Andean Discovery Bewertungen 227

Our family, consisting of a 2 year old all the way up to an 86 year old, just returned from our very favorite family trip ever: Quito and a northern itinerary cruise to the Galápagos aboard the Isabela II. We are very well-traveled and even the toddler has stamps of all kinds in her passport, so that statement isn’t to be taken lightly.

Our Quito guide, Cristina, was truly a gem. She was fun and engaging with my children, and gentle and patient with my elderly grandparents. Cristina went above and beyond helping us to experience her beautiful country, teaching us all along the way, and even had my mother’s purse repaired when the strap broke at the beginning of our trip! Our driver, Jaime, was perfect. He drove with care, yet always got us places on time, and was so helpful and friendly. They were always there when they said they’d arrive, and guided us through their culture seamlessly, even amidst all the extra covid measures.

I can’t say enough good things about the Galápagos. The islands were beyond our wildest imaginations, and our ship was beautiful. The food was delicious, and they were very accommodating for the children and their tastes.

The naturalists, Lola, Mari, Antonio and another whose name escapes me right now, were all delightful and ever so patient with my budding 7 year old naturalist, who peppered them with questions and spouted his knowledge at every turn, but was met with kindness and hearts who genuinely love to teach and guide the next generation. They were also incredible with my grandparents, whose limited mobility (it’s not limited so much here at home, but on a rocking ship with wet landings and such...) would’ve otherwise prevented them from experiencing much, but with the care and assistance of the guides and the boat staff, they were able to participate. The animals and birds we saw were breathtaking and it is impossible to describe how amazing the whole thing was. I’d often find myself choking back tears because it was so beautiful to be up close with God’s creatures in their natural habitat. Also, if you’re a snorkel lover, this was the way to go. I snorkeled twice a day and was in heaven.

I appreciated how Andean Discovery coordinated everything and planned for every eventuality. We never had to worry about them leaving something out or forgetting something.

Oh, and a word about the hotels! The Swissotel Quito was lovely and we enjoyed our nights there. Breakfast was delightful. Also, the EB Hotel...I can’t say enough! We are admittedly hotel snobs, and that hotel was the nicest, most accommodating and most peaceful hotel we have ever stayed at in all our years. The rooms were fantastic, the food amazing, the staff beyond kind and generous (my grandmother complimented the flower display and at dinner the manager gave her a bouquet of all the kinds in the hotel because she wasn’t sure specifically which one she admired so she gave her some of each...you’d never get that in the states!) and the grounds were lush and gorgeous.

We all wanted to stay in Ecuador, and we know it was all the hard work of the Andean Discovery staff, their guides, and the wonderful Isabela II staff that made our trip so enjoyable. Thank you!!

I had already booked a trip to Machu Picchu, but it did not include seeing the Peruvian Horses. I went to Andean Discovery and they arranged a day long trip to see the horses and visit some sites on the way. It was great! The guide went the extra mile to help me find items I was looking for. The event was incredible! I later saw another show with the horses, but there was no comparison. The one I went to through Andean Discovery was much better. The people from Andean Discovery are very knowledgable and helpful on all matters to do with Peru! I would definitely recommend them!

Andean Discovery provided excellent service - starting with an itinerary customized for our fairly large group. Very accommodative with change requests. The guides they provided were knowledgeable and personable - and went above and beyond to help us with all of our needs - especially Cesar in Cusco. Highly recommended!

Traveled to Quito and Galapagos Islands over Christmas week. The weather was wonderful. Warm, breezy, sunny. Only one day was humid. Our guides were the best. Ericka in the islands and Carlos in Quito. They made sure we enjoyed our experience. We snorkeled on 2 different days and each was a different experience. The water was beautiful blue green and we saw many different fish, turtles, birds, red crabs, sharks. One shark swam every where with my daughter. The huge tortoises are a sight to see. They are every where there's lush green grass. Prepare to walk everywhere. Had many tasty dishes at different restaurants. Isabela Island is one of the safest places in the world. The people are happy, friendly, and always ready to give you a helping hand. Our trip was wonderful and all 10 of us will go back to Isabela in the near future.

Great people! Took care of my kids royally and as was there.
I could not come because of illness.
The only problem was with the insurance. Rather stubborn in reimborsing.

Andean provided us with the BEST vacation that we have ever had in our 30 years together! It was a magnificent tri-fecta of the GALAPAGOS ISLANDS, the AMAZON RAINFOREST and MACHU PICCHU in two weeks! Each of these locations are remote and not easy to access however the Andean Team made it seamless. The Tour Guides without exception were very professional and knowledgable.

We saw an incredible amount of sea life in, on and around the Galapagos Islands from the Galapagos Legend which was a perfect sized vessel for us in the ocean waters. We were in ocean waters for four nights.

We were then canoed and eventually hand paddled into the Amazon basin to the Napo Wildlife Center were we saw so very many exotic creatures like Scarlet McCaws, Tucans, Red Howler Monkeys, Spider Monkeys, Sloth, tarantula, piranha and other snakes, turtles, bugs and butterflies too numerous to mention. Oh the wonderful photos!!

Last, we began a private tour from Cusco to Machu Picchu and back. We were with our tour guide Franco and his most excellent driver Wilbur for four days and three nights. Franco kept us on track and was appreciative when we mentioned that we wanted to see a local bakery, animals up close, stop for a beer or that we needed to get our laundry done...all requests were easily handled. I had previously considered historic places as "piles of rocks" - well I have to tell you that the miles and miles of extraordinary rock work in the Andes was absolutely mind boggling! It was a huge WOW.

Only wish Andean provided tours elsewhere, we would not hesitate to book with them again. Thank you for the incredible memories!

The trip was one of the "Best" times of my life. It was well put together. The guides and drivers were kind and nice and well educated. They helped with everything from meeting us at airports. making sure we were where we were suppose to be. We were taken to great restaurants and hotels. The hotel in Machu Picchu City was nice but we were put in a room above a train track. right above with heavy train traffic. The back side of the hotel was a beautiful roaring river. I requested to move with a $30.00 up charge which I gladly paid but when the company heard about it they paid for the upgrade.

Our tour guides were amazing. They met us at the airports, helped us with transitions, and gave us an amazing cultural experience.

A truly excellent tour with professional knowledgeable and friendly guides!!

Will see you on our next tour!

I couldn’t be more happy with my recent trip to the Galapagos and Machu Picchu with Andean discovery. My daughter and I had our own guide in each place and could go at our own pace. The guides made sure we saw everything and did what we wanted. I will recommend them to everyone

We are well traveled. John and I have studied abroad and our children have lived abroad with us. Our passports are full of stamps from some of the world's most amazing destinations. In all of our travels never have we come across tour guides as wonderful as the Andean Discovery guides who led us throughout Quito & the Galápagos.

When we arrived in Quito late at night, we were greeted by our guide Hayde with the world's biggest smile. What blew our minds away was that Hayde already *knew* us. Without the need for introduction, she greeted us each by name. (She blew us even further away when she rattled off our upcoming birthdays!) Hayde's energy was palpable. It was immediately clear that Hayde loves her country and couldn't wait to share with us those things that make Ecuador special. She was amazing with our kids and took the time to answer their questions and create fun games to break up long bus rides. Upon our return from the Galápagos, we were excited to get to spend a little more time with Hayde. We had a lovely dinner with her and the charming driver, Manuel. During the dinner one of our twins was feeling under the weather, and Hayde took notice and requested warm lemonade to ease his sore throat. It was such a caring act, and it definitely helped! There were plenty of tears once we had to say goodbye at the airport. If we could've fit her in our luggage, we surely would have. Hayde is truly a gem of a person and a huge benefit to Andean!

Similarly, our Galápagos guide Gabriel was unbelievable. His passion for his home was obvious and the amount of knowledge he shared with us was really unbelievable. There was no question left unanswered! He made sure our trip ran smoothly - coordinating taxis multiple times every day to get us to our next adventure on time. Gabriel was also great with our kids and went out of his way to make sure their trip would be memorable. He was happy to grab one of our Go Pro cameras during our many snorkeling trips to get amazing photos we wouldn't have been able to capture on our own. (Again, tears at the airport upon our goodbye.)

Lastly, I have to mention something I observed with another Andean guide, Richard. Richard and his group were on the same boat as us from Santa Cruz to Isabela. We had seen them several times already throughout the trip, and it was obvious that the younger girls in his group were special needs (to some degree). When it was time to transfer from the boat to the water taxi, one of the girls in Richard's group became frantic and very upset. I watched as Richard gently and carefully guided her into the water taxi and put his arm around her as she sat down in a very protective and caring manner. Woah. The gesture was an act of kindness that you would expect to see between family members and close friends, but knowing he was a tour guide without a strong tie to the young girl, made it exceptional.

Not only were the guides themselves amazing, but the trip was 100% customized to my family's adventurous spirit. Also the transportation from place to place was seamless. We were never left waiting for a transfer or ride to our next destination.

For many years, it has been my dream to visit the Galápagos Islands and Machu Picchu. We chose to use Andean Discovery to handle management of the trip, including the selection of hotels, Galapagos tour boat and private guides in both Ecuador and Peru. Our travel dates were April 16- 28, 2019.

My wife and I have done a fair amount of international travel, but had no experience in traveling to South America. We also had limited Spanish language skills, so we had some trepidation, but Damian and the staff at Andean Discovery planned a customized trip for us and helped promptly answered all of our pre-trip questions. We also made some last minute changes which the Andean Discovery staff promptly handled for us without issue or complaint.

Once we landed in Ecuador, we were immediately met at the airport by our guide Johanna and driver. Johanna was fantastic, knowledgeable and took care of everything in mainland Ecuador. As an aside, prior to leaving, we read the US State Department warnings and internet information about Ecuador not being safe due to crime. While everyone’s experiences may vary, at no time in either Ecuador or Peru did we feel unsafe, nor did we ever even have run ins with would-be pickpockets (which btw we encountered several times in past trips to Italy and Spain). All the Ecuadorans and Peruvians we encountered were extremely friendly.

We were assisted with all airport transfers by guides that met us in each airport to assist us with customs and baggage transfers. The Andean Adventures staff took care of everything. Andean Discovery even provided us a cell phone in case there were problems (there were none btw until we were ready to leave and air canada cancelled our flight out of Lima - see p.s below.

Our time on the Galapagos island cruise vessel, Legend, was fantastic. The iteniary was action packed and our naturalist guide Paul was super knowledgeable. We snorkeled with fur seals, sea turtles and penguins as saw all the “must see” land wildlife.

We again were assisted by Andean Adventure staff with our airport transfers in Guyacil and Lima en route ito Cusco were we were met at the airport by our guide Cesar Perez. Cesar and driver assisted us for 5 days in the sacred valley, Machu Picchu and Cusco. The itiniary created by Andean Discoveries was exceptional. We were treated to authentic cultural experiences with Quechua people which led to several “we can’t believe we are getting to do this” experiences. Cesar further allowed us to customize our trip according to our interests. Cesar was our guide the entire time in Peru. Cesar even accompanied us on the Inca trail one day hike and when we arrived to macchu Picchu it felt like we were the only ones there. We never had considered using a private guide before this trip, and now after working with Cesar, I can’t imagine not having a private guide on a trip like this.

I have never been on an international trip that went this seamlessly, and our trip required a significant amount of logistical support. For any one out there who wants the adventure of traveling to Peru and Ecuador, Andean Discovery can deliver a trip that will likely far exceed your expectations. This trip was worth every penny and much more.

PS. We had a last minute flight cancellation in Lima. We needed a hotel room fast. I called the local Andean Discovery office and someone answered at 3 am in the morning and arrranged a hotel near the airport and transportation. Five stars!

We had an incredible trip! Everything was planned to our wishes and went off without a problem. Our guides were so friendly and knowledgable. I would highly recommend Andean Discovery and plan on using them the next time we travel to South America.

Andean Discovery was amazing. They took care of every detail in planning our trip to The Galapagos Islands and the Amazon rain forrest. JoAnn was our guide in Quito, and she was beyond great! She took care of every detail including taking us to the airport at 3am, and she was a wealth of knowledge about the local people and geography. We do not know what we would have done without her. Every detail of our somewhat complicated trip was spot on, and we had an amazing time. Andean Discovery gave us great advice in our pre-trip planning about immunizations, what to pack, what to expect from the local culture, and many other details. We would absolutely use Andean Discovery again and give them our highest recommendation.

Fantastic trip arranged by Andean Discovery. We wanted to visit the Galapagos Islands as well as Machu Picchu. They were able to link these two experiences together seamlessly with a very professional staff of guides, airport greeters, that made the usual headaches of travel simply disappear. We were extremely impressed and would like to highly recommend Andean Discovery to others.

Everyone was extremely helpful and allowed my wife and I to thoroughly enjoy our 30th wedding anniversary adventure in S. America with the assistance of the knowledgeable and entertaining guides they hired and the memorable itinerary they planned and seamlessly executed!

Andean discoveries set us up with a great vacation. The guides were fantastic, very knowledgeable and understandable. The itinerary was great. I would highly recommend then for a trip in that area.

Excellent guides, very flexible with our schedule when we wanted to change the itinerary for the day. It was greatly appreciated.

This was one of the best trips we have taken. There was an Andean representative waiting for us at the airports and handled all issues that arose. Our personal guide in Peru was amazing and a wealth of information. I would highly recommend them as a first rate tour agency.

Wonderful family experience, an adventure full for joy, nature, history, culture and social awareness.