Journey Latin America Traveller Reviews

I organised 2 back to back trips with JLA, one a tailor made trip to columbia, the second a small group tour (alcion) through panama, costa rica, nicaragua, el salvador, honduras and guatemala.

From the query stage to the return home JLA were simply oustanding. Their patience and professionalism were exceptional. The standard of both trips was simply excellent and their tour guides were far beyond expectations. The guides dealt superbly with significant problems including a couple of significant medical emergencies, a strike at a border crossing and dealing with a very diverse group of tourists. The proof of a good holiday company is how they deal in a crisis and JLA were wonderful in all aspects. All were exceptionsl at their job, interesting, interested, safety concious, fun and responsible. Without doubt, JLA are the company that exceeded my expectations on group tours and where possible i will use them and recommend them to others. The private tour was equally exceptional. In short, we felt exceptionally happy with everything about 7 week trip that JLA had organised

Travelled from Lima, to Arequipa, Colca Canyon, Puno, Cusco, Matchu Picchu and back to Cusco. Fantastic local guide.

Very helpful and friendly when booking.

Having listened to what makes me tick an itinerary was organised for 2 days in Quito, 8 day cruise in the Galapagos (Seaman II boat) and 2 weeks in Colombia. It was 1st tailor made holiday ever. In Quito I visited the Old Town and caught a cable-car up a volcano, then got a horse to go to the top. Galapagos has a special place in my heart. We did 2 talks a day and 2 snorkels a day. I will treasure my snorkelling memories: swam with Turtles, Penguins, Rays, Sharks, and the best...played with 2 sea lions in the sea for around 10 minutes. The crew were so attenetive, food amazing and the guide was superb. In Colombia just did 1 night in Bogota, then myself and a friend were driven via Zipaquira salt cathedral (our transfer driver/guide did our tour and got us in early before the crowds arrived!) to Villa de Leyva, a beautiful town with a stunning (& massive) town square. After a half-day exploring the next day we hired bikes and cycled to Pozus Azules, some pretty blue lakes, a local vineyard, and a local dinosaur museum (the sweetest girl gave us a guided tour in excellent English. Beautiful scenery. The next day we tansferred back to Bogota and flew to Armenia for coffee country. Stayed at the fabulous Hacienda Bambusa. We were kindly upgraded to a suite with our own balcony with a hummingbird feeder. We were entranced by the hummingbirds, the 1st we'd seen in the wild. Did a cycle round the estate (magical...banana plantations, cacao, papaya, loads of birds, Brehmen cattle, bamboo forest). Booked on to a few tours via Bambusa: tour of a nearby coffee plantation, (lovely guide, beautiful, varied walk with an adorable Retriever dog that I wanted to adopt), bird watching (Camilo our guide was excellent, saw over 100 birds, almost all exotic, all on the Estate), and horse-riding (v safe horses, varied terrains, lots of incredible views, water buffalo, pineapple plantations, plantains, trekking through maize taller than us). Service at Bambusa was incredible...sunbathing by the pool you get treated to water, then iCE CREAM!, "happy hour" (possibly free! cocktails before Dinner with the other guests). Dinner each night was served in a different location, always enchanting, with beautiful place settings. The 2 Managers were excellent...highly recommend! Next stop was Cartagena. Stunning Old Town with narrow streets, balconied buildings, flowers everywhere, sundowner drinks at Cafe Del Mar. Visited Playa Blanca....carribbean golden sands and azure blue sea. Pina Colada out of a pineapple. Then Santa Marta (best food in Colombia at Ouzo restaurant), stopping off point for Tayrona beach. Tayrona was paradise, Sierra Nevada mountains meet green rain forests, meets golden beaches with perfect rock-lined bays. I stayed in EcoHabs, private cabins that look like hobbit huts with views over the sea and sands. Waking up to those sunrises, and falling asleep to the sound of that perfect sea was the perfect end to the trip of a lifetime.

Jack Brooker/Journey Latin America. Recommended to me by a friend. Spent a good bit of time listening to me 1st about my wishes. Gave me a steer and guidance where needed. A very collaborative approach. And very approachable. We did lots of tweaks to the itinerary over time, but he was happy with this. All the transfers worked well (on time, excellent English, informative). Even before I decided on the above countries JLA sent out 2/3 page leaflets on the countries of South America that I was interested in. It were these that made up my mind where to go. Other info from other operators was baffling.

1 week amazing trip to Peru

Couldn't be better, planned a brilliant trip and everything worked like clockwork. Best travel company we have ever used!

Fascinating insight to a beautiful and varied country

First class throughout - really helpful.

We spent just over 3 weeks in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador. Started with a 4 night jungle excursion in the Amazon Forest (one night at Refugio Amazonas and 3 nights at the Tambopata Research Centre). Fabulous experience and the facilities were excellent (remember you are in the middle of the rain forest). Guides were superb, and we actually had a Peruvian Guide with an English sense of humour - Pedro. Then spent a week around the Sacred Valley. Machu Picchu at sunrise is just an unbeliveable experience, absolutely brilliant. Cusco is a really nice City and I would recommend spending a few days there. We ended our trip with 7 days onboard the Beluga in the Galapagos. Again a fantastic experience and there is probably no other place like it on earth - you are able to get so close to wildlife and swim with sharks, sealions, penguins and seals. If you are an avid birdwatcher than the Galapagos is a must for you. Book the best boat you are able to afford - it will make a difference. This was not a cheap holiday and like most things you get what you pay for. We stayed in a range of hotels, mostly very good. Service overall was excellent and in the main our guided tours were very good. We weren't that impressed with La Paz in Bolivia (stayed for 2 nights) but the sight at night as you look down on La Paz from the outskirts of the City (it is in a bowl) is spectacular. We were due to travel from Cusco to Puno on the Andean Explorer (10 hour journey). Due to strikes in Puno we weren't able to take the journey but know from talking to many people who did, that this is well worth the money (about 220 dollars per person).

Journey Latin America provided an excellent service. We were fortunate to have dealt with Margot who is from Peru - her experience and local knowledge were really useful. We did have a couple of issues whilst away which JLA were quick to sort out. I would recommend this company.

Travelling across many countries in 2 weeks so we really needed dependable pick ups and guides, good hotels and a safe feeling. We got all those

Very knowledgeable and helpful

Journey Latin America organised everything. We just had to be in the right place at the right time. We had total confidence in every element of the planning.,our tour leader could not have been more knowledgeable, efficient or charming.

We had a wonderful time on the JLA Albatross Tour of Ecuador and the Galapagos. The Galapagos islands were all we hoped for and more and with an excellent local guide and a good ship and crew we were immensely well cared for both on the individual island visits and in the sea when snorkelling. We saw so much wildlife up close including the wonderful snorkelling with turtles,rays and seal lions that just travelled alongside with you, curious to know what you were and so many spectacular fish - just a breathtaking place. The local people we met throughout Ecuador were all so friendly and cheerful it was humbling to be made so welcome and to be treated as guests rather than just another tourist.A lovely country and well worth visiting - we certainly hope to return again.

JLA and it partner Metropolitan Touring did a excellent job in ensuring we had a wonderful holiday and we will be booking to go back to S. America with JLA again

A three week tour of South America starting in Buenos Aires, travelling through Argentina to Salta, crossing the spectacular Andes by luxury bus to the Atacama in Chile then by four wheel drive for three days across the desert and the stunning Bolivian Salt flats to Bolivia. After three days in La Paz, on to Lake titicaca in Bolivia and Peru before travelling to Cusco,the Sacred valley and Machu Pichu in Peru. Before the official tour we added on three nights in Rio, visiting the major tourist sites and a favela in this beautiful city, followed by two nights at Iguassu falls, visiting both the Brazilian and Argentinian sides. This was a real highlight of the trip. We finished the holiday with three nights in the Amazon in Peru before flying home via Lima

Journey Latin America put together the add ons to what as a pre existing tour. They were helpful at all times, replying promptly to queries and taking on board our requested changes. The whole trip worked out seamlessly with no problems from start to finish. We always had local contact numbers should we have an emergency