Inspiring Vacations

We booked three tours in 2027, commencing 25 April 2027 and as we are divorcing, asked for a full refund which has been denied. 100% credit to be taken within 18 months is their solution. DO NOT BOOK WITH THIS COMPANY as they only refund within seven days.

DO NOT BOOK UNTIL YOU READ THIS Confirmed booking means nothing – cancelled 2 days later unless I pay $10k more each I booked the 31 Day South America & Antarctica Exploration Cruise for two people, departing December 2028. Before paying, I checked two things with the sales consultant because I wanted to be sure before committing. 1. Pricing.… Read more

The fare for my departure was about $10k per person lower than other dates. I asked whether the price was correct, and whether the tour on my date was the same as the more expensive dates or differed in quality. The consultant confirmed the price was correct and reflected a special limited offer running at the time. They also told me the tours were exactly the same, which is why it was such great value.

2. Whether the tour would go ahead. I asked what would happen if the tour was cancelled and whether I'd get a refund. The consultant explained the tour needs a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 20 guests. They said 4 people were already booked, so with us there would be 6, the minimum had been met, and the tour would definitely go ahead on my date.

We were hesitant at first, but the consultant called us almost every day for close to a week to persuade us it was a good deal and great value for money. The price and date were also shown on their website, and the consultant emailed me confirming both. Based on these representations, I made the booking and paid the deposit.

A couple of days later, Inspiring Vacations told me my date was already fully booked by the cruise line and there was no availability. I would have to move to a different date and pay about $10k more per person. They also said the price we had agreed was published incorrectly by their product team, so even if my date were available, I would still need to pay the difference.

With departure still more than two years away, this didn't sound right, so I contacted the cruise line directly. They emailed back confirming there were 97 cabins available on my date, and that they were holding one cabin for me because my travel agency had already submitted an enquiry on my behalf.

When I raised this with Inspiring Vacations, the explanation changed. They said the date hadn't been "loaded correctly", that they had no allotment with the cruise, and that they would need to cancel the tour. This was the same tour on the same date that their consultant had assured me would definitely go ahead. They offered to move us to another date but would not honour the agreed price, and offered nothing to make up for their mistake. If we want to go, we simply have to pay the difference.

I asked the right questions upfront and relied on the answers I was given. I understand mistakes happen, but after this experience I feel misled. We were persuaded to book at a price and date they published and their consultant stood behind, only to be told we must pay more if we still want to travel. What's most disappointing isn't the mistake itself. It's that the company won't stand behind its own confirmed booking and its consultant's assurances. Cancelling the date seems to be their way of avoiding responsibility for their own error.

If you book with Inspiring Vacations, get every assurance in writing, screenshot all pricing and dates, and be aware that a confirmed booking may not be honoured.

Just returned from our China vocation, the hotels were fabulous, unfortunately our 4day Yangtze cruise was very disappointing the boat was long overdue for a refit and even though we paid an additional $100 each for an upgraded food package, the food was deplorable. My major gripe was that on the seventh day of our twenty day tour our tour leader… Read more

demanded everybody had to pay her “ her gratuities “ which totaled over $4800 for our group. I felt that this was more of a levy than a tip and would have had no problems paying it as part of the original fare.

Keen to be of assistance – Making a booking. We have been keen to join a tour in February. Although the tour is nearly fully booked & we have had to delay twice making such a booking, tour assistants have been in regular contact, understanding of our problems & kept us fully informed AND also able to participate on this particular tour. Show details ·  1

Insisted on more money for airfares when airfares already included in trip – Booked at their travel show and fully paid for Vietnam and Cambodia holiday that included international airfares from Australia. Two weeks later told we had to pay an extra $650 each airfares or we could get a refund or credit. We sought and got the… Read more

refund. But the very next weekend Inspiring Vacations advertised the very same trip we had booked for the same price we paid. This is the fourth time they cancelled a trip on us - no wonder they have an optional $90 per person trip cancellation policy for them cancelling the trip (but that adds $90 each to the trip and you still may not get to go!)

We missed two tours in Rome through poor communication. The travel itinerary stated one thing but the vouchers were entirely different. We were not… Read more

informed of any changes (plus missed seeing one voucher) despite pre paying for one tour 5 months prior. Inspiring Vacations admitted to communication problems with their supplier in Italy and offered us a "goodwill payment" of $100 per person provided we signed a very biased non disclosure form. We have taken out case up with ACCC.

Just at the start of booking process Thani was great ,and then My fault things went a bit pear shaped Again my fault Went on chat and Vena was wonderful,even with all the auto correct mistakes.She understood it all Thanks again.They are so helpful to fix my mistake Looking forward to my up coming trip wth them Show details ·  1

Found the tour flawless, accomodation, very comfortable, tour guide was knowledgeable and very inclusive and our group of 16 people were great, we all got along really well. Show details ·  1

Prompt replies to inquiries, incredibly friendly on the phone and through emails and amazing itineraries. Second trip with Inspiring. Show details

Poor admin. Booked your, didn't show up after deposit paid. Phoned and told they would put hold on a place for me. Money deducted from bank account. Still no booking. Rang again and [Name Removed]" attached to my booking. Told to fix my account… Read more

myself. Cannot change email address. Still no booking in my name. No help from Inspiring vacations when I rang for assistance. Told them to cancel. Got refund of deposit after they "investigated". Still have "[Name Removed]" on my account. Sent email and rang requesting my account removed. No response to email. Phone call said she would pass on request. 2 weeks later "[Name Removed]" still there and account not deleted. Read reviews and note when they cancel tour you do not get full refund. No thanks. Did me a favour by being hopeless admin.

End May 2026 I rang about an upcoming tour, on sale. Spoke with Taree. Friendly and informative. Lovely. I had to pay a holding fee there and then (fully refundable if I cancelled within 7 day period). No problem with that. I chose to cancel - process was simple. I received and email soon after to say Cancellation applied. Please allow 30… Read more

days. All above board so far. 7 days later another email with heading 'The team at Inspiring Vacations has finalised your outstanding refund' The email actually said 'we are committed to processing your refund at the earliest opportunity and will promptly notify you once it has been issued' and that it could take up to 25 days business days - so 5 weeks. Again, fair enough, sort of. Two weeks later another email still headed 'The Team at Inspiring Vacations has finalised your outstanding refund' with the email content saying 'We are writing to inform you that your refund is currently still in the queue, and our team will process the reimbursement as soon as soon as they can. We will be in contact via email when the reimbursement has been finalised.' 7 WEEKS LATER the refund was returned to our bank account and 4 days later I am still waiting for the email to say it is completed. All I can say is: THERE MUST BE A LOT OF PEOPLE WAITING FOR REFUNDS!! and that I am not inspired to attempt to travel with them again.

Japan and south Korean tour with this company was the worse tour I've taken, and I've taken a few. Accommodation poor, bus transport was uncomfortable, time on bus to go from one attraction to another was mostly underestimated, entry fees were often not included. They discount tour prices ongoing, but discounted prices more closely reflects the… Read more

quality of tours. If you are looking for a cheap holiday, maybe this company is for you. Most of the 40 people on my tour would not travel with them again. Not enough room to list everything that was poor.

Buyer Beware! If you book a package which includes flights you can be charged extra for the flights prior to departure. We booked the 16 day Sri Lanka and Maldives trip departing this month. With less than four weeks to go we had no confirmed flights and therefore could not apply for visas. Despite receiving an email that stated we would… Read more

receive a quote for flights "60 days prior to departure", we were slugged with an extra $1,176 (for 2 people). We were backed into a corner with no alternative flight options offered with less that 4 weeks to go. I lodged a complaint with IV to no avail and with very little understanding or consideration. The communication with their flight department was appalling! We are experienced travelers and will NEVER use IV again. There are too many alternative companies out there to have to put up with poor customer service, poor communication and total lack of understanding in regard to the mistakes they made during the flight booking process. NEVER AGAIN!

We just came back from our "25 Day Inspiring South America with Santiago Small Group Tour". During the tour, we found there was a big price discrepancy for the optional tour - Tango Dinner Show. We paid AUD 264 per personx2=AUD 528 before the trip; while some other people who didn't book/paid the show in advance were offered USD 95 per person for… Read more

the same show. According to the exchange rate USD 95= AUD 132.18, while we paid AUD 264 per person, about double the price. The difference for 2 persons we paid is about AUD 264 more. We noticed we paid more for the other optional tours as well, however they seemed not as much difference as this one. We contacted Inspiring Vacations after the trip and [Name Removed]-Customer Success Specialist refused to do anything about the extreme high price of the Tango Show.

I went to Vietnam with inspiring vacations, to be totally honest my trip was nothing like what was sold to me. I realised during the tour , I’d been tacked on to a total different tour and only encompassed about 25% of what I was sold. I did get an… Read more

itinerary very late in the piece and tried to qualify it quickly but they were constantly getting back to me witch never happened. The wellness shopping trip that I was put on was far from the sandy beaches I was sold.

This company loses you in the fine print and I feel like I’ve been robbed.

Don’t give them your money until your 100% sure what you’re getting untrustworthy.

Just finished the South America 30 day trip. BAD POINTS *Stranded at mid night at airport with no assistance from guide or Inspiring hotline (Aus) still awaiting out of pocket $65 for taxi to another airport? *Standby bookings by Inpiring for flights *Early flights and late arrivals, layovers at Airports with flight changes rather than direct… Read more

flights. No doubt due to cheap rates by airlines to Inspiring. * Members of our group told they were left of flights due to no booking / seat allocation. *Issues prior leaving Sydney, with Inpiring call centre no accommodation details until 1 week prior departure. Pre booked accommodation pre tour in Santiago paid premium price but hotel was changed to hotel which I could have booked for less than half the rate charged by Inspiring. Emails sent to Inspiring and response was that’s how it is !! *Trip advertised at a lower cost prior to travel, Inspiring reply after sending form and follow up , your trip was leaving soon under 120 days No Refund valid for over charge.

GOOD POINTS The majority of hotels were good standard. * countries visited were great and people friendly * Qantas flight which we booked was great * Bus and airport transfer in clean buses and on time

Broken promises and terrible communication cost me time and money I am writing this review prior to my trip due to an incredibly frustrating experience with Inspiring Vacations' flight booking portal and customer service.Immediately after booking, I noticed the flights loaded into my portal did not match what I selected; they included much longer… Read more

layovers. I called within 10 minutes to fix this, but my experience over the next two days consisted of broken promises and missed call-backs: Day 0, 9:35 pm: Told the flight specialist wasn’t in yet. Arranged a call-back for 10:35 am due to my work commitments. The call never came. Day 1, 10:50 am: I called them. I was assured a specialist would call within the hour, and the agent promised to follow up personally in 1.5 hours. No one called. Day 1, 1:50 pm: I called again and waited on hold for 25 minutes. Despite warning them I had to return to work, I was left on hold and had to hang up. Day 1, 4:00 pm: I called back and waited on hold for 46 minutes. I was finally told my tickets were already issued at 1:31 pm—well after my repeated attempts to reach them—and I would now have to pay a change fee. The specialist promised a change quote by the end of the day. It never arrived. Day 2, 3:15 pm: Having received no email, I called again and waited on hold for another 45 minutes. The new specialist pushed the timeline out further, promising the quote in 24 to 48 hours. The problem is still unresolved. I am now stuck waiting to see how much they intend to charge me for an error that could have easily been fixed before ticketing if their team had followed through on any of their promised call-backs. The lack of communication and accountability is completely unacceptable.

Read the small print. Really hard to get a refund even during Iran war, staff just send standard emails and offer one third of amount paid while suggesting they don't even have to do that. Do big events with large discounts to get you to sign up but really poor service once you do. Change the itinery to decrease costs without passing savings on. Avoid Show details

THIEVES!! We spent $6900 on a tour in Morocco as part of a larger tour to Egypt & Jordan. We were unable to fly there because of the war in Iran. Inspiring knew we couldn't get there and our whole trip had to be cancelled. They only gave us $1600 back as a "Credit" DO NOT USE THEM!! Show details

Booked a $12,500 tour with Inspiring Vacations. 30 days out and THEY cancel the tour. NO refund and only offering a credit (minus THEIR unrecoverable costs) or a tour to be booked by 2 PM today! They don't give a toss. You will NEVER talk to the same consultant. NEVER! Is this the company you want in charge of your money or your bookings? Never Again. Show details

WARNING DO NOT BOOK OR PAY for your trip until you receive confirmation of your holiday. I had attended two of the Inspiring Vacations webinars and was impressed with the team and the trips they offered. I spent many hours researching and found a trip that Inspiring Vacations was offering. I really wanted to support their business as I enjoyed… Read more

working with the travel booker.

Fri 13/2/2026 at 11.13 – 11.16am (3 minutes) I received a phone call from the Inspiring Vacations representative. I couldn’t hear her properly due to road noise, so she suggested she call me back later in the day. I told her I wanted to book the trip.

Friday 13/2/2026 at 5.27 – 5.38pm (11 minutes) CALL - The Inspiring Vacations representative rang to discuss the final quote for the tour and to organise that she would call me on Sunday 15/2/26 to confirm the tour and take the $99 deposit. I asked if the Inspiring Vacations flight booking team could book my flights but was told that there was a 3-week backlog and best if I book them myself. I agreed and said I would book my flights. (THERE WAS NEVER ANY MENTION NOT TO BOOK MY FLIGHTS)

Fri 13/02/2026 5:54 PM EMAIL - Final quote received showing if payment was made in full I would receive a $1,852 discount.

Sun 15/02/2026 10:27 – 10.40 AM (13 minutes) CALL - The Inspiring Vacations representative and I talked about the trip and payment. I was happy to pay for the total amount in one transaction. The Inspiring Vacations representative advised she could only take the $99 deposit over the phone and that I would need to pay the next payment online. She also said that if I paid more than the deposit, like $4,000 they would take me seriously and put me on the tour. She also said if I paid in full as laid out in her previous email, I would receive a discount of $1,852 if paid by the 23rd February. I explained that I would pay in full after our call. I also discussed that I had booked all my flights and another tour prior to joining the Inspiring Vacations tour. The $99 deposit was taken.

Sun 15/02/2026 10:37 AM EMAIL - I cannot share the actual email due to their privacy laws, but it states, "big congratulations on locking in your next adventure". (I thought this was the final confirmation email)

AFTER THIS EMAIL WAS RECEIVED, I PROCEEDED TO PAY FOR THE TOUR IN FULL TO RECEIVE THE DISCOUNT

Sun 15/02/2026 10:39 AM EMAIL - I did not read this email until later in the night. I cannot share the actual email due to their privacy laws, but it states, "Congratulations you are on your way to ....... For your booking, we partner with a third party operator who fufils the bookings arrangements. For this reason your booking is on request. Kindly note that you should not book flights or make any other arrangements until you receive an official notification from our team that your booking is confirmed.

Mon 17/02/2026 8.50am, 8.53am CALL - I rang the Inspiring Vacations travel representative to find out what was going on?

Mon 17/02/2026 10.55am CALL - Spoke to the representative and told her I was not aware that the tour was on request! Other travel agents show whether their trips are definite departure or on request. There was nothing to state this in any of the communications received. The representative said she would get back to me.

Tue 18/2/2026 3.04pm CALL - Representatives manager calls to say the tour is sold out. I explain I had paid for the trip in full and that their website does not state that this tour is on request.

There have been many more calls since then, the Resolutions team (with no resolution) said my refund could take up to 20 days. In the meantime, I was unable to pay for another tour (different company) as the refund back to me from Inspiring Vacations took 12 days.

I am disappointed as I had to book another tour, and it isn't the tour I wanted to go on. I am also out of pocket for changes to my airfares - Total additional cost is $1,300! How can a company take money for goods and services they cannot provide. I have learnt my lesson and will never deal with Inspiring Vacations again!

Great experience with Inspiring Vacations! Excellent customer service, well organised itinerary and fantastic value for money. Everything went smoothly and exceeded my expectations. I wouldn’t hesitate to book with them again. Show details ·  1

I recently booked a holiday with Inspiring Vacations and had a fantastic experience from start to finish. The booking process was simple and straightforward, and the consultant I dealt with was knowledgeable, friendly and very responsive. Show details ·  1