CIRE is the best! Melissa took great care of us on our recent trip to Mexico. Highly recommend.read more

From the owner: CIRE Travel is the premier corporate travel and group travel agency in Chicago. Not only do we add…read morea professional, personal touch to your business, meeting or leisure travel...we also connect you to the same buying and booking power that Fortune 500 companies enjoy. We work with clients all over Chicago and across the United States. If you are a frequent business traveler, have a destination wedding approaching or just want to connect with a professional travel agency, your best choice is CIRE Travel. Contact us today, we'd love to hear from you. Consultations by appointment only.

My GF and I purchased a Groupon for the Chicago Photo Safari and we chose to shoot at Millennium…read morePark. Unfortunately, about 15 minutes into the session, it started to rain so the group (around 10 of us) fled into the Chicago Cultural Center for the remaining time. I thought the CCC was interesting for about an hour but definitely did not have enough interesting areas to fill up a 3 hour photo shoot. This brings me to one of my complaints-the safari was supposed to be 3 hours, but it was only about 2 hours and 20 minutes. I'm sure it would be a better experience in Millennium Park but if you are planning to make the safari rain or shine, you should have a better back up plan. Also, b/c the CCC isn't brightly lit, this limited the settings people could use while taking pictures. Our instructor - Scott - is a student at Columbia and he had a good personality and did his best to engage the students and help them. I thought it was helpful that he had an iPad that allowed him to pull up a picture that illustrated the concept that he is explaining. He also was knowledgeable re photography. The one complaint regarding Scott is he clearly was out late the night before and still smelled like stale beer. Not a big deal to us, but I can see how that might bother some people. I think this class would be useful for someone that has a DSLR and only shoots in automatic mode or in program mode without understanding what is actually happening in the program mode. I'd say the majority of the class fit into this description. But, if you have a basic idea of how to set the exposure, what depth of field and what ISO are, I'd skip the safari and just walk around Millennium Park. The 3 stars is based on the Groupon price and if you are an absolute beginner. If you paid full price the rating would be a 2 stars.

My Mom and I bought a Groupon and did the Millenium Park daytime safari. I live out of town, and…read morethought this would be a fun way for us to spend time together while I was visiting for the holidays, and it was! The MP safari was beginner level, which worked well for my mom who was borrowing one of my DSLRs for the first time. As a more intermediate DSLR photographer, I got more familiar with my new camera and was able to talk lenses and other advanced topics with the instructor and students with the same DSLR Rebel I had. But the most beneficial thing for me was the fact that we spent so much time photographing the same subject (the Cloud Gate) over and over. Other yelpers lamented that there wasn't enough subject matter to photograph, and although that is true, the real benefit to the repetition is that you can take the same shot over and over and adjust your settings each time. Then when you go home, you can load the shots into the computer and compare the settings for each picture, and try to learn more about what settings work in which conditions. "Setting intuition" is something that I struggle with and having a slow tour through MP has already helped me to better predict how to set my camera for different lighting conditions. I would certainly recommend Chicago Photo Safaris to (1) beginners who own or have access to a DSLR camera or (2) intermediates who are either looking to become more familiar with their DSLR or use the safari as a way to experiment with settings, take home the shots, and critically evaluate them. The MP safari was NOT for folks who (1) want to take a bunch of pictures of different things, (2) don't own a DSLR or other digital with shutter speed and aperture controls, or (3) are easily bummed out by being outdoors on one of Chicago's many less-than-perfect days or indoors in one of our many old, under-lit buildings. As for me, I would seriously consider another Chicago Photo Safari when I'm in town in the future.

They provided excellent services for our upcoming trip! Amazing communication and prompt…read moreresponses. Melis is amazing!

Worked with Turan Travel for over 20 years. Hayati is a good guy who doesn't cheat customers out of…read moremoney unlike other Turkish company in downtown. Sahire Melis is a honest kid and is doing great with the business

A trusted breakdown and excellent reviews of the top recommended hotels in the world…read more I've relied heavily on AH over the years with planning VIP trips for customers as well as myself and friends.

From the owner: In 1979 our founding editor left his corporate life to travel the world. In his desire for…read moreauthenticity, he sought out small hideaways in unspoiled corners of the globe, sharing his findings through a monthly newsletter (Andrew Harper’s Hideaway Report) under the pen name Andrew Harper. We have earned our reputation on delivering intelligent travel content that is unbiased and honest. Our members trust our insights and value our travel planning expertise to ensure that they experience the most satisfying and rewarding trips shared with family and loved ones.

just got back from Greece. Best trip ever! Gilded Travels handled everything top to bottom. Hotels…read morewere amazing, logistics super smooth. Zero issues with flights or transfers. Restaurant recommendations were on point, and the tours were private and professional. If you want a luxury trip without the headache, this is the place. Ask for Steven, he knows his stuff.

From the owner: Gilded Travels designs transformative journeys for discerning professionals and families on…read moreChicago’s North Shore. We manage the logistical complexity of high-stakes trips for clients in Northbrook, Northfield, Glencoe, Winnetka, Lake Forest and beyond. Specializing in bespoke cultural itineraries, multi-generational family vacations, and "bleisure" remote work getaways, we weave sustainability and wellness into every journey. Our destination expertise spans Greece, Japan, Italy, Patagonia, Bali, French Polynesia, Iceland, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Jordan, Costa Rica, Slovenia, and Malta. We handle every intricate detail so you can focus entirely on the journey.

They are by far the worst travel excursion group! I had my tour canceled without notice and the…read moreother they had the wrong hotel. They did nothing! They asked for my booking number etc.They told me that's it when I contacted them on the phone and in person. They ruined my vacation. Please beware of them. I urge you to look at other your operators

I booked with Eric at Nexus Holidays a 5 city Tour of China. There were 33 people in our group. The…read moreprice broke down to $380 Per person to share a room or $720 for a private room. These prices are unbelievable! It should be $2000 per person or more. The catch was we had to go on Gov. Factorys tours. Everyone enjoyed, and Naturally we all spent lots of $. We flew Non stop from Chicago to Beijing on Hainan Air and had some domestic Chinese flights on Hainan as well. We were greeted at the Airport by Ping A.k.a "Mary" who was our leader or sitter for the first 3 of 10 days. She went above and beyond in every way compared to the other tour leaders. She gave us solid advice, and made us feel like she really cared about us. She even bought us all Ice cream. She bought me lunch too. I tried to refuse but she made me accept and would not take my money. We stayed at 4 star hotels and were driven around in a big bus. We saw two Amazing shows, climbed the Great Wall, rode the fastest train in commercial service "Shanghai Mag-Lev" We were so busy going from one place to another. So much to see and do, and buy in China! The food was amazing except a few meals that were like Panda Express. Hard to get cold drinks, as they like warm coke and beer. They feel its better for the stomach. I look forward to booking another Holiday with Eric in the near future. This trip was Epic!