About us

Testimonials

Please have a look at a little of the feedback we have received from clients over the years...

Here at South America we firmly believe in the feedback of our clients, be it good or bad, as it really is the key to us moving forwards and improving our service and the overall experience. With the price of hotels and flights only on the increase we feel it is important to know where we have gotten things right and where wrong. In the below, please see what our clients are saying about us and judge for yourself. (please note that ALL of the reviews we feature are 100% real and unedited. If you would like to speak to any of our past clients please let us know).

Furthermore, we have started to gather customer reviews through Trustpilot so please take a look at our page on there to see how we are doing. Trustpilot Reviews >>

Dear Holly,

Thank you very much for your email! Joao asked me to summarize our trip, so here you go :)
Our honeymoon was amazing and we had a lot of fun. Even though we didnt see penguins :-).
Thanks very much for all the info you provided for us at hotel Clasico and thanks for the book and maps :-).

Hotel Clasico was really nice and stylish with the best breakfast! Very cosy and well situated.Pick up on the EZE airport was very friendly and helpful!

Our other stay in hotel Teritorio in Puerto Madryn was really amazing!!!! Room was really big and so comfortable with perfect view to the ocean and whales. We even went swimming with seals (I guess its the highlight :) ) Staff at the hotel was very friendly and nice to us and their cuisine was very tasty.

Design Suites in El Calafate was nice too. Very friendly welcoming, very very stylish hotel and very good breakfast (we are breakfast people, ahah :) and spa area). Only thing we weren't so happy about was no view to the lake, but we didnt want to complain only because of two nights. Trip to Perito Moreno which you helped us to organize was another highlight of the trip, but El Calafate was a disappointment ( a bit of a messy town) (thats of course not your fault, just giving you feedback, we think one night (just to go to the glaciar) would be enough).

Our next stay in El Chalten was a pretty nice mountain experience, except we didn't like the cottage much (the owner was a very nice person but didn't feel like honeymoonish). We know it lots of things were closed at this time so it probably wasn't easy finding something. Probably no the most appropirate place for the purpose of our trip (honeymon) - small cottage, very small bed, we had to buy our food (the breakfast they provided wasn't enough). But it had some coziness, and since it was supposed to be the hiking (tougher) part of the trip, it was ok.

Honestly we were looking forward to our next destination in Ushuaia which was really nice. The owner Sebastian (Tierra de Leyendas) was very very nice to us, welcomed us in a big style, explained everything, perfect! Amazing view, service, great hotel.

All the pick ups (except one) were on time, drivers very friendly. Really thank you for helping us organize this trip :-). it was a stunning experience and we are sure we are coming back to Argentina.

Thanks again! It was great :)


SEE THEIR GALLERY

João and Petra

Hi Holly,
Got back yesterday!
Had a fantastic time and of course and our kids getting two medals certainly helped.

We really enjoyed Peru and the guides and people who met us were fantastic
Your picks on the hotels were great too.

Rio went quite quickly once we were there and although stressful watching we had fun with the other parents.
Buenos Aires was great and we have agreed that we will go back to South America again soon.

Thanks for organising everything - it made it so easy to get around and see everything in a limited amount of time.

We would thoroughly recommend your services and will definitely be in touch when we are ready to go next time.

Cheers
Deb

Deb and Simon

Nick - Many thanks for organising a fantastic holiday for us to Peru, Quito and the Galapagos.

We had an amazing time in both countries all of the hotels and tours you recommended were great.

Comments on each hotel:-

Hotel B Lima - Great boutique hotel in a trendy part of Lima with excellent service and great bar.

Hotel Casa Gangotena Quito - Right in the centre of the old city great service and fabulous restaurant (one of the best in Quito).

Sol y Luna Sacred Valley - Lovely gardens, two good restaurants and plenty of activities on site - horse riding, mountain biking etc.

Liberatador Cusco - Centrally located and again great service.

Inkaterra Machu Picchu - Great location set in a rainforest with lots of wildlife - restaurants were just ok.

The guides for each area were knowledgeable and friendly who listened to what we wanted to do.

The one day hike to Machu Picchu was hard work but well worth it for the view of MP from Sun Gate.

The Galapagos was amazing - such diverse islands and wild life and the cruise on the MC Cormorant was great - they managed to prepare amazing food whilst at sea and keep all the guests fully entertained with activities. The hot tub was very welcome after a few hours of snorkelling.

This is the third holiday we have booked with you and I would have no hesitation in recommending you to others.

Thanks again and we'll be in touch about Chile next year!

Paul & Christine J

Christine and Paul

Hi Nick,

Thank you for the excellent experience in exploring Peru!
We had a great time, and for sure, did not want to drive there myself!, especially when the train is offering great opportunities to travel to Machu Picchu and to Puno.

Great balance between Andes, Amazone and Desert. Best of Peru!

Lunch at Central restaurant, worlds number 4 best restaurant, turned out excellent timing when you want to visit the evening show in Parque de la Reserva, a must do in Lima! Too many highlights to mention, but the Delfin Cruise is beyond expectations. The full itinerary: Loved it!

Some details:
Indeed flights can be cancelled just before boarding. We experienced this, after just one night staying in Peru, when traveling from Lima to Cusco. Fortunately many flights go to Cusco, so we only needed to manage the 3 hours on the airport without missing a tour, just missing relaxing a couple of hours in the beautiful Belmond Sacred Valley hotel.

Lima tours at all locations, did a great job. It felt good to have a travel agency, and not just book via the intranet, especially when 4 people missed their flight and arrived too late for Delfin 1 departure! The American couple that had a travel agency resolved the issue without paying a penalty, but of course, you don't want to go there!!!

Guide to Machu Picchu I can definitely recommend, keeps you motivated to walk the inka trail to Machu Picchu and climb the mountain next to it. Nick, thanks, the Lima restaurant you recommended in Cuzco was really nice (under statement). They did not immediately found the reservation, but we ended up with a very nice table on the balcony and they baked a cake for my birthday, food was great! Also the restaurant in Arequipa, Chicha, you recommended was great. We found out that it's better to reserve restaurants upfront, as Casina Andina hotel (nice city hotel!) was very helpful, but many restaurants were fully booked even out season. Loved Nasca lines, but people who are not used in flying such small airplanes might get motion sick. As pilot in training, I managed of course ;-). Will send you some pictures.

Please send my compliments to Lima Tours.

All the best, Inez

Inez and Lucas

John has very kindly agreed to let us share some his photos on our website and Facebook page.


SEE THEIR GALLERY

John, Chris and Katy

Before Travel

Nick,
Many thanks. Your response and service has been excellent as usual. I do not expect to need to contact you again before our trip but I will contact you after we get back.
I want you to know that I have spoken your praises to many friends who are interested in our trip. I am sure I would never have had the personal and responsive service you have given us from many other companies - certainly not any of the 'big ones'.
Adios Hasta Mayo! (Maybe not proper Spanish but you know what I mean)
Sam

After Travel

Nick,
Here is a copy of our comments on the trip.
In summary, it was memorable and many of the places we went can TRULY be described by the often mis-used term, Awesome!
Sam

Sam and Moira

Hi Holly,

Just a quick reply to let you know it was fantastic from start to finish. I’m still working through all the photos, which could take another couple of weeks.

Katy and I both independently lost our iPhones on the same day and amazingly tracked them down the day after!

We loved the country, the food, wine, and the people. My favourite bit was the south. What a great place. I could happily live in Puerto Natales I think.

I’ll try to send you a more detailed report soon. If you have any specific questions please let me know! Thanks very much for sorting the trip out.

Best regards,

John


SEE THEIR GALLERY

John and Katy

Holly, we thoroughly enjoyed the trip...everything went smoothly...I second Terry's comments about Bernardo...he met us at the Marriott in Santiago and took us to the airport for our first flight to Puerto Arenas...He went into the airport and dealt with everyone at the counter regarding our luggage, an aisle or exit row seat for my husband...he was with us until we entered the departure area..amazing...truly excellent service, give Bernardo a raise...

Our driver to Torres de Paine was our guide as well..stopping for llamas and ostrich...keeping a strong hold on the van in 50 mph wind gusts...the estancia we stopped at for lunch was terrific..Cerro Negro..our hostess took us on a tour of the farm house, lots of amazing history and artefacts..our roast lamb was scrumptious, and her herding dogs were fun to watch...the Hotel Las Torres Patagonia was perfect...all wood construction, trekkers, hikers,and some tourists like ourselves...wonderful food and wine...great day at Lago Grey seeing the glaciers...and another day visiting with horsemen..baqueanos..was fascinating...looking in on their daily lives, caring for their horses and each other, even cooking for us...and the final big stop for us, Puerto Varas...a seaside resort without the crowds, my husband was able to fly fish for the day and he loved that..again, wonderful food, especially seafood...our driver from the airport, Evon??, was again a guide as well, explaining much about the economy and culture of the area and at our urging, suggesting a restaurant...Fogon Las Buenas Brasas...we had a seafood platter to die for...Lastly, at the Marriott, 3 young men were especially helpful and very knowledgeable about Santiago...Mario and Hans and Bastion...they exemplified what we found to be the hallmark of the Chileans we met..smiling, helpful,patient...proud of their country
Thank you for working with Terry to plan a marvellous trip

Clare and John

Hi Holly,
The trip you planned for us was fabulous!
All connections and hotels worked out perfectly for us.
Los Torres and Cumbres were perfect. Llao Llao was spectacular - they upgraded us to luxury suite!
At Los Torres, the Lago Gray trip was very worthwhile. And we recommend the Baqueano for a Day option... it was very interesting.
The Mine Hotel was very good for our short stay in BA.
(Room and bathroom were small, BUT... Staff were so friendly and helpful and very nice amenities in common areas.)
The person who picked us up from the Santiago Marriott, whose name is Bernardo, was especially helpful getting us to airline counter and getting us roomier seats for trip to Punta Arenas.
It was especially comforting to have all the connections run so smoothly.
It will take time to coordinate the best photos from the trip since we have soooo many good ones.
Thank you for planning a fabulous adventure!
Terry and Jim

Terry and Jim

Hi Nick,

We hope you are well. We have returned from our honeymoon in Argentina and wanted to give you some feed back. Overall we had an amazing trip and a great experience, and couldn't be more grateful for all your hard work in getting it arranged at short notice. To make things easier to write I have broken our trip down;

Fierro hotel in BA was great. The staff couldn't have been more helpful, the accommodation was great and the food and wine excellent. I would really recommend this place to others.

La esteppa in el calafate was nice and perfectly OK for a stop over.

Estancia Cristina was amazing, as a staying guest you are given the VIP treatment. The location is stunning, the activities brilliant and the staff friendly and helpful. During our stay there was never more than 6 people on any activity. The food is also good.

Hotel Bohemia Mendoza was sadly the low point for us. This really doesn't meet the standards of any of the hotels we had stayed in prior to this. Our room had a leak, the towels were threadbare, linen did not look clean . We did mention the leak to the receptionist but nothing was done. Had our stay not been outside of your normal working hours we would have asked to be moved. The only positive I can give is that the staff are friendly. This hotel is very much tatty and shabby, not boutique!

The transfers were all great and worked really well.

Finally, the complementary wine on arrival was great!

Is there somewhere we can write a review on you and the company?

Thanks again.

Lucy and Pete

Pete and Lucy

Pages