At Highlights Travel (formerly Asia Highlights), we believe that the best journeys don't just take you to new places — they bring you closer to what truly matters: meaningful encounters, shared stories, and a deeper sense of place. Since 1998, we've been designing private, tailor-made trips across China, Japan, and Southeast Asia, with a focus on meaningful connection, cultural depth, and effortless travel. Our expert travel designers work one-on-one with each traveler, while our trusted local hosts open doors to authentic, personal experiences. With over 10,000 reviews and an outstanding 98.8% 5-star rating on platforms, our travelers consistently return with more than memories — they return with a deeper understanding. Our current journeys on Highlights Travel website focus on Southeast and South Asia, where vibrant cultures and meaningful moments await. Interested in China or Japan? Discover more curated journeys at China Highlights, Japan Highlights and Thailand Highlights — part of the Highlights Travel family.
Reviewers overwhelmingly had a great experience with this company. Consumers frequently highlight the exceptional staff, describing team members as professional, exceptionally polite, and incredibly quick to respond to every single inquiry. Travelers truly appreciate the dedicated support in creating wonderful, tailored holiday itineraries that perfectly match their specific desires and requirements.
However, some customers also noted that while the planning phase was wonderful, they were still awaiting the actual execution of their upcoming trips. People often mention looking forward to seeing how all the organized activities, expert guides, and recommended accommodations will actually perform during their upcoming adventures.
Our tour was so fun! We learned a lot about the area and did many fun activites. Our tour guide, Kimura, was wonderful as well. Very sweet and knowledgeable.
Highlights Travel 回复2025-05-17
We're delighted to know that you had a fun time with Kimura and learned a lot about Tokyo during your visit. Thanks for sharing.
Made contact for a Thailand Itinerary for two couples travelling to Thailand for the first time.
Abee quickly provided multiple itineraries with varying options related to the price limit and timing I had set out.
Highlights Travel 回复2025-05-17
Thanks for contacting us with regards to your Thailand tour. We hope that the price and multiple itineraries that Albee has made will help you finalise a tour to match your needs.
I booked a custom trip to South Korea and Japan with Asia Highlights and had an incredible experience. Alisa was my 7/24 contact she tailored the itinerary thoughtfully and in accordance with my interests. During the trip she was always available with answers to all my requests. Local guides were friendly, knowledgeable, and made everything stress-free. Many thanks to Kimsoo, Linda and Louis in South Korea and to Slash, Andrew and Jeremy in Japan. Each one did an amazing job! Hotels and transport were excellent, from professional drivers to plane and train trips their real-time support during the trip gave us peace of mind. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a personalized and seamless travel experience in Asia!
Highlights Travel 回复2025-05-17
Thank you very much for sharing your incredible experience! We’re thrilled that Alisa and the local guides helped make your journey through South Korea and Japan stress-free and truly special. Your kind words mean the world to us, and we’re so glad the hotels, transport, and real-time support gave you peace of mind throughout your travel
We had a great time in Kyoto and Osaka japan, especially trying all the interesting food. Cooking classes with Taro in Kyoto was a huge highlight. Our guide Kunki Syo was so helpful and knowledgeable. He really made sure everything went well and accomodated all our wishes.
Highlights Travel 回复2025-05-17
Thank you for sharing your experience! We’re so happy you had a great time in Kyoto and Osaka, especially with all the amazing food, and cooking classes. We're thrilled that Kunki made your visit memorable.
We had a fantastic company trip to Bali arranged by Leeky from China Highlights.
Her service was impeccable. She did all the arrangements to perfection.
In Bali, the villa provided was clean, spacious, and very comfortable—perfect for our group. Our tour guide was professional, friendly, and always accommodating to our needs. The driver was experienced and made us feel safe throughout the journey.
The food and activities arranged were enjoyable and well thought out, giving us a great taste of Bali’s culture and fun. The only area for improvement would be the van provided—the air-conditioning wasn’t quite strong enough for the Bali heat.
Overall, it was a well-organized and memorable trip. Thank you, Asia Highlights, for a great experience!
Highlights Travel 回复2025-05-17
Thanks for sharing your fantastic experience! We're pleased to hear that Leeky’s impeccable service and well-planned arrangements made your company trip to Bali so memorable. It’s wonderful that you enjoyed the villa, food, activities, and the professionalism of the guide and driver. We appreciate your feedback about the van’s air-conditioning and will take it into consideration for future improvements. It has also been our pleasure to have worked with you to plan this trip for your company. Cheers.
The trip to Nepal was fantastic! With the help of our guide Pratik, Sushant and the driver from Asia Highlights, we were able to experience several of their cultural daily lives, the sites were incredible and we experience places that we never even thought about going. Their service were excellent, including the hotels and the outdoor service. The hotels were excellent and great location. The company made our time in Nepal very memorable.
Highlights Travel 回复2025-05-17
Thanks for sharing your experience! We're thrilled to hear that Pratik, Sushant, and our driver made your Nepal journey so special. It’s fantastic that you were able to immerse yourself in the local culture, visit incredible sites, and discover places beyond your expectations. We’re glad you also enjoyed the excellent service, hotels, and outdoor arrangements. It's been our pleasure to have helped you make your trip memorable.
Albee, the TA, had been wonderful working with our group of 5 for about a year on this dream-come-true epic trip. All the guides (Tiger, Helen and Nur) were excellent and itneraries were unique and memorable. Most of the hotels and meals were good too. A couple of hotels would need improvement: 1) Hotels did not have the A/C turned due to the "off season" (Lanzhou, Dunhuang); 2) Though Dunhuang hotel is at the State level (i.e. receiving officials from the central gov), the level was not up to par in my opinion (A/C is turned off, safe not working...); 3) Labrang Civil Aviation Hotel was the worst, not even a 2 star. Besides no a/c and being unclean, the shower room is together with the bathroom w/o partition. Despite the above, overall it was a wonderful trip.
Highlights Travel 回复2025-05-12
Hi Helen,
It warms our hearts to know that Albee put in a year of wonderful work to craft your dream trip! We're also so pleased to hear that Tiger, Helen, and Nur provided excellent guidance and that you found the itineraries unique and memorable. It's great to know that most of the hotels and meals met your expectations.
Thank you for also providing specific feedback on the hotels in Lanzhou, Dunhuang, and especially the Labrang Civil Aviation Hotel. We truly appreciate you bringing these issues to our attention regarding the A/C, safe, cleanliness, and bathroom setup. This kind of detailed feedback is invaluable as we continuously strive to improve our services and the quality of accommodations we offer.
Despite these hotel concerns, we are genuinely happy to hear that overall it was a wonderful and epic trip for your group of five! We hope the many positive aspects of your journey created lasting memories.
Best regards,
Customer Care Team
Albee has been a great travel advisor thus far! Our family trip isn't until a few months from now, but Albee has already done a great job in creating our itinerary and making us feel at ease with all the pre-planning taken care of.
Looking forward to our trip! Thank you, Albee!
Highlights Travel 回复2025-05-12
Hi Jamei,
That's wonderful to hear! It sounds like Albee has been a fantastic travel advisor, making the pre-planning for your family trip smooth and stress-free. We're so glad you're feeling at ease and looking forward to your trip! We'll be sure to pass along your thanks to Albee. We hope you have an absolutely amazing time on your trip in a few months!
Best regards,
Customer Care Team
In Hoi An, Viet Nam, we sampled nearby river culture, courtesy of Asian Highlights, in the very capable hands of our engaging guide Tung. We paddled iconic Vietnamese round bamboo basket boats, tried cast net fishing, and raised a large fishing net. A fun-filled, first-hand lesson about Viet Nam water livelihood. Along the way, Tung educated us about his successful ventures raising Salangane swifts (producing nests for birds nest soup) and minnows (sold to local fish farms). Our fascinating time with entrepreneur Tung was far too short.
Highlights Travel 回复2025-05-09
Hi Michael,
We're delighted Tung brought Hoi An's river culture to life for you! His hands-on guidance with basket boats and fishing—paired with fascinating insights into local aquaculture—showcases the authentic, immersive experiences we love to create. It's wonderful to hear your time with this passionate entrepreneur left you wanting more!
Regards,
Customer Care Team
Asia Highlights takes excellent care of all of the planning and details of execution of your trip so you can use your time seeing the country. They even remain available during the tour if any need arises. Our tour of Japan was perfect due to their help.
Highlights Travel 回复2025-05-08
Hi Roberta,
Delighted we could make your Japan trip seamless! Our team thrives on handling details so you can fully immerse in the experience. Thank you for trusting us - we'd love to craft more perfect journeys for you!
Regards,
Customer Care Team
This Company has an excellent Tour Guide. Hoang Lan was very experienced and knowledgeable with a positive attitude and caring mannerism. I would highly recommend this Company for learning the Culture and History of Vietnam.
Highlights Travel 回复2025-05-08
Hi John,
Thrilled you enjoyed discovering Vietnam with Hoang Lan! We'll share your high praise with your guide - nothing motivates us more than creating such meaningful experiences. Thank you for recommending us!
Regards,
Customer Care Team
2nd time using Asia Highlights - AMAZING EXPERIENCE IN INDIA/NEPAL!
We used Asia Highlights back in 2019 for a China trip and it was an outstanding experience so we wanted to use them again since they had expanded their destinations to India. We just came back from a 2 week trip through India and Nepal through them and it was the trip of a lifetime! Albee Ning was prompt with communication and helped us to completely customize our itinerary.
The trip went extremely smoothly and all of the guides and hotels were absolutely outstanding. The tour guides were very knowledgeable about each of their cities, flexible to change plans if we wanted, and all spoke excellent English. Our guide in New Delhi, Prerak, was the best tour guide we’ve ever had. He went above and beyond to teach us about the true culture and had impressive knowledge about the history and was a joy to spend the day with. We wish we could’ve done the whole trip with him! He also made us feel comfortable and safe immediately as he was our first guide after arriving in India for the first time.
Our private driver in India, Badal, was an excellent driver and made us feel extremely safe and taken care of. His services were truly above and beyond as he was friendly, punctual, flexible when we would decide to change the meeting time, and respectful, always opening our doors for us and helping load our luggage. His car was clean and had A/C, wifi, snacks and cold drinks. His driving ability was impressive on the busy streets of India and he stayed calm so we never felt unsafe on the roads. He checked in with us on the long rides and stopped for bathroom breaks and clean lunch spots as frequently as we needed. He truly made our time in India significantly more pleasant.
The hotels (most being converted palaces) were nothing like we’ve ever experienced. The food was high quality and still authentic. The service was impressive. The activities in each palace like traditional Indian dances and croquet truly added to the immersive experience. The historical hotel palaces themselves were amazing attractions to explore each night.
All of the sights we toured each day surpassed all of our expectations from the grandest sights like the Taj Mahal (which certainly did not disappoint in the least) and the many forts, palaces, temples, and mosques, to the smaller moments of walking through the busy streets of each town. Some of the most memorable moments for us included seeing the Taj Mahal at sunrise (which had less crowds at that time and changed colors in the morning light), riding a camel in the Thar desert of Jaisalmer, watching an open air cremation ceremony at Pashupati Aryaghat Kathmandu, and flying over the Himalayas at sunrise and seeing Mt. Everest (we had to take a plane ride to see the mountains as there was too much smog in Kathmandu and even up high in Nagarkot to see anything).
Overall, just an absolutely incredible experience with no issues whatsoever and incredible people, sights, and experiences all along the way. Would DEFINITELY recommend Asia Highlights 10/10. We hope to take a 3rd trip with them someday (perhaps to South East Asia next time) as they do not disappoint!!
Highlights Travel 回复2025-05-08
Hi Sarah,
What an incredible journey you've described! We're deeply honored to have been part of both your China and India/Nepal adventures. Albee and our entire team are thrilled to hear how much you appreciated Prerak's cultural insights, Badal's exceptional service, and our unique palace accommodations. Your vivid descriptions of sunrise at the Taj Mahal and Himalayan flights perfectly capture why we love sharing these destinations. We can't wait to help plan your Southeast Asia exploration when the time comes - thank you for this heartfelt endorsement!
Best regards,
Customer Care Team
Yet another wonderful holiday arranged by Albee Ning. My week in Nepal has been superb. I’ve seen amazing places and been looked after brilliantly by Kranti in Kathmandu & Nargarkot, and Kemal in Pokhara - both of whom were perfect gentlemen throughout and made the visits so enjoyable. I wouldn’t use anyone else!
Highlights Travel 回复2025-05-08
Hi Hilary,
We're delighted your Nepal adventure lived up to Asia Highlights' standards! Albee and our team are thrilled you enjoyed Kranti and Kemal's exemplary service - nothing pleases us more than hearing how our guides' professionalism and local insight created such a superb holiday. Your continued trust means the world to us. Until your next perfect getaway!
Regards,
Customer Care Team
Albee was great to work with. We made changes a few times and she was always back with the changes incorporated within 24 hours. The trip went off without a hitch and our guides were always there exactly when they were supposed to be. The hotels she arranged for us were great and we felt we were well taken care of. I'd be glad to work with Asian highlights again.
Highlights Travel 回复2025-05-08
Hi Ivy,
Thank you for your kind words! We’re thrilled Albee provided such seamless planning and quick adjustments to perfect your trip. It’s wonderful to hear everything ran smoothly—from our punctual guides to your excellent hotels. We’d be delighted to welcome you back for another flawless journey!
Best regards,
Customer Care Team
I've already reviewed sections of our trip with regards to the guides but this is to cover the organisation of the trip.
The trip was almost perfect and I would have rated it at least 4.5 if possible.
We are relatively experienced travellers having done many self organised/guided tours in Europe, USA and NZ. However we were uncertain about doing that in SE Asia and looked for a bespoke individual guided tour that was affordable. Asia Highlights fitted the bill.
Our tour was organised by Yeliz who created an itinerary for us which we refined over the course of a few weeks by email. A later flight cancellation did mean further revisions were needed closer to the trip starting but that was all handled smoothly.
The only point where the tour didn't meet expectations was the Ha Long bay cruise. I had misgivings about the area being too crowded and it was suggested that we did the two night cruise with the idea that it would go beyond the area of the one night cruise. In fact the cruise anchored in exactly the same spot both nights and the one night cruise passengers were on the same boat. The additional days activities were not of great interest and the itinerary in our Asia Highlights document didn't match the cruise itinerary (another cave trip was included which we didn't want and skipped)
Other points really come down to experience. We would include more time for self exploration/rest and probably better level of hotel as the prices in that area were so low (we'd specified mid range to keep costs down).
To sum up we had a great experience and wouldn't hesitate to us Asia Highlights again.
Highlights Travel 回复2025-04-19
Dear Paul
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughtful feedback about your trip. We're pleased to know that we were able to help make your experience in Southeast Asia both enjoyable and memorable, and you found Yeliz adaptable when changes arose.
We’re very sorry to learn that the Ha Long Bay cruise fell short of what was anticipated, and we sincerely appreciate your comments.
Your feedback is important to us, and we'll work closely with our partners for more tailored experiences in the future. Similarly, your insights about including more opportunities for self-exploration and considering upgraded accommodations are helpful, and we'll take them into account as we work to refine and improve our service.
Thank you for choosing us, and we're pleased that you will consider using our services again.
Customer-care Team
Our drivers and tour guide were excellent. Gary, our tour guide, stayed with us throughout the trip helping us to negotiate the trains, subways, restaurants and sites. We reserved our own 4* hotels and saved quite a bit of money in doing so. We travelled during Cherry Blossom season and all the gardens, palaces, cities etc were in full bloom and magnificent. Our tour guide was flexible and helpd us make changes to our itinerary as desired making suggestions for additional stops as well. He spoke excellent English and we had no trouble understanding him as he explained the history and cultural aspects of each site we visited.
The people of Japan were the best part of the trip. They were anxious to assist with our every need. We tried to tip them as is our way of showing appreciation but most of them refused tips. The food was very different from our usual diet but enjoyable. We stayed at traditional Japanese Inns in two of our stops. Each had its own flair and we enjoyed being immersed in the traditions they shared with us.
The only difficulty on this trip was having to rise from the floor. Not easy for the aging individual!!
Highlights Travel 回复2025-04-19
Thank you for sharing your experience! It’s wonderful to hear how much you enjoyed Japan’s cherry blossoms, cultural traditions, and the hospitality of its people. We're glad your guide, Gary, made navigating and exploring so smooth, and that the traditional inns added a special touch to your trip.
Our family enjoyed our time in Vietnam thanks to Asia Highlights. For a family of 5 we spent about US$560 per day staying in good 3 star accommodation. We liked that we were picked up and sent off by our guides/ drivers at each port. Everything as organized through the agent via whatsapp and email. All 3 local tour guides were great. I enjoyed experiences like the fisherman's life tour in Hoi An. The tour guides were friendly and kept us safe in the chaotic traffics in the cities. Only downside was some how along the way, our free day was mixed up in Hoi An which was corrected in the last minute, this affected our plan for the free day. Otherwise it has been a well organized tour.
Highlights Travel 回复2024-12-27
Hi Jenny
Thank you for your feedback and highlighting the experiences you enjoyed in Hoi An, as well as the services of the guides.
We apologize for the mix-up on your free day and the unnecessary stress this may have caused you.
Customer-care Team
Johnny was a gracious guide during our stay in Tokyo. He made our travels enjoyable and relaxing. Changes to our schedule were also easily made to accommodate our wants and needs as the days passed. We had a few insignificant issues but were no fault of Johnny, and he helped any way he could to make our days enjoyable!
Highlights Travel 回复2024-12-27
HI Amy
Thanks for your feedback on Johnny and he made your time enjoyable and relaxing.
Customer-care Team
Mr. Bank was a fun, helpful, hardworking guide. We would give five stars, but his English was not good, making it difficult to get answers to our questions about the various sights.
Highlights Travel 回复2024-12-27
Hi Michael
Thank you for letting us know you had a fun, helpful, and hardworking guide. We're very sorry that you found his English difficult to understand. We will look at how we can help him improve his English ability to serve guests better.
Customer-care Team
Ailbee at Asian Highlights has been wonderful and consistent
I have been working with Albe at Asian Highlights for a few months. I'm a newer agent and Albe has be patient working to modify my Thailsnd and Bali Singapore Itineraries to get all the items I have requested.
She has followed up with me every step of the way even to make sure I one when there were deals going on. I'm opptomistic we will have everything buttoned down soon for b late 2025.
Great person.
Highlights Travel 回复2024-12-18
Hi there
Thanks for sharing with us the service Albee has been providing you as you develop your itinerary for 2025.
Customer-care Team