I had an excellent 4 day visit to Vietnam expertly arranged by Emily of Agate Travel. I went to Hoi An and ended up with excellent shirts, leather purses and pouches made for me in my one day! I also did the enchanting night boat ride. Then it was on to Hanoi where I spent one night before I was driven to Halong Bay for a magical one night cruise. When my wonderful guide, Mr. Thahn, picked me up and then we toured some before my last day day of intensive touring. A highlight was the unique Train street and of course the lake. Be prepared for crazy motorcycle traffic, but everything was great and I hope to come to Vietnam again some day. If so I would love to plan it through Agate Travel with Emily and have Mr. Thahn guide us again!
Jun 5, 2024
Sherri
Angkor Wat at sunrise is a new favorite memory!
Seeing Angkor Wat at sunrise was one of the travel highlights of my life orchestrated by my wonderful guide, Pasqual. He was a great guide. He was informative and had a great eye for photos always helping me find the right spot to capture the shot.
Every Temple was unique and I was enthralled every day I was exploring the temples. At times I was so busy looking at the next remarkable building or carving that I forgot that the stairs are without rails and not always even.
Angkor Wat and the other area Temples are amazing and Emily Xin of Agate Travel (Travel China Guide) made it even better with her seamless organization of all the details. It is so worth going!
Jun 5, 2024
Sherri
Incredible Adventure in Madagascar
Touring Madagascar with Agate Travel was an absolutely incredible adventure, especially as a big nature lover and lemur fan! Our guides were fantastic and greatly enriched our understanding of Madagascar’s beautiful environment, people, and culture in a way that greatly exceeded expectations. The flight, accommodation, and transport inclusions also made for a really seamless experience so we could just focus on having fun. We can’t wait to work with Agate again on our next Madagascar trip!
Jun 5, 2024
Julian
Must to go
It was an awesome experience. The tour was well organised and the team is very supportive.
I recommend everyone to reach them before planning to Switzerland for the best itinerary.
Jun 4, 2024
Shobhit G
Interesting trip in Northern Laos
Very interesting throughout Northern Laos, including Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng and Vientiane. I had the chance to visit different places and learn about the history and culture of the country. I will surely come back to the country in order to see more places.
Jun 4, 2024
Giulio C
Breathtaking and entertaining
Wonderful and enjoyable stress-free experience, not only getting to know the amazing attractions but thanks to the conversations with the guides, you get to immerse in the culture and nuances of this distinctive nation. We had a personalized private tour by Agate Travel and it was flawless!
May 31, 2024
KC O
Madagascar is an adventure. If you go once, experience it all.
What an adventure we had. We had a private tour to explore the country, people,and natural habitats. Lemurs, villages, hikes, limestone mountains, lodge in stones, chameleons, rivers and weekly markets. Our guides couldn’t wait to show us their country. We saw it all. This was a trip to celebrate my 75th birthday. We have traced the world and this was very special for me. Not a trip or experience like it. As our guide said…this was an adventure.
May 30, 2024
cathleen b
Hit the key spots and delicious food
The trip was a quite memorable thanks to our tourguide Roger. The day before the tour, he ensured the time and location to be picked up and the driver and the guide were very punctual. Although it was extremely crowded, he guided and secured good spots for views for pictures. He was very knowledgeable of ancient and imperial history while telling the story in relation to each element. He also laid out places for our next day’s self-guided tour for us. It was rainy day but thanks to Roger and the driver we were very comfortable through out the tour. We throughly enjoyed and learned a lot during this tour. To top it off, he took us to a restaurant that serves delicious local food in reasonable prices. Overall great tour and I would recommend this tour
May 25, 2024
IIL
9 days in Ecuador
We did a 9 day Ecuador tour with our tour guide, Ivan F. The tour exceeded our expectations. Ivan was extremely knowledgeable about Ecuador. We started in Quito, then the Otavalo Market, Cotopaxi National Park, Banos, Cuenca and Guayaquil. We loved the places we went and left with amazing memories.
May 24, 2024
TheMrsKJ
Perfect costumer care
We had a wonderful 2 weeks trip to Indonesia and we would like to thank Agate Travel and specially Mrs Emily Xin for arranging this high-quality itinerary. The days spent in Bali, Java and Komodo National Park are already part of our dearest travel memories.
Bali is a paradise, Borobudur is a marvel and navigating the semi-phinisi boat around the Komodo National Park was a pleasure.
Our visit was perfect to every small detail and we were really pleased with the high standart services offered by Agate Travel.
Mrs Emily Xin is highly professional and her support and care with our trip was highly appreciated. She took care with very small detail and really did everything in her power to make sure we had an unforgettable stay in this corner of paradise.
May 14, 2024
Celia Crispim
Mongolia National Parks and Landscapes
Mongolia is a lot different from what we have seen on the internet; its BETTER! There are beautiful national parks and landscapes that are surreal. Our guide, Miss Deema and our driver Eric took us to some the most breathtaking scenery one could imagine. Great photo opportunities abound! Both Hustai and Terelj national parks were different in their own way with unique geography and wildlife. Accommodation in the yurts (gers) was warm and comfortable and is highly recommended. As was the Bactrian camel ride! And the introduction to throat singing. Deema's knowledge of the country, its people, and its history was outstanding. As was Eric's driving skills. Both much appreciated. Overall this trip is a GREAT introduction to this great country and it's unique culture and people.
May 07, 2024
Andrew
Mongolia National parks and Capital.
Mongolia is a lot different from what I have seen on the internet, It's better! Beautiful national parks and landscapes that seem almost surreal. Our guide Miss Deema and driver Eric took us to some of the most breathtaking scenery one could imagine, great photo opportunities and the parks Terelj and Hustai were different in their own way with unique geography and animals. Accommodation in the yurts was very comfortable and I would recommend a stay in one! Ulannbaatar is a huge capital city with museums and monuments galore. An introduction to Throat singing was entertaining, as was a visit to a local nomad camp and a ride on a camel. I would be more than happy to revisit Mongolia and take an extended tour this time to the Gobi Desert. Deemas knowledge of the museum was impressive! and Eric's skillful driving was appreciated, got us out of a few boggy roads and on our way again. Well done!
May 5, 2024
mcpasoril
Excellent Qatar Tour
This was an excellent tour with 2 full days of activities seeing both the highlights of Doha and the north of Qatar. It included also a Desert Safari with Camel rides, SUV dune bashing and a relaxing rest in a camp by the Red Sea.
Apr 30, 2024
Dennis
Great Snapshot of Japan
I was traveling with my spouse, tween, and 70+ year-old parents. We visited during the busy cherry blossom season. We were lucky as we arrived during the peak of this season and cherry blossoms were abundant. It was also quite crowded, so I appreciated my family having our own guide (versus being part of a bigger tour group). Also, it was nice to be picked up at the airport so that we didn't have to find our way around a foreign country upon arrival. I think the value was good considering it included the hotel, entrance fees to places visited, and public transportation fares. It was nice not to have to worry about the logistics of getting from one place to another in a foreign country. Our online tour consultant was very responsive and helpful. Also, the guides were knowledgeable, kind, and accommodating. The biggest challenge is that the days involved quite a bit of walking, which was difficult for my elderly parents. If I convince them to go on another trip, I would add in more leisurely days. Maybe that's my fault for not asking for some lighter days. I'm a bit torn because as a traveler, you do want to make the most of each day you are there to visit all the beautiful sites; but, it can also be exhausting. This also meant having to lug luggage around various trains to the various destinations. We stayed in four different hotels as we traveled across Japan. It was a packed itinerary; we were able to see a lot in a short amount of time. Over the course of five days, we visited Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, Nara, Kyoto, Hiroshima, & Miyajima Island. Overall, an excellent trip that provided a snapshot of Japan. I would rate it four and a half stars if I could (but only whole stars were allowed). I recommend it for most families (including those with little ones and elderly); I would just add more rest days/free time (or fewer site visits per day), especially if you have members in your party that are young or elderly. Also, if you have members that have mobility issues (such as those in a wheelchair), I would work with the tour consultant as there were places that would be difficult to access. My consultant was great; I just don't think I took advantage of having chosen a “private, tailor-made" tour as much as I should have. I relied and trusted the recommendations. To be clear, their recommendations were all top notch, I just should have taken my family's (which included elderly parents) abilities more into account and been more vocal with what would be best to accommodate my specific family's needs.
Apr 28, 2024
Lisa
Expertly Professionally Planned Private Tour in Japan & the Glory of Cherry Blossoms!
We recently took a 12 day trip to Japan which was totally planned for us by Agate Travel and Wendy Lee at this travel agency. There were 5 of us in my family. We corresponded exclusively by email. I was introduced to her and Agate by a friend who also went to Japan in September of 2023 and has since taken another trip planned by Agate and Wendy Lee. Our Japan trip was absolutely excellent!!! Every single detail that was given to us took place without a single problem. The guides that were selected for us were superb! and such nice, caring, and thoughtful people. They were always there to greet us at the train stations and ready for us in the hotel lobbies each morning for the day's excursion. We saw many amazing and absolutely beautiful sights with good explanations of what we were seeing. In addition, we experienced a nice variety of events- a wonderful dinner with a Maiko in Kyoto, a river boat trip, a visit to the Nara deer park with wild/tame deer, and amazing botanical sights (which was very important to us) including Kenrokuen Garden in Kanazawa and also visited the incredible Bamboo Forest in Kyoto. Visiting Hiroshima was very important and our guide was outstanding in bringing understanding of what happened there in 1945 so that we could more fully appreciate the impact and the importance of never forgetting and therefore never repeating this tragic event in human history. In addition, we were able to do some very nice shopping in a variety of shopping streets and also in Takayama, which we especially enjoyed and wished we could have had another day there. Every detail of our transportation on the bullet trains, local trains, buses was planned to perfection. Hotels were all ready and waiting for us. We had a special train/bus pass provided by Agate and it was invaluable in making transportation very easy! I don't know how we could have had a better first trip to Japan. I am very impressed with Agate Travel and Wendy Lee. She answered all of my questions promptly! (usually within 24 hours) and gave me clear directions, both during our planning, right before departure, and in a packet when we arrived at our first hotel. She even seemed intuitive as to the reasoning behind my questions and took her answers a step further to give me additional information that was very helpful and appreciated. We loved our trip to Japan, had such a happy time experiencing it together as a family, and were very grateful to be in such competent and organized hands. I would highly recommend this travel agency and Wendy Lee. I will definitely use them again for future trips.
Apr 27, 2024
Linda H
Vietnam with Agate Travel is a wonderful experience
The trip with Agate Travel was wonderful. The ability to choose activities and plans at your own discretion was of great value. Our Agate Travel advisor completed our suggestions perfectly. The hotels were very good and the guides knowledgeable. Our guides responded to our comments. This was our second time with Agate Travel. We are planning our next trip.
Leszek Poland
Apr 21, 2024
Leszek D
7 day Egypt tour, Nile river, Valley of the Kings, pyramids
Amazing! Went with my mother and best friend and I can truly say this was a trip of a lifetime. We learned and saw so much. We couldn’t have asked for a better guide on the Nile. Tarek was so knowledgeable and passionate about Egyptian culture he really opened our eyes and made the sites come to life. On top of that he made sure we didn’t miss other beautiful things in the area, we enjoyed all of it very much and we are so happy to have made a new friend in Egypt. Our next guide Ahmed in Cairo was also extremely knowledgeable with over 30+ years of experience as a guide. He’s also an excellent photographer :D He was generous with his time and really made sure we got to soak up as much as we could in our short time in Cairo. All in all every one we met really went above and beyond, the planning was seamless. We had a flight delay and it made for a really chaotic arrival and they made sure that we were taken care of, even refunded a night and moved the trip around to accommodate. I would definitely recommend Agate travel to my friends. Thank you for a wonderful time in Egypt!
Apr 19, 2024
Jaime P
Amazing planning!!
Everything went really smoothly and without any problem.
Emily from Agate Travel answered all our questions we had before our trip within 24 hours.
It was clearly an amazing experience and would 100% recommend!
Apr 18, 2024
Maxime RASSEL
Iguzzu falls and Patagonia
Agate Travel agency arranged a private tour for seven of us from Rio de janeiro, to Foz Iguazu, Puerto Iguazu, Ushuaia, El Calafate and ending in Buenos Aires. One word to describe the hoilday....Seamless!! We were picked up on time from every airport and toured all the sights as promised. Guides were experienced and informative.
Lovely holiday and many thanks to Ms Emily Xin for coordinating it all!
Apr 17, 2024
SK
Osaka. Kyoto, Kobe, Hiroshima - a quad cities of epic experience.
We had a wonderful experience in Osaka which was our hub for 5 days, Kyoto tour was a beautiful tour esp at the bamboo forest, Kobe was as nice visiting shrines and temple. Hiroshima was enjoyable esp the visit to the peace memorial park and A bomb dome.
Emily and her counterpart in Japan curated for us an enjoyable tour.
Apr 11, 2024
Rosario Marinas
Great 10-day private tour around Jordan
Agate Travel organised for us a 10 day trip around Jordan and everything was perfectly planned. We visited Amman, Petra, Jerash, the Dead Sea, Aqaba, Wadi rum and all the activities they planned for us were very well organised. From the time we were picked up from the airport until our departure everything was well planned. Our travel agent, Emily, did a great job preparing a really good itinerary and she was always willing to answer all our questions. I would highly recommend Agate travel if you want a great holiday in Jordan.
Apr 7, 2024
Lia Konstantopoulou
Agate created a wonderful trip for us through Korea, Japan and China.
I needed help creating a trip through South Korea, Japan and China. Agate came highly recommended and deservedly so. My travel consultant, Wendy Lee, did an amazing job putting together a trip based upon our requirements and her knowledge of what we needed to see. Agate was there for us every step of the way and had everything planned out to the minute details. We never felt lost or abandoned.
The properties we stayed at were very nice, as advertised, and the guides provided for tours ranged from mostly amazing to occasionally sufficient (some were not quite as "English Speaking" as promised but were nonetheless very pleasant and helpful).
We thoroughly enjoyed our 31 day trip and would never hesitate using Agate again for any travel.
Mar 31, 2024
Jonathan A
Private Cuba island tour
Our Travel consultant Ms Amy Jian , did a good job in planning our seamless trip to Cuba, We have an amazing experience in Cuba History and culture. I highly recommend Agate Travel!
Mar 29, 2024
Jocelyn C
First rate for the second time with this company. Will be booking again soon!
Second trip with this company. Excellent again! First to China and this time Jordan. I have every confidence and will be booking another trip with them soon. The motorists/guides are first rate, full of patience and very willing to help with everything. The choice of hotels is excellent and I felt very confident of safety and advice during the whole of my two trips.
Mar 27, 2024
Roland S
Generally in terms of what Cuba has to offer the tour was well structered and well organised. Our Driver/guide Juan Carlos was obliging and helpful and prepared to do pretty much all we asked. It was tiring from his percepective as driving and communicating in a foreign language is not easy. the only bad part of the trip is the long drives on not very good roads. I think Vinales is propbably only worthwhile for those interested in cigars due to the distance and the roads. Cuba is a test of patience as things that most tourists take for granted, like tissues, toilet seats, internet connection, power and water supply as well as access to fuel for the car can all provide challenges.
Mar 17, 2024
Kathy
Visit Cuba with Abel La Rosa Camero of Agate Travel
We spent a marvelous week in Cuba with Abel La Rosa Camero of Agate Travel. Abel had a wonderful presence, and guided us in Havana, Vinales and Santa Maria del Mar. He was both patient and knowledgeable about Cuban history and culture, fielding all of our curious questions. Abel advised us on the things not to miss, and also a few to avoid. The trip went off without a hitch, from airport pick-up to airport drop-off, including daily excursions. We highly recommend Abel and would certainly work with him again on a return trip.
Mar 9, 2024
Richard P
Great experience in Bangladesh
We have just returned from a 15 day tour of Bangladesh which we booked through Agate Travel. Our guide throughout was Mohan of Pathfriend tours who could not have done more to make our holiday a great experience.
For us the highlights were exploring Dhaka, seeing the critically endangered Hoolock gibbon at Lawachara National Park and the private three day boat tour of The Sunderbans ...where we saw a tiger, otters, freshwater dolphins, adjutant stork, numerous kingfishers and eagle species and herds of Chital deer.
We also flew to Chittagong to witness boat dismantling from the sea.
If we did this tour again we would elect not to take the ship between Dhaka and Barisal as the onboard accommodation was poor; travelling by car instead.
Thank you Wendy Lee at Agate for organising this trip at very short notice and once again a big thank you to Mohan. We would not hesitate to use Agate travel in the future.
Feb 26, 2024
Trish and Robin
Colombia is an amazing country and we booked this tour over the holidays last minute and Agate Travel did a great job getting us booked and guided! All our guides and drivers were great and only had one issue with a hotel because everything in the town was overbooked for New Years. Agate Travel stepped up and made it right for us. Great job team Agate Travel !
Feb 20, 2024
Russell
Wonderful Vietnam Trip
Everything went very well: the guides, transportation and accommodations. We were very pleased by the organization and service provided by your company. We will be looking at other travel opportunities your company provides and will recommend you to our friends. Thank you for a successful and enjoyable trip to Vietnam.
Jan 23, 2024
Peter J
We had a very enjoyable private trip to Sri Lanka over Christmas/New Year. Our driver/guide was well versed in the traffic, which was very unfamiliar to us, and was always safe, The program seemed very unsuitable for travelers aged 99. On the other hand, we could simply skip parts of the program that seemed too ambitious for our physical condition. We were still well occupied. For fitter travelers, the density of the program may be a little too tightly conceived. All in all, the private tour largely met our expectations.