I had a great time-I enjoyed, learnt and was also very impressed-I like Correa’s politics. Guides were great. All the places I stayed were friendly and good standard.

We both felt our South America holiday was the highlight of 2012, and it was easy to see why people travel halfway across the world to see the sights of Peru and Ecuador.  Our highlight overall was probably the Galapagos cruise and we never guessed how fascinated we’d become by the landscapes, the island and sea animal life, and the history of the islands.  However the Inca Trail was also every bit as good as we expected; we were very glad we decided to take the extra day in Macchu Picchu as there really was all too much to take in on the first day and the weather was much better on the second.   

From an organisational point of view, it was such a relief that everything simply worked; as we were trying to pack so much in to a tight timescale it seemed risky that had anything gone wrong it could have been difficult to get back on track.

Thank you again for everything you did to make our holiday such a success.  I don’t think we are planning anything as big for 2013 but we are just starting to think about that now. 

I rate the entire trip five stars out of 5.  It is rare not to have recommendations for improvement, but on this trip I have none.  The pace was right, the days were full, and the experience was exceptional.  Accomodations were great. 

Highlight:  the diving and snorkeling.  The marine life is amazing.  And to dive with dozens of reef and Galapagos sharks was awesome.  They’re just curious – nothing like shark week! 

Jessica our main guide was fantastic. I cannot say enough good things about her. She was super friendly and energetic and went out of her way to look after us all and make sure we had a good time, as well as teaching us lots of things about her beautiful islands along the way.

All the restaurants and hotels we went to were good, the staff were always very helpful and food seemed to get better and better as the trip went on.  I dont think i would change anything really. 

Overall excellent holiday and thank you very much for your help organising. 

An excellent 10 days, we had perfect weather throughout, it was well organised and the guide was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. 

Some wonderful memories, I would not hesitate to recommend it to a friend 

It was a fantastic holiday in great company with a lot of varying, fun and interesting activities, in a fascinating, unique ecosystem, leaving me with many amazing and unforgettable impressions but also greater awareness and knowledge about the evolution of our planet. Everything was extremely well organized and smooth. 

It is really difficult to pinpoint one particular highlight or activity.

For me, every day was a “highlight”, not only because of daily changing activities and scenery, but also because of our daily discoveries of new endemic species (in both flora and fauna). The marine life however is definitely one of its kind! Special was also getting to know the life story and legacy of the Wittmer family – a German family migrating to the “wild”

Some wonderful memories, I would not hesitate to recommend it to a friend 

The honeymoon was just perfect … thanks so much!  All the connections were seamless. 

• Cuzco – we did the sacred valley tour … it was well worth it.
• Inca trail – 1st day was too easy, while 2nd day was quite challenging … so maybe it could have been better balanced.  The food was surprisingly good.  The guide was very helpful.  The tent leaked.  Machu Picchu was simply amazing!
• Amazon – Amazing wildlife (ants, tarantulas, birds, caiman, etc.).  Food was good.  The tours were interesting.  Biggest complaint was the heat/humidity with no reprieve (i.e. no air conditioning in the rooms).  The mosquitos were also vicious.  If I had to do it over, I would look for accommodations with a/c.
• Lima – the taxi took us to the wrong hotel, but, a few phone calls and all was well.
• Quito – Hotel Sierra Madre lacked any hot water.  Also, it didn’t feel safe at night.
• Galapagos – Simply Amazing!  Our guide Pablo was unbelievably terrific.  The wildlife was fabulous.  The hotels were good, except the one at Floreana.  The food was good.  We both got a bit sea sick on the way to Santa Cruz, so, perhaps flying a small plane island to island might have been better for us.

Overall I rate this trip 9.9 out of 10.

We will remember it forever!

Extremely good – Andean Trails were very helpful in getting us properly advised about the trip in advance and their local partners in  Quito and the Galapagos were superb.  Nick, Tim and Crystal did everything they could to ensure people had a good time and took great trouble over many minor details that contribute significantly to overall satisfaction.  The guide they assigned to our group, Zambo, was also  excellent- knowledgable and caring.

Some wonderful memories, I would not hesitate to recommend it to a friend!

The highlight was the boat (Flamingo 1) – it was very comfy, the crew and guides were excellent, as was the itinerary. Great food, service, comfort – loved it.

We had a really memorable holiday and in particular would recommend the Flamingo boat trip. We would consider going back another time to do the northern itinerary. 

I found your help in organising it very useful… and apart from the comments above, it all went very smoothly.

I had such a wonderful time in Ecuador, definitely an experience I will never forget. Im really glad I included Pasachoa at the start to help with acclimatization.. it was so beautiful as well. All the info, help and assistance I received prior to booking and the actual booking of the trip was so easy it was awesome (thanks Kat). The itself trip was so well organised, the accommodation and the food was excellent. The knowledge, experience and kindness of the guides was exceptional. Ojjo and hokien the guides I had are amazing human beings, they are so good at what they do and made me feel safe at all times even when I was scared to death.  The highlight of my trip is hard to pick, it would have to be illinaza cause the refuge and the climb to the summit was the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen.

It was everything we hoped and more!  Bellavista was amazing, and the guys there arranged some really fun additional activities around Mindo on the day we went zip lining (butterfly farm, orchid farm, chocolate factory).  The Quito city tour they put together was also great.

But the highlight of course was the Galapagos. Again, it far exceeded expectations. The food was good, the guides were great, and the other passengers were wonderful to meet and spend time with.  And the animals — we saw them all, both above and below the water.

All in all, a spectacularly successful holiday that was enjoyed by the whole family and will be remembered fondly forever.  Thanks so much for all your help in putting it together!

Hard to say about highlights … for me Inca Trail/Macchu Picchu; the condors (and I thought Colca Valley was lovely and v much liked Mammayacchi Lodge) and the salt flats/desert in Bolivia – just amazing landscapes.  Also really liked Arequipa and Cuzco.

All the hotels were very nice in their different ways – I think we both particularly fell for La Petite Porte in Uyuni.  It has such an unprepossessing outside (my heart sank when the car drew up) and then it is so lovely inside.

Also all the guides were excellent – Olivia for the Colca Canyon; Diego for Inca Trail and Janet on Salt Flats tour.  Very interesting knowledge about plants and animals, as well as culture and archaeology.  Fascinating insights about indigenous/colonial history and integration.

Overall organisation was excellent – felt very well looked after.

Hostel Abuelo in La Paz was a good location, was a bit loud some nights or early mornings when people were arriving/leaving, but was good for the most part.

The ice climbing in Bolivia was one of the craziest thing we’ve ever done, we’re still looking back at it and can’t believe we did it. Osvaldo was excellent, very friendly and safety conscious. The equipment was great and so was the cook Maria! Again it was only myself and Neil (super lucky eh!) so it was like a private tour. I found the last day of the climb very very hard, but absolutely delighted I did.

Chalalan lodge was also very good, rooms were always clean and very comfortable. Food again was great.  We thought we would see more animals than we did, but that’s probably because we watched too many Amazon programmes before we left! It still was a great experience.

So that’s it! Thanks again for organising the trip, it really was unbelievable!

Snorkelling with the sea-lions as well as the other snorkelling trips – with sharks, at Kicker Rock and with turtles and rays This was way way better than I’d imagined and incredibly special. The wetsuits, masks etc provided were top quality and made sure you got the most out of these really unique experiences. As a family with 2 non swimmers, I had not expected the snorkelling to be the highlight for all of us but it was!

Spontaneous activities organised on Isabela – the bike ride to the Wall of Tears is easy and pretty, the 7-a-side football against the locals that our guide organised and my boys loved, beach volleyball at the Pink Iguana.

The back up team made us incredibly welcome. We loved the proper coffee in their office. They always felt totally on top of organising stuff and nothing was too much trouble.  Nick equally in Quito felt totally on it – and was very helpful when we nearly missed our plane because of a rockslide on the road to the airport. 

Definitely no low point!