Any good agency for korea 8days 6night planning to travel end of oct this year. Thanks

My reply to the above post is kinda late but...i will just go ahead anyway haha.
The well-known travel agencies in Penang are just a handful so you can actually go to each and every agency to get the itinerary and compare prices. Basically they all go to the same major attractions but some may visit extra or less places and some places the agency visit may not be where you want to go. So it would be sensible to find out more about the attractions/sights listed in the itinerary.
What i can tell you is about Ace Tours and Travel. I went with them to Europe once. While the trip was enjoyable(it's Europe so that's a given ), the tour was just ok. Not good till i would recommend it to just anybody but not horrible till i would beg people not to go with them. Maybe it was due to the tour guide. The guide was superficial and seemed to be super friendly and attentive to those who splash their money shopping(where the guide is able to earn commission).
The tour was also conducted in Chinese. Before going with this tour, i had specifically asked and reconfirmed many times about the language used as my mandarin is only limited to 'ni hao'. They assured me they would speak in English/Hokkien and Mandarin. But during the tour, mostly Mandarin was used with a sprinkle of English/Hokkien(whenever the guide remembers). The rich history and myths of the places were lost on me. Coming back, i had to google and read up on it. So that was no fun. Having a guide who is well versed with all the sights visited is important to further increase your enjoyment of the tour. This particular issue may not be a problem to you but it was to me
And also the food. We mostly went for asian/chinese food. Who goes to foreign countries and still eat what we can have locally? Maybe for those who have been overseas a long time and pine for their local home food. But certainly not for those on a short visit. By paying so much and going so far, we want to experience authentic food that is local to that country, not some asian dishes. Of course we did also have their local food, but those were not many. It was so few that i mostly remember the asian food and not the european meals. And i have a nasty suspicion that the European restaurants we patronised are not that popular with the locals. The food was only so-so and the places almost always empty. But there was one place where the food was wow and you could see the proof from the number of seats filled.
The time allotted for certain activities were way too long and some were way too short.
Overall the tour was ok due to the destination. It just could have been much better. Those are just my personal complaints. Maybe you will find these problems trivial so it's really up to the individual.

Personally I think joining a vacation club is rather pointless, unless if they have reserved allotted rooms for their members and they get priority iver their regular bookings, or if you travel very frequently and simply need a go-to place for accommodation.

is SA SRI AMERICA TRAVEL CORPORATION good ? for korea Trip ???

beware of Malaysian Harmony tour guide.. there are scams on this tour guide..

You have to elaborate to justify your claim

Most people join group tours in pairs like couples or in groups for families or friend. Has anybody sign up a tour alone and went along without knowing anyone that is in the group tour. Is is weird? Will you be uncomfortable going to a foreign country with a group of strangers who are with their families and friends. Will the travel agency charge additional costs eg. Single room request.I am asking because I really like to join a tour but may not be joined by family or friends.

Beware of AGODA "free cancelation 2 days before arrival" etc

Just canceled mine 40 days in advance and charged USD15.00 as cancellation fees

I Canceled booking.com only USD1.00 for same hotel

Need to read the fine prints. As long as it is within the T&C, then the free cancellation holds.

Not in the fine print. Im very careful with this

This USD15.00 is processing fee

I hv been using booking.com for my previous trip and it was good. This time regretted using AGODA

If i recall, at the room selection page, it will state whether there is a $15 processing free or free cancellation choice.

For those with free cancellation, you can see this at the manage your booking page:

Total amount charged : USD 375.42
Cancellation Fee : USD 0.00
Refund : USD 375.42


This post has been edited by Human Nature: Nov 24 2013, 01:09 PM

This is what they show before booking & after key in credit card details (Standard)




Terms & condition:

http://www.agoda.com/info/agoda-termsofuse.html

Maybe u can help me to point out which part ?


Received their email after cancellation:



Not that I cant afford USD15. They can mention earlier and I can accept, but dun give surprises lar

It is under 'Manage your booking' at your account profile. I have saved it as PDF and would provide it as evidence if there is any 15$ being charged. Anyway, no plans to cancel my booking yet

Ya, that's after you made the confirmation payment. Not prior to the payment.

While they have the rights to avoid spam booking and charge a fee, USD15 quite high and came as a surprise.


Anyway, enjoy your trip

Merchants do not have a right to simply charge a fee without informing the customers. As for Agoda, they do display whether there is a $15 fee or totally free at the room selection page.

Nope


My mouse pointer was over the "Free Cancellation"

*edited: spoiler

This post has been edited by furryfluffy: Nov 24 2013, 02:04 PM

This is what i have got, comparison between the left and right side:



Attached thumbnail(s)

Yes

But the room I book is the "Free Cancellation" one

I have seen yours also, i guess their system also also abit crazy sometimes haha

After I lodged a complaint, i got this: