SA VacationsReviews of savacations.com

We had a terrific trip to Machu Picchu and Rapa Nui. Martha did an amazing job putting the trip together on short notice. All of the guides and hotels were excellent. The flights were all on time and the connections went smoothly The pick up and drop off at the airport was wonderful. It made the ambitious trip easy and seamless. We spent our time enjoying the experience rather than hassling with the logistics. It really was awesome. I would definitely use SA Vacations on my next South America trip.

I booked the 11 day Machu Picchu/Easter Island trip. I did it fairly last minute. Alan was very kind and helpful. All the hotels were clean and staff was kind. All of our transportation guides & drivers were pleasant. Santiago Airport was poorly run and not well kept (that is not SA Vacations fault, just a heads up for the next traveler. ) My Easter Island flight got rescheduled and Stefany (my guide in Chile) was extremely helpful. She made sure my transportation was still on time and the rest of chile experience went smoothly. Only 2 things to note that could use improvement. One, the tour guides in Easter Island and one for Cusco did a very poor job speaking in English for the English-Speaking tours. Two, Martha was quite difficult to get in contact with. She had a much different demeanor than her husband and not a lot of patience. Luckily, Alan balanced that out. They make a good team. Overall, a little bit expensive but also a fun experience.

SA Vaccations booked our holiday cruise in Chile in Oct/ Nov. They did an excellent job, that saved us money on both the cruise fee and flights from and back to Canada. We experienced our best cruise ever on the Skorpios II thanks to Martha who told us about this fantastic cruise. We will book more trips with SA Vaccations as they are very professional and can sav us money too.We recommend them to any one who wants to travel to South America. Zena and Mark Canada

We recently did a South American tour of primarily Argentina and Peru with the help of Martha from SA Vacations. The trip was 17 days and included 9 flights and 7 hotels and tours at every location. We visited Buenos Aires, Iguazu Falls (both Argentina side and Brazil side), Lima, Peruvian Amazon, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, and Cusco. My wife and I have primarily travelled independently but decided to enlist an agent with experience in South America. SA Vacations was the right choice. We stayed in 4-5 star hotels and had both private and small group (no more than 10 people) tours everywhere. We were picked up at the airports and hotels on time and the local guides were exceedingly helpful, courteous, and knowledgeable. In several instances they even procured our boarding passes and luggage tags. We had a tiring (were both in our late 70s) trip but every place and experience was top notch and thanks to Martha's help very rewarding.

I wish l did not have to write this review but in my heart of hearts, l believe l must as sometimes people should try to be courageous.  This was to be a trip of a lifetime,  21 days touring South America at a cost of over $21000, a top end tour we thought, hoped, but sadly we were wrong. Our experience was nothing short of, at best, being second rate, at worst, well, just that, terrible.  Albeit SA Vacations has good reviews, with over 65 countries visited thus far and multiple tour companies used, this, by far, is one of the worst experiences we've had. Without knowing or being advised, it appears that Martha onsells all the components of the itinerary/tours you pay her good money for, regarding management, enjoyment and experience. So you are always dealing with 2nd, 3rd and 4th tier parties who owe you, not that much as you are really loyal to SA Vacations and not them. *Which, by the way, is fair enough ... During all of the 21 days, my experience is about 30% great and the rest, well, let's just say, regrettable. From hotels being not fit for purpose, dirty towels, dirty glasses, dirty floors, dirty curtains, not being able to enter the room, waiting in a cold loby for hours, one until after 6.30pm, failure to provide breakfast boxes, clean water to brush teeth and it goes on and on. Some hotels were just tired, old, dirty, worn down, furniture torn and broken, the feeling of sleeping in a tent would have been an upgrade. "Oh well, what can you do", as Martha said, words to the effect of, "that's life, things happen", etc, etc..." From sections of tours being withdrawn without notice, itineraries changed without notice, experiences destroyed without notice and then to be told you would be refunded those portions. But my experience to date is that they were just 'empty' words to appease you at that moment as there has been no sign of any compensation or refund, nor do l expect any ... Communication with Martha is the worst. I had to insist she contact me by phone as hours of messaging her fell on deaf ears and when we spoke, she basically told me to calm down, shut up and understand that life is not perfect and things happen. I found her to be (I'm sorry to say) somewhat aggressive in her tone and manner, as if your bad experience was your fault and you shouldn't have complained to her in the first place.That may be true but not if you pay her so much money so as to avoid this. Other travel agents albeit don't want to hear from you, are happy to know when things go wrong and mainly to do the right thing, but more importantly promote their company as one that is there for you in times of trouble - we did not feel the love. If you travel to South America for the very first time and don't speak Spanish or Portuguese, a good travel agent should know this as on many occasions, Spanish or Portuguese was spoken and English was extremely difficult for the locals to understand or speak.  I would love to go on and on but l think I'll finish up by saying, please check the negative reviews first because if everything goes right, all reviews are usually good, but it is when things go bad that you want your tour company to step up to the mark and take ownership. Sadly this did not happen and, apart from that, when I would complain it was usually met with the fact that if l wanted to upgrade my experience, I would have to pay for it. The greatest experience for me and my wife is that this nightmare we paid SA Vacations for is over and thank God for that. I hope Martha enjoyed my money more than I did. But please visit South America,  the people, culture, experience and riches are just "the best." I wish her well because, in my opinion, she will need it. So please do yourself a favour, consider another tour company or do it on the hock. I believe you will have a better experience and be treated better. *The above is a reflection of our experience. We have no intention to upset anybody but simply give an overview of our opinion having used SA Vactions. "But Never Again" I'm sure there are many other wonderful tour companies out there that, in my opinion, care and take ownership of your holiday. After all, it's not always about the money, or is it? God speed and safe travels to you all.  God bless you too Martha as l am a God fearing person and to share love is better than the alternative. The world should always strive to love more and hate less...

We had a wonderful trip to Ecuador organized by Alan and Martha Cohen, SA Vacations. The local recommendations for Quito hotel (Patio Andaluz) and Amazon experiences at the Sacha Lodge and the Amazon Manatee explorer cruise were perfect for our group of 8, ages 27 to 87. The team of greeters and guides in Quito were perfect. Every connection was easy and clear. We asked to adjust our Quito day to include the botanical garden and they didn't miss a beat setting it up. They also helped us with restaurants and taxis for our free. Every connection was eased with clear guidance and help. We are very grateful to Alan and Martha and will certainly reach out to them for any future trips to South America.

This trip was SO well organized and executed. At every stop, we were greeted by a member of their team. The tours were well planned with the guides being very knowledgeable and helpful. A special shout out to Paul in Machu Picchu who helped my husband (who will be getting his hip replaced in July) navigate the steps up and into and out of the Citadel AND Raul in Santiago who we were fortunate to have on every tour and drop off and pick up from the airport. He was so helpful and kind. Our only suggestion would be to have something planned on the last day, so there isn't such a hours long gap before a late night flight out.

So well organized. This was planned in 2019 then the world shut down. Martha was able to get us as many flight refunds as possible and we just kept holding on until finally both Peru and Easter Island were opened up. Not one glitch with all the flights, people to meet and multiple excursions. Everyone was very professional. Everything was planned to the smallest detail so it was a very stress free vacation. This was a bucket list for sure- no regrets. Looking to go back for Galapagos and I am sure she will have a great plan in mind for us. Thanks for making a dream come true.