Eco tours in South America

A varied and fascinating itinerary exploring lots of different parts of Peru. Our guide, Miguel, was fabulous. He is a warm and extremely competent tour guide who looked after us superbly throughout the trip. The use of specialist guides greatly added to the experience. There is a lot of travelling with this trip and sometimes we would have liked a bit more time exploring on foot rather than using a minibus. Overall, a great trip.

This was a full on trip with a varied itinerary taking in wildlife, landscape, culture and history of this extremely interesting group of countries. There was the opportunity to do additional activities, though I would think twice about sledging down the volcano, walking was thrilling enough. Our Guatemalan guide was extremely knowledgeable and was supplemented by local guides in some locations. Certainly a trip of a lifetime.

Nicely paced trip with Ilha Grande a break from the cities and Paraty interesting for its history. No words to describe Iguassu Falls, just spectacular. An extra day or 2 in Rio advisable. Two nights at the rainforest lodge, Argentinian side of the Falls , would have been preferable to 2 nights at Taroba Express. Our guide Diego was very knowledgeable both about Argentina and Brazil, and struck the right balance between being professional and efficient and friendly and sociable. I would recommend adding this trip on to North West Argentina which I did before as the dates fitted. The contrasts in landscape were stunning and worth the effort of spending a month travelling.

Myriam in Galapagos was the most amazing tour leader. Really helpful and supportive when I ended up with food poisoning - practical but not fussing. She told us so much about the places and was so proud of her country Ecuador. It was a joy to hear her. Nilton in Peru was equally helpful when our bags went missing for the first 5 days! The trip was really full on and had so much moving but it was needed to fit everything in. Make sure you pack light! Prepare for lots of early starts and quick turn arounds. Even though it says moderate it’s as full on as some full on tours! The scenery was incredible. From the mountains in Peru and Machu Picchu to volcanoes in Ecuador. The Galapagos were stunning. Isabela is so very beautiful. Wildlife everywhere you look through the whole trip. Every day is just wow. Some hotels were a little basic. The one in Quito had no lift and arriving in the middle of the night had no one to help with bags. The stair carpet was loose and stair rail wobbly so a bit dodgy. A couple we had no hot water and one the breakfast was very basic, though they were all clean and had comfortable beds.

Great tour director . Peru wonderful and trip well planned. Santiago was a bit of an anti climax after leaving the wonders of Peru , however still great and Valparaiso and wine tour fabulous. Buenos Aires amazing and it would have been great to have had an extra night. Some days we had way too much food so was a bit of a waste. Maybe cut down on a couple of the dinners. The restaurant in Cusco sensational but our final dinner in Rio was terrible. It was a bit annoying having set menus with only a couple of choices especially when you read their menu online but don’t get to experience the full range of food. I understand this can be difficult for the restaurants but they should be able to cater for large groups. Our guides were all brilliant and accomodation was fabulous. Loved the hotel in Santiago but Cusco a bit of a let down. We had a very small room at Iguazú Falls. I found the room variations in the group at the same hotel could be a bit unfair but this happened only a couple of times. These are only minor points. This was an amazing trip and it is one I will remember for a very long time. Well done Lucury Gold

This was a fabulous trip, our tour leader Diego, was brilliant. He worked tirelessly to ensure we were all safe and got the best out of our time there. I travelled in October the weather was untypical, hot, cold, wet and dry, all extremes of, so I'd recommend taking a full range of clothing. Use the laundries, washing doesn't dry in the humid air. All the hotels were fine, but none had a kettle/coffee making facilities, so if it's important to you, squeeze one in your luggage. A couple of the rooms were quite small, especially for a twin share, but manageable. The travelling between towns was ok. There's lots and lots to see and do in Buenos Aires, including lots of market stalls around the Recoleta area with handmade crafts etc. The hop on/off bus helps sort out your own explorations. And Argentina's reputation for steak is well deserved! Iguazu did not disappoint, both sides were staggering. Be sure to have a waterproof phone cover. Paraty was charming and Ihla Grande a delight sadly a bit too cold for swimming. Traffic into Rio was like the M25. Rio itself is a vibrant place. Loads of places to eat, explore, far too many highlights to fit into the time available. If you can manage an extra day at each end of this trip you won't regret it. Still humming The girl from Ipanema.