Distant Horizons

No surprises! We just returned from Cuba on a person-​to-​person tour. The originally maximum number of 30 people ended up 9. We had a wonderful time. Melissa gave us so much information (especially «if you need a powerful hair dryer-​bring one.») we were well prepared for the trip. Their partnership with Havana Tours and our guide Frankie gave us one place to check off our bucket list. Frankie usually handles larger groups who seem to run in and run out of a location pretty fast. This smaller group had lots of questions and we interacted with the various additional guides to the point where we were late to many of the next scheduled locations. We had some formal lectures which I thought would be horrible. They were AMAZING! One speaker gave us a past and present view of Cuba which really tied the whole trip together for us.
The country side was beautiful and that was where we started our trip. No beaches on this trip. But, that was not the purpose of the trip. It was to learn about Cuba a place we did not know that much about and are excited to see what happens next.
The only thing we were not prepared for was security at the airport leaving. Several people tried to carry on Rum and it was confiscated. My husband was paged for a random intense security exam which included some type of machine looking for implanted explosives! Finally, we were warned to allow 3 hours for the Miami immigration and customs process. It took us over 3.5 hours as several flights arrived at the same time and Customs was in the middle of LUNCH. Thus, not many lines opened. Get Global Entry if you do not have it!
We recommend Distant Horizons for these complicated places. We may try them for another trip next year.

My wife and I have done a fair amount of travel (we are both happily retired), but had never done an organized tour, preferring to travel independently so long as we are still young and adventuresome enough to do so. We’ve been wanting to go to Cuba, however, and for now an organized cultural or educational tour is essentially the only way that Americans are permitted to go there.
In early January of this year we took a trip to Cuba that was sponsored by one of our alma maters and was organized and run by Distant Horizons. We had never heard of the agency before. It is not an overstatement to say that every aspect of our trip was perfect. From our first contact with Melissa at Distant Horizons to final farewells exchanged with our guides at the airport, the planning and execution of the trip were flawless. The itinerary was great, the hotels were fine, and Cuba is, of course, wonderful.
In preparation for the trip Distant Horizonsprovided pages of useful and information, including reading lists and a lengthy explanation (and, as it turned out, extremely accurate) description of precisely what we should expect at hotels, restaurants, and the places we would visit. The tour itself ran like clockwork. It was intense but everything was always as it should be.
Our guides, Jorge and Natalia were extremely intelligent, thoughtful, charming, resourceful people and they brought a special dimension to the trip. We learned a great deal from them in a very short time. All in all a wonderful experience. Highly recommended.

We just returned home from a person to person cultural exchange tour to Cuba that was arranged by Distant Horizons. My experience working with Melissa to set up the trip was outstanding. She was responsive and helpful as we were coming up with the itinerary and honored our requests for the types of things we wanted our family to see and do while we were there. We were there for five days and our itinerary was varied and interesting. Our local guide, Natalie, was fun, incredibly knowledgeable and expertly managed our time in Cuba to ensure we got the most out of our trip. We stayed in a Casa Particular and it was beautiful, comfortable and very clean. Our hosts there were very accommodating and took excellent care of us. We wouldn’t hesitate to work with Distant Horizons for future travel.

I recently returned from a trip with Distant Horizons to Iran after being referred by a friend. From beginning to end this trip was amazing! I was pretty hesitant at first because of all the negative media coverage, but after speaking with Julie and the others at Distant Horizons (I think her name was Ashely), I felt totally comfortable. They were very helpful and informative and put my mind at ease. They also send out packets that have a lot of useful information such as the 30 Most Frequently Asked Questions about Iran. That was a life saver (especially when it came to clothes, which I was worried about).
The travel time to Iran was long, but worth it. Shiraz and Isfahan were amazing! Tjhe Eram Gardens were breathtaking!!! I used up most of my camera battery that day on the gardens alone! The accommodations they set us up with were so nice with good customer service. The daily activities were great! The locals were friendly and the food was good! I feel as if we saw so much during our trip, but it never seemed like the days were too crowded or long. The tour guide was very friendly and informative and happy to answer any questions we had.
Overall, this trip was fantastic! I’m not much of a «Yelper» but I felt compelled to write a review due to the satisfaction rate of my trip and knowing how hard everyone worked to make this trip possible. I will definitely be looking into upcoming trips with them and would actually love to visit Iran again someday!

I categorically urge you NOT to use Distant Horizons, a Long Beach, CA, based tour agency.
I just returned from a trip to Iran and found this company wasted 20% of our days by sending us to cities where there was nothing of interest to see. By having us sit on uncomfortable buses with no bathrooms for up to 14 hours per day, all 13 of us complained endlessly to the guide.
Distant Horizons also overcharged us egregiously for taxis to and from the Tehran Airport to the hotel. For instance, they wanted to charge me $ 70. to take me from the airport to the hotel at 3am. I refused that «offer» and paid just $ 20 to one of 50 taxi drivers waiting for fares outside the terminal.
One of the ladies on the trip was charged $ 130. by Distant Horizons and the driver would not carry her bag from customs to the taxi, a distance of 100 feet.
But the worst thing they did to me was the following:
I asked them to make a reservation for 4 additional nights at Laleh Hotel in Tehran. They charged me $ 260. per night which I paid before I left to this agency.
The General Manager of the hotel told me that the rate was $ 132 per night. When I returned from Iran, I contacted Julie Scott and the owner, Janet, and asked for a rebate. Julie said the hotel charged that much because I was a foreigner. But the General Manager knew I was an American. Janet, the owner of Distant Horizons, told me in an email that the agency was entitled to a fair markup.
To those who read this review, was a 4 to 7 times markup fair for taxi rides. Was I overcharged by double because I was an American, or was it because I was an American who could e gouged?
There are many many travel agencies in this country who are fair-​minded and who make every day you are away, a rewarding experience.
I urge you to use mother travel company.

In February 2014 we took a People to People trip to Cuba with Distant Horizons. Every aspect of our trip was top rate. In the planning stages, Janet and her staff went above and beyond to provide answers to all of our questions and accommodate our needs. Brochures, information packets and documentation all arrived on time and had our group well prepared. Once in Cuba the Distant Horizon representative Patricia and the local guide Osmin were pleasant and capable in every way. The DH connections to professors, artists, dancers, musicians and locals gave us access to in-​depth conversations and wonderful food! We also had Dr. Joe Scarpaci from the Cuban Center for Culture and Economy to guide us on architectural tours of Havana. Accommodations were gorgeous and much more than expected. All in all it was a wonderful week and I came home with new knowledge and appreciation for what’s going on with our Cuban neighbor. I believe it will all change once US-​Cuban relations open up. It was good to see the «before». And you can feel confident that you’ll really see it in a great way with Janet Mann and Distant Horizons. And no, I’m not a relative, just a satisfied customer!

We used Distant Horizons for our «Person-​to-​Person» trip to Cuba in January 2014. Although the trip was under a Harvard Alumni license from the State Department, Distrant Horizons was instrumental in planning all aspects of the trim and then making sure that it happened as intended and promised. The entire Distant Horizons team did a stellar job in every respect.
From the time we touched ground in Holguin until we went through security in Havana, Julie Gilders, Distant Horizons’ tour manager, was making sure everything went perfectly. This UK native has spent the last couple of years in Cuba and knows the country and its people extraordinarily well. When schedules slipped or circumstances changes, she was invariably on top of everything and made prompt, effective adjustments. Our check-​ins and departures at hotels were exceptionally smooth and hassle free. Julie kept us supplied with all necessities particularly bottled water, which was occasionally hard to find in Cuba. Because my wife and I have some dietary restrictions, Julie was on top of the menu at every stop to make sure we were fully accommodated. Julie also worked seamlessly with our Havana Tours guide, Nelson Ramos. They have worked together frequently, and it showed in their flawless coordination. Julie was a major factor in making our Cuba trip one of our best.
This has been my only experience with group travel and with Distant Horizons, but I’m certainly a fan of their work in this instance. Our group was relatively small (25) so we all got personal attention. While I still prefer traveling on our own, there were certainly advantages to being in the Distant Horizons group since I really didn’t have to worry about any of the details that normally nag us on every trip. I can heartily recommend Distant Horizons, at least based on my experience with Julie Gilders in Cuba.

I am writing to offset the one negative review of Distant Horizons. We just booked a trip to Cuba, and I had the most positive experience with one of their team members. She took a lot of time to answer all of my many questions, and she always answered them very promptly. This will be our first trip with this company, and when you look at the list of groups that this company customizes tours for (Stanford Alumni, UCLA, art museums, World Affairs Council groups, Harvard), then you know that this has to be a very highly rated company.

The owner of Distant Horizons was the most rude, argumentative, dismissive person I have ever met. I would never book a trip with her again and I advise others not too. She obviously isn’t interested in constructive criticism about the tours she oversees. Although she charges high end tour fees, the tour is by no means high end as she books discount charter flights with unknown carriers or/​and carriers with poor customer reviews. Meals on the trip I went on often required an out of pocket cost to upgrade to the type of meal I would expect based on what I was charged for the trip. Don’t bother discussing any concern with the owner, Janet Moore. She doesn’t care. After 25 years in business she must think customer service, especially when a customer has concerns, isn’t important.