Verified
Trip of a Lifetime!
My sister and I dreamt of a trip to The Galapagos and Machu Picchu for more than a decade. We finally decided it was time to make a plan, grabbed our two best travel buddies and searched for a tour that would allow us to maximize our time. Andean Discovery checked every box. The itinerary was packed - and customizable to our hopes/dreams/needs. We saw the option to add a day for the Rainbow Mtns at the end and extended our trip by a day. When the airline canceled our flight? We added another day at the beginning to spend at Papallacta (what a way to begin our trip - with a dip in the thermal springs and full body massages!). Everything was handled for us - check ins and transfers to hotels and airports, tickets and reservations. But also, our guides subtly catered our experience to us, assessing our individual interests and abilities, and really turned it into a bespoke adventure. (Shout out to Cesar, who was patient and funny and always had ice delivered for my friend's drinks and special shopping experiences based on our casual conversations.) We learned, we hiked, we snorkeled, we ATE, we experienced. It. Was. Amazing.
Amazing Variety of Travel Sites and Experiences in Peru and Chile
The variety of the sites we experienced in both Peru and Chile was high and the guides had in depth knowledge and good pacing throughout. Whether getting through heavy traffic in Lima to working with a rainy day at Machu Picchu, we were well taken care of. Sometimes the unplanned stops (a local food market in the Sacred Valley) were just as special as the 'big ticket' locations such as Machu Picchu and Easter Island. Again, the pacing was very considered, whether it was a colonial city tour of Cusco, Peru or street murals in Valparaiso, Chile. Highly recommend these itineraries with Andean Discovery.
We had a perfect trip to Ecuador for 10…
We had a perfect trip to Ecuador for 10 full days. Got to see so much of this beautiful country with so much to offer. Our guide and driver met us at the airport day one and was with us for the entire trip Everything you could possibly think of was preset for us. All we had to do was enjoy our well planned and versatile itinerary This is our third trip to South America,different country each time, using Andean Discovery Would encourage anyone to use this agency to have a truly great experience
Peru extraordinaire!…
We had a guide that could not be any better. He was funny and fun but also very knowledgeable in the Inca history and the history of the places we visited. Our driver was the best! Our accommodations were top notch and the food was gourmet at every meal! The staff at every place we stayed were so accommodating and pleasant to work with. Machu Pichu, the Sacred Valley and the Amazon were spectacular! It is a trip we will remember forever!
Andean Trip of a Lifetime
My family of 5 just got home from our 2 week vacation arranged by Andean Discovery. It was an experience we’ll always cherish. Our guides were all amazing and we already miss spending time with them! The accommodations, food, and activities were planned perfectly for our family and we always felt safe and well cared for. Everyone traveling to South America should work with the Andean Discovery team!
Great time in Peru
We had a wonderful experience in Peru. We spent time in Lima, a thriving city. We stayed at a beautiful hotel in a great location. Then we went to Machu Picchu and Cusco. The guides we had were helpful, very knowledgeable and friendly. Our accomodations were first class. Some of the places we stayed at made us feel like we were in the jungle. So many unusual and striking birds. Then we spent 4 days in the Amazon. The hotel was lovely, the guides were terrific. We did and saw so much. It was a fabulous trip. Everything was perfect. Not a single problem!!
5 stars
Great itinerary. Amazing lodging. Cesar is the best Inca Trail guide! Once in a lifetime experience. Thanks Andean Discovery!
We thoroughly enjoyed our experience…Gala
We thoroughly enjoyed our experience from the moment our plane touched the ground in Ecuador and Peru. The seamless journey was well planned out from being transferred to airports and hotels with our own private driver and guides to delicious meals and interesting excursions. We loved Maria from Quito and Franco from Cusco and would highly recommend Damon from AD for a trip of a lifetime!
Verified
The guides and trips arrangement was…
The guides and trips arrangement was good. It was however packed into to short of a time, but we sitll enjoyed it. The gratiuties was not declared prior to the trip, as this was quite high in the Amazon and the Legend cruise. We paid it but found it extremely high for 2 adults and 2 children to pay for 4 people, when it was a shared experience. However it should have been disclosed.
7-nt/8-day Galapagos Legend Cruise & 1-nt Quito
Well-organized trip from start to finish aboard the 100 passenger Galapagos Legend, plus a day in Quito with fantastic local guide, Maria Vela. We traveled Feb 18-28 2023, arriving late at night, where our guide and driver were waiting to take us to the hotel, and spent the following day touring Quito. Maria is a delightful guide, very knowledgeable and possessing high emotional intelligence. We then toured the Galapagos Islands for a week aboard the 100 passenger Galapagos Legend (the Legend's "C&D" Itinerary, East & South), to the islands of North Seymour, Bartolome, San Cristobal, Espanola, Floreana, and Santa Cruz. Passengers are assigned to a specific species (we were "Boobies") for their time aboard, so that you know when to arrive and depart for your scheduled excursions on the zodiac boats. Each day, you select which morning and afternoon excursions you wish to go on (e.g. beach or deep-water snorkeling, kayaking, hiking, glass bottom boating, etc.) or you can choose to stay on the boat to nap, sunbathe, or get a massage. The guides are all good and some are outstanding. Diego was our guide for the week, and he was fantastic: sweet, incredibly knowledgeable, genuinely interested in the flora and fauna, kind, with a good sense of humor. We saw an orca, tons of frigate birds and cormorants, all three types of boobies, giant tortoises, land and marine iguanas, sea lions, penguins, and sharks that swam after/along the boat at night! While it would have been nice to have the option of longer or midday excursions, the crew has to balance the heat of midday (it was very hot in February) with the large spectrum of its passengers' abilities (kids through octogenarians), so it makes sense there would be a large midday/lunch break each day during the hottest time of day. Andean Discovery was highly communicative from start to finish, working with us on tour dates and options, suggesting travel insurance, providing detailed itineraries and options, advising us of what to bring, how to best keep in contact, etc. We tend to self-tour instead of using tour companies, and they exceeded our expectations. We would absolutely go again to experience the Legend's "A&B" itinerary, and we would happily work with Andean Discovery again!