Eclipse TravelerReviews of eclipsetraveler.com

We were very happy with the Eclipse Traveler tour in October to Easter Island. The trip was well organized and managed by tour manager, Cengis Aras. The local guides were knowledgeable and engaging and the professional astronomers provided excellent information to make the eclipse a great experience. The hotels were excellent and there was a great small group atmosphere. Our eclipse tour was a great experience and we would recommend Eclipse Traveler to anyone looking for a unique and memorable experience.

We did a tour with Eclipse Traveler to Easter Island in October 2024. Our Tour Manager, Cengis Aras did a great job at managing all the details and making sure we were well informed and well taken care of. We had a great time and I'm sure Cengis also arranged perfect weather for the eclipse! We were very happy with the tour and are looking forward to the next eclipse!

The trip was first class. The guides were excellent and very knowledgeable. However,the sincerest form of compliment is I am already planning more trips with Eclipse Traveler.

Wonderful trip to Chile: Santiago, Rapa Nui and the Atacama desert! Thank you for the great organization. The eclipse was amazing and the venue was delightful. I enjoyed the astronomers' lectures and learned a lot. We were very fortunate with crisp clarity observing the southern hemisphere night sky. Hotels were very nice, clean and provided good food. Transportation buses were roomy and comfortable. Local guides were very knowledgeable. The picnics at the view points were such an extra treat! We had time to do some activities on our own too. Thank you for making it a memorable experience!

The buses are always late at the Royal Arms bus stop going towards fareham. I can't seem to understand how a bus can be delayed for 20 minutes while the the later scheduled bus arrives before the sooner bus. Its literally 3 stops from gosport bus station

Excellent planning and logistics. Extremely helpful and informative guides. Comfortable and spacious luxury transport with 'bigger' buses throughout enabling us to all 'spread out'. Excellent hotels and an amazing variety of sights and historical monuments and ruins were packed in to ensure that none of the main highlights that Mexico is renowned for were missed. Exceeded expectations and it will be our first choice for future trips.

We were in the Texas version of the trip. There were many issues that made this a suboptimal experience. The initial presentation by the ET president was difficult to understand due to a combination of poor PA system, bad acoustics, and the presenter's accent. This could have been amended with a simple PowerPoint presentation, but he did not bother. He then left the next day for Mexico leaving us with local guides. There were no ET personnel with us for the rest of the trip. All we had were local guides and the bus drivers. The only meal included every day was breakfast. Lunch and dinner were only included on the day of the eclipse. For the rest of the trip, it was our responsibility to find a place to eat lunch and dinner and to pay for the meals. The initial itineraries had no times on them and the guides seemed at a loss themselves as to exactly when events were supposed to occur. The first itinerary only stated for the day of the eclipse that we were getting up "very early." How early? Apparently that was going to be a surprise. Several days went by before we got an itinerary with specific times. While in Houston, we were advised to spend the entire day visiting the Galleria Mall which was in the same building complex as the hotel. This did not merit as a very special or interesting activity. The next day was advertised as "a day at Houston Space Center" which was to include a presentation from an astronomer. There was no such presentation and the "day" consisted of three hours. There were no other activities for the remainder of the day. There were few guided tours. Mostly we were dropped off at locations and told when to get back to the bus. There were some odd stops including a bar on the way to the eclipse site and another day a stop at a shoe store. Neither were on the itinerary, nor was any explanation given why we would want to stop at these places. A group photograph was taken on April 8. I have made several requests for ET to send it to me. Instead, they sent me the group picture for the Mexico trip. As of this post on May 21, they still haven't sent me the picture. I had to track it down myself from another customer. There's more, but I think that's enough. We are not going to use ET in the future. Dan and Margy UPDATE 10/21/2024 This is our response to the reply ET posted to our review. The fact that it took five months for ET to do so is a statement in and of itself. Once again, ET promised to send the group photograph--just as they did five months ago. I am not holding my breath. Their claim that they received 95% great reviews from our group is surprising. At the last breakfast, someone at my table asked, "Is anyone else ever going to use Eclipse Traveler again?" His question was met with silence, to which he said, "I didn't think so." Given about eight people at the table and you claim that 95% gave "great reviews", you would think at least someone at the table would have said they would use ET again. Yet, they did not. As for being happy to see the eclipse despite the weather, I also felt that way. Being happy about seeing the eclipse and how we felt about the performance of ET are two different things. "Many" of the Texas group travelers have booked with ET for the Egypt trip? Really? Would ET care to share the percentage of the Texas travelers who have booked with ET again? Over 50%? 20%? 10%? Note that there are three other reviewers from the Texas trip: Bill Sudow, CustomerJudith, and Sara M. None of them were favorable. "I have traveled to more than 100 countries over 30 years, and this was the least professional group I have ever traveled with." -- CustomerJudith "This tour wasn't up to the standards I'm used to when traveling, and I will search for another provider for future eclipse tours." -- Sara M. If you reply to this update five months from now or whenever I will read it with great interest. But as for using your company for any future trips or recommending it to anyone else, no way. Updated 10/23/2024 With regard to the update posted by Eclipse Traveler on 10/21/2024: -- We have not requested a refund. -- Our reviews are true, not false. On 10/21/2024, the ET CEO sent us an email threatening legal action. I replied, asking that he point out the false portions of my review. I also requested his lawyer's contact information. Thus far, he has not replied to these requests.

Logistics were weak until the local tour director took over. The itinerary didn't have meeting times or enough detail to prepare for a day until Esther, the local tour director heard complaints and created a more detailed itinerary. Transfers to and from the hotel weren't provided. Local guides in Houston and San Antonio seemed rusty and were often hard to hear. This tour wasn't up to the standards I'm used to when traveling, and I will search for another provider for future eclipse tours.