Americansky Reviews 

Having previously travelled the Southern Explorer route four years back, we were “prepared” for what to experience and see along our journey. We had good memories and some missing gaps so wanted to “do it again” and why not….?!

The tour bus was comfortable, clean and well maintained along with a seating plan in place to allow rotation of views along the way. The tour guide (Susanne) was multi-lingual and rather amusing, which helped to break up the commentary and journey. Susanne regularly provided useful and interesting information about the route we were taking as well as the location we were heading towards, which was at times fascinating and expressed her passion and knowledge of what she does.

The tour sees you stop at various key locations and places along the way. Additional excursions could be purchased from the tour guide to add to the overall experience of a destination, depending upon your personal preferences and budget, etc. Or you can enjoy your own time to rest or go exploring.

From our experience none of the hotels were awful but equally none of them are fantastic – they are American, middle of the road hotels (admittedly some need a little TLC). Our biggest bugbear was not having a safety deposit box in many of the venues, despite the hotels promoting the “safety of your valuables”. Overall, at the end of the day the hotels are there to serve you a purpose; to sleep and to shower, full stop.

We agree with the previous review about gratuities. Giving either the driver or the tour guide a tip to thank them for their service should be a personal decision and at the travellers discretion, not at a recommended rate by the tour company. Over the course of the holiday (17 days) the recommended rate worked out to be a considerable amount and required in cash. Given we had already spent a small fortune on this holiday this additional end of trip expense was a bit much!!! Plus surely the tour guide and drivers fees are already included in the baseline price, so why I am paying extra….?

Overall, we enjoyed the trip, the company and the experience and recommend for anyone wanting to see a lot of America in an organised and short space of time. Be prepared to live out of a suitcase, have early mornings, being on the go and sitting on the coach for long periods of time.

We have just returned from the southern explorer east coast trip. We arrived in New York and it took a while to get through customs, by the time we got to our hotel a few hours later, we missed our first trip to liberty Island, which was really annoying as we only had a few hours in NY before leaving for Philly. A couple of days later we were lucky enough to meet Sussana and have her as our new tour guide she is strict and firm but so funny, welcoming, knowledgeable and helpful she is absolutely amazing. All of the trips were brilliant, but be aware you can book the trips on the bus at every location, we were not given this information and tried to find out, but were unable to get an answer, so we booked some trips ourselves and had to seperate from the group on the bus too do them, so please dont do what we did book it on the bus. The hotels were hit and miss, some were great and others were ok, but that's the luck of the draw I guess. A lot of early starts which is fine by me as I get up early for work anyway, but be prepared for a lot of time sat on your bum on the bus but hey you have too to get around such a big country. But Sussana breaks it up where she can by giving information and things too look out for as you are approaching them. We didn't go much on the Holiday inn in Miami the restaurant was appalling service only bringing out the actual food you ask for not what is actually on the menu as he claimed I didn't ask for all the extras that were supposed to come with the burger !!!! He just shrugged his shoulders and walked off, unfortunately his gratuity tip was included in the bill because I wouldn't of paid it. I would avoid it like the plague !!!!!!. We had too wash in the sink as the shower didn't work, upon letting reception know this they just said the showers are all stiff and I didn't pull the leaver properly. Trust me at 6ft 2 and built up big I nearly ripped the thing off the wall, but he wouldn't have it. My personal experience was it was a bad start and end too our holiday that we loved so much, maybe it would be worth looking at changing this hotel. My only other fault would be paying the tour guide and driver a gratuity tip at the end which potentially can be quite expensive, I think it would be better included into the holiday when you book and pay for it as it is quite a few $$$ to keep back in cash. But as a whole it was an amazing holiday and worth every penny, we met some amazing people on the coach from different countries around europe. The locals were all really friendly that we met as well. We will definitely do it again but to a different part of the U.S.A thank you

Up to now,

Booking my self drive and fly with Alan has been super easy.
I’m extremely fussy so there has been alot of back and forth getting the right hotels. Finally got it perfect. Alan was really helpful, full of knowledge and was quick and getting back to me.

Can’t wait to our trip!

Western Panorama Tour - what a wonderful experience, captured all the sights, tour operator and coach driver were fab, hotels all four stars - can't fault the trip - will defo book again with this company

Just come home from American tours East coast ..what a fabulous time we had couldn't fault our guide Suzanna so much knowledge, very kind, firm and funny a great asset.....loved the hidden gems that weren't on the itinerary ...such as Rocky steps in Philadelphia...just a couple of things that stopped it being 5 star....need to include breakfast even if it was a packed lunch style danish pastry and a fresh orange juice to take away ..such early starts and breakfast so expensive we hated trying to find shops for 6.30 when we were often leaving at 7/7.30 and arriving in New York cost 30$ in the first 10 mins at hotel as no water or coffee facilities at all !!...and secondly ... as it was April some things were not open ..chair lifts in Gatlingburg ..and often swimming pools not ready ..other than that great experience lots of choices for trips ..we did Gracelands tour and steam boat in New Orleons both great ...wish we had added a couple of extra days in Miami didnt have a chance to see it as we were absolutely exhausted!! And arrived early evening but flight home next day ..We learnt so much and covered so many miles throughly enjoyed and would use this company again ..thank you

Booked everything through American Sky and the whole process couldnt have been better. They sorted our Flights, Hotels and Car Hire. Everything when we got there was perfect too. Nice hotels, good flights and car hire. Company was very helpful throughout the entire process! Definitely recommend the company.

The prices they advertise when searching for flights are not what you get after you have entered your details. Very sneaky to get your contact details.

Iconic Route 66 holiday ruined by some appalling accommodation. We missed some stops along the way due to some of the hotels being totally unfit for purpose. We sent loads of photos highlighting just how bad things were. Since our return we still are awaiting any form of compensation even when we alerted the company immediately whilst away of all the problems.
Update December 2022: still no compensation or resolution. This company refuses to take ownership of the problems.

American sky were extremely helpful when making booking. Unfortunately my flight was cancelled by the airline and my holiday was cancelled. This is where my nightmare started with American sky. Refused to help me said I had to contact insurance. Insurance paid for hotels but I have to claim cost of flights through airline. As American sky booked it I have to rely on them to speak to the airline. I was told this was being chased and would take six weeks. We are now well over six weeks American sky not answering my calls or emails. Absolutely shocking customer service. Once they had my money they forgot about me. AVOID

Thank you for your extremely helpful and insightful assistance in planning our California tour. The suggestions, options and tips provided enabled a varied group to have a truly wonderful trip

It is always good to tell the WHOLE truth when writing a review/reply. As a result of Covid American Sky were forced to cancel my scheduled holiday to the Deep South. They then asked me to re schedule for the following year, but owing to family commitments this was impossible to do so I asked for a refund. I was told that American Sky were covered by " Force Majeure " and therefore unable to refund. I still have their correspondence confirming this. My insurance company refused any payment stating, " you had a package holiday booked with a tour operator and they cancelled your scheduled holiday as a result of Covid. It is therefore their legal obligation to refund you if a re schedule cannot be met. " William Thomas

New England Flydrive.
Overall, a good trip, but should have been so much better. Not getting our hotel details until the first morning in Boston made planning difficult, especially as the hotel did not have them, as promised, so had to ring the emergency number to get them.
That first hotel was next door to a major hospital, so there were sirens going all night. No good with 5 hours of jetlag! There brochure suggested two nights in Bar Harbour, then one in the White Mountains. Instead, we got three nights in the mountains, two at one hotel, with the third less than 30 miles away -hard to see the reasons behind that.
Apart from booking the hotels, there is minimal guidance on what to see and do. With no chance to plan before leaving, it meant spending at least an hour every day researching.
The hotels themselves were good and most have free breakfast, a bonus given that we were told this was not included. However, only two hotels had the option of an evening meal, with options within walking distance often hard to find.
The Hertz hire car was good, but had no satnav and no option to add this beforehand, or when we got to Boston. Beware the toll tunnels too - no option to pay at the time and an 18 dollar admin fee when paying retrospectively.
So, a good trip in itself, but if small, but important details were better shared, it would make it so much more relaxed and enjoyable. We are seasoned travellers, who treat such things as part of the adventure, but in this case feel we were entitled to expect more for our money. After all, American Sky simply booked the flights, car hire and hotels. More information on what to see and better spreading out of hotels should not be that difficult.

We have just returned from an incredible trip to the west of the USA (Western Discovery Tour) and it was fantastic (as were the additional 3 nights in Waikiki Beach.)Great itinerary, marvellous optional extras, absolutely outstanding guide and driver. We could not fault any of it and all the hotels were comfortable. We have previously taken a trip to the Deep South a few years ago which was also excellent. I would thoroughly recommend.

Lucy Judson dealt with my holiday quote and was absolutely fantastic. We've made a few enquiries for my husbands 50th but none of the others compared in terms of really listening to what we wanted. Great service and much appreciated.

I booked with American Sky and Tropical Sky to go to New York and Florida (multi centre) in March 2020, flying from the UK.
This was at the very start of the Covid 19 pandemic. New York at the time was totally fine, but started closing down as we were going to Florida. The day we flew to Florida we were informed about the USA closing the borders to the UK.
We contacted American Sky expecting to have problems getting home/leaving early etc but actually the customer service were AMAZING they basically said to leave it with them and then we got a call 2 days later with our new flight information.
I had read over social media about the difficulties other people experienced around this time and am so grateful that American sky made it so straight forward.
They were also great with providing us details for our insurance to cover the rest of the holiday we missed.
I am so impressed and would 100% trust them with booking another holiday, even in these difficult times.

I’ve booked many times with American Sky and Tropical Sky, I think 6 trips in total, from trips to NYC to tours of Canada and Bali. As soon as I plan any trip my first call is always Adam Brinklow, Adam is fantastic to deal with, he always works his best to get me the best itinerary for the best price, I’ve recommended Adam to many friends. We had to sadly cancel two trips this year due to COVID and they have been fantastic to deal with, keeping me informed at all times and giving me the best options possible. This is such a tough industry which has been hit really hard by COVID - I will be booking another trip as soon as COVID allows 🗽✈️⛱

Wonderful experience with American Sky, we booked in January but due to covid19 we've had to postpone our trip. Holly was fantastic the whole time, she handled it like a pro and has remained super helpful throughout.

We booked a multi stop trip to New York, Boston and New England for my 50th birthday. Cheryl was fantastic throughout, knowledgeable, friendly, always returned phone calls/emails in a timely manner, super customer service. Due to Covid, we have had to cancel our trip and Cheryl continued to be as helpful as before. We will be getting back in touch and booking the trip again as soon as it is safe to travel......

Sick and tired of being fobbed off by this company regarding refund of £3600 for a holiday cancelled due to COVID.
Two months of excuses and passing the buck - I am now taking legal action.
Strongly advise that when travel resumes you avoid doing business with them. We have had nothing but evasiveness and excuses.

See their response below: As you can see, fobbed off by Tropical Sky whose COVID-19 refund policy is to foist their legal responsibility elsewhere. Our contract is with you. FYI, insurance companies will not refund airport tax, plus you lose the excess - which on this booking totals around £300. So I continue to demand reimbursement in full and in cash from Tropical Sky. Thanks for the swift response to the negative review. Much swifter than trying to get any response to e-mails to and phone calls.

And in answer to their second response: Seemingly, Tropical Sky can respond within minutes to a negative review - which has not been our experience whilst trying to get a response by e-mail/phone. Day 60 of lockdown - our departure date was April 18th. I reiterate that this is Tropical Sky's liability and attempts to foist it into insurance companies are delaying tactics. Happy to keep posting in real time as we await a cash refund rather than excuses.

We booked a holiday for my 30th with American Sky. I submitted a request with my requirements for a multi-stop trip to Las Vegas and LA via the online booking form.
I received call back to discuss a personalised service and my trip was tailored to my needs, with recommendations and upgrades discussed due to American Sky having partner hotels in both of these locations. I got a fabulous trip with high end hotels and packages at a very reasonable price. Everything I wanted from the trip was included.
I have recommended American Sky to my family members.
Thank you for a great experience.
Alix was the advisor I spoke to who based my trip on her own experience