Every hotel we had was a long way from… Every hotel we had was a long way from the cities and had subpar food. We paid a mandatory tip and assumed it would be for our travel guide, who was fantastic, they told me not to worry about where the tip goes. 240 for two of us. We also paid for 2 visas as it was required last July. By January we didn't need one. I called twice and they said they would check thier "agencies". No reply. Very unethical company. By the way their add ons are more expensive than doing it yourself. The plus is our trip to Turkey was wonderful because of our excellent tour guide.

Don't upgrade your room, decent experience, but... We did the marvelous Phuket Land Package in Nov '23. Communication was good from UTO and airport pick-up was no problem. DON'T UPGRADE your Hotel room! It was the same as the other couple that didn't!! Could've saved $400! Our hotel was changed just before we arrived. While the new hotel was fine, it was in an isolated area on a high traffic road, virtually nothing within walking distance. The guide who picked us up and did the city tour was contracted. She was fine. The (free) Old Phuket Tour was more of a high pressure sales event with Pearls, Cashews, and Gems. The boat tours were great, highly recommend. Hindsight, we probably could have coordinated this on our own with more research, chosen a better hotel location. We didn't hate our experience, no regrets, but wanted to give an honest review.

Help UTO give your money back by filing a complaint with TICO. If you are one of the many people who had their China + something else trip cancelled for one of many reasons UTO gave, help UTO give your money back by filing a complaint with the agency Travel Industry Council of Ontario (as listed on bottom left of UTO's website in blue and green tico.ca). They have helped some people already and knows of this company's practice. Like many others, I had a trip to China & Thailand all paid for from a promotional sale. UTO cancelled it and does not offer refunds, only future travel credit. 3 months after filing a complaint, UTO reached out to me on where to send my refund.

UTO sold us trips that never happened and refused to rebook or refund UTO sold us a trip to China and Thailand and made us pay a year in advance. This was all post Covid but when China airfares went up they cancelled the trip. But they kept advertising it for new people. They would not rebook us but we could have a credit only. All other trips now are more than double any tour operators so we would have to pay an extra $6k. I wrote to the BBB several times and then have gotten so many negative reviews that we should start a class action suit! We lost $2k.

we had great experience in Thailand just finished my first UTO tour in Thailand. the hotel is well addressed, and communion with UTO was easy before and during the trip (main office and the Thai local guide) FB messages or WhatsApp usually replied to my questions within 48 hours. I was very skeptical at first because of some of the negative reviews. I used to work in the travel industry. UTO does run tours very differently than most US-based tour companies. however, it may be the reason why sometimes they can offer these unbelievable deals. their tour policy is very strict, not very flexible. my advice is ~ READ READ READ the fine print before you book. looking forward to my 2nd China/Japan tour