(40 Reviews)
100% Recommended

Danika Barrick

Fredericksburg, VA
Your specialist for Europe & Asia

What do you envision? Perhaps you’d like to capture a piece of history by touring ancient ruins, sacred battlefields or the country of your family’s heritage; be inspired by the locals as you stroll village streets, shop and enjoy flavorful foods;...
Learn more about me.

Asia Travel

Great Wall of China, Beijing
Great Wall of China, Beijing

Living in Japan offered me the opportunity to travel around Asia. Asia has some of the most fascinating history, larger-than-life sites, fabulous resorts and top-notch customer service. These are some of the potential places to visit--but there's also Vietnam, Philippines, Bali...and the list goes on. 


Japan: Japan is a unique country full of lovely people and places. The locals are the most honest and thoughtful I’ve ever encountered. It is steeped in rich culture and timeless traditions. The streets and store fronts are immaculate, even in the big cities, and the train system is on point. Tokyo is a great city with abundant shopping. For the Disney fan, Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea are ones to add to the list. Japan also boasts a Universal Studios, a Hello Kitty theme park and indoor ski resorts. Or ride Japan’s famous Shinkansen high-speed “bullet” train to another destination or enjoy a luxury train excursion. In Kyoto you can see the stunning Golden Pavilion and, if in-season, the most amazing display of fall leaves I’ve seen anywhere. Another fabulous destination is Mount Fuji—she is truly beautiful and the views from the lake are breathtaking. Japan is a playground for the adventure seeker--scuba and snorkeling, hiking and climbing, kayaking and rafting, skiing and snowboarding--Japan has it all. Japan offers wonderful 5-star hotels and resorts, but for a truly authentic cultural immersion, choose a traditional Ryokan inn and sleep in a tatami room. Wherever one heads in Japan, traditional tea ceremony and bathhouse experiences are not to be missed.


Thailand: What an amazing and varied destination. Imagine yourself enjoying drinks at a rooftop bar overlooking Bangkok's city lights, riding an elephant in the jungle, cruising along in a long boat to shop the local floating market, or staying in a fabulous resort with a private infinity pool over-looking the blue Andaman Sea.  There are so many fabulous things to do in Thailand...culture, nightlife, city, jungle, beaches--Thailand truly has it all. And my personal favorite resort in all the world just happens to be in Thailand.   


China: One simply must experience China first-hand to appreciate the scope of its wonders; it’s virtually indescribable. Beijing has a lot to offer—the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and, of course, it is the gateway to the Great Wall of China. It is surreal walking—or often crawling along on all fours because it’s so steep. The wall is massive and outlines the hills as far as the eye can see. Eat Peking duck and attend a Chinese Opera—while perhaps not for some, they are definitely memorable. Riding across the busy streets in a Rickshaw is an exciting, hair-raising adventure. The cherry blossoms at Beijing’s Summer Palace were absolutely breathtaking. The city of Xian was my favorite. There is an ancient wall around the entire city so wide two semi-trucks could drive side-by-side and we rode tandem bikes around it. From there we took a tour to the best part of the trip--seeing the terracotta warriors. This was simply amazing. From Xian we flew to Guilin to take a cruise down the river through the most intriguing and stately haystack shaped mountains.


Hong Kong: This metropolitan city is both modern and beautiful. During the day we took the tram up Victoria Peak to enjoy the views and at night we sat and watched as the high-rise buildings entertained us with their light show across the bay.


Singapore: This small country would be an excellent first exposure to Asia. It is modern, clean, safe, easy to navigate and the official language is English. It is also a great launching point to the rest of Asia and the main airline allows for extended stop-overs.  


Cambodia: Siem Reap is a totally worthwhile extension to any Southeast Asia trip. Enjoy a day or two exploring the ancient cities of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom (seeing elephants and wild monkeys are a bonus!) and spend fun-filled evenings enjoying Pub Street and the night markets. 


Malaysia: I spent a glorious week in Malaysia savoring the luxurious resort life and fulfilling my dream of staying in an over-water bungalow…on a private, tropical island. Think spa treatments, infinity pools and even a sunset dinner on a private beach with an exclusive chef and butler. This setting exuded romance making it the perfect choice for our anniversary celebration and was worth every minute of the flight across the Pacific. Kuala Lumpur has lively outdoor markets, a great China Town and the twin Petronas Towers often seen in movies. A highlight of the trip was a jungle tour to visit the elephant orphanage where I got to feed and interact with them and watched the elephants play in the river.  

My Travel Albums

Asia
We weren't the only ones enjoying the view

My Reviews

26 of 35 people found this review helpful
AMAZING VACATION!!!!
She was awesome on assisting us before and during our trip
By  Stacey  from  Montross, VA
Traveled to  Italy ~ Europe
I would recommend this agent to my family and friends

Danika Barrick responded:
Thank you! I'm so glad you're trip was amazing and everything went smoothly.

Was this review helpful to you? YES | NO
32 of 48 people found this review helpful
German Adventure!
All I can say is that everything was great and a huge THANK YOU to Danika! She was so patient, I had never planned a vacation to Europe before and she was amazing! She helped me plan a great itinerary and helped me keep it realistic, as in the time we had and all the places we could visit :) We ended up visiting Frankfurt ~ Nuremberg and Stuttgart ~ Germany. Without her this would have been a horrible vacation. With her handling all the details it was an amazing and I cannot wait to work with her again on the next trip!!
By  lmoore  from  Fredericksburg , Va
Traveled to  Germany ~ Europe
I would recommend this agent to my family and friends

Danika Barrick responded:
Thank you so much! You are very kind. It was a pleasure working with you and sharing some of my favorite places with you. I look forward to helping you plan the next adventure.

Was this review helpful to you? YES | NO
33 of 51 people found this review helpful
Friend's Trip to Asia
Danika was an exceptionally attentive, thorough, and knowledgable travel agent. A few friends and I were planning a trip through Japan and the Philippines, and when I reached out to Danika, she immediately began putting her invaluable knowledge and experience to work. She truly impressed us with her initial outline of our trip.

During the trip, everything was absolutely seamless and comfortable - thanks to Danika. We ended up spending 10 days traveling through Japan (a few days each in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, and 1 day visiting Mt. Fuji). Danika set up tours, airport transfers, flights, and everything in between, making the trip effortless on our end. We wanted to end the trip at a beach, and Danika recommended a resort in El Nido, PH. This part of the trip, much like the first, was meticulously planned and exceptionally enjoyable and relaxing for us.

I plan on using Danika in the future for any trips abroad - I could not have done this trip without her help. Thank you, Danika!
By  Sarah  from  Chicago, IL
Traveled to  Japan ~ East and Southeast Asia
I would recommend this agent to my family and friends

Danika Barrick responded:
Thank you! Your words mean so much to me. I am absolutely thrilled that you all enjoyed your trip. It was great working with you to plan this vacation--what a fabulous destination you picked and I'm so glad you made amazing memories. Thanks again for trusting me with this trip of a lifetime.

Was this review helpful to you? YES | NO
31 of 48 people found this review helpful
Magical European Christmas Holiday!
Danika was recommended to us by a family member and we are so glad we opted to work with her for our Vienna and London holiday trip. We threw out that we wanted a trip over Christmas and she listened to what we were looking for and how we like to travel and came back with great options. She helped us plan, answered our novice questions, was so quick to respond (does she sleep?!?), kept us informed and handled airline changes expertly - all while dealing with their office fire. The app she provided was great to use across multiple family members to stay well informed before and throughout the trip. We loved that she had personal experience to share learnings with us so our trip was exactly what we had hoped for. Thank you and we look forward to working with her again!
By  Mark and Beth  from  Richmond, VA
Traveled to  Vienna ~ Austria ~ Europe
I would recommend this agent to my family and friends

Danika Barrick responded:
Thank you so much for your kind words. I'm so happy you enjoyed your trip--you definitely made the most of your time. You had a lot of good input and planned many fun activities. It was great working with you and I definitely look forward to next time.

Was this review helpful to you? YES | NO
26 of 38 people found this review helpful
Canadian Rail Trip
Danika was very responsive and friendly. She updated us if any changes were made to our schedule. The app she gave us for our phone was incredible. It made the trip easy to follow. I would highly recommend Danika to anyone planning a trip. We will definitely use Danika for our next vacation.
By  Rgwohlf  from  Lenexa, KS
Traveled to  Vancouver ~ British Columbia ~ Canada
I would recommend this agent to my family and friends

Danika Barrick responded:
Thank you so much for booking with me. I'm so glad you enjoyed the travel app...and especially the Rockies. I look forward to working with you again for your next vacation.

Was this review helpful to you? YES | NO
Go to my main profile

Destination Expert:

  • Japan
  • Thailand

Travel Specialist:

  • Historical Sites

Certifications/Awards:

  • Italy Specialist
  • Switzerland Specialist
  • United Kingdom Specialist
  • Spain Specialist
  • Germany Specialist

Industry Affiliations:

©  Travel Leaders Group