ALYSSA SAMSON - Canada

The trip was absolutely wonderful and we couldn’t be more thankful for all your help! The views were breathtaking and learning about the history of the Incas was amazing. I was very impressed with the tour guides particularly with how they talked about the Incan history. It’s kind of funny really but I was most impressed with their vocal intonation and how their voices particularly sounded when they were explaining the stories of the Incan culture.

I unfortunately did get sick on one of the days and was unable to climb up Ollantaytambo – you definitely weren’t kidding about the high altitude sickness! We also weren’t able to climb up Huayna Picchu on the our second day in Aguas Callientes because of all the rain… Our tour guide highly suggested not to go if it was going to rain as much as it did – we were a little bit upset about that.

Other than that, the tour was really great and we definitely will be coming back soon! Thank you again so much Marita to you and the company for everything. It definitely made our last few days in Peru unforgettable!

Sincerely,

Alyssa and Dennis

JARLE STRAND - Norway

We arrived back to London last night, to an unbelievable harsh winter in the beginning of March. Today has been the coldest day in March since records began in early 19th century, so we miss Ecuador!

The stay in Quito could have been longer, we were surprised by the city, the people and the surroundings; so may be one day we should be heading back. City Art Hotel was very good, so next time we’ll go back there.

The days in Galapagos were very hectic, early morning departures and a program every day. So should we do this again, it would have to be with program-free days in between, to be able to digest what we experienced each day.

We had a great holiday, with lots of good memories for the years to come; thanks so much for arranging this!

Best regards,

Jarle

JENNY MORRIS - New Zealand

Thank you Marita for choosing the right cruise for me, Treasures of Galapagos. They are a treasure of wonder, delight and lots of surprises. Had a smile everyday all day.  LOVED THE TRIP.

While I have been away on this long holiday I have been on 2 other cruises and this was by far the best. Just right quantity of people 13 with 10 crew.

The meals snacks and drinks were delicious. Absolutely delicious, chefs were spot on with getting a good mix of flavours and food categories. Healthy food too.

Wildlife excursions were amazing even had to watch where you stepped as there may have been a sea lion or lizard or iguana on the path.

The crew were attentive to everyone equally and made a big effort with us all to look after us. Our guide Carlos was very knowledgeable about everything in the islands. He has a great sense of humour and the other crew members all got on well. No tension on the catamaran.

The flippers and mask were New for everyone. No scratched mask which was great to see all the tropical fish.

The bedroom and bathroom were a good size. Having a balcony was awesome too. In the bedroom there was a sofa very handy. Wardrobe and shelves x 3 was  nice to have the storage.

They even had a crew member Steven that made our towels into stingrays and swans  and flowers etc.

In dining room a shelf of books about Galapagos islands which I liked to refer too.

Treats were all the time oreo cookies, chocolates, boiled sweets, hot drinks, water, popcorn.

While we snorkeled the zodiacs ( dinghy ) were close by and you only had to wave and they would come and get you out if the water.

The 4 nights was just right for me as had seen everything and snorkeled 4 times as 5th time water to much stirred up sand in it.

Too be honest we were treated like royalty. Awesome memories to have for the rest of my life. Could not fault anything.

I could carry on but I am 1 tired happy tourist.

Warm regards,

Jenny

Treasure of Galapagos

KERRY HOS - Australia

Thank you to Peru Trip Advisors for your planning and follow up throughout our tour.
Everything went really smoothly, much much better than we could have organised on our own.
It was so lovely to have someone waiting to meet us at Quito airport, at midnight, after flying from Sydney via Dallas. Marita, you are a champion.

Our tours and guides in the mainland were very good. We met Paula at the office in Quito and she is lovely too.

Oscar was a great guide, he listened and adapted the plans to match our interests and was very easy company. He reminded us of our son and friends, a lovely capable young man who made good considered judgements about safety as well. The tours on the mainland were all fabulous. the Hacienda was lovely and such an interesting (and comfortable) stay. they were not so good at the dinner menu, maybe they need a more experienced chef or cook, but our breakfast was very nice.

The cruise in Galapagos (Santa Cruz) was a fantastic choice for us, thank you again. What luxury, we are not accustomed to that much service and lapped it up. We had a bonus as only 44 passengers were on our cruise. It was a much better cruising between the different islands (at night and during lunch) instead of bouncing around on a speedboat every day.

The day trip over to Isabella island was worth seeing (and we saw the Galapagos penguin and Pink flamingo there).

It was also great that we spent 3 more nights on the island so we had enough time to really take in so much that there is to experience. It takes a long time and a lot of travel to reach the Galapagos and makes sense to spend enough time once there. The Red Mangrove Hotel was lovely as well, thank you for arranging that.

The cycling, paddling, snorkelling and walking were all great fun and so interesting to observe and consider all the evolution, geography, history and just observe the unique wildlife.

So once again you have outdone yourself Marita. Thank you for listening to our requests, adjusting our tour to fit our interests, available time and making last minute adjustments to fit with our flexible flying times. As well as linking us in with lovely local tour companies and guides who are proud and knowledgeable about their country and kind generous and respectful to other people in their community so that we were able to meet with people and feel welcome in their country.

Hope to catch up with you again one day here in Aus or South America.

Kind regards,

Kerry and Tony

Kerry and Tony Hos in Santa Cruz Island – Galapagos

GILLIAN BULLOCK - Australia

Hi Susana

We got back to Australia on the weekend.   We had a wonderful time in Colombia…what an amazing country.

Juan our guide in Bogota was a lovely guy, very enthusiastic and keen to help.  We loved the Salt Cathedral in Bogota.   And Park 10 hotel was a wonderfully friendly, well appointed hotel.

Ana, our guide in Medellin, was the star performer.  She was so fantastic with a wealth of knowledge about where to eat and all sorts of things including explaining how the banknotes are changing!  We loved El Penol, Guatape, the cable car and a 13 course meal at a gastronomy restaurant recommended by Ana.  Again the hotel was perfect.  Lovely room, lovely location.

Cartagena was a lovely city too.  The hotel, Bantu, was  a wonderfully quirky boutique hotel which we loved.

We were in Cartagena for 2.5 days. Our guide from Medellin had recommended a lovely restaurant in Cartagena so she provided pastoral care even beyond her domain!

Finally, as I predicted, we really did not like Baru Island.  The resort was just too big.  Wristbands had to be worn at all times, we had a lanyard to wear with the room key, tickets for our towels and had to queue up at 8am if we wanted to eat in one of the specialist restaurants.  The food was adequate but not exceptional.  A smaller resort would have been better…the Decameron just treated us as one of 1000+ guests they had to keep under control. Please understand I am only trying to offer constructive criticism and we really did love Colombia and are grateful for what you organised.

Thanks again, we would certainly recommend Peru Trip Advisors to others.

Best wishes

Gillian

MIKE BENDALL - USA

Hello Marita,

We are in Dallas heading home. We want to thank you for arranging a wonderful Perú experience. All the arrangements were wonderful.
We left Peru knowing that we will return and when we do, we will be calling you.

We ate at a wonderful restaurant in San Isidro. It is called Dondoh and is located at 999 ConquistadorES Ave. We highly recommend. We talked to a couple last night and they liked it better than Maido.
Try the unique potato salad and noodle salad. Desserts were not bad either.

Merry Christmas,

Mike and Deb Bendall