Travel agency review (St. Petersburg)

Very bad. Everything that the travel agency touched was terrible.

Author:
Date of purchase: 01 august 2019
Written: 04 september 2019
2.0
Travel agency: (St. Petersburg)
Service type: пакетный тур

I am an experienced traveller. Every time I travel, I choose a new country. This year I did not have time to apply for any visa, as the vacation came. I began to choose from visa-free countries. I opted for the wonderful country of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the city of Neum on the shores of the Adriatic Sea. The destination is unpopular. Found a tour operator. Unfortunately, it turned out to be Planet Travel. And my troubles began. Accustomed to the fact that when making a trip somewhere, a travel agency or tour operator assumes certain obligations and security guarantees, I completely lost my vigilance. But in vain!

It was August 1, 2019. When I declared my desire to visit the city of Neum, some confusion was reflected on the face of a young girl named Arina Slabchuk. But she quickly coped with it, and began to confidently knock on the keys.

She chose a suitable date for me to fly in transit through Munich to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on August 11th. She happily announced that there was also a wonderful flight back through Vienna with an hour difference between flights. And immediately assured that this time is enough to make a transplant. I chose the hotel in advance, read the reviews. And asked about the transfer to the hotel. She nodded her head confidently again. True, the cost of the transfer for some reason turned out to be 18 thousand. I sighed but agreed. Even though I should have been wary.

Then she asked if we would take out "insurance"? I thought, let it be, you never know, an injury, a cold, a problem. At least I'll know where to turn. And again, nothing bothered me.

The amount that turned out in the end, I was a little surprised. 107 thousand. Bosnia and Herzegovina is not the most expensive destination.

When asked if they accept cards for payment, they explained to me that they only accept cash, and if I want to pay by card, then I have to pay an additional 2% for banking services. Is it legal? I went to withdraw money from the card, because I feel sorry for giving 2% for no one knows what. When I returned to the office, it turned out that there were no available rooms in the hotel I had chosen. I was offered another hotel. I read the reviews on screen and agreed. The cost immediately increased to 115 thousand. I was also informed that the transfer was denied to me.

Arina printed out the flight plan for me and said she would give me a copy. We signed the contract on every page, as usual, without going into details, checking only the correctness of the passport data. All other documents were promised to be sent to me by mail that evening.

At home, I decided to see how I could get to Neum on my own. It turned out that almost nothing.

The only bus leaves at 10 am, and the plane arrives at 12.10. The train leaves the station at 16.45 and passes only part of the way to the city of Chaplin. Distance between Sarajevo and Neum 206 km. Taxi only. But! The most interesting! Near Neum there is an airport 53 km away. The airport is called Mostar, but, apparently, Arina did not know about it, but she did not ask her colleagues. So I was sent to another airport on the other side of the country. And it is from Mostar that there is a transfer to hotels.

This is all backstory. Then a complete nightmare began.

1. They didn't give me a flight plan.

2. Documents were not sent by mail.

3. Emails were not answered.

4. Sent to another airport.

5. When paying by bank transfer, they charge an additional 2%.

Three days later, without receiving the documents by mail, I went to the office. Arina was not there, as the employees said, she was on vacation. I went to the senior manager. Stated the situation about another airport. “Tickets are non-refundable.

We can only buy new ones for another airport.” Apparently I have to pay twice for the flight too. Agreed to Sarajevo. The senior manager promised to find out about the transfer from Chaplin to the hotel, if I decide to go by train, and call me back. She printed all the documents for me. Return flight at 7 am. How to get to Sarajevo at night? No way. Check out the day before. This means that the night paid for at the hotel is lost. Cancellation is "impossible". Is it so? I don't know, I doubt it. I was kindly offered to book a hotel room in Sarajevo for that night. That is to pay the same night twice! But I was already starting to get nervous, and refused. I decided that I could, having arrived in the evening by train, wait for the departure in the waiting room, have a quiet dinner, drink coffee.

I never received a call from Planet Travel.

6. If they promised to call you, it means nothing.

I completely forgot about insurance. At home, she began to sort out the documents. Here she is!

I got into a noisy showdown between a taxi driver and Arabs near the store. I was transferred to another car. They changed the driver. The road of 206 km took me five hours. Of course they didn't kill me. But they could have been robbed.

9. Tourist safety is not important.

I left the day before departure. I took a taxi to Chaplin, then took a train to Sarajevo. I arrived at the station around 11:00 pm. I took a taxi to the airport. The taxi driver dropped me off at the airport with my luggage and left. I went to the airport building, but they didn't let me in. It turns out that Sarajevo airport does not work at night. It is closed from 11 pm to 5 am! Completely closed! There is no waiting room, no lounge, no cafe. Apparently, Arina did not know about this either. It is prohibited to be on the territory of the airport. And I was escorted to the track, behind the barrier. At night. I did not want to spend the night in the field. All cars left the airport.

I walked along an almost empty road for an hour and a half with a suitcase, asking random passers-by where the hotel was. I paid another 35 euros for three hours at the hotel.

10. Tourist safety is not important at all!

In the morning I again took a taxi to the airport. I got on the plane, now to the economy class seats. She flew to Vienna, boarded a plane to St. Petersburg. Bingo! No luggage! They did not have time to reload it from one aircraft to another in an hour! I had to draw up documents for the search for luggage, and spend about an hour at the airport.

11. Everything that was NOT touched by the hand of "Planet Travel" was perfect.

Dear travelers! If you have chosen a not very popular, little studied destination for your trip, be vigilant, attentive, always be on your guard! Plan your route ahead of time! Book your own hotel in advance. And then you won't need Planet Travel.




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