札幌発北海道日帰りツアー：クマ牧場オプション付き

This all-day trip into the southern areas of Hokkaido from Sapporo (out from New Chitose Airport) we would rate as somewhere between average and good. It was a really long journey which ended at around 7pm: our last stop before heading homeward was in the dark, with a nice museum that was closing on our arrival, maybe because it was cold & late. It seemed to us that we were constantly on the move and the timing advertised for stops like Lake Toya for 2 hours didn’t happen. Also at Hell Valley we were there for about 45 minutes compared to the advertised duration of 2.2 hours. It felt more like a shopping trip, rather than discovering the natural beauty of this great southern Hokkaido area. Lunch was around 45 minutes and relied on us individually heading off all over the local town: we found a nice little coffee shop. It was an early start: meeting at one of two prearranged pickup sites: it was a full sized bus full of fellow tourists: our host advised they had 3 buses doing this route that day. Very touristy trip. Was it worth the $$$ paid: this is a rare case where we believe, No: this is not a cheap tour, which did not leave us with a sense that we had a great time and saw great things. Other tours we did in Sapporo were far superior. Would we do it again: No: too touristy, far too much shopping, timings way off what was advertised and needing better time management. As seasoned travellers, over 65, married, fit & loving new destinations, we always appreciate independent honest reviews. This review did take more than just a few words, because an explanation is required when rating less than a high score. We hope this review is useful to you. Thanks, ALGreynomads

The guide's English was close to nonexistent. He consistently apologized that it was only his second year learning. When I asked him something, he often didn't understand the question. The lunch on Main Street was one of the worst; I actually got sick afterwards from it. I ate in the guide's recommended place the food he recommended. Not impressed by the location. Overall, I wanted to see the nature I had set out to see, but the tour guide and some locations didn't provide any value. Also, the competitor offered to go up the ropeway at the same spot where the bears are. Why not also allow this on our tour? The competitor tour is also half the price. I felt a bit ripped off

The route carried out did not have much to do with the described route (places and times). Instead of the Noboribetsu Bear Park, which is why I decided to go on this trip, I visited a Bear Ranch with bears in concrete trenches. In the end, a 2h stay in a shopping center was attached. The tour guide was good though and had a lot of interesting information.

I was really disappointed with this tour. The tour guide Lisa did her best herding the cats and was friendly but the itinerary was very disappointing as they gave more time & emphasis on shopping than sight-seeing. If you love shopping in the outlet mall or gift shops, YES, this is the right tour for you.

Lisa, our tour guide, was excellent. She was enthusiastic and always eager to please. We appreciated being reminded to use the restrooms before boarding the bus for a couple of long stretches. I wish we had more time to relax and enjoy the last stop on the tour and would recommend eliminating one of the minor stops and put that time into the last stop where the lake was so beautiful to see.