Operators - 2/6 - i should log off

Review: Peter Tours & Mountaineering (Moshi, Tanzania)

April 3, 2010 By Danny

Sitting in Moshi and staring at prices for multi-day Safari tours, our heads began to spin. We’d researched several options on line and walking around town most of what we found seemed much too high in price for our taste. We wanted to go with a local company, but we also wanted to know that we were going to be safe, and not ripped off. Sitting with one safari guide, watching as his “arithmetic” defied the laws of probability, continuing to raise the price higher and higher, I politely excused myself and walked across the street to buy a soda.
As I did, a man named Peter asked me if I would come into his office when I was done where I was. As my body and mind were still quite weak, having only returned from our Mt. Kilimanjaro hike the day prior, I reluctantly agreed. I did not regret that decision.

We found Peter to be a pleasure to work with from the start. He provided us quickly with a variety of options so that we could design our own safari. He willingly confirmed several safari concerns that I’d had, that the Serengeti was too far from the Crater and to pay to do them both would have been a waste as we’d spend most of our 3 days in the car. His price was better than a 25% off discount from most of the quotes we received and he beat the next best price by 10% as well. Then he started to throw in extras and those extras just kept coming. His advice was spot on and everything he told us turned out to be factual and 100% true. That may not sound like much to you, but trust me, in this part of the world, that means a lot.

The Land Cruiser was about par for the course, as was our camping accommodation. The nicest thing about the Land Cruiser was that the roof popped up allowing us to stand inside the vehicle with our heads and bodies sticking out the top. This was particularly nice when the lions decided to rest in the shade of our vehicle and we could sit on the roof with our beers in hand and just look at their beautiful faces. When the rains came the top came down and our tents did not leak either.

Our safari itself went according to plan. We had no problems, no surprises, and most importantly, excellent food. Our three day safari not only included two nights camping accommodation near the parks but Peter also put us up in a nice hotel with air conditioning (a big step up from where we’d put ourselves before the safari began) and kept the food coming, paying for dinner on the 3rd day and breakfast the next day as well. When I left something behind in the safari vehicle, he even arranged for it to be brought back to Moshi for me at no additional charge. Like I said, Peter was a pleasure to do business with and we wish him great success.

Although we only found Peter in Moshi after we’d completed our Mt. Kilimanjaro hike, we did learn that he also arranged treks up the mountain as well for, what we felt to be, an extremely low price. If you are looking to climb Kilimanjaro and then take a rewarding safari after the climb, I think Peter can probably arrange an amazing combination tour for you. He started on Kilimanjaro as a porter, later a guide, and recently started his own touring company.

Peter Tours & Mountaineering
www.ptmtours.com
P.O. Box 419. Moshi, Tanzania. East Africa.
Email:info@ptmtours.com

We received no compensation of any kind for this review.

Prodownhill (La Paz, Bolivia)

October 5, 2009 By Jillian

Only three months old, Prodownhill has certainly made a name for itself on the South American travelers circuit. Prodownhill came so highly recommended for the death road by several backpackers on their way north through Peru, we didn’t even consider booking the death road with another agency.

Suiting our group of 7 up for the day, the equipment was in excellent shape and clearly taken care of. From the protective moto-cross quality clothing, to the top-quality helmets and pads, it was clear Prodownhill had our safety in mind. Decked out in flash gear, our bikes were tuned and ready to go without a lot of fiddling around. Our guides were friendly and did a great job of keeping us together as a group while allowing people to go down the death road at their own speeds. Stopping the group every 10-15 minutes for a safety stop, our guides were constantly telling us about the next section of road and checking to make sure everyone was having a good time. The seven in our group ranged from an ironman competitor to someone who had never used a mountain biked before and I can say with 100% certainty that everyone felt safe and had a great time on the trip.

Taking lots of video and photos, which they gave us at the end on a CD, the entire Prodownhill staff was attentive, fun and professional. The bikes were in good condition and the protective gear they provided was so significantly more than any other tour operator we saw that we were almost embarrassed knowing that some of those people had paid almost double, for the same death road, what we did! Our experience with them was so incredible I would actually say the death road has been one of my favorite days in all of South America.

A LIST OF THINGS THAT WENT WRONG ON THE DEATH ROAD WITH PRODOWNHILL:

Nobody was killed or otherwise dismembered, deformed, or injured in any way.
We were the sexiest group of bikers out there, everyone else was jealous.
Prodownhill gave us so much food throughout the day that I never got hungry.
The brakes on all of the bikes worked.
Prodownhill kept the office open late and burned the DVD for us that evening.
We paid way less for the death road than probably everyone else out there.
I didn’t have to think or worry about anything.
Prodownhill helped us find a bus for later that evening.
I wasn’t able to buy a cool jersey, instead I was given a free t-shirt and DVD of all our photos and videos.
I only had one free beer to go with my free lunch.
Prodownhill had a movie for us to watch on the 3 hour ride back to La Paz.
On the bike I could go as fast or as slow as I wanted, totally up to me.
Prodownhill gave us a perfect day, for a perfect price. THANK YOU PRODOWNHILL

Sunset Tours (Rurrenabanque, Bolivia)

September 22, 2009 By Jillian

We recently used Sunset Tours for our trip to the Pampas in the Bolivian Amazon. We booked our trip upon our arrival in Rurrenabanque, Bolivia without any hassle at all. Before booking we searched around town and interviewed several other tours. We found the people at sunset to offer a similar trip as much lower prices (although we later heard of others paying the same that we paid at other locations). The biggest positive to booking with sunset was the flexibility they showed us when Jillian was ill on what was supposed to be our first day, allowing us to push our trip back without any problems or fees.

Most importantly though was that everything was as described and we had a great time. The food was all surprisingly excellent given our location far from civiliazation and the lodging was quite comfortable as well. We also felt good about supporting local labor and owners in a new business venture.

The only problems we had were with our transportation. On the first day the car broke down several times and on the final day it was late to pick us up. Additionally, we were told the guide would have an intermediate level of Spanish and while we were OK with the fact that this was not the case, several other non-Spanish speakers were quite disappointed.

Overall we had a great time on our trip to the Pampas, the food was good, the guide was great, and the memories will be forever.

Big Foot Tour Operator (Cusco, Peru)

September 19, 2009 By Jillian

Recommended by our guidebook we booked our Salkantay Trail trek through Big Foot Operators mostly because they were the only ones recommended by the guidebook that got back to our online requests for information. Very responsive to our initial inquiries and questions via email, we realized we were paying more than the normal rate, but expected to have a better experience.

The staff at Big Foot was extremely professional and as we signed the waivers, contracts and paid for the tour, they went over specific details of the trek with us and provided us with a written receipt outlining what was and was not included in the trek. We were sure there would be no surprises on the trek and were under the impression that Big Foot ran the trail tours themselves with their own guides and staff.

Unfortunately we were wrong, they operate only as a middle man, sending their clients off on tours by other operators. This resulted in a number of very disappointing surprises.

On the second morning we were told that boiled water for our water bottles would only be provided at breakfast, not at all meals as the details from Big Foot stated. Walking on average 8 hours a day, this was completely unacceptable to us, especially given that it was written on our documents from Big Foot. Fortunately we had our own water purifier so we were able to fend for ourselves, however this is such a huge health and safety issue at the high altitudes on the Salkantay that we could not just accept it as fact. Then came strike number two. Combined with clients from other travel agencies and tour operators we had paid almost a third more than everyone else in our group. This wouldn’t have bothered us so much if we felt that we were getting what we had paid for, but the value just wasn’t there. From the poor quality of the equipment to waiting almost two hours for lunch, and almost losing people on the trail, time and time again the tour failed to live up to our expectations of quality.

Little surprises continued to pop up and we found ourselves paying out of pocket for not included transportation to the hot springs and having to pay to put our bags on the train from Hidroelectrica to Aguas Calientes and Macchu Picchu. The issue was not the money it was that the additional costs were surprises despite having going through the details very specifically in writing with Big Foot.

We spoke with Big Foot about our quality concerns and the deviations from our contract upon our return in Cusco. Basically because they are a middle man and not a tour operator they couldn’t live up to their contract. After meeting with our group and the guide, Big Foot agreed to refund us part of our tour price, which while our wallets were happy, we were still disappointed that it had to come to a refund. Overall we had a good time on the Salkantay Trail, but despite resolving the situation, they’re unable to promise anything on the tour since they aren’t the operator and thus we cannot recommend them.

Galaxia Expeditions (Huaraz, Peru)

September 19, 2009 By Danny

Llangaduco- Santa Cruz 4d/3n

This is an incredible trek. Although the hike goes through a pass at almost 4800m, it is a relatively easy trek, with the last two days being down hill. The trek could be easily compressed into three days or two long days. That being said, we lacked the necessary camping equipment and instead of skipping the trek joined with Galaxia Expeditions. Gear, guide, and food, the total was about $120 per person plus a 60 sole entrance fee to the park. If you go, a lot of the local villages are trying to tack on additional fees to help support their communities. It’s up to you whether you pay or choose to dispute the fee, but either way be prepared with small bills.

Our trek lasted 4 days (from Llangaduco to Santa Cruz), with the longest and hardest day being day number two when we cleared the pass. The tour was handled professionally and our guide even spoke a little english! Each day we carried a small backpack with our water and layers of outerwear which were rapidly changed seemingly every 200m or so in altitude. The rest of our gear was brought to the next camp by mules.

With temperatures below 0 degrees Celcius, individual camping gear was extremely important. Luckily we had excellent gear through Galaxia Expeditions, appropriate for the climate and altitude and in good condition. Hot breakfast and dinner were prepared for the group by Emilio, our camp cook and mule driver, and each morning we were given a high calorie bagged lunch. Each afternoon upon our arrival at camp we were greeted with hot beverages and snacks. Overall it was a great experience.

Review: Peter Tours & Mountaineering (Moshi, Tanzania)

Prodownhill (La Paz, Bolivia)

Sunset Tours (Rurrenabanque, Bolivia)

Big Foot Tour Operator (Cusco, Peru)

Galaxia Expeditions (Huaraz, Peru)

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