Review Time
Overall the trip to South Africa (Oct. 18-26, 2025) was great. The activities were great. The host, the guide, and the driver were all fabulous! It was clear communication prior to the trip. I was very informed about what was to happen on a daily basis. It was a great variety of planned activities the whole trip. It would be difficult to plan such a variety on your own. The only problem was there was no refund for portions of your trip. I.e. I booked the hotel an extra night a day early and lost that money because I had a flight delay.
The host, Garrett Ryan, was outstanding in his knowledge of the tour contents including the history of the sites we were to see. Hotels, buses, and tour company representative Byron could not have been better. The trip is for active, interested people who will definitely be rewarded for their efforts. Would I take this trip again? Sure.
I had a lot of fun on the trip! It was easy to use the app, I liked being able to check the itinerary so fast. Our Bali host was knowledgeable and kind, did a great job. Our Canadian host made it fun and encouraged us to try new things, it was impossible not to have fun with Linda. Would definitely choose to do another one. What I didn’t like was the trova trip recommended car transfer company, I had 3 different drivers messaging me, zero confirmation from the company when I asked for clarification, the driver that did show up at the airport was taking photos and videos of me at the airport which was super weird and a red flag. He wanted to take me to get a sim instead of my hotel. I said no but he asked twice. Thankfully my friends plane landed and I had him wait for them so I would feel safe on the drive. And then he continued to WhatsApp for 3 days wanting to take me places. Super inappropriate and scary.
This was a scammy, exhausting, and deeply disappointing experience. The Eat & Explore China trip (Oct 12–19, 2025) wasn’t a cultural deep dive - it was a logistical meltdown with bad hotels, skipped activities, and a side of food poisoning risk.We paid over $1,800 per person for what was sold as an “authentic food and culture journey.” What we got was a low-budget, mass-market tour that didn’t even follow its own itinerary.Beijing: Where it all started to fall apartCouples were given rooms with separate beds in a rundown tourist bunker. Promised experiences were either canceled or executed at warp speed. The “dumpling workshop and lunch with a local family”? A thinly veiled tourist trap serving food no one could eat.Meals were so poorly organized that our group joked we were on a “starvation tour.” Even our influencer host admitted that cramming Beijing into 2.5 days was absurd - especially when half the advertised activities were replaced with optional, extra-cost tours.Xi’an: From disappointment to disasterThe hotel in Xi’an made Beijing look like the Ritz. Mold on the walls, a smell that could wake the dead, and safety issues everywhere. My wife has a mold allergy and had a breakdown just walking into the room. After complaining, Trova’s solution was peak corporate empathy: “take it or leave it.” They offered an “upgraded” room that was just as filthy, so we ended up paying for a new hotel ourselves.Other travelers weren’t luckier — one found toenails in their room. The next day’s “included bike tour” featured broken bikes with missing pedals and snapped chains. It wasn’t just bad - it was unsafe.The AftermathTrovaTrip offered a $300 refund per person. That’s not compensation - it’s a tip for surviving. The stress, the health risks, the wasted time - it’s not even close to being covered.We expected a well-organized, food-forward cultural trip. What we got was chaos, poor communication, and constant problem-solving.To be blunt: this was a total rip-off. You’d have a far better (and safer) experience booking everything yourself and hiring local guides.TrovaTrip sells adventure. What they delivered was amateur hour.
We joined the Eat & Explore China trip (Oct 12–19, 2025) and unfortunately it was one of the worst travel experiences we’ve ever had. The itinerary was not followed, the hotels were unacceptable, and we constantly had to solve problems on our own instead of enjoying the trip.In Beijing, couples were put in rooms with separate beds, the hotel was a low-budget tourist bunker, and several promised activities were canceled or rushed — for example, the “dumpling workshop and lunch with a local family” turned out to be a tourist trap with inedible food. We often went without proper meals for hours (our group described it as "starvation", which is absolutely correct!), spent most days exhausted and even sick, and had no free time to explore the city. Also we only had 2,5 days in Beijing and even the host said, that this does not make any sense due to all the activities and the size of Beijing. Everything food related where optional tours, we had to pay extra for.In Xi’an, things got even worse: the hotel was dirty, moldy, and unsafe. I have a mold allergy and had a breakdown after seeing the room. We had to find and pay for a new hotel ourselves. Other travelers also complained — one even found toenails in their room. The next day, the included bike tour used completely broken bikes with snapped chains and falling pedals — a real safety hazard. The trip was planned for over 4 days in Xi'An, so most of the trip, which does not make sense at all.Although TrovaTrip later offered a $300 refund per person, that doesn’t begin to cover the stress, health risk, and missing experiences. We paid over $1,800 per person for what turned out to be a low-quality mass tour that didn’t match the advertised “Eat & Explore” experience at all.We expected an authentic food and culture trip with proper organization and comfort — instead, we got chaos, poor communication, and constant disappointment. Definitely not worth the price or the brand reputation TrovaTrip claims to have.To be honest: this is a total rip off and you will have a better trip, if you book everything yourself and just hire local guides!!!
What made this trip exceptional was our tour guide Ahmed! He went above and beyond every single day. The knowledge that he had about his country far exceeded our expectations. It was like getting a history, lesson each and every day from your favorite teacher!
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