Golden World Tours

Review of Golden World Tours South African Tour While our destination was full of wonderful and amazing sites, our tour operator left much to be desiredA few general observations are detailed below: â ¢ The tour was totally oversold and did not consist of the small, manageable group that was advertised This caused a number of problems throughout the trip Due to the very large size of the group, gathering, loading and unloading from the tour bus took an inordinate amount of time and the majority of the group was often left waiting for stragglers This resulted in a lot less time to visit and shop at each of our schedules stops We always felt harried and rushed This was not at all the way you want to visit a once in a lifetime destination One of our scheduled stops even had to be cut from the tour due to a lack of time â ¢ My family, which includes small children, was traveling to a foreign country for the first time, in part for some healing time after the recent loss of a member of our householdI could not have been more explicit about our requirement to be lodged with our children as a family and to be seated with them on the hour flights to and from JohannesburgOur very participation hinged on this In spite of assurances of joint or adjoining accommodations, we only received an adjoining room one night out of the nine we paid for - and only after a lot of effort on my part We did have semi-adjoining rooms for four nights at the [redacted] Lodge, which kept four of our party of five together, although, since this was a family vacation, any separation was a major disappointment Our tour guides were completely ineffective in securing the rooms we reserved and paid for, and even became angry and verbally abusive to members of our group when trying to deal with the multiple room mix-ups They behaved in a very unprofessional manner â ¢ This tour company basically consists of an older gentleman and his wife Their unsophisticated methods are outdated and they have no buying power or connections with which to secure premium roomsTheir pricing was not impressive and certainly a lot more than you can find on a typical travel deal site â ¢ In response to my concerns about my children's comfort on a hour flight, our tour operator stated that we could upgrade to Delta's Comfort class after our seats were assigned Again, in spite of explicit instructions, our family of five was seated in three separate sections of the airplane for both hour flights When I learned of our seating arrangements, my concerns were not addressed by the tour operator and I had to arrange for re-seating on my own I also found out that upgrades were unavailable for purchase because our tickets were purchased at a discounted tour rate This is something that our tour operator, as a travel professional, should have knownWhen I tried to address these concerns with our tour operator, he stated that he had no control over our seating, yet I noted that he and his wife were seated together and at the front of the airplane for all flights â ¢ The most disappointing aspect of this trip was the tour operator's characterization of the local population His repeated warnings that we not venture out on our own under any circumstances and that we must carry all of our valuables with us at all times revealed his deep mistrust in the local population We were told that we were being lodged in Sandton, rather than Johannesburg because we would need bulletproof vests to visit JohannesburgThe fact is that we had nothing but wonderful interactions with South Africans The tour operator suggested over and over that if we were kind to the locals, we would be rewarded by their "big white smiles lighting up their faces" His speeches were peppered with this kind of cringe-worthy racism and characterization of the locals as if they were childlike Perhaps this is a product of growing up during apartheid and having had servants as a child and perhaps that is why he left South Africa for America after things changed politically I had no problems leaving valuables in my hotel room In fact, because I was so unnecessarily concerned about carrying our five passports [redacted] I went, I accidentally left a wallet behind in one our hotel rooms Rather than keeping it, the hotel staff contacted our tour operator, who then contacted me and advised that I should cancel all of the credit cards because there was no way I would ever see that wallet again Well, he was wrong againI contacted the hotel on my own and they shipped my wallet back to me at their own expense South Africa is an amazing place to visit and while they may have more than their fair share of crime statistically, I didn't find that anything more than the same common sense judgment you would use anywhere is necessary Overall, I found the tour operator to be a very angry and verbally abusive man with no tolerance for criticism

I must say that our accomidations, meals, travel were excellentBuses were there when we needed them and baggage transfers done smoothlyMeals were very well done and evening entertainment was excellent We had first class hotelsI do, however, have some other comments to make
Instructions on using the toilet on the bus were not given and the lights would not come on until the door was locked from the insideThat meant that you had to close the door and be in total darkness and LOCK itEveryone just held the door open looking for a light switch which could not be found
There was a restaurant where we had to CLIMB up a steep hill at 14,feet to reach it and the climb was done on a dirt, rocky pathThe air was so thin that two of us were having trouble with altitude sickness and did not want to make the climbWe could have stayed in the boat with the driver in a area filled with tourists and would have been safe*** kept telling us we did want to make the climb because the view was so beautifulHe was so insistant and almost drug us up the hillI did fall and hurt my knees about halfway upI got very short of breath by the time we got to the topMy roommate was complaining of her heart hurting and was very short of breathShe had a history of a blood clot in her leg and could have thrown another clot easilyHe came around us about five times while we were sitting at the restaurant saying "Aren't you glad you came up here and isn't the view great." I Told him each time that I was miserable because I was having trouble breathing and he laughed like it was funnySeveral people there asked me why he was talking to us like thatIT WASN'T FUNNY! *** said quit worring they had oxygen in the boatI didn't need it in the boat, I needed it at the top of the hillI finally just said to Mike and *** in front of the other travelers that when travelers said they were not able to do something, they should listen or the traveler might have a heart attack or other problemsPeople know ther own limitsHe really thought it was funny and just wouldn't quit laughing about itMost of the other travelers were short of breath and taking oxygen at the end of the dayIt wasn't just us
The travelers weer told to make sure their luggage was transferred and we should check and we should "see" it was in the right placeI was simply walking around the luggage cart and was asked "WHAT DO YOU WANT? I said "nothing, I was just checking my luggage as we were toldIf I said anything to them I was asked "what are you whinning about."
We arrived at a hotel and all travelers had to sign inThen they gave out room keysWe were standing by the desk and told *** that we had not received a room keyShe said "WELL THEY CALLED YOUR NAME" We were standing right there and they did not call our nameThey HAD NOT called our name because the hotel had not assigned a room to us*** STOMPED off and the hotel did assign us a roomWhen we got to the room, there was already someone in itSo we had to go back and get another room
We were standing with the group and *** said "where are *** and ***" as if she was very irritated.We were right by her the whole time I guess we were invisableI have traveled to many countries and have never been treated with this disdain, No one had to wait on us and we were always on timeThe comments were bad enought that other travelers noticed and commented to us about the rudeness

Review of Golden World Tours South African Tour
While our destination was full of wonderful and amazing sites, our tour operator left much to be desired. A few general observations are detailed below:
• The tour was totally oversold and did not consist of the small, manageable group that was advertised. This caused a number of problems throughout the trip. Due to the very large size of the group, gathering, loading and unloading from the tour bus took an inordinate amount of time and the majority of the group was often left waiting for stragglers. This resulted in a lot less time to visit and shop at each of our schedules stops. We always felt harried and rushed. This was not at all the way you want to visit a once in a lifetime destination. One of our scheduled stops even had to be cut from the tour due to a lack of time.
• My family, which includes small children, was traveling to a foreign country for the first time, in part for some healing time after the recent loss of a member of our household. I could not have been more explicit about our requirement to be lodged with our children as a family and to be seated with them on the 16 hour flights to and from Johannesburg. Our very participation hinged on this. In spite of assurances of joint or adjoining accommodations, we only received an adjoining room one night out of the nine we paid for - and only after a lot of effort on my part. We did have semi-adjoining rooms for four nights at the [redacted] Lodge, which kept four of our party of five together, although, since this was a family vacation, any separation was a major disappointment. Our tour guides were completely ineffective in securing the rooms we reserved and paid for, and even became angry and verbally abusive to members of our group when trying to deal with the multiple room mix-ups. They behaved in a very unprofessional manner.
• This tour company basically consists of an older gentleman and his wife. Their unsophisticated methods are outdated and they have no buying power or connections with which to secure premium rooms. Their pricing was not impressive and certainly a lot more than you can find on a typical travel deal site.
• In response to my concerns about my children's comfort on a 16 hour flight, our tour operator stated that we could upgrade to Delta's Comfort class after our seats were assigned. Again, in spite of explicit instructions, our family of five was seated in three separate sections of the airplane for both 16 hour flights. When I learned of our seating arrangements, my concerns were not addressed by the tour operator and I had to arrange for re-seating on my own. I also found out that upgrades were unavailable for purchase because our tickets were purchased at a discounted tour rate. This is something that our tour operator, as a travel professional, should have known. When I tried to address these concerns with our tour operator, he stated that he had no control over our seating, yet I noted that he and his wife were seated together and at the front of the airplane for all flights.
• The most disappointing aspect of this trip was the tour operator's characterization of the local population. His repeated warnings that we not venture out on our own under any circumstances and that we must carry all of our valuables with us at all times revealed his deep mistrust in the local population. We were told that we were being lodged in Sandton, rather than Johannesburg because we would need bulletproof vests to visit Johannesburg. The fact is that we had nothing but wonderful interactions with South Africans. The tour operator suggested over and over that if we were kind to the locals, we would be rewarded by their "big white smiles lighting up their faces". His speeches were peppered with this kind of cringe-worthy racism and characterization of the locals as if they were childlike. Perhaps this is a product of growing up during apartheid and having had servants as a child and perhaps that is why he left South Africa for America after things changed politically. I had no problems leaving valuables in my hotel room. In fact, because I was so unnecessarily concerned about carrying our five passports [redacted] I went, I accidentally left a wallet behind in one our hotel rooms. Rather than keeping it, the hotel staff contacted our tour operator, who then contacted me and advised that I should cancel all of the credit cards because there was no way I would ever see that wallet again. Well, he was wrong again. I contacted the hotel on my own and they shipped my wallet back to me at their own expense. South Africa is an amazing place to visit and while they may have more than their fair share of crime statistically, I didn't find that anything more than the same common sense judgment you would use anywhere is necessary. Overall, I found the tour operator to be a very angry and verbally abusive man with no tolerance for criticism.

Golden World Tours has no business being in the hospitality or customer service industry. [redacted] and [redacted], the owners, are disrespectful, abrasive and dishonest. I recently traveled to South Africa with them through a group tour. While the trip itself was well organized and the Country was beautiful, it was way oversold beyond clear expectations that were set which negatively impacted our ability to efficiently maneuver through the Country. We were told that there would be a maximum of 35 people because based on their experience, that was a lot to handle already. I had many conversations with them about this because I had other friends and family that would have loved to join if there was room. In fact, 12 of the people on the trip were my referrals. When we arrived, we learned that 54 people were in our group. [redacted] was clearly unable to handle the issues that are to be expected with a group that large. Months before leaving, the owner collected deposits on the oversold trip to keep people on a waiting list. My sister was never taken off the wait list and when she withdrew her request, he initially refused to return her deposit. After 6 attempts he returned all but a $50 penalty. During the trip he berated other guests and hotel staff in front of the entire group for things that bothered him. (someone was late one morning; another instance was when the hotel did not book the correct room). There were small things like no food options for vegetarians to the big things like literally bringing one of the guests to tears by yelling and cursing at her in front of everyone. When we arrived at our hotel in Cape Town, he was passing out room keys. I did not hear my name being called initially. When someone else told me to grab my key, [redacted] and [redacted] brushed me away. Literally...with their hands and told me to go away. The hotel staff actually apologized to me for his behavior and gave me my key. They never thanked the group for their business and without any parting words the final two days were filled with tension as they effectively managed to offend multiple people on the trip. While South Africa is a beautiful country with so much to see, I would very strongly recommend seeking an alternative solution to Golden World Tours. The last thing I should be thinking about after being fortunate enough to travel across the world for a trip of a lifetime is how poorly the travel company made me feel. I personally reached out to him with some of my concerns and he literally called me stupid and selfish. Thought this may be helpful to someone before investing in an experience with them.

I would like to submit my personal review of this company and also address this companies rebuttal to a previous review.
First of all South Africa is a beautiful place (especially Cape Town) and one of my top five favorite travel destinations. However, choosing to experience it through Golden World Tours proved to be a huge mistake.
My wife and I have travelled both domestic and international and really enjoy experiencing different cultures and customs.
First of all, the tour was greatly oversold. We were initially told from the owners that there would be approximately 25 people. There ended up being over 50. This turned out to be a nightmare due to the time it took to move a group of this size which also caused us to miss parts of the tour that were in the itinerary.
Secondly, the owners are rude and are not accommodating to customer service issues. I personally watched him berate a couple that were a few minutes late to the bus, made a woman cry in the hotel lobby in Cape Town, "shoo" my wife away when she didn't get her room key fast enough (due to over 50 people in the lobby), and call a heavy set woman on the tour "big mama" in front of hotel staff.
Finally, I would like to address the slanderous and untruthful remarks made about the previous reviewer, my wife.
First of all we are very humble people who do not take anything for granted and always strive to show our appreciation for those in the service industry. Having served our country as United States Marines, we are firm believers in honesty and integrity. She worked in the service industry for many years and I have been a dedicated firefighter for over 20 years. Now to address false statements.
1) In the response the owners left, they state that my wife was hung-over and left her laundry in the hotel. This is untrue. We went to Trump Steakhouse (amazing) in Jo-burg the night before and got in around midnight. We were a little tired for our early departure but not hung-over. When we returned from dinner we asked the desk clerk for our laundry and gave him our room number. he gave us two boxes and wished us a good night. Everything was neatly folded, so we just placed it in our bags. What we and the desk clerk were unaware of at the time was we had items which were on hangers. It wasn't until we got to our next destination, that we realized we were missing items. Since it was our oversight, we were going to call the hotel and make arrangements to retrieve or items. As a courtesy, we told the owners what had happened. They told us they would take care of it and for us not to worry. Had we known that we would be berated through email about "a lot of effort" (they called the hotel and the hotel met us at the airport with our clothes) they chose to go through, we would have handled the issue ourselves.
2) I never got into an argument with anyone at any hotel. If you read my review of [redacted], you will understand the situation. I must add that the majority of my online reviews are very positive. It really takes a lot for me to go through the effort of writing a bad review
3) How can the owners say that they had no direct dealing with us? We sent our money to them. We received emails from them. They were our tour guides. We were in direct contact with them throughout the entire trip. To label us as "ugly Americans" is a direct reflection of his prejudice views against Americans as a whole.
These are my opinions of my experiences with Golden World Tours. I hope you find them useful.