Carlos
Wrong person, wrong gender, wrong day
Had to ask for pick up details, etc some days out from the start. Finally, Kevin sent a voice message with the wrong person and dates. I contact them again and get directed to the local tour operator in San Pedro, Sol Andinos who was fantastic and set the record straight. You pay a lot more to companies such as Visit South America and expect better communication and service Tip wait till you get to these places and compare and book there, you cut out the middle man and save lots
Response from Visit South AmericaApr 3, 2026
Hi Carlos, My name is Sofia, customer experience manager. We are very sad to see this review posted as it is highly inaccurate. I took the liberty of reviewing the WhatsApp chat you had with our team member Kevin. 1) We offered to have a call to do the briefing call. That was denied on your end. 2) Kevin forwarded a voice note from another traveler, Vicky, who was doing the same exact tour a few days from when you were contacting with Kevin. Our team member asked if it was ok to send the same audio, and just to disregard the name and the date departure. You then replied saying that your name was not addressed in the audio, and so our team offered to send another with your name and proper departure date. The overall information would be the exact same. Since you mentioned you were in Atacama, we offered to have you stop into our partner office. 3) We have been working with Sol Andino exclusively in Atacama for the past 8 years. Many of the guides and team members have been trained by our team over the teams in how to offer excellent customer service. So we appreciate the compliment! 4) The price is actually $5 more expensive if you were to book directly on the Sol Andino pricing, so that is also incorrect. We do agree that if you purchase a tour in the town for the next day will give you a discount as it's a last minute booking so you might get a deal. But, it's not guaranteed. So, if you have the time to shop around the town and jump in from agency to agency comparing pricing you will definitely find a lower price - and maybe lower quality. Especially since this tour is considered more of a "backpacker" or "adventurous" there is different price points depending on when it's booked. W We are very sorry you felt you felt that you were addressed incorrectly, but we do have proof in text and audio that our team member mentions he can resend with proper name and dates and also asked before sending if it was ok, since the travel details were the exact same. We wish you all the best on your continued travel and appreciate all the kind words you said about our local team. Happy travels!