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.
Som my guide was excellent (and so was my driver Mr. Ty)! Extremely helpful and courteous 😃 Som was especially fluent in English, to my (Canadian) ears he has no discernible accent and was therefore surprisingly easily to converse with. Mr. Ty was always very punctual and safe, and Som exhibited a depth of knowledge about almost any of my inquiries. Would highly recommend them both and the experiences here in Siem Reap 🤩
Highlights Travel 回复2025-08-19
Thrilled Som and Mr. Ty made your Siem Reap visit so special! Their perfect combo of knowledge (Som) and safe travels (Mr. Ty) clearly shone through. Thanks for exploring with us - come back anytime!
#Ellie and # Kyoto: I had pleasure of visiting Kyoto with very capable and highly talented guide, who explained rich heritage and importance of Kyoto. She made our trip memorable and I highly recommend her service as a guide
Highlights Travel 回复2025-08-13
We're delighted to hear you had such a memorable experience in Kyoto! It sounds like Ellie is a truly capable and talented guide, and we're thrilled that her explanations of the city's rich heritage and importance made your trip so special. We appreciate your high recommendation!
The guides have all been excellent. We spent the longest time with Victor in Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe. There was a wide variety of things to see and do, and the vans we rode in were very comfortable. The drivers were very professional as well. If you have specific ideas on food you want to try, be sure and say that at the beginning of the day.
Highlights Travel 回复2025-08-13
We're so happy to hear that all your guides were excellent, and that you spent a wonderful time with Victor in Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe! We appreciate your helpful tip about communicating food preferences at the beginning of the day—that's great advice!
Alisa helped us to plan a wonderful holiday to Inner Mongolia. She took into account our specific needs and proposed an itinerary which met those needs. The arranged accomodation was generally good and our driver was excellent, driving us safely through some difficult roads and weather conditions. Overall, we enjoyed ourselves and will definitely engage her services for our next trip to China.
Highlights Travel 回复2025-08-13
We're thrilled that Alisa helped you plan a wonderful holiday to Inner Mongolia! It's fantastic that she considered your specific needs to create a great itinerary. We're glad to hear the accommodations were good and that your driver was excellent, ensuring your safety even in difficult conditions. We look forward to helping you with your next trip to China!
My experience was wonderful in Japan! Kimura was amazing and taught us a lot! I learned a little Japanese and learned all about the culture.
Highlights Travel 回复2025-08-13
We're so happy to hear that you had a wonderful experience in Japan! It's fantastic that Kimura was amazing, and that you learned so much about the culture and even a little Japanese from him.
Our family had a wonderful time in Tokyo and Hakone with our guide Kimura. We learned so much and was full of knowledge. He made sure that we saw all the site that we requested. He answered all our questions and made our trip wonderful, Will definitely take a trip in the future with Kimura.
Highlights Travel 回复2025-08-13
We're so happy to hear that your family had a wonderful time in Tokyo and Hakone with Kimura! It's fantastic that he was so knowledgeable and ensured you saw all the sites you requested, making your trip wonderful. We'd be delighted to help you plan another trip with him in the future!
Amazing Tour in Tokyo!
What a wonderful experience we had in Tokyo with Kimura! Kimura was an amazing tour guide. He’s very informative and we learned so much about Japan and its culture. Hope everyone can get a chance to experience Tokyo with Kimura. Thank you Kimura for making our family vacation extra memorable!
Highlights Travel 回复2025-08-13
We're thrilled you had such a wonderful experience in Tokyo with Kimura! It's fantastic that he was such an amazing guide, sharing so much about Japan and its culture. We're delighted he made your family vacation extra memorable.
Monica with Asia Highlights helped make this a memorable experience. She accommodated all my must haves and had great ideas to add to this trip. I was greeted with Jah at the airport who was our guide for the past 5 days and she was amazing. Charismatic, knowledgeable, fun and such an amazing personality. Truly an epic experience. I would easily use them again. Not one thing was an issue
Highlights Travel 回复2025-08-13
We're thrilled that Monica with Asia Highlights helped create a memorable experience for you! It's fantastic that she accommodated all your must-haves and added great ideas to the trip. We're especially delighted to hear that your guide, Jah, was amazing—charismatic, knowledgeable, fun, and had such a great personality. We're so glad you had an epic experience with no issues and would love to help you plan another trip!
Our guide, Victor, provided a thorough explanation of sites in Osaka, and his hometown of Kyoto. He went above and beyond in patiently accommodating our needs and requests, all with a bright smile and enthusiastic manner! He was a wonderful guide and so generous.
Highlights Travel 回复2025-08-13
We're so happy to hear that Victor provided a thorough and wonderful tour of Osaka and his hometown of Kyoto! It's fantastic that he was so patient, accommodating, and enthusiastic, going above and beyond to ensure you had a great experience. We're thrilled to know he was such a generous and wonderful guide.
Monica was the best- she worked so hard to revise itineraries for me when I was indecisive and her communication was next level. She planned everything perfectly and the timing was always impeccable. The hotels chosen were great and everything ran so smoothly. Highly recommend Monica and Asia highlights!
Highlights Travel 回复2025-08-13
We're thrilled to hear that Monica was the best! It's wonderful that she worked so hard to revise your itinerary and that her communication was next level. We're delighted that everything, including the hotels, was planned perfectly and ran smoothly. We appreciate your high recommendation for Monica and Asia Highlights!
An unforgettable, beautifully organised experience across China
We recently returned from an incredible 19-day trip across China with Asia Highlights, and I can confidently say it was one of the best travel experiences we’ve ever had.
From the moment we arrived until our final transfer, everything ran smoothly — no logistical issues at all. The itinerary matched and even exceeded our expectations, with the perfect balance of sightseeing, cultural immersion, and downtime. The pace of the trip was just right — active but never exhausting.
All of the hotels were clean, comfortable, and well located, but a special mention must go to Yangshuo Sugar House, which was truly outstanding. The food throughout the trip was excellent, with a wide variety of local dishes and flavors in every region — we really appreciated the thoughtful restaurant selections, even if we can't remember all the dish names!
Our local guides in each city were knowledgeable, friendly, and professional, always doing their best to make us feel comfortable and informed. Special thanks to Susan, Ana, and Evan, who went above and beyond — though honestly, every guide we met was excellent.
Transportation — including flights, trains, and hotel transfers — was well arranged and punctual. The high-speed trains were a highlight in themselves!
There were so many memorable moments, but the Yangshuo countryside, Tianmen Mountain, Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon with the Glass Bridge, and the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall really stood out for their breath-taking beauty and unique experiences.
We’re already thinking about where we can go next with Asia Highlights. If you're looking for a seamless, enriching, and well-organised trip, I highly recommend them.
Thank you to Yeliz and everyone at Asia Highlights who helped make our journey so special!
Highlights Travel 回复2025-08-13
We're so happy you had an incredible 19-day trip with us! It's great that everything, from the itinerary and hotels to the food and guides like Susan, Ana, and Evan, exceeded your expectations. We're thrilled you had so many memorable moments and look forward to helping you with your next trip!
May is a great agent. She was very helpful. She answered every question that I had promptly. I really appreciate her assistance.
Highlights Travel 回复2025-08-13
We're so happy to hear that May was a great agent for you! We're thrilled that she was very helpful and answered all your questions so promptly. We truly appreciate your kind words about her assistance!
Yeliz from Asia Highlights provided truly outstanding customer service from start to finish. She made the entire tour planning process incredibly smooth—quick to respond, clear with communication, and very accommodating with our schedule and payment needs. Unfortunately, due to a family emergency, we had to cancel our trip. Yeliz handled the situation with incredible kindness and professionalism, honoring their cancellation policy without hesitation. She showed sincere empathy and made a potentially stressful situation feel supported and stress-free. I've never experienced such thoughtful and human-centered service from a travel company. Asia Highlights—and especially Yeliz—have earned our trust, and we will absolutely reach out to them when we're ready to rebook.
Highlights Travel 回复2025-08-13
We're grateful for your kind words about Yeliz and your experience with us. We're sorry to hear about your family emergency, and it means a lot that Yeliz handled your cancellation with professionalism and empathy. We've earned your trust and look forward to helping you rebook whenever you're ready.
A brilliant travel company, I have used China Highlights and Asia Highlights for many years and NEVER had a problem. I deal with Albee Ning, who is incredibly efficient; she takes a pride in understanding my needs and preferences, and builds me a truly personalised itinerary. There is NO pressure at all and Albee is happy to make any adjustments I request….. but also advises me of better alternatives if my requests create difficulties! I trust her 100% and recommend her unreservedly. (and no, this isn’t a solicited review!)
Highlights Travel 回复2025-08-13
We're thrilled to hear that you've had such consistently brilliant experiences with us over the years! It's wonderful to know that you trust Albee Ning 100%. We're incredibly proud of her for being so efficient and for taking the time to truly understand your needs and preferences to create a personalized itinerary you love. We appreciate your unreserved recommendation and look forward to planning many more trips with you!
Jimmy and his team are excellent. They planned every detail every driver every tour guide every hotel most of our meals. They made sure that we had a good time that we saw the Thailand. I would highly recommend Asia highlights and Jimmy and his team if you’re planning a trip, they are phenomenal.
Highlights Travel 回复2025-07-22
Thank you! Jimmy & the team loved creating your perfect Thailand trip. We’re grateful for your trust and hope to see you again!
Slash was very knowledgeable about the Kyoto area, took us to incredible local spots, and made the tour very pleasant for everyone. Would highly recommend!
Highlights Travel 回复2025-07-22
Thrilled you enjoyed Kyoto with Slash! We’ll share your praise with him—thank you for the recommendation!
Albee has been our planner for months. We originally started out with 15 and lost some travelers along the way, we added other countries and changed the itinerary several times with no issues. She has provided many updates and been a great help to our family in this planning process.
Highlights Travel 回复2025-07-22
Thank you! Albee loves crafting flexible itineraries, and we’re thrilled she made your planning stress-free. Enjoy your trip—we’d love to help with the next one!
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