Dopamine Travel & Tourism L.L.C — Local services in Dubai

A Complete Letdown
: When you entrust a travel agency with your first visit to a foreign country, especially one as vast and culturally rich as Russia, you expect a seamless experience. Sadly, Dopamine failed us spectacularly at every turn, except for one minor saving grace, which is the only reason I’ve begrudgingly given two stars instead of one. Let me start with the only positive: the transportation to the Great Moscow Circus was fantastic. The car provided was cozy, clean, and suited our needs perfectly, with a wonderful driver who made that specific journey a pleasure. Unfortunately, that’s where the praise ends and the nightmare begins. From the moment we landed in Moscow after a long and tiring flight, we were met with sheer incompetence. Despite explicitly informing the agency in Dubai that we were six adults traveling with 12 bags, we were greeted with a small car that could barely accommodate half of us. It was only thanks to the quick thinking of the Moscow agent (not the Dubai office) that an additional car was arranged. Without their intervention, we would’ve been stranded in the freezing Moscow weather – a thought that still sends shivers down my spine. Then came the accommodation disaster. We paid for two apartments to comfortably house six adults, only to arrive and find a single apartment with a master bedroom. Yes, this for 6 people! Two adults crammed into a tiny bed, and another poor soul had to sleep on the floor of the living room. I don’t even know how Dopamine thought this was acceptable, but let me be clear: it was humiliating and completely unacceptable. Next, the tour plans. We were told we’d have a one-to-one bear interaction at one of the tourist attractions—a highlight we were genuinely excited about—only to discover there were no bears, just huskies. This was misleading and embarrassing, not to mention the additional charges we were slapped with at the same location, even though our prepaid tickets were supposed to cover all activities. The lack of honesty and clarity here was appalling. The poor planning reached its peak with the scheduling of the cable car and cruise. How can anyone possibly fit a cruise that runs from 5 PM to 8 PM and cable cars that open at 4:30 PM on the same day? The overlap made it physically impossible to experience both, forcing us to skip the cable cars entirely. We paid for this activity, and yet, no refund or compensation was offered for the agency’s lack of basic time management skills. Finally, the last straw: transportation back to the airport. Despite heavily emphasizing our numbers and luggage beforehand, we were crammed into a car that barely fit us. Bags were literally piled on top of us, making the hour-long drive to the airport not only uncomfortable but borderline unsafe. To top it all off, when we reached out to the Dubai office to address these ongoing issues, their response was shockingly dismissive. We were met with snappy remarks and a condescending attitude that belittled our very real concerns. It was as though our struggles were an inconvenience to them, rather than a reflection of their terrible service. Dopamine’s lack of coordination between their Dubai and Moscow offices, poor communication, and dismissive customer service turned what should’ve been a dream vacation into a stressful ordeal. If you’re considering using this agency, do yourself a favor and look elsewhere. Trust me, you don’t want to risk ruining your trip...

A Disastrous Experience

When planning a once-in-a-lifetime trip to a country as expansive and culturally rich as Russia, you expect professionalism and a smooth experience. Unfortunately, Dopamine Travel Agency delivered disappointment at nearly every turn, with the exception of one small positive, which barely salvages this review from being a one-star rating.

Let’s begin with the only redeeming moment: the transportation to the Great Moscow Circus. The car was clean, comfortable, and perfectly suited to our needs, and the driver was exceptional. That journey was a rare bright spot in an otherwise disastrous trip.

The problems began the moment we arrived in Moscow. Despite informing the Dubai office beforehand that we were six adults traveling with 12 pieces of luggage, we were met with a small vehicle that couldn’t accommodate half of us. Thankfully, the Moscow agent stepped in and managed to arrange another car—something that should have been handled in advance. Without their quick action, we would’ve been stranded in freezing temperatures.

Accommodation was the next nightmare. We had paid for two connecting apartments to ensure comfort for six adults. Yet, on arrival, we discovered just one apartment with a single master bedroom. This left two adults sharing a cramped bed while another had to sleep on the living room floor. It was humiliating and unacceptable.

The tour planning was equally appalling. We had been promised a one-on-one bear interaction at a tourist attraction, which we were genuinely excited about. Instead, we arrived to find there were no bears—only huskies. To make matters worse, we were hit with unexpected extra charges, despite being assured that all activities were covered in our prepaid tickets. This was misleading, frustrating, and a blatant breach of trust.

The scheduling chaos didn’t end there. We were supposed to enjoy both a cable car ride and a river cruise on the same day. However, with the cruise running from 5 PM to 8 PM and the cable cars opening at 4:30 PM, it was physically impossible to do both. As a result, we had to forgo the cable cars entirely. Despite raising the issue, we received no refund or compensation for the agency’s poor planning.

Our departure from Moscow was the final blow. Despite repeatedly stressing the size of our group and the amount of luggage, the agency sent a single car that barely fit us. We were forced to endure an uncomfortable and unsafe hour-long drive to the airport with bags piled on top of us.

Throughout all this, attempts to resolve our issues with the Dubai office were met with dismissive and condescending responses. Instead of addressing our concerns, they treated us as though we were a burden. It was unprofessional and unacceptable.

While Mr. Amro Hanafi, our travel advisor, did his best to assist us, the lack of coordination between the Dubai and Moscow offices, coupled with subpar customer service, turned our dream vacation into a stressful ordeal.

Dopamine Travel Agency’s poor communication, disorganization, and dismissive attitude left us deeply disappointed. If you’re considering their services, I strongly advise looking elsewhere. Don’t let your vacation be ruined...

My review is specific to one individual named David, whose incompetence was only matched by his dishonesty. I booked a 7 day customized package to the UK and the following was my experience:

Flights : The flights that were suggested by the agent was Air France, based on the timings and price this was confirmed from my side. When the ticket booking was finally recieved there were some conditions listed one of them relating to transit visa. I asked him to confirm that there will be no such requirement as a formality thinking this would have already been checked from his side as an agent, but it was only at this point that this guy bothered to even check. By now I understood I cannot rely on him, and did a quick check from my side which confirmed the transit visa would be required for Indian passport holders, I quickly asked him to cancel the ticket as it was within 24 hours and entitled to refund. However he did not comply and continued to try and lie and tell me that transit visa will not be required. I finally asked him if I go ahead based on his advise, and get stopped at the airport what would be their resolution, he replies saying transit visa requirements would continuously change so they would not be responsible ( another lie, transit visa rules for Indian passport holders has been the same since 2020, he couldn’t even be bothered to check that before giving out lies). Despite this blunder, due to some luck I was able to travel because I had valid Canada visit visa which precluded the transit visa requirement ( this was not something that was checked during booking).

Hotels: Were apparently 4 star, but lacked some of the basic amenities. This would be bearable if it was at a convenient location. However the hotels were located up to 1 hour away from meetup point in some cases. No idea if he even checked this before booking.

Transfer : the timings of all almost every taxi arranged had to be rescheduled by me again because it was either too early or too late. In once case, one of the tours was not fully paid for, we had to make additional payment while there.

I will leave the readers to judge whether to proceed with this Company based on my above experience. I paid 20k for my trip, I wasn’t expecting the best, but I hoped to atleast be able to get there, which only happened due to sheer luck as mentioned above. To the Company, I would suggest you review your hiring practices when keeping people like David. Mistakes can be done by anyone, but what I experienced is a clear lack of ethics and values which I can only assume is reflective of the Company as a whole. If there is any doubt about what is said above I have WhatsApp chat of everything mentioned.That being said, despite this horrible experience I would still like to appreciate Ahmed to who I reached out to after realizing there is no civil way to continue to deal with David, who at least demonstrated some honesty is his behavior and was atleast able to acknowledge the issue with the...