I want to personally thank Marina G. and Rita P. for excellent customer service above and beyond. I…read moream a very difficult customer to deal with and I like things in order probably more than the next guy. Both Marina and Rita were very patient with my dumb questions even though they're extremely busy this time of year. Marina in particular has to do even more work because she is covering for a coworker while she is on vacation. Even though they don't need any more business, I highly recommend this travel agency if you're traveling anywhere in the world. I would give them more than five stars if I could. Job well done thank you

We just returned from a 3 week vacation in Thailand and Vietnam organized by a Frosch travel agent…read more From the outset we should have known Deborah Deming would disappoint us. She was going on a big trip to Antarctica, with spotty cell service. Instead of giving us over to another agent who would have the time needed to curate plans for our trip, she assured us she would be available for all but a few days. Well, not really. And her style is to investigate the trip options while you are holding on the phone. That automatically eliminates doing any detailed research. Deming's lack of attention to detail put us in a position to question and double check all the arrangements, get on the plane with unresolved issues, and generally cast a shadow over our trip. Some examples: *We traveled with another couple who, once we met in SE Asia, were doing exactly what we were. Yet their hotel reservations were messed up...TWICE! *She scheduled us on a 7:40am flight from Bangkok to Hanoi. We'd have to leave for the airport about 4:15 AM, only to arrive in Hanoi 6 hours before we could check in to our hotel. *The Saigon Day plan neglected to mention that it is a 2 hour drive to the tunnels and, of course, 2 hours back. So that is 5-6 hours, then there was a tour around the city , and then... an evening of vespa riding and bar hopping and dinner. We told Deborah from the outset, we are in our late 60's. A 12 hour tour day is just not a realistic plan. Oh, and talking about being in our late 60's....why wasn't the War Remembrance Museum on the plan? We were draft age for that war! *In Chiangmai we paid extra for a Garden view. Yes, there was a very beautiful Garden, see below for the view from our room Deborah depends on ICS Travel Group to do all the local planning. Apparently she handed our trip over to them and never followed up - until we started asking questions. We did have some amazing tours and some wonderful guides. We also had one guide who had little idea of the schedule, a tour that never happened - for which we were unsatisfactorily compensated, and transfer guides that did not know what hotels we were going to. If you are thinking of using Frosch or ICS...reconsider!

A very interesting exhibition. I enjoy watching the videos. The basement model was huge and even…read morehas a clean bathroom. The volunteers are very nice and friendly. It's probably a bit boring for children but if you're interested in how water is processed from the bay and the history of the bay area's water development, this is educational. I really enjoyed my trip here. It's about an hour long. Definitely recommend an afternoon here and a walk in the neighborhood plus a nice lunch afterwards.

Interested in hydraulic models? Here's your chance to walk around a model of the San Francisco Bay…read moreDelta which simulates a 24-hour cycle of tides. What blew me away was how expansive the model was! Exhibits of the area's hydrology are also found throughout the facility. Guided tours are available on Saturdays at 11AM. It's limited to 40 visitors on a first come basis. Tours are 45 minutes long. If there is more staff available, they offer tours on the hour or half hour. Tours can also be tailored to groups at various technical levels (see their website for contact information). Hours are: Tuesday - Friday: 9AM - 3PMSaturday: 9AM - 4PM They are closed on Sunday, Monday, and Federal Holidays. If a Federal holiday falls on a Monday, then they will be closed on the previous Saturday. There's a free parking lot next to the facility. Admission is free!

I love Witmor Travel! Personally, I don't use travel agents. I don't really travel. And when I…read moredo, it means renting a car and finding a cheap hotel. So, I don't really need an agent. At work, it's another story. Booking travel for executives, marketers, sales reps--lots of reservations and even more changes. Witmor takes care of me, all the way through. I work with Jean-Pierre and he's the greatest. He's based in NYC but works West Coast hours. And he started out in SF so he knows the area forward and backward. Personable, professional, reliable--what more could I want? Thank you Witmor and Jean-Pierre for making my life easier!

Jane Scott is a miracle worker. I referred two long-time friends to her to plan their trip of a…read morelifetime. These folks are just a tad choosey. I was worried more for Jane than anything. Jane took amazing care of them from beginning to end, surprising them with perks and bonuses throughout their trip. I received rave reviews when they returned and coming from them, I know Jane went above and beyond! Or, I think what's more accurate is that she's just really, really talented at being a travel agent. The thing about using Jane, too, as opposed to trying to do everything yourself on the net, is that she's there to get you out of a jam NOW with all of her connections, resources and talent. She recommended I get travel insurance and it ended up saving me thousands. Highly recommmended!

our wedding planner introduced us to karie initially to help out with reserving a hotel block for…read moreour guests, but she has gone above and beyond just helping with that. after securing the hotel block, karie politely / unobtrusively inquired about our honeymoon plans and just let us know that she was able to help if need be. we started by asking a few questions about both the hotel we were looking into for a "minimoon" in napa + the bigger trip we were trying to plan in greece a month later and it became immediately clear that our experiences in both cities were going to be greatly better if we had the help of karie vs. booking on our own. she has helped with every detail - from suggesting the best restaurants and securing reservations, to finding unlisted (and affordable) upgrade options for hotel rooms and inquiring about all kinds of pricing. she has organized our tours, ferry rides between islands, massages and taxi services and has moved things around (multiple times) when we've had a change in plans or budget. she has had answers to any question i can throw her way and has been quick to respond (and never batted an eye at any of the crazy requests we threw her way). the beauty of working with a travel planner (or at least with karie) is that they have contacts at all the places you want to go and they can work to find you the best offers or the hidden benefits that you might not have known about by just googling a hotel or city. karie also has experience in planning these types of trips, so she was great in reminding us of what we needed to do and when, without being pushy or self-serving -- she genuinely just wanted to make sure we walk away with the exactly the experience that we want. she was never pushy and never made unsolicited suggestions that weren't in-line with exactly what we were looking for. i would 100000% recommend karie to others -- especially those booking trips where the details aren't as simple as airfare + hotel or for those planning a wedding / honeymoon. i think the key here is finding someone who is experienced, well-connected and (most importantly) trustworthy and she is absolutely all of those things.

Our daughter's wedding was scheduled for 2020, then canceled (thank you pandemic), then rescheduled…read morefor this summer... with over 35 rooms of out of town guests. Karie managed locking in block room rates, canceling the block in 2020 then rescheduling the block in 2021. She also supplied us with an update on guest reservations every week or so prior to the wedding. She definitely alleviated all the coordination that this takes on top of our wedding plans. Love her! Recommend her highly!!!

We usually like to go it alone, but with no Indonesian language skills, we thought we could use a…read morelittle help setting up our trip to Java and Bali. After talking to Teri, it was clear we could have the ease of a tour while creating our own adventure. Teri encouraged us to research what we wanted in the area. We let Teri know what kind of activities, sights and the kind of hotels we we like to stay in. Between us we set up a great itinerary with bike rides through villages, white water rafting, visits to a school and crafts centers and including lots of time for us to adventure on our own. We like to dine in local restaurants-the food is not dumbed down for tourist and it is lovely to eat next to a local family rather than a room full of tourists-so we were left to plan meals on our own. Teri supplied us with great tour guides and only one was assigned to us in each locale. Our guide in Yogykarta (not Jakarta), Darwin Masangang, even found me a local Balinese dance class where I took a class with college students. He knew where to find the best batik and shopping. He believed us when we said we wanted local food and took us to where his family ate where the food was great and the price for the dinner, the cost of a soda in the states. Our lodgings were far nicer than I assumed they would be. Our lodging in Bali was a small beautiful house surrounded by a walled garden. It was a wonderful trip. The ease of landing and not having to negotiate with taxi drivers, knowing that our hotel would be clean (and beautiful on this trip) and having the tours we picked set up, made this stress free. We will use Teri again for our next trip!

We recently returned from a private month's tour in India. Teri's knowledge and expertise were…read morebeyond what we could have imagined. She provided us with efficient and "first class" services throughout the trip and seamlessly wove the many hotels, flights, guides and drivers into a smooth and worry free experience. She is truly a professional who wants the very best for her clients. You could not find a travel agent as willing to go that extra step if you searched far and wide!

This tiny museum presents the history of Sausalito, including displays about the first inhabitants…read more(Coast Miwok), prohibition, the Ferry, the music scene with local bands being hosted along the waterfront, and the city's transformation (no longer a major transit center) in 1937 after the completion of the Golden Gate Bridge allowed for automobiles to pass through. There's even an 1860's dragon door with chinese characters on display, along with interactive exhibits on topics such as boatbuilding and the boat houses, and the stories of influential figures of the past who shaped the city, sometimes without recognition. A volunteer/staff member welcomed us at arrival, and we were able to explore the place on our own at no cost, which doesn't take long since the Ice House is just a single room.

Tiny, one room museum near the Sausalito Ferry that's wonderfully curated. Gives a great snapshot…read moreof the rich history of Sausalito. Free admission and the docent, Lin, was friendly and knowledgeable. Highly recommend stopping by to check it out.

I recently went on a business trip with two of my business partners. We thought it would be easier…read moreto work with someone rather than arrange the tickets on our own, since it was the 3 of us and it was an international trip. Big mistake! Tour Arts booked a "Friends Fly Free" ticket for our international leg of the journey, which was completely non-changeable or refundable, unless both travelers did it at the same time. As it happened, our plans changed and there was nothing we could do about it! On the domestic leg of the journey, we were booked on a different airline, both direction, not only did we have to check in separately, but had to pay a separate baggage fee. Talk about adding insult to injury! At the end, I asked the agent to refund the booking fee of $50. I did get an explanation, which I didn't think was sufficient and when I expressed my continued dissatisfaction, all I got was an incredibly unprofessional and snarky email. I would have given an other chance to them after the mishap with the bookings as I didn't think it was done in bad faith, even though I thought they did a poor job. But getting attitude sealed the deal, it is no way to deal with customers and I believe is a terrible business practice, I will never recommend them or work with them again.

Do not use this company! the woman who runs it urgently demands wires and then she and her local…read moresubcontractors pocket the money. I don't want anyone else to have this experience. This company uses really shady practices, refuses to provide any evidence of payments, and is rude and unaccountable. Beware of Original World Travel and do not use them.

I was very disappointed in my trip in January/February "West African Kingdoms: The Ultimate Tour…read more When traveling on a group tour, I expect the company to have correct information and be up to date on country requirements. We had several online Visas to get online, and the info sent to us for that purpose was insufficient, resulting in having to fill out Visa forms several times. The worst was being told that upon landing in Togo, our original port of entry, we could get our Visa upon landing at the airport and our guide would be there to help us. However, when I got to the airport for my initial flight, I was told they would not let me on the flight unless I had my Togo Visa, and to try and get it at that moment. I couldn't get the Visa, and finally 20 minutes before the flight was departing, after begging her, the ticket agent relented, and let me on the flight. This also happened to a few other people in the group, and was very upsetting. When we arrived in Togo, our guide did not meet us IN the airport...he sent someone in who wasn't sure what they were doing. This resulted in 2 1/2 hours at the Togo airport getting things straightened, and ended with my being charged twice for the Visa. The times for bus trips given in the itinerary sent out before the trip, grossly underestimated the times. Because of the itinerary we spent 6 or 7 days on the bus all day from 8am to 6pm, in addition to 3 days spent flying from 1 place to another because it seemed to me the itinerary backtracked. We stayed at very nice hotels, but did not have a chance to enjoy them as we didn't arrive until 5:30 or 6pm. There was only 1 free afternoon, although the itinerary mentioned several. The price of the trip did not include "local tips", for luggage, local guides, local boatmen. This was noted in the itinerary, but we were constantly giving out money for tips, which got a bit annoying. Usually, group trips cover all tipping except for guide and driver. Because of all the above, I would never travel with Original World again