Yampu ToursReviews of yampu.com

Before I booked with Yampu Tours, I spoke at length with José to figure out what tour company to go with to the Galápagos and Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island. After speaking with several companies, I decided on Yampu. One reason: it gives back to local communities in Latin America through a number of programs, including one in the Galápagos, an environmentally-protected place. Beyond that, I got a good intuitive feeling about José. My intuition was spot on: our trip and working with José were incredible! José communicated with me extensively before our trip, meticulous about details so we had the best experience possible in each city we flew in to. He suggested city tours with local guides who were extremely knowledgable about history and culture. The naturalist guides in the Galápagos were extraordinary, and the catamaran crew was in sync with all the guests’ needs. One of our party is vegan, and José made sure the chef onboard the Galápagos cruise was attentive to that, and both he and our local guides elsewhere suggested places to eat. The Rapa Nui leg of our trip was superb! Our guide was Rapa Nui and, in addition to personal history and culture, he gave us an invaluable perspective on how those who live on this remote island viewed visitors like we tourists. Unexpected issues, not due to Yampu, arose, and José handled them promptly with understanding and grace. He showed care for our situation, and our trust in him grew as we felt well-taken care of amid difficulties. Yampu is Quechua for the totora reed boat from Lake Titicaca. It also means bringing a vision to life. Yampu did that for us: it made a long-held dream a reality.

Jose's team at Yampu Tours delivered above and beyond for our trip to the Galapagos! Incredibly detail oriented, very communicative and helpful before, during and after the trip. We knew exactly what to expect, where to be and how to contact someone if there was an emergency. Their guides kept us safe in addition to providing wonderful information about the local culture and our program. We had several issues come up and Jose handled them extremely professionally and helped to fix these issues which were caused by third party operators (cruise and airline). When I had my return flight canceled due to civil unrest, he got on the phone with me late at night and helped me make a plan to safely return home without delay. I trust Jose and his team completely. We had an unforgettable experience and a big part of that is the quality delivered by Yampu Tours. They went beyond my expectations!

I have had Jose at Yampu as my travel agent for over 20 years. On our most recent trip in addition to all his usual great service and detailed planning we reached him in the evening on New Year's Eve when our flight was delayed and we missed our connecting flight. We were stranded. Jose got us another flight with another airline...and our travel insurance picked up the cost.

Jose went above and beyond to help us escape israel in oct 2023. this is not our first trip planned by yampu, and all have been well done with the details in order. weve made over 300 trips, most international, in the last 16 years, so we know good planning when we see it.

I am always amazed how much work I have to put in to do daily things. When I use my bank I have to fill in their forms for them, if I have a broken streetlight I also have to fill in a form for the city. I could call these organisations but we all know how that would go waiting on hold. Yampu tours takes me back to a time when you would interact with an organisation that would be happy to do their job and do it well. They're not cheap but they are very good. They think about their clients and what will happen to them and they plan and then plan again. Every contingency was taken care of any change I needed was accommodated. I would highly recommend this organisation for their polite and thoughtful service.

We have travelled with Yampu several times and sometimes to exotic destinations. Yampu was always extremely responsive and really helpful to sort things out immediately. In some places nothing is straightforward but thanks to Yampu we always had an amazing holiday. I cannot recommend Yampu high enough. Thanks Jose!

I first booked through Jose at Yampu more than 20 years ago (before Yampu was called Yampu).. Yampu arranged Galapagos, Peru, Machu Picchu, Bolivia, Uyni, Isla Pescatore, Casa de Salar, Lake Titi Caca and more for me. I just had them book Peru and Costa Rica for me for December 2023 and Egypt/Jordan/Petra/Israel for me for 2024. Yampu always does a wonderful job and it's so much better than the big group tours with a bus load of people.

My father and I travelled to Svalbard, Norway, this summer. This was our third arctic circle trip in 8 years set up by Monica at Yampu (Iceland, Finland and now Norway), and were each outside the normal Yampu destinations (showing their flexibility). Our itinerary was originally prepared for Greenland but evolved into the Svalbard expedition. Since our interest was in wildlife, Monica made sure that we would be satisfied in our quest for photographing animals--from a remote lodge in Costa Rica, to a remote outpost on the Finnish-Russian border in a bear blind; to a reindeer farm in Alaska; and this time a walrus colony in the Arctic. Yampu mixes luxury and comfort where possible along with a rugged experience that endears you to each location. Every transfer was met, and even small details (like my birthday) were accounted for in surprising way. In a short number of days (9 days total), time was given to visit Oslo and experience the city and culture on the bookends of the trip. Ultimately, after using other travel firms in the past, we will never look back. Yampu is AMAZING!!