All testimonials
Some independent feedback on our
trips from past travellers over the years
 
Chile trip, Scott K (from USA) - February 3, 2012
Hi Laura,

Everything was perfect and in fact, the hotels we stayed at were nicer than I thought they`d be! :) The rental car did the job and the paperwork speed us through customs both going into Argentina and returning back to Chile.

There are a couple things that might help the trip for future reference, although they didn`t affect the outcome of our trip at all. These are based totally on personal experiences and might not apply to all travelers, but knowing some of these might have helped a bit.

1 - Hotel Las Torres - From the entrance to the park to the hotel is quite a ways and it`s all dirt roads. Make sure to leave time to explore the park on the way.

2 - At Hotel Las Torres you can book excursions on horseback, by van or on foot to see glaciers and all the wonders of the park.

3 - Customs on both sides - The customs agents were more willing to help people in cars than those in tour groups on buses. Go inside and ask around and they may either shuffle you to the front of the line or better yet, take you in back and process your car and passports personally. :)

4 - Hotel Temauken in Puerto Natales is not where Google Maps says it is. It`s further up the hill.

5 - Filling the tank with gas - "llenar" means to fill the tank. There are several places to fill the tank right on the outskirts of Punta Arenas.

6 - I would make the recommendation to stay two nights in Torres del Paine National Park.

7 - Not too far from Punta Arenas there is the Seno Otway penguin colony that is worth the short side trip.

Thank you so much! That was an awesome trip and my dad and I had a wonderful time! It truly was a week of seeing some of the most beautiful sights that Patagonia has to offer.

I`ll send some pictures when I filter through them. :)

Thanks again!!!!

Scott
Costa Rica trip, Victoria L (from Spain) - January 17, 2012

Buenos dias Mauricio, 

Acabo de hablar con mis clientes, los Sumarroca, y están muy contentos de todo el viaje a Costa Rica. Los hoteles, actividades, la persona que coordinaba es una señora  muy buena.

Gracias por todo!
Victoria Luckas
Ferrer & Saret
Travel Advisors Paris 207 - 08008
Barcelona  (Spain)

Chile trip, Brian L (from USA) - January 16, 2012

Dear Laura,

Overall the trip was wonderful, we enjoyed it immensely and would recommend a similar trip to our friends and family. We loved the hotel that I had chosen in San Martin de los Andes, Argentina: La Casa de Eugenia – a very friendly and homey hosteria in a historic house with great hosts. I would recommend this to other guests who like a more intimate hotel (the Landhaus San Sebastian in Pucon that you had recommended was also a very lovely more intimate place to stay). That being said, we did like very much the hotel in Puerto Varas, so we are not opposed to nice larger hotels too. As I am sure you already know, Puyuhuapi Lodge was just magical, especially over Christmas where they prepared such a nice dining room experience both on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day. Hacienda Los Lagos is very special!! Beautiful area of Chile, beautiful accommodations with very lovely and accommodating staff. The excursions there (including the horseback riding) was spectacular. However, like Puyuhuapi, the distance from Balmaceda airport to the hotel is far – about 4hours of driving (over 5 with stops for photos or lunch). We LOVED Hacienda though in all other ways!!!

Thank you!
Best regards, Brian

Peru trip, Jocelyn Y (from USA) - January 2, 2012

Dear Mauricio:

Our week-long trip to Peru was quite easily one of the best vacations for my family. We had so much fun and all the arrangements ran smoothly. The guides were very prompt in meeting with us and making sure our trip was comfortable.

Not only that, but the guides were extremely informative. We had a great time hiking up Wayna Picchu, which was the highlight of our trip. The only thing we regret is that we should''''''''ve stayed longer and seen Lake Titicaca and more cities in Peru. We had a minor mishap of our Star Peru Lima to Cusco flight being delayed for 2+ hrs. As a result, we missed the cathedral tour in Cusco. However, our guide for the day tour of Cusco the day after was more than glad to cover that for us.

My brother also forgot his day pack in the van, but it was easily retrieved as the hotel reception called the driver. There should be a culinary tour in Peru as Peruvian food is wonderful. Overall, a great trip! I definitely recommend using Latin Discover. And thanks to Mauricio for responding to my emails quickly and for being accommodating.

Thanks again!
Jocelyn
Antarctica trip, Timur O (from Turkey) - December 27, 2011

Dear Laura
Me and my friends thank you for everything. The trip was so nice. 3 photographs are attached.
Best wishes
Timur Özkan
South America trip, Wai Ling Mok (from Malaysia) - December 26, 2011

Hi Laura

Our trip to Argentina and Peru was very enjoyable - your promptness in accommodating the many changes we made to our program even before we embarked on our journey was appreciated.

I don`t know how you did it, but our seats on Peru Rail up to and down from Machu Picchu were THE best and we got such great views!! Thanks!

Generally most things went well - the sites we visited were all amazing and the hotels we stayed in were excellent, like Club Tapiz in Mendoza, La Cantera in Iguazu, Hotel Monasterio in Cusco, and especially Sol y Luna in Ollantaytambo where we were upgraded to a beautiful suite, and La Bamba de Areco, which was the highlight as we spent the last 3 days of our holiday just relaxing and being pampered.

The following people who looked after us during the tour need to be mentioned as we really appreciated their warmth and excellent and professional service - Maria Laura in Iguazu, Marta in Mendoza, Luis in Cusco and the 2 drivers, JoseLuis and Jose, and especially Emilia at La Bamba de Areco.

My husband and I had a great time in Argentina and Peru and look forward to having you plan our next holiday in South America!!

Regards
WaiLing Mok

South America trip, Geoffrey Blake (from UK) - December 26, 2011

Hi Laura,
Very best of the season and a brilliant new year i trust.
It was truely the very best trip we have ever taken. Exhausting and wonderful, your planning and exercution were superb. Everything, everyone was wonderful and thank you again for your fine planning.
Love n connectedness,
Lynne n Geoffrey

Chile trip, William Hill (from USA) - December 26, 2011

Hi Laura,

The Self-Drive tour that you arranged for us, we could not be more satisfied with the arrangements. The larger car and the hotel accomodations really made the trip one of the best we have taken. On the drive to Lago Grey, we experienced a major flat tire which left us with only the ones on the wheels and we thought that we would have to drive all the way back to Puerto Natales for a replacement but the staff at Lago Grey were incredibly helpful in finding a new tire in their garage which they provided for us, thus making the rest our our trip a safe and totally enjoyable experience. We found El Calafate quite a surprise and full of life and good food.

Best regards,
William Hill/King Lam

 

Antarctica trip, Bernie Jones (from Australia) - December 26, 2011

Hi Laura,

The trip was a wonderful and memorable experience, the boat crew, food, guides  and places were great, they made you welcome and were very helpful with informative lectures.
Thanks for everything Laura, I would recommend Antarctic Dream for a trip because its a smaller operation, more personal and efficient
Bye for now,
           Bernie

Antarctica trip, Peter Birkett (from Australia) - December 26, 2011

Hi Laura,

we had a great time thank you. Antarctica is an awesome place.

Kind regards,
Peter
South America trip, Asdis Baldursdottir (from Iceland) - December 19, 2011

Dear Mauricio.

My husband and I have travelled to some extent, mostly in Europe but also in the States, Asia and Africa. This was our first trip to South America.  We are probably rather independent when we travel and in general like to plan and organize our trips ourselves. We don´t like to be part of large groups!!  Therefore we perhaps are rather difficult customers.

I have to say that it was a real pleasure to work with Latin Discover, or more precisely Mauricio Guzman, and he was always ready to listen to all our special requests and change the plan according to our needs. It gave us the freedom to enjoy our journey in South America to full extent and certainly made it possible for us to see and do much more than we would otherwise have been able to.

All the guides and drivers were first class as well as the hotel accommodation.  We always felt that the travel plan and people serving us was reliable.  It was a nice surprise to feel that someone that we don´t know and we have never met was as understanding of our needs and quick to adopt to our wishes."  I found a new friend!

I hope you will receive more customers from Iceland in the future and if you happen to come to Iceland some day you know how to get in contact with me and I would love to be a help to you.  You know, (no of course you don´t know) but I am a professional tour guide  here in Iceland although it is not my main job.

Thank you once again for all your help and excellent service.  Merry Christmas.

Ásdís Rósa
Chile trip, Lindsay W (from UK) - December 15, 2011

Hi Laura.

We have just returned home after a great holiday which included our trip to the Lakes and Mountains in Chile, we had a great time and the guides were very good. They spoke good English and gave us a wealth of intresting information about the places we visited. The trips were well planned and good.

Lindsay

South America trip, Vinod G (from India) - November 25, 2011
Hi Laura,

I returned to Delhi to-day after long flight from Buenos Aires.

I thank You for the tour arrangement. All the hotels, Your operators were good.

Best Regards,
Vinod Gupta
Peru trip, Ulrike Schaubert (from Germany) - November 15, 2011

Sandra,

It was a very, very good experience! Thanks for everything.

The service was excellent. I was impressed by the service, the information I received and the timeliness of pick ups ... (I thought that we Germans are punctual and well organized ... but that ...).

The only bad thing, but this has nothing to do with the organization ... ;-), was that altitud affected me in Puno and I felt pretty bad, and once that happened, I had the flu and a bad cold ... well ... but I did the tours to take advantage to the fullest ...

Thanks for the perfect preparation and your help with everything and my respect to all the team for the excellent work!

regards,
Ulrike Schaubert
Mexico trip, Alan L (from Hong Kong) - November 15, 2011

Dear Sandra,

Everything was fine and great! Thanks so much for all the effort.

Alan