Awesome! That’s the word to sum up the trip that Andrea and Lauren planned for us. We had such a good time in Japan. We saw so much, we ate so much, and more importantly, we want to return! My husband and two college-age daughters and I spent 9 days in Japan—covering a lot of ground as everyone had specific requests. We were able to spend time in Tokyo, Kanazawa, Osaka, and the magical Kyoto. Our guides were excellent—giving us historic and cultural significance to all we saw and did. We went to so many fabulous markets and the food was incredible! Andrea and Lauren were also able to procure us tickets to Studio Ghibli—a real highlight of our trip and we were able to enjoy 1/2-day at Nintendo world (Osaka). My family loved the Akibahara district and the Meiji Temple in Tokyo, and the many gardens and shrines throughout. A shout out to the Moss Temple in Kyoto area and the Umeda Sky Observatory in Osaka!

Every day was packed with activities from morning to night (our request because we wanted to do so much)—Andrea and Lauren were magicians at getting all that we asked for into that short time period. We did a combination of public and private transportation and it was frictionless all the way! We had the best of both the modern Japan and the cultural historic Japan in our trip—leaving us with a desire to return soon so we can spend more time enjoying the country. Thank you to Andrea, Lauren, our guides—Numo san, Akemi san, and Yuki san—for making our trip so memorable. Highly recommend Andrea’s team—a definite WOW trip!

Andrea Phillips and daughter Rachel diving off Balicasag Island. Photo: Sander

Taking advantage of the time left before my 18-year-old daughter leaves to start college, the two of us jetted off on a 10-day scuba diving trip to the Philippines from late March to April. After in-depth planning with Andrea, an expert on unique travel in Asia, we chose the Dauin coast and Panglao Island, off Bohol, for our trip, as this was an excellent time to visit for great weather and diving conditions. Our goals were simple: level up our scuba certifications, immerse ourselves in welcoming cultures, and, finally, cross off swimming with whale sharks from our bucket list! Andrea and his team planned it perfectly, starting with a special airport welcome that whisked us from the arrival gate and quickly through a chaotic Manila airport.

Our first stop was Atmosphere Resort, where my daughter earned her Advanced Open Water Diver certification under the guidance of their skilled dive masters. We explored local dive spots and Apo Island, a beautiful marine reserve. The relaxing resort was wonderful after diving, with its refreshing pools, delicious food, a sanctuary spa, all while being cared for as Andrea’s VIP guest by the warm and friendly Filipino staff. It all brought back memories of doing my own AOW certification in Asia 25 years ago.

Moving on to Amorita Resort, we spent our days diving at Balicasag & Pamilacan Islands with another great dive team recommended by Andrea and earned our Enriched Air Diver certifications. Andrea also surprised us by sending an underwater photographer along on our first dive to capture a forever moment on our mother-daughter adventure under the sea. Saving one of the best days for last, our Bohol countryside tour was incredible, from swimming with a group of large whale sharks to cruising on a private Lomboc River boat with live music, hanging out with Tarsier and macaque monkeys, admiring the famous Chocolate Hills of Bohol and even enjoying coconut wine at a local’s home. It was a perfect conclusion to our unforgettable journey in the Philippines.

One of the best aspects of traveling with Andrea was his responsive support team, always just a WhatsApp message away. They swiftly resolved any questions or issues we encountered, such as when there was a mix-up with our room at Amorita, and they went the extra mile to secure a complimentary upgrade for us. Their extensive network within the local communities demonstrated their dedication to ensuring a memorable experience for us.

This trip was tailored-made for our needs, combining the best dive resort locations for our goals, avoiding crowded tourist spots for the whale shark encounter, and adding in authentic cultural stops and touches to make each day unforgettable, including celebrating my birthday. Even though initially I had some reservations about taking this trip, as sometimes it’s difficult to find the right time to travel, it ended up being a wonderful experience and one that will hold memories for us that we will always treasure. Pushing ourselves to try somewhere new and doing it together, made it even more thrilling and well worth the efforts, especially with Andrea, Pablo, Lauren, Michael and the rest of the team to support us along the way.

Faced with a lengthy layover in Tokyo, we hoped to tour the city and avoid spending 10 hours in the airport. Wendy suggested that we contact Andrea, who thankfully was willing to work with us, despite it being such a short visit.

After a thorough discussion via Zoom, Andrea crafted an itinerary designed to give us a flavor of Tokyo. In advance of our visit, his team provided us with a wealth of information. They guided me through the online customs process, provided reading material and Japanese etiquette tips, and created a “Guardian Angels” WhatsApp group to enable easy, timely communication. I appreciated their thoroughness in helping us be as prepared as possible.

From the moment we met our guide, Zilola, in the Narita airport, we knew we were in good hands and bound to have a fantastic day. She expertly navigated us to/from the airport via the express train and through the city via the subway. Although Andrea had initially proposed a private car, we wanted to maximize our time and avoid potential traffic congestion. So, we pivoted and arranged to ride the subway. It worked out perfectly.

As we walked through the Imperial Palace gardens, Zilola explained the traditional elements found within a Japanese garden. As we wandered around the grounds of the Meiji Jingu shrine, we had the good fortune to observe a wedding party procession. As we stepped out of the Shibuya subway station, we were amazed to see the countless number of people crossing the intersection. And of course we jumped at the chance to join the morass and cross the world’s busiest pedestrian crossing.

Zilola comfortably handled a slight curveball that we threw her way and adjusted our itinerary on the fly so that we could explore Shimo-Kitazawa, the Tokyo equivalent of Greenwich Village. It was such a fun area and where we enjoyed the best ramen!

Beyond everything that Andrea, Giulia, Pablo and Zilola orchestrated, Mother Nature also did her part to make our day memorable. After five days of rain in Tokyo, the sun shined brightly and Spring was in the air. The best part? The Sakura were blossoming!! Our timing couldn’t have been better, as the cherry blossoms had just begun to open the day before our visit. Gorgeous!!

We enjoyed a wonderful tour of Tokyo that enabled us to become immersed in the Japanese culture as best as possible within our limited timeframe. There is still so much to discover, and we can’t wait to return for an extended experience. I would not hesitate to partner with Andrea and his team for a future visit.

Andrea planned an EPIC trip to Japan for our family of 6. We are an ambitious group of two adults and four children aged 9-15. He left no detail behind. We had a long conversation before the trip planning and he was able to understand how we like to travel and the pace we like for our family. The process before the planning was very detailed so that once we arrived in Japan we knew exactly what to expect. Upon arrival there was a slight hiccup in our first hotel for sleeping / bed arrangements and Andrea and his team worked on it, making sure that hotel and the ones to follow could accommodate the rooms / beds as we wished. He also called me personally on the second day of our trip to make sure we were ok with the pace of the itinerary and happy with our guide.

We were thrilled with our guides and every detail of the trip. It was not unnoticed how synchronized Andrea was with the local guides, drivers, hotels. We hopped around from city to city and train to train and felt like we had a direct local line of communication for any need. At one point my daughters really wanted to go to a Japanese nail salon and between the guides and Andrea they called over 20 places and together they managed to make it work on our trip. Andrea is already planning a trip for a friend to Japan and we really hope to go back and try other areas in the near future. He is the sixth Wendy Perrin agent we have used and most definitely stands out as one of the best. He is very detail oriented and more importantly really cared that we got what we wanted out of our trip. He was amazing!

When we discovered that neither of our husbands was interested in traveling to Japan, my girlfriend and I decided to go for it. Our travel window was limited to the last two weeks of March, high season for Japan travel, and this was only a month away. The first three travel agents that I spoke to turned me down outright; small group trips were also fully booked. When we were about to give up, Wendy Perrin introduced us to Andrea Oschetti. Andrea added value to our trip even before we left home, sharing lists of books to read, movies to watch, and insight into the culture. He took the time to get to know our interests, and his enthusiasm for all things Japanese was contagious.

Andrea managed to pull off the impossible — a rich and varied itinerary customized to our taste, drivers and guides (all excellent) when desired, free time when requested, train tickets reserved, even some unusual experiences along the way. He and his team were in constant contact with us via a dedicated WhatsApp group (appropriately called “Guardian Angels in Japan” to check in and keep us updated on the itinerary. We enjoyed sharing pictures and summaries of each day’s adventures with our angels.

There were several moments that Andrea planned — a tea ceremony and visit with a bonsai master in Tokyo, crafting in Kanazawa and Takayama, a traditional dinner in Kyoto with a Maiko (Geisha in training) — that were unexpected highlights. I have traveled with other experts before, but Andrea’s attention to detail was extraordinary.

Andrea Oschetti and his team of dreammakers really came through for a celebratory trip for our recent trip to Japan celebrating two mothers’ 80th birthdays. We are not an easy group to plan for, our multigenerational family (ranging from age 11 to 80) with many different interests, energy levels, food and weather preferences.

In the one-year period that we’ve been thinking of making this trip, we definitely encountered moments when it felt like this was too big of an undertaking given the level of busy-ness and pandemic-level inertia in our group. Andrea took our group on at a late stage (4 months prior), gathered us all on a call, asked the right questions and showed such enthusiasm and infectious optimism for what we were trying to do that we felt like it could be done. He planned a trip for us that spanned 5 cities — Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara — chock full of sight-seeing, craft workshops and incredible food. There were wonderful local tour guides and drivers for every location, which was critical for handling the logistical intricacies of a packed itinerary for such a group. The workshop experiences were truly revelatory — something we’ve never done on a family trip — and really served as bonding experiences for young and old. Some of these were ones we had suggested and were incorporated, but others, like the sushi experience, art of bonsai in Tokyo and kintsugi experience in Osaka, gave us such a unique way to remember this trip. My mother (who has cognitive decline) already doesn’t remember the names of any of the places we went to, but has been revisiting the products of her own making every day since we’ve returned.

If there is anything to offer by way of things-to-improve-on, it would be that it was too packed of an itinerary, without enough rest-time or general free time for shopping and wandering through interesting markets built in. At the half-way mark, when we gave feedback to Andrea, however, he responded promptly, liaised immediately with his team and the pace slowed down considerably, with all subsequent tour guides checking in often to get the temperature on the group and making changes accordingly.

This was an incredible trip, and we couldn’t have done it without Andrea and his team.

We had an amazing trip to Bhutan thanks to Andrea & his team. Andrea mapped out a perfect itinerary for us, prioritizing the right locations and activities given the 9 days we had in the country. It was a good balance of scenic hiking and cultural activities, often combining the two. We loved nearly all our hotels, which were for the most part small, independently owned boutique lodges. Our guide and driver were top-notch. You spend so much time with your guide and driver on a trip like this, that their fun personalities, flexibility and knowledge really make the trip. We all joked that by trip’s end, we were proud graduates of “Jamyang (our guide’s name) University” given how much we’d learned about Bhutanese history, art, architecture, culture and religion.

We unfortunately couldn’t sync our availability with any of the festivals, but the opportunity to see a few smaller informal ceremonies and festival rehearsals was unforgettable, so we highly recommend any such opportunities. We especially loved the Khamsum Yuelley Chorten hike & temple in Punakha and Trongsa Dzong. We had a particularly nice hike in Gangtey that was a spontaneous addition to the itinerary. We also loved the surprise picnic lunch in Phobjika Valley!

Andrea & his team were so helpful & responsive throughout the planning process, and also set up a group chat for us upon arrival that included their office, our local guide & driver, should we ever need assistance. We also appreciated their help getting us checked in with seat assignments on the local flights, since we were always on the road without wifi at those times. A great trip overall that we will never forget.

We had a fantastic trip to Japan. Andrea, Pablo and the whole team were great listeners while we were planning the trip, gave us lots of advice leading up to our departure date including things we didn’t expect — recommendations of books to read, a Spotify playlist of Japanese music, and lists of their favorite coffee shops in the country. They were attentive to the specific needs of our family and to our desired budget, and were flexible when things needed to be changed. For instance, we were in Japan when the earthquake hit, and although we were not near the epicenter, they were in touch and monitoring our itinerary in case anything needed to be altered. Also, when our in-country flight was canceled because of the accident at the Haneda airport a few days before, the local team helped us book train tickets so we could make our flight home. They were easy to work with — before and during the trip. Andrea booked us at a special place — Sasayuri-Ann, a traditional Japanese villa near Nara. It was a perfect respite from the bustle of the city. Overall, everyone was happy with the trip, and I would recommend them to others.

My November trip to Japan was everything I wanted and more. I knew I wanted to have an active walking trip that included hiking the Kumano Kodo to experience a thousands-of-years-old pilgrimage. I also wanted to eat good food and see Fuji and Kyoto with a mostly off-the-beaten-path agenda. My trip planner Andrea Oschetti, with help from local Shannon Walker, could not have done a better job coming up with an itinerary of “Japan”s Ancient Paths” that connected and expanded upon all of my choices into one theme. After a fabulous Michelin-starred tempura meal at Motoyoshi in Tokyo (note that not all important restaurants have visible storefronts!) the night I arrived, I took a train the next morning to begin the first hike on the ancient Tokaido road, culminating with a wonderful view of Mt. Fuji. I was led by a wonderful local guide, who beautifully set the tone for all the ancient trails ahead. Staying at a ryokan (heritage inn) in the lovely town of Izu, I was able to experience the first of many gorgeous fall colors, hot-spring baths (onsen), bamboo groves, and a lovely temple in town before more scenic hiking with guide Shannon. On a particularly rainy day, we ended up at one of the trip’s highlights: I made washi paper using ancient techniques alongside the artist.

Next, Kyoto was an easily walkable city, gorgeous in November, with carefully-selected temple visits, perhaps the most well-crafted, beautiful and warm-service lodging I experienced, and a local guide who made wise recommendations that catered to my interests, such as Kiyomizu Temple at sunrise. The delights kept coming, with a luxurious temple stay in Koyasan at the beginning of my Kumano Kodo pilgrimage. I could not have had a better guide for those five days than Alena. She was patient, kind, an exceptional communicator, and a talented hiker who accommodated my needs and interests with ease and great knowledge. Culminating the pilgrimage over many uphill and downhill stone steps on the way to Nachi temple and falls made the entire life-affirming trip complete. The final night was spent on the sea, where the volcanic origins of the country were clear and more hot springs healed in Nakanoshima. If I had to change one thing about the trip it would be to not compel myself to consume all of the 8-18 course meals (breakfast included) presented throughout! Andrea listened and gave me exactly what I wanted and needed.