Andean DiscoveryReviews of andeandiscovery.com

They were very responsive. Great communication. Everything was as promised. The facilities were very nice and the food was great. The guides were exceptional. I would recommend Andean Discovery 100%. Would use again.

Andrean Discovery put together a tour tailored to our needs for my husband and me in Nov/Dec 2013. It was to the Galapogos and Machu Piccu. Over the years we have reflected back on how we enjoyed that tour. Everything was looked after and we had great guides and stayed at the best places. As I am booking our first trip since the pandemic to a number of different locations in Europe, I am finding it time consuming and difficult. Hence this review to show our appreciation for that trip long ago. On our South American trip with Andean Discovery we did not have to think or worry about how to get from point A to point B. They looked after everything so that we could enjoy the trip.

Andean Discovery arranged a trip for my adult son and I to The Galapagos, The Amazon and a day trip. Everything was very well organized and flowed nicely. Our guide Johanna, was professional, friendly, knowledgeable and adjusted our itinerary to meet our needs.

This was a well organized experience. The guides for Andean Discovery were helpful, knowledgeable and personable. We enjoyed all aspects of our tours of the Galapagos (Ecuador) and Machu Picchu (Peru). I would highly recommend this group.

I am not happy with Andean travel. I could not go on my trip in 2019 bc of pandemic. Wanted my $4,000.00 deposit back for a family of 4. Instead I got a credit. I called Damon in April 2022 to go on a trip alone. He told me i could not use the entire credit for myself. I find that sketchy. In any event I have basically been robbed of my money. I would not recommend this company.

Our trip was absolutely amazing. Our Quito tour guide Luis, drivers Christian and Hugo, Galapagos guide Andres, and our Sacha Lodge guide Jose were outstanding. We felt in such good hands. The transitions between each part of the journey were seamless, regarding airport transfers, timeliness- everything. It was so effortless on our end so we could really focus on just enjoying the trip. The guides made it such a fun and warm experience. The hotels were amazing, the cruise was fantastic, the adventures in the Sacha lodge were also astounding. The food was incredible; I felt so take care of. This was the best trip I’ve ever taken and I would recommend Andean Discovery to anyone.

We traveled to the Galápagos Islands and Machu Picchu with two tweens and had a fantastic trip! Andean Discovery took care of all the details, including multiple internal flights, so we could enjoy our adventure without any hassles or worries. The guides were wonderful, knowledgeable and really cared that we came away with an amazing experience. Our family would highly recommend Andean Discovery for families and anyone looking to maximize time in South America if you have minimum vacation days.

We certainly have and will continue to recommend Andean Discovery! They did a fantastic job of organizing our active 15-day trip which was twice postponed due to the pandemic. Yes, we still had to mask inside nearly everywhere and show vaccination cards in Ecuador and on flights throughout Peru as well, but we were just so glad to finally be going! We chose the end of March to begin our trip which kicked off in Ecuador’s Mindo Cloud Forest. Our guide, Tony took us to this small but very cool bird sanctuary, Reserva Alambi where we saw Toucans, Hummingbirds and many other colorful and interesting birds up close. We also experienced unique activities at the outdoor Intinan Solar Museum, located on the Equator. Tony accompanied us to the check-in counter for our flights, eliminating any language barrier or other travel issues we might have encountered. The next day we began in the Galapagos for the first of three 4-day segments. We boarded the Legend, a ship with capacity for 100 guests. With travel still not recommended to Ecuador by the U.S. government, the Legend was just 1/3 full of guests, resulting in a 1:1 crew to guest ratio. Everything from activities to food choices was top notch and the open-air evening buffets were a highlight! The benefit of this time of year was to see the Boobies and the spectacular Frigate mating dances, as well as avoiding the rocky Humboldt current which primarily runs from July to November. With late March supposedly being near the end of the rainy season, that was a factor for our timing as well. March is also one of the few periods that the islands have green vegetation, one of our guides informed us. Our second 4-day segment was to the Amazon and Sacha Lodge. For a lodge so remote, don’t think for one minute they can’t deliver accommodations and 3 daily meals that are amazing! Unique experiences here included climbing two 100 foot plus towers for canopy top bird viewing, a night hike which revealed amazing insects and a night canoe ride to spot black caimans! We found the best monkey sightings right outside our private lodge, where we saw three species in one hour! We lucked out on weather, since the driving rain on our two-hour motorized canoe ride to the Lodge was the only bad weather on our whole trip! Our third 4-day segment was to The Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. Again we lucked out on the weather as flooding two months prior to our arrival in Machu Picchu had wiped out the only access there, which is by train. Our private guide, Franco knew the local Quechua language, which was particularly helpful during our local luncheon with the natives in their village at 12,000 feet. Franco provided a lot of insight about Peru and was very patient with the short high altitude hiking we experienced in Cusco (11,000 feet) and at the lesser 8,000 foot Machu Picchu altitude. Unless you have challenges walking short distances, we would say anyone in good health can handle these hikes. Buses take you most of the way up to Machu Picchu so the hike up the rest of the way is relatively short, although you will pause frequently because of the altitude. The scenery in Peru is amazing! Based on our choices, Andean delivered and exceeded on the quality accommodations and wonderful dining choices we expected throughout our trip! The only accommodation issue we had was with an air conditioner and that was addressed immediately. We wish we could say the same for our U.S. hotels back home where there always seems to be something amiss. As for dining, there was seldom a limit on what we could order for meals (which were included most of the time). If you want an active, well co-ordinated trip, as the other 5-star reviewers have also described, do some research on the activities you are most interested in and trust Andean Discovery to make it happen! Doug Stone and Andrea Machnik