This review is for a trip booked in May 2024. We had about a month to plan a trip to Italy and realized we needed professional help. With such little time, we sheepishly asked Mena if they could help. We worked with Angel who, from my point of view, worked miracles. He helped us plan a twelve day trip, Milan, Florence, and Chianti. Including hotel stays, a tour app (Viator, we loved this and used it for 5 different tours, all of which were incredible - walked to the top (the VERY top) of the Bruneschelli's Dome in Florence, a wonderful walking tour in Milan starting with the Last Supper and traipsing through Milan exploring the historical context in which it was painted. Our trip included a rental car, wonderful hotels, and tickets on the Frecciarosa. No private tours, or private restaurant/wine/cooking/art. Just an incredible, special, beautiful experience from start to end. Thank you, Angel. read more

This is a long overdue review for a Mena Tours & agency. My wife & I were planning a trip for our 25th wedding anniversary back 12/2021 to one of our bucket lists to Barcelona Spain. Usually I would plan our trips but I was having some issues planning because of Covid restrictions & multiple locations. We noticed that Mena Travel had a small advertisement on the back of the church bulletin w/a contact on the ad. Jon/Juan was our go to for Mena Travel. While we didn't book our entire trip through Mena Travel Juan was able to help us w/a number of things that proved to be very helpful. We were going to Spain for 9 days & decided to split our time between Madrid & Barcelona. Jon mentioned that Iberia flew directly from Chicago to Madrid. We did book the airfare through Mena. One of the problems I have w/looking for hotels is not knowing the geography of the cities we're going to. Juan was very helpful w/offering us a number of locations in both Madrid & Barcelona leaving it up to us to pick our choice. Both locations ended up being centrally located in the downtown areas of Madrid & Barcelona. Since Juan lived in Barcelona for 2 years his knowledge of the city proved to be very helpful. He gave me a couple of suggestions for our 25th Anniversary dinner on 12/01/2021. The restaurant I selected based on his recommendation was an awesome place in The Gothic Section of Barcelona called Brugarol. (See my review) read more

Mena Tours & Travel - 5209 N. Clark Street - 2nd floor - Travel Services Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

As we all know, the internet teams with information and it can be quite overwhelming. Some of this information, I learned, can also be false. I'm not going to point any fingers here, but a resort in Mexico claiming to be on the ocean with a pool and other lavish amenities turned out to be a run down hostel with limited electricity. Not wanting to put my trust in strangers on the internet, I turned to Mena and boy am I glad I did. This business has a rich history in the traveling department and their wealth of knowledge is incomparable to some of these bozos on the internet. They were immensely helpful when I had to plan a friends bachelor party in Puerto Rico. They helped me pick our camp for the week along with activities to take part in. We got a taste of everything and saw all that Puerto Rico had to offer. It is a time I will not soon forget. I would like to thank everyone at Mena who answered all my questions, booked all flights, constructed detailed itineraries, organized transportation, made reservations, etc. I can't wait to work with you again on my next adventure. read more

Mena Tours & Travel - Drinks with the bachelor in Puerto Rico - Travel Services Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I may be doing this travel agency a disservice, but my experience was as follows. I was looking for a tour or other type planned trip to Rome and the Van Gogh country in France (Arles, etc). The gentleman I spoke with face to face didn't seem particularly interested in me or my request. I was told they'd be contacting me - and of course there was no further contact. I'm a senior widower and my wife and I did some traveling over the years (mostly Europe) working with a travel agent in Evanston. Unfortunately that gentleman is no longer in business. I hope he's alright. I see Mena has all good ratings, hence my possible disservice comment, but I ran across their mention in Yelp looking for agent recommendations and wanted to reply. I haven't worked with Tauck Tours, but they're my fallback. I will check with other agencies and individual agents. read more

Fantastic service, in particular from Angel, a very experienced travel professional. He listened to our interests and then made helpful suggestions with minor changes to our flights that saved us money and allowed us to add other points of interest. As he is so well travelled he was also able to make recommendations about things to see and do with a family with children our ages. With the unforeseen Covid19 pandemic we had to cancel a trip to Europe. The level of service and ease of the process was just as outstanding as the booking process. That is particularly remarkable. I have only had to cancel one prior trip due to a family medical emergency, but the cancellation through a larger national agency was much more difficult. Highest recommendations! read more

I booked my vacation with them and they were extremely helpful and knowledgeable, Juan Carols the agent that help us was very nice. Will definitely do business with them again. read more

I just can say I am an Internet travel deals junkybut I was trying to get this special trip to Asia and it was kind of hard to put it all together, so I decided to get some help and find a travel agency in Chicago. Surprise we found this place Mena Travel Agency on Clark and Angel took care of us, He kindly listened to our ideas and presented a preview of what our trip could look like, and after a few twicks here and there VOILA our dream vacation to Asia was done. I wonder why we book our vacations online?/// it is not cheaper, Just try it and compare you wont be desapointed read more

I've used Mena for several trips, most recently my honeymoon. Giselle and Angel went above and beyond to make sure we explored every possibility for this special occasion, their knowledge and experience are unparalleled. Throughout the process they took care of literally every last detail, from minicar rentals for a cross-country trip in Ireland, to the ferries shuttling us from five-star hotel to five-star hotel in the Greek Isles. They were more than accommodating every step along the way. Bottom line, near or far, you're in good hands with the folks at Mena Travel. read more

What a FANTASTIC 8-day cruise on the MSC Musica. Mena Tours & Travel is the BEST! Norma Zarate, our travel agent is great! She found us a great cruise where we wanted to go at a good price. I'm already looking into our next cruise 2018 with Mena Tours & Travel and especially Norma. Thanks Norma! read more

I'm currently using Mena to book my honeymoon to Italy. My fiance and I have never been there, and after reading other reviews, it sounded like Mena has a lot of expertise in planning trips there. So far we are extremely pleased with our decision! Angel has planned a fantastic route through Italy, and booked our hotels that not only suit our needs financially, but seem to be in the most happening places within each city. There is no way that with our lack of knowledge of Italy, combined with the time consuming stresses that come along with wedding planning, we could have come up with this plan on our own. Angel also booked our flights, is putting together our train schedules, and has sent us hot places to see and to dine. I would certainly use them again for any foreign travel needs. Can't wait to be on our way! read more

We had a demanding family itinerary.They provided excellent service and recommends, and continued to do so-even when we booked certain parts of the trip through work channels-which had inventory that they didn't have access to. Their quotes were also the best as compared to other travel agents. Other agencies rarely returned our calls-whereas this agency had more than one agent, to help in a timely fashion. read more

**Amazing service** I've been working with Angel at Mena travel for years. Angel booked my travel for Asia, Africa, and Alaska. Thank you for always going above and beyond! read more

I worked with Angel to book my honeymoon trip to Italy and Greece and also a trip to Mexico for a friends bachelorette trip. Thought the process, Angel was very knowledgeable, helpful, and able to find us good deals. He always encouraged us to book what we felt most comfortable with but also gave us advice when needed. Unfortunately we had to cancel both trips due to COVID-19. Angel was very helpful in getting us refunds in the cancellation process. We recommend Mena Tours & Travel, especially Angel, and look forward to working with him again when we're able to travel again! read more

We are so happy that we used Mena Travel to book our honeymoon to Greece. We worked with Angel and he handled every last detail. Our hotels, transportation between islands, etc were all taken care of. We never had to think! Our hotels were incredible! The airlines lost our luggage and we contacted Angel and he took care of it right away to get it taken care of. We plan to use them again! read more

I highly recommend Mena for their professionalism and thorough and responsive service. Angel has been a great help with booking travel and providing helpful insight. We will continue to use their services for any travel needs we have. read more

I have used Mena on numerous occasions and I have always been impressed with the customer service that has been provided. Recently, I had the opportunity to work with Miriam and as always it was a joy. I had clients from South America come to Chicago for business and Mena was able to work out all the details with them. They even scheduled a few opportunities for them to get a taste of Chicago. My clients were very impressed with the professionalism of Mena. I will continue to use Mena for all my travel needs. read more

I just returned from a 5 day stay in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. I originally had no particular destination in mind. I spoke to Angel, and he recommended several destinations. I originally thought Mexico or Costa Rica was where we were headed. However, a look at Punta Cana, based on Angel's recommendations, showed that Five-Star, all-inclusive accommodations were well within reach. We could not have been happier with the personal service at Mana Tours. Several itineraries with different feature were offered. Out of the 10 or more Five Star all-inclusive choices, we chose Excellence, Punta Cana Resort. Angel helped us select an itinerary and transport. Airfare was arranged and specific ground transportation from Punta Cana Airport was pre-arranged and worked perfectly. Every aspect of Excellence Punta Cana was Five Star. Each meal was excellent. A wide variety, from French to Asian was offered. The beach, including the private club beach, was wide, gorgeous and well serviced by excellent staff. Each staff member we encountered was pleasant and focused on making sure we had everything we could desire. The room was spacious and comfortable. Room service was fantastic. The only criticism was that the dessert selections on the room service menu were a bit sparse. This experience with Mana Travel was much, much better than attempting to book a trip on my own. I do not travel for a living. It is obvious that Mana Tours is professional and knows what they are booking. I doubt that I would have been as at ease booking a trip like this based on my own research. It helped enormously to have someone who knew the area and could tailor an itinerary to our needs. read more

I am really satisfied with the service Norma has provided me this far. I have called a number of times making changes and she has always been nice. Very understanding. I found this place on google and they are really great. I have booked two trips and I am booking more. I have referred them to my family. Glad I found them. read more

Many times when using Expedia, Trip Advisor, or any of the internet travel "agenciy" services there is a lack of flexibility or human consideration when making the reservations, and if there are changes to be made there are penalties incurred which are most often non-refundable or so much red=tape to navigate through to make alterations. So, what a pleasure it was working with Mena Travel and our representative, Angel! He was so very professional and understanding using all of his facilities in creating our trip to South East Asia in a matter of minutes using 5 Star hotels and the best of air travel and at a cost effective price! We will be using Mena for all of our vacations from here on! read more

I've been meaning to write a review for Mena Tours & Travel ever since I used them last fall to help book a trip to Italy as they pretty much saved my life!! I came to them super stressed out about all the logistics and extra costs that kept getting piled onto my trip, but after I talked to John for the first time he immediately calmed my nerves and it was such a relief to work with someone who really knew what they were talking about. John laid out several different options with different price ranges so it was extremely easy to create my perfect trip within my budget! He also had some great recommendations for places to see and eat! Thanks for everything, Mena!! read more

I spent close to 45 minutes speaking with Giselle about my travel plans. She was suppose to get back to me with a potential itinerary within a couple days. It has been over 2 months now and nothing. I e-mailed her following up on our conversation and did not get a response back to that either. Unprofessional. read more

I booked a vacation to the Caribbean through Mena. The trip was absolutely fantastic, and I am already counting down the days until we can head back. Mena was an absolute pleasure to work with - making themselves available to my busy schedule, listening to my travel needs/desires, and found me very competitive rates. I will definitely use Mena again to book my next travel plans! read more

At the recommendation of a friend, I booked my most recent vacation with Angel at Mena. My family and I wanted to take a much needed tropical break from the Chicago winter in the Caribbean but weren't sure where exactly to go. Angel helped us through our decision, presenting different resort options and locations based on our desires and budget. I was very impressed with his in-depth knowledge of and connections at each of these resorts. We decided on the in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The resort was a complete paradise. The best part of the experience was that Angel took care of all our travel accommodations from flight to transportation to resort stay which allowed us to enjoy a stress-free vacation in the sun. I would definitely recommend anyone looking to plan their next vacation to go to the travel experts at Mena. read more

Was struggling with planning a trip on my own to Paris since I had never been. So glad I used Mena. I dealt with Giselle, she was easy to work with and made a point to feel out what kind of trip we wanted (ie budget etc) to guide us in the right direction. She booked our airplane tickets, train tickets, hotel and even helped make dinner reservations for my husband and I! Vacations are for relaxing and planning should be fun. We will definitely be using them again. read more

I used Mena to help plan a trip to Italy. This being my first time in Europe, I had no idea what to expect. However, the staff was very informative and accommodating. I spoke with John and we discussed what I was looking to get out of the trip / what I wanted to see, and he customized an itinerary based on my interests. Let me tell you that the trip was everything I expected then some! We traveled to several cities in Italy and hit all of the attractions that we planned to see, stayed in all the best places, and ate the best food of our lives (all without falling into the usual tourist traps). read more

I have worked with Mena Travel on numerous occasions, and have experienced top notch customer service each and every time. Most recently, I worked with Giselle for a company meeting we had down in Florida. She set my co-workers and I up with a very cheap flight and found us the perfect hotel with meeting spaces that were just right for the occasion. The hotel she put us in was also centrally located downtown to make the post meeting festivities very fun!! She customized our entire trip and made the process painless for all parties involved. I would highly recommend Giselle and Mena Travel for both work and leisure vacation purposes. They are truly experts in this field. read more

This is my second time coming here. Both Gisele and Juan-Carlos are very informative and helpful when suggesting great hotels/tours in Paris and Barcelona for our trip. They work with any budget and never try to be pushy. And best of all they have the cuties mascot, Henry a Labre doodle dog who comes and greets you in a the sweetest way if/when let out. read more

Excellent Service! Norma the agent had a lot of patience for me and my mother when we were trying to book our trip to Dominican Republic. Would recommend this Travel agency anytime! read more