Latin America Tours & Trips

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Though I did a post-trip survey I wanted to submit a public facing review of my trip with G-Adventures. I was on the Volcano Trail trip from Nov 5 - 22nd of 2017. Overall the tour was pretty good, below is a detailed thought process on each of the cities / lodgings / activities that were a part of the trip, as well as a review of the tour guide and some gripes along the way... without any further adieu.... I arrived a couple of days early in Antigua Guatemala, during that time I had a BLAST. I met people trying to learn English and helped them practice English in the town square, and ended up renting a motorbike and riding that to Escuintla(I hope that's how it was spelled) to spend time meeting them and their friends... that wasn't part of the trip but it was awesome. Antigua was also the high-water mark as far as food went. I really enjoyed La Fonda de la Calle Real, great soups and in general it was affordable by American standards, though a bit more pricey than some other places in the area. The people here were very friendly and the city seemed to be very safe, even walking alone at night I never felt like I was in any kind of danger. In general this was one of my favorite stops on the tour, however it's worth noting that had I arrived on the 5th as G had suggested I would have come to Antigua, spent the night and left abruptly the next morning -- I feel like that is such a mistake as this city is super-charming. The accomodations in Antigua were... average I suppose? The noise in the common areas wasn't too bad. Day 2 of the tour was a LONG bus ride from Antigua to Copan Ruinas in Honduras. Copan is just over the border, but due to a storm that had gone through a road was washed out on the other side of the border... The kicker from this is that we ended up having a 11 hour travel day, leaving Antigua at about 8am and getting to Copan at 7pm during this time we traveled roughly ~270km. If this sounds slow -- it was. Much of Guatemala was under construction and it was just painfully slow. The hotel we stayed at in Copan was nice looking and we had a large room with a balcony -- the problem was that we were right on the street and the walls were extremely thin. The noise from passing cars (we were on a very steep incline) woke me up repeatedly through the night both nights we stayed here. Copan was a nice enough city, though it was a bit quiet. The weather wasn't great here, and the food was...good, but nothing remarkable. From Copan we traveled, first Copan -> San Pedro Sula, San Pedro Sula -> La Cieba, La Cieba -> Roatan. This was another 11 hour travel day, the bus rides from Copan -> SPS, and SPS to LC being 4 hours each and the ferry being around 90 minutes and then 45 to our hotel... The hotel here was annoying, there was a loud dog and a parrot next door to the hotel that woke us up whenever anyone would come / go in the night or morning. The wifi here was extremely unreliable. Roatan itself was incredible. I went diving, slummed around on the beach, did karaoke, went out with some locals and mingled with my group. In all it was a great experience, despite the final day we were there being completely rained on. But hey, that's Honduras on the tail end of the rainy season. The restaurants on Roatan were pretty great. I got a chicken and rice plate that was really good for around $5 USD right on the strip of West Beach. From Roatan we went via flight to El Salvador, and From El Salvador -> Managua Nicaragua, then from Managua to Granada. This was a fairly tiring travel day, we left our hotel at around 9:30am and arrived on the other end at around 5pm or so. Overall Roatan was probably my best few days while on the G-tour. In Granada I believe our whole group opted to do a 5-in-1 trip that involved drinking, going to a lookout point over Laguna De Apoyo, swimming at Laguna De Apoyo, and then driving up to the caldera of Volcan Masaya. It was a pretty good value, though I don't drink. The lodging in Granada was probably the best you're going to see on the trip. The place is called Hotel Chillamates (or something similar) if you want to look it up. The place itself is quite nice, but the surrounding area is easily the WORST on the entire trip and felt quite unsafe. The hotel had an armed guard outside and extremely high walls with electric fencing at the top. It felt safe on the inside, though a little like a prison. The food in Granada was definitely the low-water mark on the trip. We got pizzas from a place around the corner one evening and it was just... really bad. The other evening we went to another place called Nectar. Nectar brought me out bland, cold chicken. I was close to not paying for it, but whatever. we had dinner the night before at a place "The Garden Cafe" and while it wasn't the best value for the food, the food was still VERY good, and the restaurant had the best Wifi of any location on the entire trip. From Granada we went to Puesta Del Sol in Isle De Ometepe in Nicaragua. The travel that day felt arbitrarily long despite going a relatively short distance geographically. it's about 90km, give or take, but it still took somewhere in the realm of 8 hours to cover, which was ... interesting. Once arriving at Puesta Del Sol, we were assigned to our families for a home stay. Our family was nice enough, but their understanding of English was quite poor since they were apparently one of the first families to be involved in home-stays some number of years ago. My Spanish was beginner-intermediate at best, but the conversation was quite difficult. Their cooking was traditional and again, was not tremendously to my liking, though I ate it because, well, they made it for me. Rice and beans...every meal. The activities on Puesta Del Sol weren't for me. I had gotten sunburnt quite badly (ended up having some gnarly 2nd degree burns on my shoulders from surfing in Playa Hermosa), a beach that was flooded from heavy rains and a swimming hole were on the "super lazy" tour, which was my preference for that day. I really wanted to hike Conception, but with my sunburn as bad as it was, 9 hours in the sun just sounded like a terrible idea. Everyone that went came back sunburnt. The group seemed to be unhappy with this day in general. The food left a lot to be desired and the activities... well, they weren't great either. Some of the group were very hostile and negative, which was unfortunate. We left Puesta Del Sol at an ungodly hour in the morning after an evening of jungle cacaphony that was unrivaled by any other leg of the trip. Loud dogs, cows, roosters, and what sounded like a Kookabura (I know they aren't in Nicaragua, so maybe it was a Monkey of some variety?) were making a TON of noise at night and kept me awake until about 3am. The next day was another 9 hour travel day, from Puesta Del Sol -> Monteverde in Costa Rica. Once we crossed the border into Costa Rica it was a beautiful drive, nearly straight up for ~1 mile. Monteverde's accomodations were annoying, it was the only place on the trip I had bad data and no wifi despite being pretty close to the hotel office. The room was nice enough, though the walls were less than paper thin. You could hear other people 2-3 doors down in each direction talking at normal volume. It was incredible how much you could hear (including snoring at night). The weather in Monteverde was unlike anywhere else I've ever been, it was a crisp ~70f (~21c ) day and night, and while that was cold compared to the rest of our trip it was PERFECT for me. The nights were mid 60's (18 - 20c) and were just perfect for a light sweatshirt. The air was clean, the views were beautiful and the activities in the city were better than other places on the trip. During my time in Monteverde I went canyoning, bungee jumping and Ziplining. All three of these were a good time, though I feel like the value proposition for canyoning wasn't quite perfect. Monte Verde (well, Costa Rica in general) was very expensive after coming from the other Countries mentioned. It was about ~20-30 for a "good" meal. Every meal I had while in Monteverde is worth mentioning. I ate at a cafe with a huge tree growing in the middle of it, and at a pizza place considerably further up the hill. Monteverde had the best activities on the trip, though they were a bit expensive. From Monteverde we went to La Fortuna, which was the last "real" stop on the trip. The travel day was a solid 9-10 hours, though I was able to sleep for some of it. The scenary on this leg of the journey was one of the few that I wish I had stayed awake for. Rolling green mountains as far as the eye can see, dotted with wind turbines, livestock, and blue skies for as far as you can see. We then waited about 45 minutes for a boat to show up, which would take us... I don't know where we arrived on the other side, though we were pretty close to Volcan Arenal. We made our way to Las Cabinitas in La Fortuna, and while the rooms were very cute, this was probably the worst lodgings for me personally. Las Cabinitas were these cute little cabins with great views of Volcan Arenal, however the air conditioning in my room was just not working at all, after having made 3 complaints I just had to suck it up... it was about ~80-~90f (26-32c) in the room in the evening, coupled with a bad sunburn, it was pretty miserable. The food in La Fortuna was pretty good. Don Rufino was probably the best "American Style" food I had on the trip. An American style Hamburger and fries was a much needed break from the endless rice and beans that had assaulted my senses for the majority of the trip. The group I was with went to a dance club one night, but it just wasn't my scene at all. Unlike the clubs on Roatan, don't expect any English music, or even top 40 Spanish music to be played here, you're going to hear lots of music that is just... strange to hear in a club. No sensible beat to dance to... but I guess if you're drunk enough? Overall La Fortuna was probably my second least favorite stop on the trip as it was just oppressively hot during the day (92f //33-34c) and quite humid in the evening with a non-working AC in the room. Rooms also had no wifi, though cell data was decent. We traveled from La Fortuna to San Jose. I went with a smaller group of people that went white water rafting down the Pacuare river. I feel like it was fun, though the water was a little too cold for me to fully enjoy myself. Despite there being heavy cloud cover and some rain that day, there I still managed to get slightly more sunburnt (this time on my right leg and foot). We arrived that evening in San Jose... in what can only be called a "Seedy" part of town. We went out to eat as a group and the food was pretty good. While walking back to the hostel we noticed a large number of whores on the corners of the roads, further cementing that we were not in a nice part of the city, the bus transfer in SPS, This, and the Area outside out hotel were the only 3 times I felt legitimately like I was in any danger. 5:30am the following morning was the end of my trip, I left the hotel for the airport and that concluded my trip. Our guide, Suzy, was wonderful, and helpful. She wasn't what you'd call "professional" in the sense that she joked around a lot, had a good time with us, and generally augmented our experience. She was also extremely fluent in Spanish and was definitely not a pushover when something wasn't up to par she would push back hard on the establishments that were giving us a hard time. The group in general was pretty "cliquey". The trip consisted of 13 women, 4 men, and a female tour guide. This made for a bit of a strange paradigm compared to other trips I'd been on in the past where the demographics were a bit more even. I was traveling solo on this trip and didn't make any real close friends while on the trip, though I still keep in touch with 8 of the 18 people on the trip via facebook, I have really started to appreciate some of the personalities of the people after leaving more than when I was traveling with the people in question. Small annoyances: Tipping drivers -- we were taking so many taxi's, shuttles, buses, and everything else that it was just a constant stream of tipping $1-3 per transfer. Over the course of the trip there was probably about ~30+ of these tips. I wish that this was built into the fee structure, not because of the concept of it being much money, but because trying to have appropriate change of $1-3 in the local currency or USD was hard, especially on border crossing days. The trip overall was one where I felt like the amount of time on transit was a little higher than expected, it was probably a grand total of about 5-6 days on a 17 day trip of actively traveling, which is a LOT. The destinations were great, and the activities were pretty well thought out. An extra day in Antigua / Monteverde / Roatan would have been awesome.

Destinations

Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica+3 more

Age Range

18 to 39 year olds

Operated in

English

Operator

G Adventures This operator has the highest review ratings and fastest responses to enquiries

• In-depth Cultural
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• Explorer
• +1

Great trip, awesome people, would have loved to stay longer in some places and shorter in others but thats the nature of this experience.

Destinations

Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica+5 more

Age Range

18 to 39 year olds

Operated in

English

Operator

G Adventures This operator has the highest review ratings and fastest responses to enquiries

• Explorer
• Wildlife
• Hiking & Trekking
• Christmas & New Year
• +2

Overall very positive experience of travel in Costa Rica! We visited several locations with local touch, excellent natural environment and many, many animals and birds. Our guide Leo was very helpful and knowledgeable in picking creatures and restaurants, it was helpful. Included in the paid part of the Classic CR tour excursions seem too little to me compared to other companies. Some of them have been in very undeveloped areas, bad roads and with very limited facilities. Otherwise, we purchased additional activities as we wish and many of them have been exciting. All future participants must expect to spend additional $1500 on food, activities and tips. Organization and communication help from Leo was priceless. We all have had unforgettable memories and pictures from the tour. Pura vida!

Destinations

San Jose, Tortuguero National Park, Santa Rosa de Pocosol, Tenorio Volcano National Park, La Fortuna, Arenal Volcano National Park, Monteverde, Manuel Antonio National Park+7 more

Age Range

15 to 99 year olds

Operated in

English

Operator

Intrepid Travel This operator has the highest review ratings and fastest responses to enquiries

• Active
• Family
• Wildlife
• Christmas & New Year
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The trip was amazing. Our guide Cesar was incredible. I enjoyed the food, the snorkeling, the companions on my trip and all accomodations were excellent.

Destinations

Quito, San Cristóbal Island, Floreana Island, Isabela Island, Santa Cruz Island+4 more

Age Range

15 to 99 year olds

Physical Rating

Active

Regions

Pacific, Galapagos Islands+1 more

Operated in

English

Operator

Intrepid Travel This operator has the highest review ratings and fastest responses to enquiries

• Active
• Beach
• Wildlife
• Explorer
• +1

Lau was an amazing guide! She is always so full of enthusiasm to show us her country nobody else would be! She is alway kind to everyone and there is no problem that she couldn’t solve! Overall the 10 day Costa Rica Adventure is a good way to get to know the country. The stops are very well chosen so that you will get a good impression about the diversity of Costa Rica.

Destinations

San Jose, La Fortuna, Monteverde, Playa Santa Teresa, Montezuma, Cabuya+4 more

Age Range

up to 99 year olds

Operated in

English

Operator

TruTravels This operator has the highest review ratings and fastest responses to enquiries

• Active
• Family
• Christmas & New Year
• +1

If this is your first time in Peru, this tour is definitely recommended. Sights are amazing, planning and timing are smooth, which is not an easy job considering the extend and logistics in Peru. My Machu Picchu guide Nohemi was exceptionally competent. The tour company Waman adventures is also quite attentive to the specifics of trip.

Destinations

Lima, Paracas, Ica, Cusco, Moray, Maras, Chinchero, Ollantaytambo, Aguas Calientes, Machu Picchu, Salkantay Mountain, Rainbow Mountain, Andahuaylillas, Checacupe, Sicuani, Pucara, Puno, Lake Titicaca, Uros Reed Islands, Taquile Island, Juliaca+18 more

Age Range

10 to 79 year olds

Mountain

Andes Mountains

Operated in

English, Spanish

Operator

Waman Adventures This operator has good review ratings and responds to all enquiries

• Explorer
• Beach

A brilliant trip with a great combination of activities and an excellent tour guide who was so fun and helpful along the way and who shared so much information with us about Mexican history and culture.

Destinations

Cancun, Holbox Island, Chichen Itza, Merida, Bacalar, Tulum, Playa del Carmen+6 more

Age Range

up to 99 year olds

Operated in

English

Operator

TruTravels This operator has the highest review ratings and fastest responses to enquiries

• Active
• Family
• Christmas & New Year
• +1

Just home from our 7 day tour of Peru. It was amazing. The tour went seamlessly. Every pick up and drop off was completely on time. Each tour guide was amazingly informed. All of the hotels we stayed at were comfortable and clean. I could not have asked for a better time.

Destinations

Lima, Paracas, Ica, Cusco, Moray, Maras, Chinchero, Ollantaytambo, Aguas Calientes, Machu Picchu, Rainbow Mountain+8 more

Age Range

10 to 79 year olds

Mountain

Andes Mountains, Machu Picchu+1 more

Operated in

English, Spanish

Operator

Waman Adventures This operator has good review ratings and responds to all enquiries

• Explorer
• Christmas & New Year

An alle die noch überlegen: Bucht es! Ich habe mit dieser Reise tolle Erfahrungen gesammelt und es war einzigartig. Schon allein die Vielfalt war überwältigend. Von den Besuchen der tollen historischen Altstädte, über die kahlen Landschaften der Vulkane bis hin zum Regenwald, war bei dieser Tour alles dabei. Außerdem war es immer super organisiert und man fühlt sich immer willkommen und gut aufgehoben. Mein Guide, Santiago, war bei Fragen oder Problemen immer zu erreichen und zudem sehr hilfsbereit und freundlich. Ich würde die Reise jedem ans Herz legen und weiterempfehlen.

Destinations

Quito, Otavalo, Cotopaxi National Park, Quilotoa, Banos, Chimborazo Volcano, Puyo, Cuyabeno Wildlife Preserve, Papallacta+7 more

Age Range

18 to 60 year olds

Regions

Andes Mountains, Avenue of the Volcanoes, Amazonian Basin+2 more

Operated in

English, Spanish

Operator

Ecuador Galapagos Travels This operator has the highest review ratings and fastest responses to enquiries