Since 1998, Yampu Tours has been creating seamless, personalized travel experiences for discerning travelers worldwide. With a 5-star Trustpilot rating and 10 World Travel Awards, we are a trusted leader in custom luxury travel. We craft private journeys across 90+ countries on all seven continents, ensuring every itinerary is tailored to your unique interests and travel style. Our clients' testimonials reflect our commitment to exceptional service, authentic experiences, and unforgettable adventures. Discover why travelers have trusted Yampu Tours for nearly three decades.
Yampu Tours (yampu.com) has 317 customer reviews on Five Star Index, with an average rating of 4.9 out of 5.
Also known as
yampu.com
Website
yampu.com
Category
Activities & Tours
Location
Post Falls, Idaho
Listed on Five Star Index
2026
About these reviews
Replies
The company replied to 89% of reviews.
Latest
Most recent review: October 2026.
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Reviews are shown as their authors wrote them. The company can reply, but cannot edit them.
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The perfect trip from the perfect company! I spent a week in Ecuador organized by Yampu and from the guides to the hotels to all the transfer logistics everything was perfect! I have used Yampu multiple times and they are my go to company for the Neotropics!
Response from Yampu ToursJan 11, 2022
We are thrilled that you had another successful adventure with our team. We look forward to traveling with you again in the near future and seeing more of your stunning wildlife photography!
DB
Debby Bonneville B.
Majestic is Real!
From pick up to drop off pour trip was magical! We hired a private tour for the 5 days and it paid off, we saw so many hidden gems, hiked in caves we would have never known about, ate at organic greenhouses etc., I would highly recommend this company.
Response from Yampu ToursJan 11, 2022
Thank you very much for taking the time to let us know how our team did on your custom trip, Debby! We hope to travel with you again soon 😊
RS
Robert S.
Expensive and untrustworthy
I must admit that I never actually toured with this company. I did try to schedule an itinerary but that blew up big time. We scheduled a tour of Peru (5 months in advance) with the company owner, Jose. He was nice enough and the original price seemed in line with what I expected. Then, because the flight home had to be vet early in the morning we asked to add one day. The cost of the new 1-day longer itinerary was $3000 more than the original. In addition to one more hotel night, for reasons that are unclear, Jose added several lunches/dinners to the tour despite me specifically stating we did not generally eat much lunch. When I asked why the price exploded so much, he refused to itemized any of the new costs so I could decide what to keep or not. I had already paid 50% down and when we asked to cancel, he refused to credit back my down payment! I called to discuss this with Jose but he refused to take my call or call me back. I had to contact my credit card company to dispute the down payment call.
I then made the same itinerary with another high quality company for the Sam extended tour and it was $200 cheaper than the initial shorter trip on Yampu.
In response to the Yampu response, much of what is written is correct but there are critical issues that are not. I had every thought about continuing my trip through Yampu until we received the $6000 price increase ($3000 per person). When that occurred, stated, I asked for and received of things that they thought comprised the $6000 increase. HOWEVER WHEN I FURTHER ASKED YAMPU TO SPECIFY THE COSTS FOR EACH OF THE ITEMS THAT WERE NOW ADDED, I WAS TOLD THEY COULD NOT (OR WOULD NOT) DO SO. Manny of the items added were meals, which I did not ask for and it is totally unclear yo me how he could set a charge for a meal, when no one knew what we might order. When I asked my subsequent Peru Travel Agent about the costs of specific tours or side trips, they were able to give me details that would allow me to to keep or delete things with knowledge of what they cost. YAMPU REFUSED TO DO SO!
IT IS ALSO UNCLEAR WHY THEY ADDED SO MANY MEALS, WE ONLY ASKED THEM TO ADD ONE LUNCH (WITH HORSE SHOW).
I called Yampu twice to leave messages about my refund and my travel agent called several times. I NEVER RECEIVED A RETURN CALL AFTER WE ASKED FOR A REFUND. EVEN WHEN I EXPLAINED ON THE FINAL CALL TO THE OFFICE, WHY I WAS CALLING, I GOT NO RESPONSE. I AM CERTAIN THAT BELIZE HAS EMAIL, TEXT AND TELEPHONE SERVICE. ONLY AFTER GETTING NO RESPONSE FOR 24 HOURS DID I CONTACT VISA TO ASK THEM TO REVERSE THE CHARGE.
IF THIS COULD HAVE BEEN EASILY AVOIDED, I SUSPECT IT STILL CAN BY RETURNING MY ENTIRE DOWN PAYMENT.
WHEN THAT OCCURS, I WILL BE HAPPY TO RESPOND AGAIN AND MAKE IT CLEAR THAT THE ISSUE IS TOTALLY CLEARED UP.
JUST DO THE RIGHT THING AND RETURN MY DOWN PAYMENT.
AGAIN I JUST ASK THAT YOU JUST DO THE RIGHT THING AND RETURN MY ENTIRE DOWN PAYMENT.
Response from Yampu ToursJan 10, 2022
Update January 17th, 2022: Despite issuing a full refund on January 11th and showing Dr Schwartz a copy of the refund that same day, noting "Dr Schwartz, Below please find the full refund of $ 5458. If you have initiated a dispute kindly contact your credit card company and inform them that this has been processed" he still called his credit card company and initiated the dispute on January 14th.
Update January 11th, 2022: A full refund has been issued to client; Yampu absorbed all costs.
Through this review, many vital points have been omitted from the situation. We have tried to reach Dr.Schwartz on more than three occasions and offered a full refund to come to a final solution amicably. However, we have received no response. Allow us to present the details of this situation below to clarify the dilemma at hand;
Dr. Schwartz contacted Yampu Tours on September 27th for a custom trip to Peru through this travel agent. Through 12 emails sent the same day, we came up with a custom itinerary which was sent to the agent the morning of September 28th. That same day we advised the agent all hotels were confirmed. On September 30th, the client called and gave us his credit card for the deposit. However, I (Jose Irauzqui, President) noticed there was a discrepancy between what Dr Schwartz's agent was telling him and what he thought he was booking since the agent appeared not to have relayed all the information (he wanted to go straight to the Sacred Valley instead of spending the first night in Cusco) or perhaps Dr Schwartz had not read the thorough documentation that had been sent to the agent.
On November 1st, the agent emailed saying they had accepted the revised itinerary and wanted to see details which I re-sent. Then on November 2nd, Dr. Schwartz asked us to send a complete list of all possible excursions he could do; we created a special custom list for him with over 500 experiences. After a lengthy conversation with Dr. Schwartz on November 30th (The agent was not on the call), we discussed adding several items, which we included. On December 4th, I sent the client and agent an updated itinerary and quote, to which Dr. Schwartz replied, "This looks good. We need to insert flight departure and arrival times and train time. I think we could/should add a bit more to Lima days. Will discuss restaurants with Beth."
Suddenly, on December 10th, we received an email from Dr. Schwartz asking why the price had gone up so much. My reply was to name all the extra items I had added in total 14 items including several experiences, some extra flights, extra hotel night, and hotel upgrades, car services at disposal and meals, and asked which items he would like to remove so that I may update the pricing. In addition to this, there was also a very high commission payable to the agent, much higher than is customary in the business.
When Dr. Schwartz initially complained about the price, I immediately wrote to the agent and stated, "If your client is not satisfied, I would be happy to refund the payment he made minus the credit card fees we incurred". This was even before Dr. Schwartz asked us to cancel the trip.
Therefore, it is not accurate that we declined to refund the client. When Dr Schwartz then wrote back and said he wanted to cancel, I said there was no problem to do this; we just needed to deduct the nominal credit card fee (about $ 200) that we paid to process the transaction and refund the full amount. The agent wrote back saying that the client agreed, "Dr. Schwartz has agreed to a refund" however, due to credit card regulations, we needed an email from the client himself and not the agent, which we requested but never received.
On Friday, December 17th, Dr. Schwartz contacted our office, saying that I needed to call back immediately, or he would dispute the charge. However, I was on an inspection trip in Belize with limited cell availability and could not call back immediately. (This can be seen from the week's social media posts.)
I cannot attest to the client's new itinerary or who he is booking with. However, we pride ourselves in delivering great experiences at reasonable prices, which can be seen by the hundreds of 5-star reviews here on Trust Pilot, including some that happened after Dr. Schwartz's review.
Yampu has been in business for over 22 years. Due to the pandemic and being short-staffed, I (Jose) have been planning trips for many clients. The pandemic has created a lot of difficulties for the travel industry. Still, we have been able to weather the pandemic and have successfully rescheduled hundreds of bookings due to the stellar customer service we always provide, with no complaints, unlike those that other companies have encountered.
This unfortunate situation could have been easily avoided with one simple email from the client.
LJ
Lulu J.
a perfect Chile trip during the post-pandemic
That is such a perfect trip during the post-pandemic. Everything was arranged in advance including PCR tests in different venues, specific restaurants, early check-in and etc. We met some emergency adjustments during the trip. So appreciate Jose's help, without that, we can't have the awesome experience in Chile. All private transportation, tour guides, and hotels are unique, clean, and safe. According to our requirements, Jose provided the best solution to us and also gave us rather valuable suggestions. We highly recommend Yampu to my friends. This is my second time cooperating with them in South America. The whole trip is always wonderful as last time.
LY
Lyanna
Great custom planning!
Great custom planning to fit all your adventure needs. My friends and I have never used Yampu and now plan to use for all future travel to South America. They offer the most informative and experienced guides. The service and experiences we received were exceptional! We had a private driver, a bit more costly but worth the expense as we had more leisure and relaxing time since we arrived and left everywhere in good time. Don’t hesitate to book your tour through Yampu.
LC
lorrie C.
Perfect Peru
Our recent 2 week trip to Peru was flawless thanks to Jose and Stephanie. Our guides and drivers were first rate and the hotels suggested ended up being perfect- from Hotel B in Lima, sanctuary Lodge in Machu Picchu, Titilaka and the others. Yampu went above and beyond the call of duty after a couple of flight debacles (none their fault) ensuring we could press on with as little interruption to our itinerary as possible.
This trip was planned prior to covid and we are so grateful to finally have visited Peru- thanks Yampu! We look forward to our next travels with you.
EM
Emily
A marvelous trip to New Mexico
We had marvelous trip to New Mexico. Almost two years ago, we were supposed to go to Colombia through Yampú, but alas Covid…
In the intervening time, José personally worked with us. When we decided not to travel abroad, he created several trips for us domestically. We selected New Mexico. What I appreciate is that he worked closely with a local tour guide and together, they put together a memorable trip.
This was my first Yampú trip, but it won’t be my last!
KU
KU
Yampu is absolutely amazing - 10/10
Yampu is absolutely amazing. This is our second time using their services for our vacation planning (Peru and Bolivia the first time and Belize the second time). They are great at understanding the customer's needs, likes and dislikes and always go above and beyond. Whenever there has been even the slightest of issues, they resolve it right away so you have a seamless, "safe" and awesome experience. We have referred them to our friends who also enjoyed their experience with Yampu Travel. We are definitely planning to use their services again for our next vacation!
