Goway Travel Recensioni 5.164

First the good: Our trip to Thailand was amazing and we thoroughly enjoyed it. The nine nights, with three each spent in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket were just enough time to give us a taste of the country before our main trip to Vietnam.

We liked that we could customize our itinerary, and highlights for us were the Chill elephant sanctuary in Chiang Mail and the cooking class at the Blue Elephant Restaurant in Phuket. Amy, our guide in Chiang Mai, was wonderful.

But we felt that the planning by our Goway person was lacking.

A 2024 trip to South America was our first time taking a trip using the services of company such as what Goway offers. However, for this Thailand trip, we wanted to book through a Canadian-owned/based travel agency and someone on a recent trip had told us about Goway.

The destination expert for our South America (SA) trip had been so amazing and likely set the bar high for our first time travelling like that, but there were a few things that we couldn’t help but compare the services of between the SA person and those of the Goway person we dealt with:

The SA travel person gave nicely detailed replies to any questions we had, for example regarding tipping, appropriate clothing, etc. and all in one email. I.e., I didn’t have to send another email, asking for the remaining questions to be answered or asking for clarity from a very cursory answer. This was not the case with Goway. It was, honestly, rather frustrating at times.

Our SA travel person had requested a debriefing phone call after our trip, and although we didn’t have any suggestions for them as everything had been so amazing, we felt it was a nice business practice, and they also said they appreciated being able to ask us our feedback of some of the specific trip components they booked for us – wow! I was happy to give them an excellent Trust Pilot review. In contrast, this was the post-trip email, in its entirety, that I received from Goway: “Hi (my name), How are you? I hope you had a good vacation in Thailand. Best regards, (Goway person’s name)." – No feedback requested, nothing.

A few days later I received an email from a Goway “Team Lead- Client Experience” person. I replied with a balanced review, basically the above information I am writing in this review, plus a few other details (not included here due to character limits), and a few more details about one of our guides, where there perhaps could be some room for improvement – and I never heard anything in reply from the Goway lead.

Another plus is that our drivers were all good, but one item we would have appreciated for our safety, is vehicles with both shoulder belts and lap belts instead of just lap belts. This was hit or miss throughout our Thailand trip, but as an ER professional, having a shoulder belt and not just a lap belt is something I would have been happier having and would have felt safer having in each vehicle. 

The most questionable meal of our 5+ weeks in SE Asia was on the longboat ride in Phuket where we realized that our intended lunch, containing meat, cheese, eggs, etc, had been in hot temperatures for over five hours – no cooler, no ice packs, just sitting in a plastic tote.

We are fans of what Goway and other such companies offer and feel we had good value for the money we spent. But, would we book with Goway again? Honestly, we don’t know. We love that it’s a Canadian company, that has been around over 50 years, and that must mean something, plus other reviews tend to be 4 or 5 stars so all Goway planners cannot be like the one we had. It's not that we have crazy high expectations. If we knew that our next Goway destination expert would be easier to work with and more knowledgeable, perhaps? But how are we to know that?

Our first trip with Goway was a total joy. Shalini worked with me to plan a trip for 5 adults to Portugal. She is a gem! Always responded quickly and offered great suggestions for activities, worked with our preferences and created an ideal itinerary for a week in Porto and Lisbon. The tours were excellent with engaging local guides. The food tour in Lisbon was a highlight. Everything was top notch - flight schedule, hotels, activities, even the weather!

It is with the utmost pleasure and heartfelt appreciation that I share my exceptional experience working with Taha Colombowala, Goway's distinguished Groups Specialist. Our journey together began in October 2023, when Taha took the helm in orchestrating what was to be a remarkable group trip to Ghana. When unforeseen circumstances necessitated a change in plans, Taha demonstrated his extraordinary expertise by recommending Morocco as an alternative destination — a suggestion that proved to be nothing short of absolutely brilliant!

From the very first interaction to the final farewell, Taha has been a consummate professional in every sense of the word. His lightning-fast response times, encyclopedic knowledge of destinations, and remarkable ability to pivot seamlessly under pressure are truly second to none. What sets Taha apart, however, is not only his professional acumen but also his warm, patient, and genuinely enthusiastic attitude
toward accommodating the unique needs and personalities of every member of our group.

Taha Colombowala is, without question, a shining star within the Goway family, and an extraordinary ambassador for everything the brand represents. I cannot recommend him highly enough — he has exceeded every expectation and then some. Working with Taha has been an absolute privilege, and I look forward to many more incredible adventures ahead!

We recently completed a custom Vietnam tour organized by Goway, and it was everything we asked for and more. We would definitely choose Goway again. The true highlights of our trip, however, were our two guides: Vu Dang and Thien. They truly made our experience unforgettable. Both were incredibly knowledgeable, thoughtful, and kind. Their pride in their Vietnamese heritage shone through in every conversation, making our learning experience both deep and engaging. We learned so much in such a short time, and it was always fascinating. I would highly recommend these two guides to anyone visiting Vietnam!

Everything was expertly planned, from the drivers to the hotels to the tours to the flights. We particularly enjoyed Hobart and the animal sanctuary, Adelaide and the trip to Kangaroo Island, Melbourne and the evening tour with dinner and drinks, and Sydney with the private boat cruise of the Harbour. We will definitely use Goway again.

There were 4 travelers on this trip. All of us were in our late 70's. We started planning this trip 6 months prior to our travel date and had a lot of questions regarding this trip. Our Goway Travel Specialist, Karen Larrota, always answered our questions in a timely and complete manner. We traveled to Quito, Ecuador, the Galapagos, The Sacred Valley in Peru, Machu Picchu, and Cusco in Peru. Not only were the destinations and accommodations excellent, but every tour guide and driver were beyond excellent. The entire trip went smoothly every step of the way, which was amazing given the fact that there were numerous flights and hotels included in our package. We found out that the tour company that Goway used, Condor Travel, checked on us with our guide to make sure we were doing OK which we thought was very nice but also amusing as we are fairly fit older adults. Would also like to mention that we did a cruise thru the Galapagos on the Galapagos Legend which was arranged thru Go Galapagos - Kleintouurs. This portion of our tour was also excellent as were the wildlife guides and staff. We continue to discuss how wonderful this trip was with our family and friends and how wonderful this experience was. Would definately use Goway for our travel needs in the future.

We booked our dream trip to Sicily through Goway with travel agent M. The first two stops were wonderful, but the Messina portion was a complete disaster that ruined what should have been the most meaningful part of our vacation.
We specifically told M that we wanted two full days of leisure time in the Messina area because I have family roots there and wanted to explore independently. She assured us this would be handled and listed the days as “leisure” on our itinerary. Instead, she booked us at Villa Pulejo.
This hotel is completely unsuitable and nothing like what we expected:
• The property is extremely isolated, with no restaurants, shops, or services within walking distance — or even a reasonable taxi distance without massive costs.
• There is virtually no food available. The on-site restaurant is only open for special events.
• Breakfast is shockingly basic: just coffee, one croissant, and a small box of cereal (cornflakes, multigrain, or muesli). We were told there would be a buffet.
• When we asked about getting food delivered from town, we were quoted €200 plus the cost of the food.
• The entire property is fenced and locked, making us feel like prisoners with no easy way to leave.
• Upon arrival at 10:00 AM, we were told our room would not be ready until 3:00 PM, leaving us waiting for hours with nowhere to go and nothing to eat.
• The staff was kind enough to prepare a simple lunch (small salad, pasta, and ice cream), but it cost us $95.

We were told last night that hotel is locked down at 9 PM. Staff leave at 10 PM. No other guests here. So we were alone all night in this place! It was very scary!! I didn’t get any sleep.
After many hours of trying to reach Goway, we received an email telling us we must arrange our own transportation out of Villa Pulejo and book our own hotel in Palermo, because booking is confirmed through April 15, 2026, at Villa Pulejo.
This experience was unacceptable. We felt stranded, overcharged, and completely misled by the booking. The hotel does not match any reasonable description of a leisure stay, especially for travelers wanting to explore the local area. The isolation, lack of food options, and locked property turned what was supposed to be relaxing time into a stressful and frustrating ordeal.
We strongly advise other travelers to avoid Villa Pulejo if booked through Goway for independent exploration. We expected professional service and accurate representations from our travel agent, but this portion of the trip fell far short.
We are still hoping Goway will make this right by covering the costs of proper transportation and alternative accommodation, plus some compensation for the distress caused.

After spending some time with our agent, we felt that she understood exactly what we had in mind as far as the level of service, etc, we were hoping for. The trip exceeded our expectations. Lori kept us busy(not too busy!) and we had many, many very exciting experiences.

Aylin is an exceptionally proficient advisor. Coordinating my clients simultaneously often feels like herding cats, but she has remained patient and accommodating through every modification and delay. Goway continues to be my go-to for complex itineraries, and they never disappoint.

Mahalo Goway Travel for helping in planning our group Japan's trip. Lawrence was very helpful & patient with all the changes & additions we did. Also, mahalo to Natasa who helped planned my Australia trip past November. The planning from transportation to tours to hotels worked very smoothly. I'll continue to use Goway travel for all my International trips. I'll also will recommend to my friends & family to use Goway...Mahalo

Maria Spitman was wonderful to work with. She was very helpful in designing our trip to Japan and equally wonderful when we had to cancel it. I loved the service she gave us.

My daughter and I had a wonderful 2 weeks in New Zealand! The country is so beautiful and the people so friendly. Our destination specialist did a great job with planning and organizing the itinerary, choosing our hotels, and organizing transportation. The hotels were absolutely beautiful and we had great views. We felt right at home and found all of the staff to be friendly and accommodating. There were no issues with our itinerary and our excursions we were always on the list. Our transportation was always ready and waiting for us.
We want to thank Goway Travel for their hard work and patience with us in planning this trip. Any changes that needed to be made were communicated timely. We also want to thank you for the beautiful weather during the entire 2 weeks it was perfect every day 😀.
It was a memorable trip that we will never forget and we will think of Goway when we plan our next adventure. Because it was not just a vacation; it was an adventure!

We had a great travelling experience with GoWay !
Thank you all involved in organazing our trip!

Brigitta Fuller is Amazing! She was my group coordinator. She understood the assignment and all the nuances I was trying to achieve. The itinerary she curated was fantastic. If you want someone who truly cares about her group and what they are trying to achieve. I will always reach out to Brigitta first for Europe groups.

My clients had a wonderful time on their trip to Easter Island. They were very pleased with the Hare Nua Hotel Boutique and especially noted the warmth and hospitality of the hotel staff as well as their excellent breakfasts.
Jaime Vargas-Hendandez was an exceptionally gracious and knowledgeable agent, who went out of his way to ensure that my clients had the best possible experience. I will definitely contact him for future bookings and will recommend him to my colleagues.

We were just back from an ambitious 42-day grand circle through seven of the ASEAN countries! An itinerary gestating over a period of time, carefully planned and pore over intently all the way through proved satisfying as expected, but the amazing "embarras de richesse" in six weeks such as we've never experienced before truly went beyond our imagination, both in terms of scenery and culture! The vast majority of the local teams who work with Goway provided impressive service throughout our stay, and quite a number of the guides and drivers deserve to be called cream of the crop in their line of work. But ultimately, we owe our destination specialist Taryn a profound gratitude for her insight and for her coordination efforts which made all this possible.
When our debit card was not retrievable in an airport ATM Taryn again went out of her way to approve a small loan through transfer to our local guide's bank account, who then withdrew cash from an ATM while we simply paid Goway Travel by credit card through an online payment link. This helped us tremendously through that difficult moment. We will always treasure this kindness on her part.

Alice was most helpful - full of insider suggestions.
She was a good listener and able to provide tours, routes and guides tailored to our interests. She made our February trip to New Zealand entirely wonderful.

Goway Travel and the destination specialist, Jamil Jarvis, helped to arrange our trip to London. Everything went so smoothly and we certainly enjoyed the whole experience and would highly recommend them.

We did a 19 day NZ Rail and Cruise Discovery Tour and then a 12 day Australian tour put together by out specialized travel operator Joanne Palanuik.

New Zealand- ABT Tours ran the actual tour and did a fabulous job. The Guide Sharon was great and worked very hard coordinating 32 people. Mostly all Australians and we has so much fun with them! Our driver Chris (a retired policeman) was especially great- he knew so many interesting things about NZ and shared them while driving throughout the trip. We loved him! So many highlights...overnight on a ship in the Milford Sound...cable car to a nature reserve then a Gold Class train ride back...Queenstown adventures..excellent meals along the way...all drivers and transfers were excellent too.

Oceana Tours in Melbourne were great as well. A morning city tour and afternoon tour were wonderful. Then the next day to Philips Island for the Penguin moonlit march was sooo special. And the Ocean road cruise too!! Sydney was gorgeous...Bondi Beach...Barrier Reef...Ayers Rock (Uluru)
Both Australians and New Zealanders were so helpful and friendly...

In short I wish I could do it all over again..highly recommend. Every day was a new adventure :)

Kathleen Reardon