With the exception of my brother, it was the first time for any of us in South America and I must admit it was a little anti-climactic. Our plane touched down at 10:40 and we wearily stumbled off the aircraft, some of us more aware than others. Brian had used a few beers to wash down a handful of anti-stress pills before boarding the plane so he was zombie-like as he marched up the fluorescently lit gangway. The rest of us were slightly more chipper but still reeling a bit from the sub-par avian dinner of chicken grizzle in lumpy sauce.
Immigration was a fast moving line and our bags showed up on the belt pretty quickly. In no time we found ourselves breathing in the cool Lima air. It was a damp night, although not raining, and we lugged our bags across the street to the hotel where we were staying, the Costa del Sol. After forking over our passports and being presented with our free drink ticket we took the elevator up to our rooms.
Not being able to pass up a freebie we all, with the exception of passed-out Brian, proceed back down to the bar for our pisco-sour on the rocks. It was cool and refreshing although our heads were abuzz with the possible consequences of our nightcap. Would the alcohol make altitude acclimatization more difficult? Would the ice give us traveler's diarrhea? Did we even like pisco? Luckily by this point we all had caught a case of the Brians and our main goal was to make it back up to our rooms before we fell asleep in our chairs. Oh yeah, and remember to use bottled water for tooth brushing and throw toilet paper in the trash, not the toilet.
We've used Adventure Life for several trips in the past and have always been very pleased with them. The staff is personable and professional at the same time. Erin put this trip together for us in just a few days, and it has everything we were looking for! I recommend them without hesitation.
benn
3 weeks ago
I served as the person responsible for planning a trip to Galapagos and Machu Picchu for a group of 14 people. Jane with Adventure Life was very helpful throughout the process. Making suggestions, offering insight, and in the end helped me overhaul an initial plan into something even better. Also, Jane makes all the plans including the flights within and between Peru and Ecuador. Thanks to her this is going to be a stress-free adventure. After making the final decision about the trip, Jane gathered the contact information for all the travelers and sent out the details to each traveler individually with links to pay deposits, upload passport info, and personal preferences. She also ensured a group email was sent out to the entire group welcoming us to the trip preparation process. Our trip is a year from now and we are excited to make this once in a life time trek. I am happy to have organized things through Adventure Life. However, two small issues came up that were a little off putting. First, Adventure Life adds $50 per person to the cost for each traveler as a donation to a Galapagos conservation fund. I think this should he offered as something that can be added at each traveler’s discretion. Instead, it is automatically added, and each person must ask to have it removed if they do not want it included. Second, although the trip deposit may be paid with a credit card without incurring an additional fee, the balance must be paid in another way to avoid a 3% credit card fee. Maybe this is standard with all travel agencies. In the end I would definitely go through Adventure Life for the next big trip.
Brenda Nielsen
1 month ago
I think it was very helpful that Franny and I spoke on the phone. I think she had a better idea of what we were looking for, and she planned a great itinerary for us!
Elizabeth
2 months ago
My representative Kevin was very responsive generally and in crafting our itinerary to our specific priorities.
Rocco Labella
3 months ago
Easy.
Great work on the follow up and details by Waru.