Kensington  Reviews 2,385

You really organized an excellent trip for our group. The drivers were cordial, engaging, knowledgeable and got us to and from our destinations in a timely and safe manner. I’m very glad we did not have to drive in this crazy driving environment. The hotel choice was superb. It was centrally located to all the planned activities and was within walking distance of shopping and restaurants in Sorrento. All the activities planned provided wonderful naturally scenery as well as history of this famed area. The guides were mostly well prepared and knowledgeable with the exception of our guide at Pompei she was friendly and knowledgeable but was too old and not physically capable of the kind of tour we were hoping to have if the entire restored village. The Cooking lesson and the guide who recommended the 300 year old winery outside of Ravello were definite highlights of our trip. The hike on the Path of the Gods was really not presented in a manner that prepared us in dress or in mind for the rigorous nature of the hike. The guide accommodated our senior status well but it was far more challenging than a downhill walk along a commonly traveled path for for 70 year olds.

Working with Kensington on a complex trip to Nepal and Bhutan was a great experience. The pre-planning made the difference in providing an overall memorable trip once on thre ground. The guides were excellent and the accomodations worked out well in every location. I would not hesitate recommending Kensington for your travel needs.

NUZHAT NABILA our destination expert with Kensington made this dream vacation easy to book. I could not have done it without her! Best vacation ever!!

Our trip planner was very knowledgeable and put together a wonderful agenda.

The hotels were 5 star plus. The guides we had on out tours were amazing. They were knowledgeable, personable and punctual. The private drivers and vehicles were top notch. The itinerary allowed us relaxing time but enabled us to see key locations all over the country. The 1 snag we hit they took care of right away and made sure we were well taken care of. Would definitely use them again.

This was my first Kensington trip. I do not hire tour companies; our family prefers to plan our own trips. We travel only with backpacks (which we did on this tour as well). Yet Bhutan is a difficult place to try to plan on one's own, there's a lot of rules and paperwork, so using a tour company seemed the best way to go.

Kensington was recommended to me by a friend who uses them for all her family's trips. When I contacted them, they asked us our interests so as to propose an itinerary. We were looking to go to the Tiger’s Nest, kayaking/rafting, hiking, learning the culture and history of the country and spending time among the local population. We worked together on the itinerary, using their initial proposals as a base and modifying it with them to fit our interests. I found Kensington to be extremely proactive. A couple weeks before the trip, I had to modify our flights to Nepal due to world situations causing our original flights to be cancelled. Our tour contact saw we would now have a long 10-hour layover on our return through Nepal and thoughtfully added a drive/guide to meet us (without our asking) to take us around Kathmandu so we wouldn't have to wait at the airport all day. I was surprised and happy at the proactiveness of our tour contact.

As for the trip to Bhutan itself, we were NOT disappointed. In essence, all we had to do was show up in Nepal. Kensington took care of each detail, to include the visas necessary for Bhutan and the flights into the country from Nepal. We were met at the airports in Nepal (we had to overnight there on our way) by a guide who met us in the terminal, walked us through Nepalese immigration, took us to our hotel for the night and picked us up early the next morning to get us back to the airport to fly onward to Bhutan where our Bhutan guide was waiting to meet us with his driver. Although I had already printed out visa and other paperwork for our family, we were presented with a packet of the same information upon our arrival in Nepal (just in case we didn't have it). Once in Bhutan, our guide, Kinley, was fantastic. Kinley's thoughtful insights, humor and deep knowledge allowed us to see Bhutan and truly experience the culture, food and locals. He was a wonderful guide who patiently answered the MANY questions we had. Since this was a private tour with my family and him, we were able to modify our itinerary 'on the fly' when we wanted to explore some area more or visit other things we hadn’t known about prior to our arrival. We saw a lot and visited places not on the usual Bhutan itinerary which were of interest to us. We hiked, rafted, visited government buildings, local medical and craft schools, museums, temples and soaked in life in the towns. The hikes were great, especially to the Tiger's Nest which capped off our trip on our last day and was the primary reason for visiting Bhutan. Kinley took excellent care of us wherever we went, packing snacks and extra water on the hikes in the event we ran out. He put a lot of effort and time into ensuring we would have the best Bhutan experience. As far as lodging and meals, all hotels and meals were included (based on our pre-trip planning discussions). I asked for hotels to be located within the cities we stayed, rather than the more luxury hotels outside the city which Kensington first proposed, to have the ability to walk around at night and early evenings. Bhutan is a very safe country. The hotels were all top-notch. The food was mostly vegetarian, though there were also chicken and fish dishes - a lot of Indian type cuisine was served at the places we ate. Coming away, we learned so much about Bhutan, it's history, culture and its people. It was a great trip, well planned. I would use Kensington again.

all the planing before with the right person gives one the knowledge that everything is going to be perfect.
The agents are what makes the company because they now how flexible they can be with the extras which are allowed to be used and their willingness to use it

Cone ruins wonderful
Driver and guides fabulous
Only
One driver from San gimignano was, I don’t want to say rude , but acted
Like there was only one couple
On the trip. I
Paid the same exact money
As the
Other couple and he was rude
I could
Not hear him
And please asked him to speak louder in the van. He ignored me. Always talking to the other couple
That NEVER HAPPENED with any other driver or guides
Do NOT recommend him for any more
Than 2
People. I was very upset. It was like my husband and I did not exist
All other guides were wonderful
Hotels
We’re
Great
Last
Hotel in Rome, the night before we left was a
Bit too fancy for my liking since we only slept there
Other than that it was my dream trup

Our Kensington contact made the process of choosing our vacation so easy and personalized. The tours they booked for us were informative, personable and as advertised. Each hotel we stayed at was exactly as described and exceeded our expectations. We will use them again for future trips.

Excellent knowledge amd service booked some great small
Tours for me Impressed

Planned this trip with Kensington on a recommendation. We were not disappointed. Had an experience of a lifetime from A -Z each hotel, each meal, each tour planned to perfection. Would highly recommend

Kensington is the very best travel company we have ever used. They flawlessly planned our recent trip to Southeast Asia. From our travel planner to the local guides, drivers, hotels and all the marvelous experiences set up for us - everything was exceptional and we made many lifelong memories. Kensington is top tier in every way possible! We could not recommend this company more highly!

The planing of the trip with Abigail. She was our window into Taiwan.
The tour guide and driver were very flexible and knowledgeable.
And the amount of territory that we covered was amazing .

I just met an amazing young lady named Ali Keylor she helped me with my trip to Bali Indonesia she was very informative she knew exactly what she was doing she was very sweet and nice and she answered every one of my questions and that's what I really like to be able to feel comfortable when asking questions not having me feel like I asked the wrong question thank you so much Ali you're awesome

Our travel was excellent, everything went smoothly according to plan, the hotels were excellent, the guides were excellent, and the tours were excellent. Having a person meet us at the various destinations was very helpful to navigate local transportation options

We just wrapped up a trip of a lifetime to Morocco. The itinerary was exactly what we had hoped for and the pacing was perfect. Our riads or boutique hotels were beautiful. But it was our guide Farid and our driver Muhammed who MADE this trip so wonderful. This was our first trip with Kensington, but not our last.

Scott truly made the experience. I was so impressed with how he modulated what my Mom needed ( less adventure) and what I needed (more adventure). The trip was also super well balanced from time in each park. Just once in a lifetime, first class all the way.

This was our second Kensington private customized vacation and it didn't disappoint! First of all, a big shout out to Nihad Khan whose patiently listened to our dream trip expectations, our concerns and our limitations. He put together an itinerary which we then worked on together to tweak and adjust. The final result was amazing. Fifteen days in Japan during peak cherry blossom season, visiting multiple cities all boasting beautiful cherry trees. PERFECT!
Our guides, specifically, Hiroko Nakai & Yuta (Kyoto), Fumie Shirae (Kanazawa & Shirakawago) Mitsuko Sunada (Takayama) and Miyako Hirano (Tokyo and Mt Fuji) were amazing. They were all of the calibre we expected of a private guide and of Kensington. They shared anecdotes, cultural and historical facts and stories, spoke in clear and precise English. Fumie and Miyako and Mitsuko helped us find shops for the perfect gifts. We enjoyed delicious Japanese-style meals with them as well as their recommendations. They each were very personable and always ready to share a laugh and smile with us and make sure to take our pictures often whenever we stopped to admire something. They also were attentive to our needs, and adjusted our excursions accordingly when necessary.
The hotels and ryokans that Nihad reserved for us were fantastic. Our ryokan experience in Takayama (Hidatei Hanaougi) was beyond our wildest expectations. Private hot springs pool and garden, indoor and outdoor public hot spring pools, private dining rooms serving the most amazing multi-course meals -artistically presented. The common areas offered a beautiful, comfortable, calm and tranquil places to relax. We could have stayed there for two weeks! Genji in Kyoto was a designer's paradise, featuring limited but delicious meals (the Japanese breakfast was incredible), the most attentive and helpful staff and a lovely location (must see park 5 minute walk). The Keio Plaza - Grand Premier - in Tokyo had amenities, views and staff that made our stay in Tokyo extra special. Ten-Yu in Hakone had fantastic outdoor hot spring pools plus indoor hot spring pools as well as a sauna and cold plunge. Perfect for just relaxing after 2 weeks of touring. We absolutely loved the gardens with waterfalls, bridges, tori gates and benches to relax at.
Excursions that Nihad recommended such as the tea ceremony (Kyoto) and gold leaf craft experience (Kanazawa) were great and two museums Kubota Itchiku Art Museum ( Kimonos designed by him) near Mt Fuji and The Open Air Museum (sculptures and gardens) in Hakone are not to be missed.
The transport transfers were seamless - assistants meeting us as we debarked and escorting us to the next train platform or to our hotel. The drivers were courteous and drove safely and their cars were spacious and impeccable.
Thank you Kensington!

My wife and I are very familiar with, and have enjoyed, all-inclusive luxury conducted tours. We were interested in luxury custom tours where we could pick what we wanted to see and the amount of time we wanted to sightsee each day. My research led me to Farzana Iqbal at Kensington Tours.

I started working with Farzana on our Italy trip many months ahead of time. She made herself available for numerous phone conversations. Farzana was very attentive to our destination preferences, mode of transportation and tour guide requirements. She was also receptive to when we wished to start our daily sightseeing and when we wanted to rest.

Just when Farzana had everything nailed down for us, I sustained a fall and as a result, we had to reschedule our trip. She was very patient with me and worked with her superiors and partners to make sure our payments towards the original itinerary could be applied to a different departure date.

Once we landed in Italy, we found Farzana’s choice of hotel to be ideal. It was very comfortable and was located close to many of the sights we wanted to tour. The guides she had arranged were accredited and were excellent at giving us an in-depth appreciation for ancient historic sights. They were very accommodating in adjusting the pace to our stamina levels. When I decided to head back home earlier than scheduled, Kensington made seamless arrangements in getting me to the airport.

If you are looking for a customized, well-integrated, quality luxury tour, Kensington is the tour operator for you. If you are looking to work with an attentive, empathetic, destination expert, you will not go wrong with Farzana.