SA VacationsReviews of savacations.com

My wife and I could not have been happier with our trip to Chile and Easter Island. We knew nothing about the region before we went and put ourselves entirely in the hands of Alan and Martha Cohen at South American Vacations. Their selections of itinerary, accommodations, air travel schedules--especially important with the long distances and infrequently scheduled flights--proved perfect. We chose planned private touring, which is certainly an extra cost. But we found the value that South American Vacations provided was worth it.

South American Vacations did excellent work. All drivers and guides were very good. Pick-ups and drop-offs were all on time. The team was very helpful when weather interfered with flight plans. Selection of hotels was good in terms of location, cleanliness and helpfulness of staff. Tours in Atacama were particularly well done! Our group was 16 adults and everyone was very pleased with the service.

I had the most wonderful experience with South American Vacations. They did everything right! I am a solo traveler, had Machu Picchu on the itinerary and Easter Island. Alan and Martha made necessary adjustments to accommodate me to spend less time in cities, more time in starred destinations. From the moment I reached the airport in Lima, Peru, there was a travel guide with a sign with my name on it. I was greeted and on our way to my hotel. She explained everything In clear English as far as my itinerary, pick up and excursions. The pick up the for the ENTIRE trip was on time, the guides all spoke good english, knowledgeable about the places and culture... Every place had its own unique beauty, from Lima, the old part of town on the day trip was great, to Cusco, Machu Picchu, (pretty awesome and mystical) Santiago (the winery was beautiful, I went to Concha Y Toro in their Autumn and the colors were amazing) Easter Island was as beautiful as I could have imagined! The weather was great, the water, so clear, the air (as I was.told by the guide) was the cleanest oxygen in the.world. Hats off to all the guides, hotel staff and drivers! I stayed in three star hotels there and I would definitely recommend Hotel TahaTai in Easter Island (get a bungalow) and El Mapi Hotel in Machu Picchu. Martha and Alan, thank you for an AMAZING vacation! Everything promised was delivered and exceeded my expectations! I will definitely recommend you to everyone and will call on you again soon!! 😀

From time we stepped off the plane in Cusco to our flight back to Lima 6 days later everything was terrific. Wonderful knowledgeable guides with good English, virtually private tours and only 2 snafus that were remedied quickly. Have already recommended SA vacations to a friend interested in Peru.

Our April 2017 trip to Machu Picchu and the Galapagos Islands planned by Martha and Alan was wonderful. What an extraordinary trip in a beautiful part of the world. All accommodations were excellent and the hotel staff and tour company personnel could not have been more helpful. The private guides were so knowledgeable and eager to show and tell us about their proud heritage. Everything was so well organized, and we had no problems transferring from one location to the other. The drivers and guides were very efficient and punctual in every aspect of our travels. Our room and amenities on The Galapagos Legend were excellent and, again, the ship staff was so helpful and friendly. The islands were so unique, but we felt the beauty of the Galapagos was truly the animals and their lack of fear of humans. Our guide, Jorge, was great and always ready and able to answer any questions from our group. Martha and Alan were so helpful in planning our trip and answered many questions during the process. They always responded quickly with good information. This was such a great trip and we highly recommend the use of South American Vacations to anyone planning a trip to South America. Debbie S.

I had worked with Martha Cohen from South American Vacations on two prior visits to South America and she delivered once again for our trip to Chile in late February and early March 2017. The trip consisted on two nights at a small boutique hotel in Santiago (Su Merced Boutique Hotel) which was between Barrio Lastarria and Parque Forestale. In Santiago we enjoyed a full day of private touring and all of our airport transfers were private (all transfer services in Chile were provided by CTS Turismo, except in Puerto Natales). Martha’s planning and arrangements worked perfectly. We returned to the same hotel for the last night of the trip and explored the fantastic food markets that were also a feasible walk from the hotel on our last day. I should add that Barrio Lastarria was full of restaurants, galleries, bars, street musicians, sidewalk entrepreneurs - it was a cool place and the only place we would consider if we returned to Santiago. We ate every meal there and each was very good and very different. We then flew to Puerto Natales which was so much better than flying to Punta Arenas. We actually had tickets for the round trip to Punta Arenas that we tossed when the Puerto Natales airport finally opened based on Martha’s suggestion. It was not a huge amount of money that we forfeited. A one hour drive to Torres del Paine (TDP) rather than 4 to 5 hours from Punta Arenas was a no-brainer! Puerto Natales was a quirky town - we stayed there for one night before and after our three nights in TDP. Based on Martha’s recommendations we decided to take a slow pace when traveling from one location to another and were glad we had the time to wander around Puerto Natales. We stayed in a nondescript hotel (Hotel Martin Gusinde) that was located in the center of town. I had asked Martha to switch us from the Singular Patagonia since that was so far from town. That was another wise choice. It was not fancy but the reception staff were very helpful and we liked being able to take walks nearby. There were two larger hotels in the town but each time we walked by them they looked deserted. When we returned to Puerto Natales after TDP we ate what we considered our best meal of the trip at a small place around the corner from the hotel. Santolla served fantastic crab and everything else there was great! We are not "shoppers" but the only souvenirs we purchased were in Puerto Natales - two cute shops with local handicrafts. I will make comments about the Tierra hotel later. Our next destination was Atacama Desert but in order to use the best flight times for maximum time at Atacama we had to have one night at the Santiago Airport Holiday Inn before and after our stay in Atacama - which was surprisingly nice and the restaurant was quite good for a Holiday Inn! It really is across the airport drive from the terminal. This was another great suggestion from Martha. Our flight to Atacama/Calama was at 6:30am so the airport hotel was essential. At Atacama we also stayed at a Tierra property but more about that later in this review After Atacama we went to Easter Island which was fascinating and so very remote - it is about 2400 miles from the mainland and 1800 miles from its closest populated neighbor. The history and culture of East Island/Rapa Nui were the high points. Martha made arranges for the airport transfer and and excellent private guide for two full days of touring. We stayed at a small hotel that was not in the center of town (Hare Noi Hotel) - only nine bungalows on a large piece of land with gorgeous views of the ocean. Martha recommended this very quiet place – we rarely saw our fellow guests. We also decided to eat dinners at the hotel. It was nice and well suited to us near the end of our travelsAfter Easter Island we returned to Su Merced. So now some comments about the Tierra properties which were in Martha’s four/five star category. Both were very well located, of beautiful design, had great staff with exceptional guides for the excursions, rooms were spacious, and settings were awesome. We both thought the food at Tierra Patagonia was slightly better - not by much, but just tastier. Lunch and dinner were fairly similar - three courses: appetizer, main and dessert - beer, wine, drinks all flowed endlessly. The buildings are both magnificent - sleek structures that blend into the surroundings. They are both expensive in our book but worth it for the convenience and setting, plus the semi-private transfers from the airports that were about 90 minutes away. Weather impacts your reaction to a place. At Patagonia we had a few spats of rain and one absolutely perfect day of gorgeous sunrise and clear blue skies - that day also happened to be the day we did a scenic drive through the park and a cruise to the glacier. The rest of the time was partly cloudy with some views of the peaks from the hotel. On the other hand our time at Atacama referred to as "the driest place on earth" was not dry - we had daily rain and had to adjust our excursions due to cancellations or flooded roads. That probably took the shine off of Atacama but in spite of that we had a wonderful visit. I should add that at both places we found very few Americans - many Brazilians, many Europeans, Indians, but few from the US. Also, we were considerably older that most of the other guests. The all-inclusive nature of both accommodations suited us perfectly! Throughout the planning phase which lasted more than a year, Martha answered all of my many, many questions without fail. She offered excellent suggestions and also listened to me when I had a suggestion of my own. All the details were covered perfectly – seeing out name on the placard when we walked off each plane was the result of Martha’s coordination and follow through. The personnel who provided all the transfers were polite and English speakers and our guides were amazing. When the time comes for us to consider another trip to South America, Martha will be the first person I call because I know she can deliver a flawless travel experience.

As a travel professional myself I was very pleased with the tour Martha and Alan put together for my clients. Every flight was well timed, drivers in each destination were very knowledgeable, punctual and courteous. My clients were thrilled, they said one of the best trips ever. I would highly recommend them to anyone that wants to travel to this part of the world. They were excellent to work with, I HIGHLY recommend them!

We are fairly seasoned international travelers (Europe, Caribbean, Asia). We typically don't use travel agents, but since we had never been to South America and speak no Spanish, we decided to not go it alone for this one. Alan and Martha at SA Vacations worked with us to customize a trip that included fishing, hiking, horseback riding, a winery tour and wonderful accommodations in beautiful locations. They took care of all bookings including domestic travel within Chile, ground transfers, a city tour in Santiago, and even some hand-holding through the domestic airline check-in process that was different enough from the US version (and details were all in Spanish, of course) that it would have caused us a lot of stress to try and sort out on our own. This was one of the best vacations of our lives, and SA Vacations contributed to its being stress free.