I paid for the trip and their job is to make every aspect work for me. If they do not understand how to do so, or just do not care to do so, they should find employment elsewhere. The differences in attitude between Peru and Japan was glaring. If Kensington cannot provide stellar service in Japan, then they should not offer trips in that country.

Date of experience : April 04, 2024

Dear Nadine, Thank you for raising your concerns of your current booking experience. We are disappointed to hear that the trip planning process with Kensington Tours through your Travel Agent has been aggravating. Our sales team who has been working with your Travel Agent has informed her of your disappointments. Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

If I could give a zero I would

If I could give a zero I would. Very over priced, ( $500 more for airline tickets) no communication,( takes days to get an answer) no confirmation of tours. Nothing is ever their fault. We have answers back from the hotel immediately. They claim no one answers The calls. I finally had to forget Kensington and book it all myself.

Dear Claudia, Thank you for expressing your concerns in your review. Our sincere apologies go out to you for the mistakes you have found during your experience. Our sales directors are in touch with you and your Travel Agent to hopefully assist however we can. We look forward to being in touch with you when you return home, to hear more about your experience and hopefully come to a fair resolution for you. We take your feedback very seriously. Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

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Reviews 4.8.

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Communication is Key

Having an organization that communicates well not only with us but also with each other makes all the difference. I had to talk to several different people at Kensington during our trip and everyone seemed to be aware of everything that was going on. Minor things that could have mushroomed into a disaster were resolved quickly and dealt with professionally. A great team effort! Thank you!

Date of experience : 16 April 2024

Egypt,never visit alone without proper guides.

Jovita Jarrell from Hyssop travel made our itinerary for Egypt thru Kensington tours as per our custom dates due to our daughter school schedule.We were really happy we did arrange it well.Egypt is not a country to be visited without proper and knowledgeable guides. Tourist traps are in every inch of Egypt.All the guides thru Kensington tours were excellent and saved us from getting into trouble with the hawkers.Every tour attendant from the airport or the drivers in Cairo,Aswan,Luxor or Hurghada were great.Always on time.Even on cruise St Sonesta attendants were great.There are too many to name.Bottom line is this,according to the guides Kensington and one other tour company are the most respected in Egypt.Better to be prepared when you go to this historically rich but economically very poor country. Thanks again to Joivita Jarrell to make out trip great.

Date of experience : 25 March 2024

Egypt = Trip of Lifetime!

We are so beyond grateful that we chose to work with Kensington Tours on our recent family trip to Egypt. This is a destination where you need to have seamless arrangements in advance and Kensington absolutely delivered! We worked with travel expert, Moe S. to make all of our trip arrangements for Egypt and without any hesitation, we highly recommend him for planning any of your travel needs. Moe was extremely knowledgeable, prompt in answering any questions and providing any helpful information prior to traveling to Egypt. The hotels we stayed at were great and our Nile Cruise was outstanding, as well! Our airport handlers, drivers and city guides were all exceptional and our entire family enjoyed their knowledge, humor and professionalism.

Date of experience : 30 March 2024

John Dawson

The agent assigned to my vacation was friendly, helpful, and efficient. There were no package tours that travelled to the various spots where I wanted to go in South America. He put together a wonderful custom itinerary, and took into consideration all my preferences along the way. This was truly a job well done! Thank you, John, and thank you Kensington!

Date of experience : 24 February 2024

A Trip of a Lifetime

My wife and 3 of my adult children just got back from a 12 day tour through Japan. Our travel agent recommended Kensington and that was the best recommendation she could ever have given us. Loann was fantastic and she organized a trip itinerary that we fell in love with. It gave us a true taste of Japan without running us into the ground. All of the guides on the ground in Japan were fantastic. They were enthusiastic and very knowledgeable. All the sites and excursions were that we saw were simply breathtaking. We wouldn’t have changed one thing that Kensington provided for us. Thank you so much for making this trip an unforgettable experience of a lifetime!

We have used Kensington Tours twice…

We have used Kensington Tours twice now, once for Iceland and more recently Paris. I can’t say enough good things about both experiences. Each trip was expertly catered to our interests and they do an amazing job vetting the private guides…above and beyond expectations both times and we will be sure to use Kensington Tours again !

Date of experience : 23 March 2024

Reply from Kensington Tours

Dear Laura, We thank you so much for your lovely review. We do take pride in our partnerships with local guides and experts. It is so great to read your experience was well catered to your needs. We can't wait to host you on your next journey! Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

This is the 4th time we have used the…

This is the 4th time we have used the services of Kensington Tours. They have very knowledgeable people with any country you may be interested in visiting and will then customize an experience for you based on your interests and budget. Also you have a 24 hour contact wherever you are if you encounter any issues or have any questions. All tour guides were very professional and personable which created a very memorable and enjoyable experience.

Date of experience : 19 February 2024

Costa Rica - Great trip and Kensington great tour

Camila Rico did a great job in planning our trip to Costa Rica. She listened to what we wanted and planned the trip around our interests and lifestyle. We spent 4 nights at The Springs Resort in Arenal. The staff at the hotel were outstanding, remembering our names, and always friendly. Our guide for 3 days was Diego Ramirez. He was knowledgeable, prompt and took us to some out of the way places. Guillermo Vargas was our guide and Waddy was our driver in Monteverde. We stayed at the Senda Monteverde. The rooms are comfortable and updated. Here too the staff were great, helpful, and friendly. Our last 3 nights were at the Arenas del Mar. This is a must visit hotel. The rooms overlook the ocean, the staff, like at all the other hotels, was outstanding. Very friendly and caring. We had a guide to Manuel Antonio Park one day. Camila booked us a catamaran ride with Planet Dolphin cruises. This was a fun morning relaxing, eating, and drinking on the catamaran. I would recommend Kensington Tours and Camila Rico for Costa Rica

Date of experience : 05 April 2024

Vietnam and China Two Week Trip

Vietnam and China Two Week Trip: Kevin Smith of Kensington Travel did an excellent job of setting up a fantastic itinerary and making sure we were supported every step of the way. Trip of a lifetime.

Date of experience : 06 April 2024

Kensington & Aileen always do an amazing job!

Kensington always does an amazing job! They are so specialized in the destination, you always feel in great hands. Aileen was a miracle worker, and we managed to put together a wonderful, last-minute trip to Norway, for my clients. I know they'll have the best time, and there will be lots of personal Kensington touches, they can look forward to! Thank you!!

Date of experience : 17 April 2024

Dear cmachotka, We are thrilled to read that your clients received our personal, customized service for an epic journey ahead. We really cherish our relationships with Travel Agents, and we look forward to working with you again in the future. Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

Personal Heritage Journey to Okinawa

This was a joint venture between Kensington Tours and Ancestry.com, and the main purpose was to visit my grandparents' ancestral villages in Okinawa and potentially meet distant relatives. I had high expectations going into the trip, and my expectations were exceeded. Everyone involved, from Jeremy (Kensington), Kyle (Ancestry), Yuzo (genealogist), Suiko (guide), the drivers, etc., all worked to ensure this was a trip of a lifetime. The hotel (Double Tree by Hilton, Naha) was also in a great location. I give the Personal Heritage Journeys program my highest recommendation.

Date of experience : 07 April 2024

Dear Jon, We are so happy to read your review. It is wonderful to know Jeremy was such a big part of exceeding your expectations for your ancestry trip. As well as all parties involved that made your experience special. Thank you for taking the time to write your review, and ultimately, your praise and recommendation. Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

Anit Singh and Kensington do an…

Anit Singh and Kensington do an outstanding job! This was our second trip with Kensington, and if you wish to travel in comfort and security and have a great adventure, this is the best company to use. Many thanks for all your effort Anit!

Date of experience : 17 January 2024

Dear Eric, Thank you for taking the time to tell us about Anit's outstanding work for your second trip with us. We really appreciate your kind recommendation. Looking forward to hearing from you again soon! Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

Working with Caroline Flarty is a Joy

Working with Caroline Flarty is a Joy Caroline helped me with a family trip to Paris, Annecy & Chamonix and it was amazing. She was very knowledgeable and redirected this family to alternative areas when their desired locations were not seasonal. They LOVED their trip and their daughter got to celebrate her sweet 16 in the most magical way. I can't say enough about her thorough communication style and look forward to working with her again. She is the best.

Dear Laura, Thank you for your kind words for Caroline. We are so happy to read about how integral she was to your family's experience in France. We hope to host you for other memorable family trips in the future! Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

Customized & Help for Us

Really enjoyed how the experience was customized for our needs and wish list. Securing the right show tickets, helping with city/museum tours, and restaurant experiences. The price was competitive with a large high end group tour but just for us. Every trip there will be an issue. What was impressive was the help on the other end of the phone to make sure we had the right flight, insurance or last minute tour change. Our family was a teen (new to overseas travel) with 2 adults (its been 20+ years)

Date of experience : 20 March 2024

Dear Sandra, Thank you so much for taking the time to post your review. We are elated to read how you found our services to be customizable to what you and your family needed. It is also great to hear you received assistance smoothly through our 24/7 phone line. We hope to work with you again one day on another special family vacation! Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

The easiest way to travel!

We have used Kensington Tours in Morocco, Portugal and Angkor Wat/Bangkok. We cannot praise our experience with Kensington enough. They are thorough in the planning, keep you informed during the planning process and the experience is flawless. We have enjoyed each experience thoroughly.

Date of experience : 22 March 2024

Dear Barb, Thank you so much for your review. We are so pleased to read about your experiences traveling with us. We can't wait to host you again soon! Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

Amazing but leaving was like leaving family!

Just got back from Egypt and Jordan a week ago. Kensington Tours was awesome. The drivers and guides were friendly and knowledgeable. In my heart they are family! The Tour Directors were helpful and so nice! Again, like family! The airport assistance was was spot on. I felt safe The entire trip. The itinerary was good. I caught a cold and had the flexibility to scale back a little so I could rest a little. The guide and driver made sure I got the proper cold medicine and plenty of tea and food to soothe the throat. Like I said, it was like family! I can't thank Kensington enough for making my trip so wonderful!

Dear Donna, Thank you so much for your great review! We are very pleased that your trip. Drivers and guides with local knowledge and culture are a huge part of your travel experience. We love to read about your personalized experience and how you were well taken care of. We hope to be able to assist you for more travel in the future. Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

Egyptian Tour

I would like to thank Kensington for organising one of the very top trips of my life. I've been to over forty countries and I am so pleased with your service. I particularly I have to single out two people, my guides Marwa and Hassan. Marwa and Hassan alike were incredibly knowledgeable, professional, courteous and helpful. They bought the trip to life and they both exceeded expectations in every regard, they were truly excellent. The drivers were also very professional and safe and I would like to mention Ibrahim particularly. The boat was very comfortable and the staff exceptionally professional. My only comment to help would be the lack of WiFi on the boat because it was only available in the reception area and I still had some work to do and make calls, so that was the only gripe on the entire trip but I understand all of the boats are the same in that respect. The set up, and follow up led by Moe and Mohammed was excellent. Thanks Kensington team!!

Dear Philip, Thank you so much for your review. We are ecstatic to read that it was a top trip for you. We are delighted to pass on your praises for Marwa and Hassan to our local partners. We know how quality guides can really make your whole trip! Thank you for the feedback for your drivers, like Ibrahim. As well as your kind words for Moe and Mohammed. We are sorry to hear about the poor wi-fi. We are so glad you still had the trip of a lifetime. We look forward to working for you again in the future. Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

Great trip to Port Douglas thanks to Emma with Kensington Tours

Emma our tour planner was able to quickly put together a package trip to Cairns / Port Douglas which worked perfectly for our last week in Australia. We stayed in a darling boutique hotel, had prompt/fun drivers and knowledgeable tour guides who made our trip a success. Thank you Emma and Kensington Tours!

Date of experience : 11 March 2024

Hello Corina, Thank you for your fantastic review! We're delighted you had a great trip to Port Douglas with Kensington Tours and Emma as your Destination Expert. Your kind words mean a lot to us, we'll be sure to share this Emma and the rest of the team. We look forward to welcoming you on another adventure with us in the future! - The Team at Kensington Tours

Terrible Kensington Attitude

Almost a year ago I contacted AmEx Centurion travel to discuss a trip to Japan. We normally just need air fare and hotels. But in 2020 for a trip to Peru, there were a lot of logistics involved so they suggested we let Kensington plan the trip. The team in Peru was easy to work with and what would have been a great experience did not occur due to the pandemic. We are very experienced travelers, and have traveled in Asia on our own, but friends had told us that due to extreme language barriers, and rigid customs, Japan was a difficult country to travel without a guide. AmEx suggested a private escorted tour. They mentioned several companies but since we knew of Kensington from Peru, we decided to go with them. My husband still works full time, so though we travel overseas several times a year, we keep the trips down to under two weeks at a time. Kensington offered us their stock tour. I explained the following and was assured that once we paid the deposit the tour would be customized to meet our needs. I wrote to Kasia Kapuscinka, via Centurion, the following and much more: We would like to go on a food tour (they never included that) spend a night in a Ryokan, see a tea ceremony. I gather that the bullet train is the best way to travel from city to city. I know that there is so much more that would be of interest to us but do not want fluff to fill in the hours. -We are NOT interested in Sake, Sumo wrestling, Samurai, Anime or electronics. I do not like crowds so rush hour trains or activities would not work. Some of the changes were made immediately when I insisted on cutting down the number of guided hours for each day. For example I knew that we did not want to see 5 temples in a row, and despite being a member at 8 NYC museums, our time limit per museum is no more than 2 hours. I am a very good cook and enjoy food markets but an hour or two at a market is more than enough. We cut down the number of hours Kensington had to provide guides by at least 20 hours, but never asked them to reduce the cost of the tour. We were told that it was too far in advance to make more changes. But over and over again I emphasized that I do not ride the subway in NYC and would only do so in Japan at non rush hours. I also explained that we were on vacation, did not want to start early in the mornings, wanted time for lunch and expected to be back at the hotels an hour before our dinner reservations so we had time to change our clothes. Fast forward to March when we asked to finalize the trip. The team in Japan insisted it was too early to do so and then kept saying the same thing until 3 weeks before the start date. At that time they acceded to some, but not all, of our requests. And after that, when we pointed out errors, they said it was now too late to make changes. When I pointed out that they still had us on the train at rush hour, they had the nerve to say that if we wanted to use a taxi instead, we would have to pay for it ourselves. They also had early morning start times, another of our requests that they ignored. This was reasonable on travel days, but not reasonable at other times. Next problem was Sunday, May 12. We had cut back drastically on the number of hours in Hiroshima. We did not want photo ops or castles. We had only one destination in mind- the Peace Museum. The very first itinerary had a 12 hour day in Hiroshima with a scheduled start time of 8:00. We cut it down to a total 5 hour day. But team Japan ignored us and booked the original 8:00 start, gave us too many hours in the city, and refused to change the tickets. The people at Kensington in Japan are arrogant, self-serving employees who do not understand that they are in the service business. I am the client. I paid for the trip and their job is to make every aspect work for me. If they do not understand how to do so, or just do not care to do so, they should find employment elsewhere. The differences in attitude between Peru and Japan was glaring. If Kensington cannot provide stellar service in Japan, then they should not offer trips in that country.

Date of experience : 04 April 2024

Dear Nadine, Thank you for raising your concerns of your current booking experience. We are disappointed to hear that the trip planning process with Kensington Tours through your Travel Agent has been aggravating. Our sales team who has been working with your Travel Agent has informed her of your disappointments. Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

If I could give a zero I would

If I could give a zero I would. Very over priced, ( $500 more for airline tickets) no communication,( takes days to get an answer) no confirmation of tours. Nothing is ever their fault. We have answers back from the hotel immediately. They claim no one answers The calls. I finally had to forget Kensington and book it all myself.

Dear Claudia, Thank you for expressing your concerns in your review. Our sincere apologies go out to you for the mistakes you have found during your experience. Our sales directors are in touch with you and your Travel Agent to hopefully assist however we can. We look forward to being in touch with you when you return home, to hear more about your experience and hopefully come to a fair resolution for you. We take your feedback very seriously. Sincerely, -The Team at Kensington Tours

Moscow Tours & Travel Packages 2024/2025

Our 60 most popular moscow trips. compare tour itineraries from 45 tour companies. 308 reviews. 4.7/5 avg rating., popular moscow tours.

St Petersburg & Moscow in Style - Winter

• Explore the majestic St Petersburg & Moscow on private city tours
• Admire the rich Russian history, art and architecture
• Travel to Moscow on a highspeed train
• Enjoy the local cuisine in stylish restaurants

Lower Volga Voyage

• Visit magnificent Red Square and Kremlin and examine the collection at theKremlin’s State Armory.
• Experience Russia’s diverse musical traditions at lively folk music performances
• Explore Volgograd, the site of the decisive battle of World War II’s eastern front

Volga Dream Russian River Cruise

St Petersburg & Moscow in Style - Summer

White Russian - 7 days

• Discover Moscow's UNESCO-listed Red Square, home to spectacular St Basil’s Cathedral, Lenin's Mausoleum and the historic GUM Department store
• Explore the grounds of Moscow's mighty Kremlin, with its numerous governmentbuildings, gold-domed cathedrals and the giant tsar bell
• Celebrate New Year's Eve in Moscow!
• Take in the highlights of St Petersburg including a guided tour of the exquisite Church on Spilled Blood, Peter & Paul Fortress and Cathedral
• Take a guided tour of the remarkable Hermitage Museum at the Winter Palace

Vodka Shot - 6 days

• Explore the beautiful city of St Petersburg, including the exquisite Church on Spilled Blood, Peter & Paul Fortress and Nevsky Prospekt
• Marvel at the dazzling array of art and exhibits in the world-famous Hermitage Museum, at the Winter Palace in St Petersburg
• Discover a lavish residence of the tsars on a day trip to Catherine Palace at Tsarkoe Selo (winter: mid-October to April) or Peterhof Palace and gardens (summer: May to mid-October)
• Take in the highlights of the capital on a walking tour, visiting Moscow's famous Red Square, home to the historic GUM Department Store, Lenin’s Mausoleum and spectacular St Basil’s Cathedral
• Take a guided tour of the Moscow Kremlin, Russia’s political power house. Stroll around the grounds of this fortified complex, visit the Kremlin's cathedrals and see the mighty Tsar Bell

Route of the Romanovs - 10 days

• Learn about the last days of the Romanovs in Yekaterinburg, visiting the sites where Tsar Nicolas II and his family were assassinated and buried
• Straddle two continents at the famous obelisk Europe/Asia border marker in Yekaterinburg
• Experience the Trans-Siberian railway on an overnight train journey from Moscow to Yekaterinburg

New Year's in Moscow - 9 days

• Visit Catherine Palace at Tsarkoe Selo on Christmas Day and marvel at the incredible Amber Room
• Spend a night in Novgorod, an ancient city by the Volkhov River - explore the kremlin, cathedral and other sights and enjoy a traditional Russian banya (sauna)

All Moscow , expedition cruises, self guided adventures and vacation packages. Find the best guided and expert planned vacation and holiday packages. Read more about Moscow

Small Group Moscow Tours

Back in the USSR - 7 days

Russian Revolution - 9 days

• Visit historic Novgorod, an ancient city which straddles the Volkhov River. Explore the attractive riverside kremlin and experience a traditional Russian banya (sauna)

The Snowball - 6 days

• Visit Catherine Palace at Tsarkoe Selo and marvel at the incredible Amber Room

Mood for Moscow - 4 days

• Head underground to visit a Stalinist-era Soviet Bunker on an optional excursion
• Stroll to the vibrant Izmailovo Market, which lies behind the walls of an ancient Kremlin, and shop for an array of souvenirs

Best Moscow Tours by Duration

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Moscow reviews & ratings, capitals of the north.

some hotels could have been better

It was jam packed with every place I wanted to go and see. I especially love my photo of us setting out on the night time river cruise in St Petersburg and the Peter...

I really did not buy much and what I did buy was small gifts for others .

Johanna-Marie

Good hotels, some better than others. Interesting itinerary

Too rushed. Optional tour rather too short

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Moscow Vacation Packages

Moscow vacations are always a great idea when it comes to traveling in Russia. Plan your trip to Moscow with a leading tour operator for Russia and enjoy the ease and pleasure that comes from it. You will stay at the centrally-located hotels, enjoy guided tours to Moscow's best sights with charming local guides, and, most importantly, feel relaxed and immersed in the Russian culture at all times. Wondering what the ideal way to see the best of Moscow is? Well, with a private tour to Moscow, of course! We will listen to your travel preferences and prepare a custom Moscow itinerary just for you. Let's start talking about your upcoming vacation to the gorgeous capital city of Russia.

Moscow Tour Highlights

Explore the capital of the largest country in the world, Russia.

Learn about the most visited sights in Moscow that are worth adding to your Russian itinerary. Create a fantastic tour to Moscow with a destination, choosing your wished activities.

• Moscow walking tour
• The Red Square
• St Basil's Cathedral
• Moscow Subway ride
• Tretyakov Gallery
• The Red Square in Moscow
• The Bolshoi Theater
• Cathedral of Christ the Savior
• Moscow's Kremlin exploration
• 'Seven Sisters' Skyscrapers

Tips for Moscow Travel

Take a look at the good-to-know tips before visiting Moscow and have a fantastic time in the capital.

What to pack

Make sure to check the weather prognosis before your trip and pack accordingly.

When to travel

Moscow is beautiful all around the year. Choose traveling time according to preferred activities.

We suggest to always have some cash with you. You will need Rubles (RUB) for Russia.

How much to tip

Tipping is not required in Russia, but it's considered good etiquette, tip 10%-15% of your bill.

The average summer temperature is approx 18°C (64°F), and winter is around -6°C (22°F).

Some of the most popular souvenirs from Moscow are caviar, Krasnaya Moska perfume.

Best Moscow Sights

One of the highest points in Moscow and one of its most breathtaking places - the Sparrow Hills.

See the 344-feet Cathedral of Christ the Savior - the tallest Orthodox church in the world.

Enjoy masterpieces of Russian opera and ballet in Moscow's legendary Bolshoi Theater.

Being the most recognizable symbol of Russia in the world, Red Square is an absolute must see when in Moscow. 

The famous GUM is a large department store in the Kitai-gorod part of Moscow facing Red Square.

History and luxury is revealed inside the Kremlin as the Armoury Chamber displays treasures like Faberge Eggs.

St. Basil’s Cathedral is Moscow’s most famous artistic work of architecture set in the romantic Red Square.

The symbol of Moscow and entire Russia, the Kremlin is often described as the 8th Wonder of the World.

Moscow Metro is like a whole underground city that holds the world's largest collection of Stalinist Art.

I am very satisfied.

I have been using the Firebirds (Travel All Russia) services for a while. I am very satisfied.

WOW. From the choice of hotels to...

WOW. From the choice of hotels, an itinerary that ran to plan, the amazing Guides and drivers, and of course the stunning cities of Moscow and St Petersburg. No long queues for entry to museums, churches, and palaces.  I would gladly recommend using Firebird Tours (Travel All Russia) to anyone.

THANK YOU for making this happen for me !!!

I must say from the day I started to book my tip till the day I got home I had one GREAT trip and experience I always felt safe and cared for help was seconds away not that I needed any I will defiantly highly recommend your company to any traveler to Russia WELL DONE to the Whole team THANK YOU for making this happen for me !!!

We enjoyed the whole trip a lot

Overall we enjoyed the whole trip a lot. Moscow is beautiful and clean. Thank you very much for your patience and excellent organization of this tour. Everything ran very smoothly and according to schedule. The guides met us on time at hotels or at our train carriage on arrival. They all spoke good English, had a good local knowledge and were very kind and helpful.

The tour lived up to all expectations

I’m most pleased with Travel All Russia in arranging our ‘Volga Dream’ Russia tour, I would recommend using your services again as every aspect of our tour went off without a hitch. The communication between our tour representative was excellent as we required additional days on both ends of our tour. The visa process and the logistics were flawlessly implemented.

We had a great time in Moscow!

Everything was perfect and we are very satisfied with services and accommodations.

Loved my time in Russia

The trip was great. Especially want to mention the guides I had on the extra days were exceptional. Both guides and drivers worked out well. Thanks again for all your help and attention. Loved my time in Russia, and still haven’t stopped talking about it.

Exploring Magnificent Russian Capitals, June 2017

Just want to say that our guide in St Petersburg was really outstanding. You really felt like someone was looking after you. Very observant - knowledgeable. We really enjoyed time spent with her.

Exploring Vibrant Moscow, June 2017

The experience was great!!! We had an excellent guide. The hotel was fabulous.

Thank you for your help !!! was an unforgettable trip.

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