Patagonia Eco Tours

Having really enjoyed the Explore hiking trip on La Gomera in January 2025, we came back for more on Gran Canaria in January 2026. The hotel in the casco historico of sleepy Aguimes was charming, albeit the breakfasts were rather basic and the double beds only 1.40m wide (we are used to 2m at home!). In contrast, the hotel in Altea lacked a certain charm, but had a super bed and a terrific breakfast. Our very affable and multi-lingual Explore leader, Brian, ensured some good extra activities (eg making goat’s cheese) and gave the group plenty of options for the free day. We rested our knees on this free day and went to the excellent Bodega Los Berrazales, a wine and coffee finca, in the Agaete valley as well as visiting, briefly before it had really woken up, Puerto de las Nieves; Brian’s information on the punctual but not very frequent public buses was spot on for this non hiking jaunt). The astronomy talk over one of the dinners at a farm outside Aguimes was a bit comical with half the slides in Spanish and an astronomer with shaky English. Dinners were not included in the tour but Brian always arranged dinners at interesting restaurants. He was at pains to describe aspects of Canarian history, culture and geology throughout the tour. The Museo Guayadque in the Guayadque Ravine (Gorge?) was fascinating. For me, also as a keen student of the Spanish language and all things Hispanic, these were just as important as purely the hiking. The hiking, and the views the hikes offered, were indeed pretty spectacular. We may have been lucky with the weather with a lot of sun at a very pleasant temperature. Apparently it had rained quite a bit the week before, so a number of areas were quite verdant. Described as moderate, the terrain, both in terms of sharp volcanic rockiness as well as steepness, both up and down, was quite tough for non-regular hikers, such as me, a 64 year old (albeit twice a week gym goer).

This was my first experience with Colette tours, and I will definitely be booking another tour with them. Every aspect of this trip was done, planned perfectly, with no hidden expenses. All a person had to do, literally, was show up . There was never any question or confusion as to where to go, when to be there, Etc. The variety of things we did and saw was very interesting and planned very well. Never felt rushed, yet still had some down time, just enough to not start to wonder what to do. All of the included meals were excellent . Any tour guides, drivers we had were very knowledgeable, down to earth, very likable, making sure all travelers could hear as any tours moved along, via the earbuds sound system. This was really nice, because even if you were way ahead everyone or way behind everyone, you could still hear what the tour guide was saying, making it possible for everyone to move at their own pace. Regarding our accommodations, the location was perfect. Not much room to move around in the room itself, but not a big issue; we were not in our room much anyway. It would be nice if, in the lobby area, there would be complimentary water and coffee or, at least, a bubbler or place to fill up water bottle. Can't say enough about Colette tours. Even prior to booking, there is full disclosure/video of exactly what you will be doing, what you will be seeing, where you'll be staying, how you'll be getting around, what is and/or isn't l included in the price. Looking forward to my next vacation with Colette Tours.

We covered a lot of ground in 18 days and it was amazing. Miquel was an attentive and knowledgeable guide. Our experience was a bit unique as it was just my husband and I. We loved the mix of cultural, food, wildlife and adventure activities. We took advantage of many of the optional activities because - well why not - we were there to see things! I would highly recommend this trip to anyone who wants to explore the 5 sister countries of Central America.

Joao was an excellent; he was great with answering all questions. Armindo, our bus driver, was great, also; he was always very courteous. Please tell them both thank you for an outstanding travel experience.

This trip was excellent. The itinerary was well thought out. I could not have imagined that Trafalgar had done such a unique job……. Special mention to the Tour Director Herman Rojas. He was a great part of what made this trip so good. He is a asset to Trafalgar.

The Best of Italy tour is terrific and covers the important parts of the country if you want a good overview of Italy. The itinerary is well paced and the activity level is very balanced. The hotels were very good and we were taken care of very well by both our Travel Director and our Driver.