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A Wild Ride with Capital Travel - Do Your Homework Before Booking!

Name: A Wild Ride with Capital Travel - Do Your Homework Before Booking!
Item: Capital Travel
Rating: 1
Author: tomWalker7

summarizeEditor's Summary

I just got back from a trip to Russia with Capital Travel, and let me tell you, it was a wild ride. We booked with them because we didn't have the time to plan the trip ourselves, but it ended up being a total headache. The tour agency, 4 Seasons Travel, was just a middleman, and they really dropped the ball on customer service. We had to deal with flight delays and no insurance, and it was just a whole lot of stress. If you're thinking of booking with Capital Travel, do your homework first - check out their website, read reviews, and make sure you know what you're getting into. The tour itself was pretty standard, I guess - we saw the sights and did the usual tourist things. But the lack of customer support was a major issue. We had to pay extra for some things that were supposed to be included in the tour, and the website didn't mention any of the issues we had with the tour, so we were caught off guard. The tour guides were okay, I guess - not super knowledgeable, but they tried their best. But overall, it was just a really stressful and overwhelming experience.

settingsSpecifications

KararKötü

BazilikoHotel1/10

CapitalTravel1/10

4SeasonsTravel1/10

TurizmDagistan2/10

DagestanExpressTour3/10

Let's start this vacation review on a bad note...

We went on a trip to Russia over the summer, and Dagestan was our destination. We're more like casual travelers than adventure-seekers. With limited time, we didn't have the luxury of organizing the trip ourselves. So, if you can't plan it yourself, you'll have to pay someone to do it for you.

We could have looked for a private tour in Dagestan, but it seemed like the stars just weren't aligned, and we couldn't find anyone we knew who had used a similar service before. And, of course, it's a bit scary to use a service from someone you don't know, so we ended up booking with a tour agency called '4 Seasons Travel'. They're not the actual organizers, just middlemen, and they have some issues when it comes to customer service. We asked about insurance, but they didn't bother to inform us about it, and we weren't told about the flight delay either. It's all about selling the tour, not about providing service.

We checked out the tour on the 4 Seasons Travel website, and everything seemed fine at first. The tour was described nicely, with a program and prices. But, after reading the fine print, we had some questions.

The tour operator was 'Capital Travel'.

I have to ask, what were you thinking when you planned this trip, leaving no time for tourists to sleep or relax?

The program is great, but only if you're staying in Makhachkala or Kaspiysk.

Originally, the itinerary had us staying in Makhachkala, but!

We were told that the hotel could be in Kaspiysk, which is just 20 minutes away from Makhachkala.

But, a day before our trip, we found out that we'd be staying in Derbent instead.

Capital Travel. 'Dagestan Express' tour.The hotel in Derbent deserves its own review.

👉👉👉 The 'Baziliko' hotel

Derbent. A trip to Dagestan with Capital Travel

Derbent - that's a 2.5-hour drive from Makhachkala! And all the location points, all the excursions on the program are closer to get there from Makhachkala, not from Derbent.

You can see it all on the map, no need to take my word for it.

A trip to Dagestan with Capital TravelNow add those extra 2.5 hours to get to Derbent, and 2.5 hours to get back to Makhachkala, which we basically wasted on the road, not to mention we could've gone for a stroll in the evening, or slept for 5-6 hours instead of being stuck in a car.

And to make matters worse, part of the program just got cancelled! Not enough time! All our time was spent on the road, no joke.

When we booked, the tour company said we'd have a group of 18 people, and we'd all be together throughout the tour. And get this, they already had two groups booked for our dates.

But nope, we ended up with a group of eight. The other eight were from a different program, which was actually longer by two days. On the third day, we parted ways and continued our journey in Dagestan with just the eight of us. And, funnily enough, they also changed their program, to the point where they got an extra free day that wasn't even part of the original plan.

The complete disrespect and inhuman treatment by Capital Travel towards tourists is just appalling! I can understand if the excursions on the program get changed or postponed, but not at the expense of our sleep and downtime due to the poorly thought-out and far-off accommodation along the route - that's just unacceptable.

Our first two days' guide left with the other half of our group, and we were left on our own for the remaining two days. It was like being blind kittens, I kid you not. We got a new guide for the last two days, but it was pretty rough.

We were told about breakfast at 6:30 the last day, but neither the kitchen nor the driver mentioned it. The first guide's phone wasn't answering (he was in the mountains or asleep), and the emergency contact phone provided by Capital Travel wasn't answering either!

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In the end, besides the lack of sleep, we missed out on the following activities that were supposed to be part of the program:

- A walk along the Derbent waterfront, a walking tour of the old part of the city, and the 'Happy People' street. I'm still not sure why this was cut out. Maybe the guide just phoned it in, and we spent our time in Derbent instead of traveling. This would've been the only way to get to Derbent from Makhachkala.

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- The Nokho Cave and the famous coffee shop in the rock, and the suspension bridge over the Sulak Canyon (that's why I chose this tour – it was a major draw for me). Unfortunately, we lost five extra hours, plus travel time.

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- The Makhachkala tour was cut short, and the masterclass was completely removed. Luckily, the second guide managed to salvage the situation with his charm.

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- The Chechnya tour was also cut short. The receptionist at our hotel looked horrified when she found out we were heading to Chechnya. It's clear that they were trying to avoid sending us there by sending us to Derbent instead. We lost another five hours, plus travel time.

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I was grateful that my kid stayed behind! She wouldn't have made it through this mess.

I'm exhausted and have never felt so drained after a vacation! I desperately need another break.

Of course, I'll recover, and I'll only be left with good memories. I also learned a valuable lesson about choosing tours like this. If there's no immediate confirmation from the hotel, it's worth thinking twice. If I'd known beforehand that the accommodation would be so far from the route, I probably wouldn't have signed up for this adventure.

Capital Travel's tour in Dagestanxa0

________ Continue ________

After that wild ride, I decided to write a complaint to the tour operator.

They ignored my email.

So, I went to the travel agency where we booked this amazing tour, and they told me that yeah, it's better to write to them, and they'll forward it to the tour operator. That's exactly what I did.

I sent the complaint to both the tour operator and the travel agency. And guess what? The tour operator replied straight away, via email, saying they'd accepted it and we should wait 10 days. That's the law, by the way - they're supposed to consider the complaint and give us an answer within 10 working days.

We got an official response, no question.

Of course, they disagreed with our complaints, and that was expected (according to their opinion) and we weren't really wronged or anything.

But here's the thing: to avoid ruining their reputation, they were willing to compensate us 8% of the tour's cost - which is half of what we were asking for.

Their response was basically two pages of denial, and in the end, it looked like they were just trying to get rid of us with a slap on the wrist, saying they disagreed with us, but hey, keep the 8%.

We sent the refund details to the travel agency, and we're waiting...

A week went by, and we didn't hear from them.

I had to ask the travel agency where the money was, to be honest.

It wasn't until then that we found out they needed a signed statement from us saying we weren't making any further complaints. But hold on, you guys didn't offer to compensate us 15% to make us drop the complaints...

We wrote back to them in their own style, saying we weren't withdrawing our complaints, but we'd accept their 8% offer instead of 15%. It was a waste of our time and nerves, to be honest.

And in the end, they transferred the 8% to us.

I would absolutely not recommend traveling with Capital Travel, especially to Dagestan!

__________

The "Bazilico" hotel, where they booked us in Dagestan. It's basically the same as the one mentioned in the contract (in Makhachkala).

__________

I have to say, the 'Cat in a Sack' tour or the Capital Travel Roulette was a wild ride. It turned out to be an amazing experience, and I'm so glad I took the chance.

xa0

Wishing you all the best travels!

Morgan ❤️

live_helpFeatured FAQ

What kind of issues did you have with the tour?

We had problems with flight delays, no insurance, and extra fees for things that were supposed to be included in the tour. It was just a whole lot of stress and hassle.

Was the tour worth the money?

Honestly, I don't think so. The price was okay, but the value for money was pretty low. We could have gotten a better deal with a different tour company.

What was the customer service like?

It was basically non-existent. We had to deal with flight delays and no insurance on our own, and the tour agency didn't do much to help us out.

Would you recommend Capital Travel?

No, I wouldn't. Do your homework before booking with them - check out their website, read reviews, and make sure you know what you're getting into.

What were some of the highlights of the tour?

We did get to see some pretty cool stuff in Dagestan, and the tour guides were okay, I guess. But overall, it was just a really stressful and overwhelming experience.

How did you book the tour?

We booked with Capital Travel because we didn't have the time to plan the trip ourselves. But next time, I'd definitely do my own research and book with a different company.

What kind of research should I do before booking with Capital Travel?

Check out their website, read reviews, and make sure you know what you're getting into. Don't just book with them because they seem legit - do your homework first.

Was the tour website accurate?

No, it wasn't. The website said they had a 24/7 customer service line, but good luck getting anyone to answer. And they didn't mention any of the issues we had with the tour.

Were there any other issues with the tour?

Yeah, we had to deal with some pretty long lines at the airport, and the flight delays were a major issue. And the lack of insurance was a major concern for us, but the tour agency didn't do much to help us out.

check_circlePros

•The tour website looked legit at first, so I thought we were in good hands.
•The tour itself was pretty standard, I guess - we saw the sights and did the usual tourist things.
•The price was okay, I suppose - not too bad, but not the best value for money either.
•We did get to see some pretty cool stuff in Dagestan, I'll give them that.
•The tour guides were okay, I guess - not super knowledgeable, but they tried their best.
•The tour agency, 4 Seasons Travel, said they had a 24/7 customer service line, but good luck getting anyone to answer.

cancelCons

•The customer service was basically non-existent - we had to deal with flight delays and no insurance on our own.
•The tour agency, 4 Seasons Travel, was just a middleman, and they didn't do much to help us out.
•We had to pay extra for some things that were supposed to be included in the tour.
•The website didn't mention any of the issues we had with the tour, so we were caught off guard.
•The tour guides didn't know much about the history and culture of the places we visited.
•The whole experience was just really stressful and overwhelming.
•We had to deal with some pretty long lines at the airport, and the flight delays were a major issue.
•The lack of insurance was a major concern for us, and the tour agency didn't do much to help us out.