Customer reviews and what they say

We found the temple visits the best part of the trip. We could have spent longer at Siem Reap - a real highlight was visiting some of the lesser visited places around Angor Wat - like Ta Som where we were the only visitors. It was especially a privilege to visit Banteay Chhmar near the Thai border - it felt remote, unvisited and was fascinating. The local guide at Banteay Chhmar was incredibly kind, though all of the local guides were excellent - they really took care of us.

The hotels were all excellent. Some were very interesting places - notably Mekong homestay and the hotels in Battambang, Kep and the homestay at Banteay Chhmar. The service in the hotels was very attentive.

If we were to book the trip again we would avoid June - some days were really too humid for much activity for us, though of course this meant that we were more or less alone at some of the sights, which was great. Even Angkor Wat was quiet, which the guide told us is rare.

The itinerary was too packed for us. We would have cut out quite at lot of the activities - e.g. the bamboo train and the morning in Battambang and taken more time to rest in the hotels. We would have liked even more time at the temples to wander around. At our age (59 and 67) we need time to process the experiences and rest.

We had some reservations about the visits to local people's houses. We understand that it is important to engage and contribute at a grassroots level to the local community and this worked well at the community based tourism at Banteay Chhmar - it felt like an Airbnb type experience and the local CBT guide and hosts were great. There was a sense of a genuine exchange of cultures and valuable financial contribution to the local economy and an important local project. However a couple of the visits felt slightly uncomfortably intrusive of the people's privacy - notably in Battambang. However we understand that this is a very difficult balance to strike and it is better to attempt it.

My partner had a back problem mid tour. The local guides were truly excellent in supporting us in visiting the hospital and getting medication. The UK agent, Rhys, suggested a change in the itinerary to allow for recovery time and a less active tour which was organised very well by the local guides and support from agents in Japan and Rhys at no extra cost. The efficiency was impressive.

Support from the UK office, and also the local office while we were abroad was very good.

The overall experience was good

We asked for a tour covering particular areas in Malaysia over 3 weeks. This was arranged as requested by Jess and we had a lovely holiday...from Borneo and orangutangs to start with then on to sophisticated and modern cities Kuala Lumpar, Ipoh and Penang.. and finally a chill out on the beach in Lankawi. The only area we chose that was a disappointment was the Ramen Negra National Park where the most exciting creature to be found was a stick insect. Their award winning forest canopy walkway was closed, the salt lick hide was closed and they have not given an introductory video there for two years apparently.
Plus the number of visitors and building works going on in camp and along the river frontage ensured there was not a bird or animal for miles. Very disappointing.

But Inside Asia found us some fabulous hotels along the way. An oasis of calm and luxury in the diplomatic quarter of the busy city of KL, Villa Samadi, a 20 room boutique hotel was a wonderful surprise. The Weil in Ipoh was by contrast a large modern high rise hotel with every luxury, including panoramic views from the rooftop infinity pool. And the historic Areca Hotel in George Town, the rooms spacious and it's charming indoor garden terrace with 30 foot palm trees were the three best . But all accommodation was good.

The food was delicious in all accomodation . With a variety of tastes catered for..from super hot spicy to fairly mild. Plus we enjoyed finding our own lunches and dinners..and found both delicious and great value food easily.
Malaysia is a predominantly Moslem country with large Chinese and Indian origin populations. It seems a busy ,peaceful and tolerant country. The people were all welcoming.. Malaysian hospitality is famous...and friendly. I strongly recommend as a place to explore and learn about.A fascinating holiday. Thank you Jess and Inside Asia.

Overall the trip was very well planned. Some of the information in the cities guides was not complete and there was a mix up with a reservation (which was quickly handed), but overall we were happy with many of the suggestions and activities planned. Compared to many travel agencies they always make you feel a valued customer and are very good at giving the experience a personal touch.

The trip was meticulously organised by the Travel Consultant (Rhian) and most everything about the trip was enjoyable, and took into account that I was a solo female traveller. The arranged tours were interesting and the guides were friendly and knowledgeable. Overall, the entire trip was well worth it!

NA

The guides were mostly great. There were a number of 'Disneyland-esque' activities that we could have done without. In the pre-planning we asked to not have them, yet they were left in. We were told we could negotiate them out with our guide, which didn't happen.

I had a good experience.

Well organised trip, slightly let down by the type of hotels chosen.