Kyoto

KYOTO Custom Tour with Private Car and Driver (Max 9 Pax)

Kyoto, Japan
A Day trip in Kyoto by Minivan

Overview

Discover the sights of Kyoto that interest you the most on this customizable sightseeing tour. Alongside a private driver-guide, make an itinerary of your desired attractions or get recommendations to create your perfect day. Whether you want to focus on temples, culture, shopping, or Japanese history, this tour has everything covered for you.
  • Learn about Kyoto’s history and culture from your guide
  • Get a comprehensive overview of Kyoto in a day
  • In case of traffic, extra time is given free of charge
  • A private tour means a personalized experience

What's Included

  • Air-conditioned vehicle
  • Private transportation
  • Fuel Fees, Toll Fees, Parking Fees
  • Entrance Fees
  • Accommodation Fees
  • Meals (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner...)

Meeting And Pickup

You can head directly to your preferred meeting point, or request pickup.

Meeting points

Select a meeting point
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Pickup points

Select a pickup point

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

***This is a door-to-door service. Other than hotels, ryokans, and ports listed above, we pick up and drop off all guests at other types of accommodation like AirBNB, Train Stations or their desired destinations within the traveled city. ***Pick up and drop off time could be arranged according to your convenience. ***Extra Charge will be applied for Kansai International Airport (KIX) Transfers.

What To Expect

Arashiyama

1 hour 30 minutesAdmission Ticket Not Included

Kinkakuji Temple

40 minutesAdmission Ticket Not Included

Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine

40 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

Kiyomizu-dera Temple

1 hour Admission Ticket Not Included

Gion

30 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

Sanjusangendo Temple

40 minutesAdmission Ticket Not Included

Ginkakuji Temple

1 hour Admission Ticket Not Included

Nishiki Market Shopping District

1 hour Admission Ticket Free

Kyoto Imperial Palace

1 hour Admission Ticket Free

Nijo Castle

1 hour Admission Ticket Not Included

Eikando Zenrinji Temple

1 hour Admission Ticket Not Included

Yasaka Shrine

30 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Stroller accessible
  • Near public transportation
  • Infant seats available
  • Most travelers can participate
  • This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

Cancellation Policy

This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

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      Reviews

      4.5
      103 reviews
      Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
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      Reviews by Viator travelers.
      Showing 1-10 of 103 reviews
      Unsatisfied customer with tour guide
      Rina_L, Mar 2024
      My whole group were not satisfied at all with our tour guide Lily. We all thought that you assigned us a new guide that needs to still learn about the tour places she's assigned to. As we are traveling to our first destination Arishiyama bamboo place, we asked about the places we are passing and she said she's not familiar with the place. She would talk Infront and can't barely hear what she's talking about! So most of us just gave up and let the day ends dissatisfied!
      Response from Host, Mar 2024
      Dear Rina, Thank you very much for your feedback. This is very meaningful for us to improve our service better. Lily is not a new tour assistant but in fact she has been doing this tour assistant with us for quite a long time and actually she knows all the places she brought you in Kyoto as she has been doing the tour almost everyday. We will discuss with Lily about this and improve our service. Kindly regards,
      Great experience!
      Isabel_M, Mar 2024
      Our guide Rushi was very knowledgeable about the city, Japanese customs & culture. The driver was excellent too. Good experience!
      Awesome way to visit Kyoto!
      Mark_B, Mar 2024
      We had an incredible day and saw much more of Kyoto than we ever could on our own. Our driver was very helpful and drove very safely down the tight and winding roads. He was able to get us close to everything we wanted to see. Erica also agreed to come with us and she was a great help. She added context to a lot of what we saw and walked us through all the amazing places we visited. Booking the private tour is definitely the way to go - it costs a little more, but if you consider the cost you invested in getting here, the little additional cost of the private tour is really worth it to see and understand more. We highly recommend booking this private tour. The communications setting everything up were absolutely perfect. Really can't say enough good about this.
      kyoto day tour
      Magge_L, Mar 2024
      Both our guide Mr. Shinji and driver Mr. Ha were very helpful and kind throughout our tour. My kids and I enjoyed our day. He was also helpful taking pictures so that we didn't have to resort to selfies.
      “Ripped Off”
      Michael_G, Mar 2024
      The sights sounds smells of Kyoto streets were great to experience. Unfortunately we had the worst driver who became stressed and panicky after he missed several turn offs and wrong destination. This resulted in a couple of near misses with a bus and van. For an older gentleman he was a rough driver and seemed to know little of how to get around. We stopped numerous times for him to recheck and at one stage phoned home to get directions back to our port. In addition we were picked up late with the promise of time made up but this did not occur. Our tour guide was very inexperienced and while “Jo” tried she had trouble communicating with the driver. She was from Tanzania and been in Japan 4 years. Felt like we were given the least capable guides available. This was not a cheap tour and we feel extremely “ripped off”.
      Response from Host, Mar 2024
      Dear Michael, Thank you very much for your productive feedback. This is a very valuable information for us to improve our driver, assistant and our service in overall. We are sorry to hear that you did not have good experience with us this time. Kindly regards,
      Wonderful Kyoto tour experience
      Timothy_C, Feb 2024
      Our guide Joy and driver Ichi-san were friendly, professional, courteous and immediately likable, and they took good care of our family on our Dec. 31 Kyoto tour. We couldn't have been more pleased. They were very flexible with our intinerary and customized the day for us, and didn't mind extending the tour by a couple of hours to fit in everything we wanted to see and do (for an extra fee, which was clearly explained by Joy upfront). We were a party of 7 from ages 5 to 82, and our 5 year old especially enjoyed talking to and playing with Joy (she's great with kids), while Ichi-san kept a watchful eye on my mother during our walks and hikes, or when she rested in the van while the rest of us went off to see a site. Joy was a knowledgeable and friendly guide but wasn't overbearing and was always thoughtful about giving us space. A five star experience and we would highly recommend.
      Kyoto in a day
      Richard_I, Feb 2024
      Jessa was a great guide and showed us all the highlights of the city. Despite the rain, she helped us stay dry by providing umbrellas and directing us to covered/indoor areas. Definitely recommend if you have a condensed timeline in Kyoto like we did!
      Kyoto experience
      Diane_B, Feb 2024
      Kaai, our tour assistant and English translator, and Eiichi, our guide picked us up right away from the Osaka port. The drive from the Osaka port to Kyoto is a long one, but we wanted to see Kyoto, so off we went. The vehicle was very comfortable and our guides very informative. We visited The Bamboo Garden and later the Golden Pavilion, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Both sites were beautiful and interesting and we shared them with visitors from all over. Kari and Eiichi were clever about minimizing the impact of the crowds on our visit. There were shrines, people moving in rickshaws, and lots of young women enjoying the beauty of place as a photographic site for them in their kimonos. Kaai and Eiichi were helpful and informative as we moved along. After some touring, they brought us to a local restaurant and helped us experience an authentic lunch. It was a fine day. I recommend them highly.
      Excellent tour -...
      jlrohner, Feb 2024
      Excellent tour - well-organized and fun! Great guides who planned ahead and cared about our experience while visiting Japan.
      Amazing tour guide to bring Kyoto to life!
      Samuel_C, Jan 2024
      The highlight of the trip was our guide Femin and our bus driver Kengo-san. They added so much context and history to the trip....it was totally worth it. And Femin gave us amazing recommendations for a day trip to Osaka....two tours for the price of one!
      Humble driver and excelent experience
      Tri_M, Jan 2024
      driver as a guide is very kind, very patient, and humble. He also drives very well, knows good locations, is very friendly. I was with my child, and the driver was very patient. yesterday I was with a driver as a guide from LAOS (hi brother from Laos, nice to meet you)
      A very expensive waste of time in Kyoto
      AhmetCem_E, Dec 2023
      Our driver was a very good driver, nice and polite person and good a photographer. However, his guiding skills and command of English language was very poor. We received hardly any info on Kyoto and missed most places on our itenerary and spent a lot of precious time in a bamboo forest. He did not have a badge for a certified guide. We are rather disappointed on this tour. A hop on hop off bus would have been much better. It was very expensive and would like to ask for a refund if possible.
      Response from Host, Jan 2024
      Thank you very much for your productive feedback. Our sincere apologies to hear that you were not satisfied with the service. Based on your comment, we will improve accordingly. The driver who took care of you on that day is actually the most experienced one in our company. In addition, he knows a lot about Japanese history than many of our other drivers/assistants do. Upon checking your tour report on that day, we did receive evidences that you went to 1.) Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, 2.) Fushimi Inari Taisha, 3.) Kinkakuji, Kiyomizudera (Higashiyama District Area)... Instead of going to Nishiki Market for lunch, the driver even booked you 4.) a restaurant for lunch and worked 1 more hour over time without extra any charge sending your husband to the hotel and sending you to the department store at the end of the tour. We do state clearly on our product that the service provides car and driver. Driver drives and guide you (not just picking you up and dropping you off at each site). If driver cannot speak English, we provide English speaking assistant to go with your group for free of charge. Licensed professional tour guide is not included in this tour. Some of our clients hire their own licensed professional tour guide to go together with us or ask us to book on behalf of them. There is a separated charge for licensed professional tour guide. We recommend you to read the description of the tour carefully before making reservation. There are costs to do tour - Car cost, highway cost, petrol cost, parking cost ... and many other costs. These costs are very expensive in Japan and it's not free of charge. It's also not fair for us to receive your refund request after providing our services for 9 hours and after you went to all places in Kyoto as mentioned in the schedule.
      The best personal & enjoyable way to experience Kyoto!
      Missy_P, Dec 2023
      Erica & our driver Eiichi were extremely knowledgeable & attentive to what we wanted to see. Our trip through Kyoto was a wonderful experience. They both seemed to love their job & the city which made us fall in love with it too. Eiichi’s special souvenir Polaroids made it even more memorable!
      Great time in Kyoto with Femin and Kengo
      Chet_G, Dec 2023
      Great day seeing the sights in Kyoto. Our guide m, Femin, did an incredible job planning our full day. He even plug in some little hidden gems. Spoke great English and Japanese. Our driver, Kengo, was great. Also, he spoke good English. Clean, large and comfortable private van.
      A Memorable Day Touring Kyoto
      Chris_G, Dec 2023
      We had an excellent guide (Ericall) & driver (Kengo-san) that were very accommodating & professional. Erica ensured that our every need was taken care of and even went out of her way to ensure we managed to have lunch at a restaurant we requested for but doesn't take reservations. Overall it was a delightful experience of Kyoto and left pleasant memories of our day tour.
      Great time!!
      SaimaNoor_T, Nov 2023
      I had the best time, thanks to my tour guide Erika, she was really friendly and she and the driver were really accommodating to all my needs and made my day trip in Tokyo fabulous, thank you.
      Kyoto a day tour
      Shmuel_B, Nov 2023
      What a nice tour w. our guide Nazir. It was a beautiful sunny day. The Tenryuji temple, Fushimi inari shrine, Golden pavilon as well as the bamboo forrest are magnificent. We had a beautiful tour. 10/10.
      The Kyoto tour was...
      Sylvie_B, Nov 2023
      The Kyoto tour was excellent, the only issue here is that throughout the day our guide Gaurav took many pictures of us which he said he would send us. Unfortunately after asking several times to send them we still haven't received them. This is too bad because he insisted on taking pictures if we knew we would of taken them ourselves....
      Worth it
      MariaKriselda_C, Nov 2023
      The trip was worth it. The van arrived on time and we were able to see the places that we want to see in kyoto. Though 8 hours is not enough to explore kyoto, it was ok. Our tour guides were the best. The trip wouldn’t be as fun if it weren’t for Kai and Nao.
      Kyoto in a Day
      Brendan_T, Nov 2023
      Shinji was our guide and he did a great job. He was prompt in picking us up in the AM, laid out an aggressive plan to hit several shrines/temples (which we asked for), and kept us on track. Most importantly, he is a phenomenal photographer that comes with a fancy camera, which can airdrop pics at the end of the tour. He also found a nice hidden local omakase spot for lunch, which was an awesome experience.
      ...
      Special Offer

      From $772.41

      per group (up to 9)

      $965.51 Save $193.10

      -You will not receive a refund if you cancel.

      • 8 hours
      • Pickup offered
      • Mobile ticket
      • Offered in: English

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