TripADeal Reviews 837

Borneo was so disappointing. We were rushed at the orangutans. Feeding time was 10am and we had to be back at the main centre by 10.30am. Hardly enough time to spend watching them. Then in kinabantang river our group was split into 2. Why arrange a tour for 30 people without being able to accommodate 30 people in the same lodge. If the lodges were close to each other it may not have been so bad. But one lodge was in completely different area of the kinbatanagan River that had better wildlife viewing. I got stuck in the group in an area only known for bird watching. How is that fair? Did we not pay for the same experience? We also got a different tour guide for the 2 days. He was 20 minutes late to our morning cruise and was then incredibly unenthusiastic. I will never do a tour with 30 people ever again. Oh and the reason trip a deal is so cheap is because the accommodation is 1 star. Why bother travelling if it's going to be a subpar experience. Shame on me for thinking this trip would be good.

We have done two tours now with Trip a Deal and both have been excellent.
This last tour was a Ancient Treasures of China and Mongolia. China was interesting, seeing the Terracotta Warriors and visiting the Great Wall. We did visit a Tea Plantation and Silk place but they were mostly a hard sell and very pricey. The best part of the tour was the Mongolian part. The tour leaders were fantastic, informative, helpful and fun. The culture, history and stunning scenery were excellent. Wish we had had more time in Mongolia.

I wish to document my experience with Tripadeal Ultimate Sri Lankan Tour departing May 14, 2025.
There are daily flights from Melbourne to Colombo.
From Sydney, there are direct flights four days a week. The departure should and could have been arranged to use direct flights from both capital cities to save the longer travel time to journey via KL. Alternatively, it would have been good practice to advise the Sydney travellers to go to Colombo day earlier as an alternative at their own expense.
Day 1. We arrived in Columbo after midnight and then drove for almost an hour and a half to our hotel.
Day 2. After a few hours respite, we went to the fish market and thereafter a long bus drive to our accommodation at Anuradhapura. It would have been better to give us some time to get over the plane journey.
We spent two nights in Anuradhapura. When we arrived, we saw the sights as an optional extra. They should have been factored in as compulsory part of the tour.
Day 3. A leisure day. The only activity was an afternoon safari to a National Park. We went in the afternoon on a very hot day. It was predictable that we saw no animals at all. They invariably rest from the heat of the sun in the afternoon. This trip was ill conceived and a waste of time.
Day 4. We drove north to Jaffna. There are three sights to see in Jaffna, the Portuguese port, the temple and the library. All of these could be visited in half a day, but we spent three nights in Jaffna with nothing at all to do. This was unnecessary and wasteful.
Day 7. (8), We travelled to Trincomalee. We were supposed to stay at Nilaveli Beach Resort, or similar. Well, we were accommodated at Pigeon Resort which was not at all similar. A check of comparative Google reviews would confirm that. The resort was old, run down and decrepit. It was unacceptable. Once more we were isolated from anywhere, we could visit as tourists and spent two nights wasting precious time.
Day 9 (10) Sigiriya . Very interesting, except once again the safari was in the heat of the afternoon when all the animals are resting and not visible. We did see elephants, but they were on the road after we left the park and were travelling back to the bus.
Day 11-13 All acceptable and interesting.
Day 14. We wasted the day because the early train had not been booked. The tour was paid for many months before departure and the early train should have been secured.
Day 15 .The Yalea National Park was charged as an optional extra. We saw many animals including bear and leopard. This tour should have been factored in as included and charged for. It was a shame that some travellers missed out on the experience when they had the fruitless other safaris included.
Day 16 (17) Galle/Kosgoda. Galle is one of the Sri Lankan Highlights. We had only half a day there. We stayed at a nice hotel, but it was an hour and a half from Galle. Those that wanted to spend more time in Galle, or who paid for the terrific cooking class faced a three hour return bus journey on Day 17. Accommodation should have been in Galle with several suitable hotels available (Radisson Blue or Galle Fort). A better arrangement would have been to stay in Galle for the cooking on day 17 and then transfer to transfer to the Sheraton Kosgoda Turtle beach for the boat ride and overnight.
Day 18 (19) Bentota. Day 19 was another wasted beachside day on an island hotel. Those that used the day to take a private trip to Columbo and back enjoyed the time.
Day 20. Colombo. There was insufficient time to visit the Colombo Museum, the Gangaramaya Temple and Colombo in one day. A visit to the Red Mosque, which we did was very worthwhile.
Day 21. All departures were after midnight. TripAdvisor deal should have planned sightseeing in Colombo for that day.
General Comments:
I feel that the itinerary was poorly planned. One does not take such a trip to spend so many “free “days. Either fill the time or shorten the trips and make it cheaper.
There was no provision at all for lunches or lunch stops. This was a major issue and should have been addressed. Either provide a lunch when on the bus, or arrange to stop at places where food can be purchased for lunch.

I was personally responsible for seven pax on this trip. I felt embarrassed by the final product we experienced. It was so deficient in comparison with my previous trips to Egypt, Morocco and Borneo.
I previously was an avid and enthusiastic ambassador for Trip A Deal. I am not so enthusiastic now.

I recently went on the China discovery. I loved it all! The great price ✔️ great hotels✔️great tour (Thankyou Jason Hu and Celery was incredibly knowledgeable but also went above and beyond when we needed her)✔️ I certainly would recommend this tour.

We did the magnificent Europe trip. It was really rushed 15mins at the Eiffel Tower. Hotels were far away from the centre of the city. The tour guide needs to find a different job. I felt I was with a cranky school principal. The trip was cut shot from the same trip the year before.
Never again TripADeal.

🚫 Reckless TripADeal Bus Driver – 9 July 2025, 13:55 – R300 Off-Ramp, Cape Town 🚫

As someone who works in the tourism industry, I was absolutely horrified by what I witnessed today. A TripADeal-branded tour bus was driving in a shockingly dangerous manner on the N2 towards Cape Town on Wednesday, 9 July at 1:55 PM, just before the R300 off-ramp from Somerset West.

Over the course of around 10–15 minutes, I personally saw the driver cutting off multiple vehicles, braking at the very last second, swerving in and out of lanes, and speeding way over the legal limit for a vehicle of that size. He was also driving in the fast lane, where buses are not even allowed. The driving was completely uncontrolled and erratic.

This wasn’t just reckless — it was outright dangerous, and the driver almost caused multiple accidents right in front of us. It’s a miracle no one got hurt. He wasn’t just putting the passengers on board at risk — he was also endangering the lives of every driver and family on the road around him, including mine.

As someone who works in tourism, this kind of behavior makes me absolutely furious. We work so hard to promote safety, trust, and professionalism in this industry — but this type of conduct undermines everything we stand for and tarnishes South Africa’s reputation as a travel destination.

I took a photo of the vehicle and urge TripADeal to take this seriously and investigate. This is far more than a complaint — it’s a warning. If nothing is done, it’s only a matter of time before someone gets seriously hurt, or worse.

Until then, I will never recommend TripADeal to anyone. This level of risk and recklessness has no place on our roads.

Trip a deal have been completely awful to deal with. Not only do they book tours that aren't definite departure. They recently cancelled a trip i paid for back early this year .Im still waiting on a full refund weeks later. Ive had every excuse under the sun . Their refund policy is very clear but they haven't refunded me yet. Do yourself a favour. Do not book anything with them.

Our trip to Vietnam in May 2025 was absolutely awesome. Our guides were really good lots of knowledge and fun to be with. The hotels we stayed at were first class, the places we visited were both beautiful and interesting. The only thing I would fault is the seating on the plane. We were unable to book seats thru TripaDeal they told us to contact the airline, the airline said they couldn't book our seats due to booking with a 3rd party (Tripadeal) the result was I was seated separately from my husband on the flight back to Brisbane. I am a very nervous flyer and prone to painful ear problems on take off snd landing, I rely on my husband bring there for comfort. So this was quite upsetting. But the trip itself I would give a 10 out of 10.

Made things easy and when I had questions they were answered

It was my first trip a deal. I have been on many tours with other companies and this was the first that had multiple changes to the itinerary. I would not recommend. In fact I have lodged a complaint with ATAS. in general it is a taster you don’t get paid entry to much. we got entry to edinburgh castle for an hour which was not long enough, Windsor castle and loch ness cruise. we totally missed most of the highlands eg Aviemore, Stirling, fort William , Augustus. we also did not do windemere and in Ireland we missed Galway. reasons given were itinerary differences we had last years apparently and rain in Galway. upon questioning this on my return home the tour leader changed his tune and it was due to works done on the A9 highway in Scotland. either way we missed a lot. truth be told the hotels are miles from the places you are supposed to visit and makes it logistically hard. for example the hotel in Galway was 1.5 hours from Galway so for a Sydneysider that’s like visiting Sydney and staying in Wollongong. I have been on tours where it has been -7 and the planned day has still gone ahead. I’ve also done river cruises where things have gone wrong but the company manages to find a way to get you there. never again. as a side note it was curious to see that trip a deal took my complaints onboard without actually admitting fault and changed the itinerary to mirror more closely the trip we did rather than the one advertised. I was given $200 compensation for an $11500 trip.

Inexpensive tour of the Balkans so I guess you get what you pay for.
Disappointed that the tour guide offered almost no useful information about the sights that we would see, also accommodation and meals etc.
Would give Tripadeal a miss next time and use a slightly more expensive company for a more professional guided tour.

UPDATE: No offer of credit was received, this is rubbish. $250 off next trip I book with Tripadeal, why would you bother

We did the 5 star vietnam with the extension to Cambodia, sadly it wasn't 5 star, these hotels in their glory days were probably 5 star but are worn out and dated so I'm sure were very negotiable with tripadeal with group bookings. Infact we were so excited to be doing a 5 star trip that we were super disappointed. The hotel in Ninh Binh was probably the only true 5 star, however, this is still under construction and we conveniently arrived there after stopping to take photos of cabbages??? at 5pm and then we were out by 8am, obviously the drilling had just started. In addition to this, we were too long in cheaper places like Pua Long (we were aware this was a 3 star deal) and honestly we didn't need 3 nights there. Then we had the nicest of all the resorts in Hoi Ann but we got into the rooms at 11pm on the first night and the last night bags at the door by 5am, just terrible. We have promoted tripadeal as the something amazing for travellers prior to travelling with them. Needless to say we feel cheated and will not do another trip a deal. The cambodia extension our hotel was so not 5 star, probably 3 at best and unfortunately apart from the half day needed for Angkor temples there is nothing to do there so 3 nights in an average hotel is just over the top. Tripadeal call this trip something else as 5 star is isn't, even the cheap early morning flights on Vietjet where you are second row from the back doesn't really give you a 5 star feeling. I called tripadeal when we got to Cambodia because I could have cried and they told me they would email me with options to move hotels. I have heard from them after 2 months because of negative reviews, no apology just an explanation that they did their utmost??? Looking at all the reviews I'd say they were good and now have gone down hill. Also no sign of the Qantas points that you are supposed to receive from taking the trip

TripADeal is deceptive, disrespectful and untrustworty. They have no scruples, all to make a few dollars.
I booked a trip to Nepal in January, and was issued a non refundable airline ticket on Air India, an airline that prior to last week's terrible fatal passenger crash has a long standing incredibly poor safety record. This was booked without my informed consent. I have challenged TripADeal about transferring to a safe and reputable airline, but was advised that I could pay for a new airline ticket to be issued if I paid in full for the cost.
I have had nothing but terrible customer service, no care or concern for an individual's safety, and no moral compass at all.
Please fellow travellers do not book on TripADeal.
Their poor safety needs to be exposed.

We did the Sri Lanka Maldives trip. we had Ajith as our guide and he was very informative and a fantastic guide. The group that we had were a fantastic bunch of people which made it an even better trip.
The sites and things we did in Sri Lanka were sensational and very enjoyable. The Maldives were spectacular and the island was great. All round doing this holiday with Trip a deal was fantastic way of seeing two countries, highly recommend the trip.

Trip of a lifetime. Very fast paced, a new city or country every day, early mornings and long days with lots of time on the bus. We saw some amazing places and did things we’d never done before. Our guide Thanasis was excellent, offering optional extras throughout the tour and showing a genuine care for each person on the trip. A couple of hotels earlier on in the trip are not the best, but as we travelled, they became better. All are clean and you're only in your room to sleep until you’re off again the following morning! Would definitely recommend this trip to anyone wanting a taste test of the beautiful places in Europe!

My friend and I returned from our first trip to China with Trip a Deal our first with Trip a deal too.

For the price we paid $888 AUD, the flight included, the good quality hotels we stayed, the buffet breakfast everyday for 9 days will cost more if we paid separately! Best value for money. Thank you Trip a deal

I've read lots of negative reviews about trip a deal China but we never encountered any negatives about this trip.
Its an experience to me if you wanted more then don't booked cheap holiday and complain..it's cheap holiday because it's promotional to encourage tourists to experience China.

Sure the tour is rushed but that's bus touring is all about they have to fit into their schedule to take you to place that are scheduled for you to visit.

The tour guides were polite, funny , pleasant and goes above and beyond to make the tourist happy.
Remember they get paid less but works 12 hours a day and always available for helping tourist in their care.

The optionals are all good. Some people complain about it but if you booked them then partake and pay because it's non refundable and if you don't pay the tour guides the money comes out of their salary! and that a lot for them with the little money they get paid .

Some people complain about the $12 AUD tip per day but do they know that tip does not go directly to tour leaders or tour guides? Yes the tip goes to staff, the hotel people, the drivers, the assistants it gets divided but the whole team! So please don't complain about the little money you tip them infact we should tip them extra for good service, care and assistance they provided us during tours.

All the tours visited eg: Silk factory, Jade Factory, Alternative, Pearl Factory, Tea Plantation etc are there for you to see their product for discounted price. Sure they are pushy because that is their income they get paid commissions especially the guides if they get sales also helping the economy, but if you can't afford to buy then don't but be negative about that. The Alternative medicine are just guides doesn't necessarily mean you believe them always seek approval from your GP before taking Alternative medicines. The teas are good everyone knows organic teas has great benefits to our body so why not try and drink a cup or two.

Remember it's an experience..cultural experience..When Chinese people comes to Australia they spend alot and buy lots of products here and I believe i hasn't seen any negative comments from them about Australia 🤔

Have a great adventures if you decided to visit China, experience and embrace the culture and your views will change once there.

Never again!!!.40 people on a tour with one guide… are you kidding!… cheap trip but the Qantas flights were the best part of this trip.
Most of the people on this tour of Japan were over 60… hard to keep up with the guide who raced away leaving us oldies at the back of the pack and not hearing any info re the sights… I loved the trip a deal to Morocco but this trip was a nightmare!!!

Tour guides are friendly, respectful, funny, always have the group's safety in mind and knowledgeable in history. Places visited were all top of the range and the trip covered numerous wonderful locations in such a short time. It was certainly value for money including well selected excellent accommodations/hotels catering variety of food for breakfast, drivers of buses seemed experience too and knowledgeable about the streets in China. Thank you TripADeal you're the best.

My China Adventure with Trip a Deal

I recently returned from an incredible trip to China with Trip a Deal, and I'm still reeling from the experience! China exceeded my expectations in every way - its modernity, cleanliness, and rich culture left me in awe.

The trip was made even more enjoyable by our professional and knowledgeable guide, Joe. His humor, expertise, and engaging personality made every day a delight. However, I did encounter one guide who was unnecessarily harsh with a member of our group, which was disappointing.

The tour itself was well-planned, with fantastic destinations and activities. A highlight was the stunning hotel in Zhengzhou. However, I do want to caution future travelers about a misleading sales pitch from the Silky company. They claimed that China government to encourage tourists to buy more while in China allowed 2 by 23 kg suitcases per passenger but according to China East Airlines it’s not correct. My friend ended up paying ¥1000 for extra luggage, and another friend left the suitcase behind.

Despite this hiccup, I highly recommend Trip a Deal for their affordable and well-organized tours. Extra program or attractions also available at extra cost. Just be sure to clarify information with both the tour operator and any third-party vendors to avoid misunderstandings.

I'm already looking forward to my next adventure - not only returning to China but also exploring other countries with Trip a Deal!

We returned from a grand Japan 14 day tour, whilst I believe the content was value for money. We were pressured from day 1for the optional gratuity payment. Our guide Urin was ordinary at best not rssponding to what’s app messages’s, having no information in regards to restaurants places to eat etc. on the last day we were harassed at the airport for a payment of 280 AUD. We were told we were disrespectable for not paying, how could we be so disrespectful if everyone paid this amount it was over 5600 in optional gratuity he received. I have never been so bullied or embarrassed. If this is a compulsory charge call it that so people are aware. I will never use a trip a deal again .