Top Ecuador Luxury Wildlife Viewing Trips & Packages 2025/2026

What travelers are saying

"I worked with Garvey to plan my dream trip to Patagonia. It was a two-week trip, we started in Buenos Aires, took the Australis cruise through the Tierra del Fuego fjords, visited Torres del Paine staying at the Explora Lodge and ended the trip in Santiago. All of the guides that Garvey arranged for excursions were excellent. Garvey managed the travel logistics between the different locations so that our experience in South America was seamless. Overall Lost World Adventures was a great travel agent for us. I had worked with this company previously for a trip to visit Angel Falls in Venezuela and hike the Machu Picchu trail in Peru, which was also fantastic."

What travelers are saying

"I made a reservation last Thursday (11/16/2023) for a trip to Iceland from 12/02/2023-12/07/2023 and then I was told that I can’t have my refund back. When I called on last Thursday (11/16/2023) to place my reservation, the agent (Kathy) I talked to stressed about she "cannot" guarantee that I will be able to go on the trip. Before I provided the payment information, I specifically asked if I will be able to get the refund because the trip is coming up so soon. The agent ensured that I will be able to get a full refund back within 60 days if I decided to cancel the trip. I was also told that I am basically on a wait list and someone will contact me once I can go on the trip. No one contacted me about whether the agency was able to process my information at all, so I've been left in the dark about this trip since the beginning. I called the help line this morning (11/20/2023) around 9:00 Eastern Standard Time to cancel my reservation. I was informed by the agent that I will not be able to get my full refund back since it's too close to the trip date. Basically I was told that Kathy gave me the wrong information, so I will have to pay the cancellation fee. The only reason I provided my payment information is because Kathy specifically stated that I will be able to cancel the trip and receive a full refund. I've never been so frustrated with a traveling agency. I made sure to ask this agent regarding the refund policy twice before giving her my payment information, and she still couldn't provide me with the correct information. It's unbelievable that such a big traveling agency cannot uniformly train their employees with the correct set of information."

What travelers are saying

"I worked with Garvey to plan my dream trip to Patagonia. It was a two-week trip, we started in Buenos Aires, took the Australis cruise through the Tierra del Fuego fjords, visited Torres del Paine staying at the Explora Lodge and ended the trip in Santiago. All of the guides that Garvey arranged for excursions were excellent. Garvey managed the travel logistics between the different locations so that our experience in South America was seamless. Overall Lost World Adventures was a great travel agent for us. I had worked with this company previously for a trip to visit Angel Falls in Venezuela and hike the Machu Picchu trail in Peru, which was also fantastic."

What travelers are saying

"I had an amazing time on the Costa Rica starter trip. This was my first time traveling solo and U30X was a great way for me to safely see another part of the world and meet new people. Our trip leaders were Adrian and Delphine; they were very knowledgeable and fun. It felt more like we were just hanging out with our friends who happened to know a lot about the country rather than following around tour guides."

What travelers are saying

"First, let me say our tour guide Tomomi S. is hands down THE best tour guide I’ve ever had - knowledgeable, fun and made great efforts to ensure that we were comfortable and happy (MTSobek tour guides are independent contractors. Tomomi also works for other Adventure/Tour companies) Secondly, Japan is beautiful, clean and the Japanese people are very welcoming. The hiking in the national parks was amazing. It could have been a truly five-star experience if MtSobek had not cut corners so egregiously. The website said (at the time) group tours are 5-22 people. The tour gets canceled if the minimum is not met. When I paid there were TWO other people booked-a mother and daughter duo. Shortly before our departure date I called to see if the tour would be cancelled. I wanted my money back but Mt Sobek was “pleased to say that the trip would not be canceled”. In other words, I could not get a refund. At the last minute a guy named Matt signed up so there were four of us. Five days into the trip Matt left and took a train back to Tokyo. I said to him “You realize Mt Sobek is not going to refund you”. He said, “I don’t care, Mt Sobek scammed us.” With tax, the tour costs $11,645 for 13 nights. For that price there is an expectation that the accommodations Mt Sobek chooses would be decent and clean. We all fully expected a ‘traditional Japanese experience’ which often means no private bath and 8 out of the 13 nights we slept on futon mats on the floor. However, Mt Sobek consistently booked us in the cheapest Ryokans (hotels) in each area in which we travelled. Most of these hotels were unclean and very out-dated. One Ryokan they booked us in was listed on a hotel website for $40 USD/night when there were much nicer accommodations nearby for $100 USD/night. (The Japanese yen is way down, the luxury Park Hotel in Tokyo was $200 USD/night. A comparable hotel would have been about $800/night in Austin.). We were the only people staying in several hotels that accomadated many more people. The most egregious example of MtSobek’s booking the cheapest rooms is when we were booked at a large traditional ski lodge at the base of a spectacular mountain. It was beautiful on the website but had two very different wings. One wing was modern, clean and beautiful with simple beds. The other wing was very old (similar to a cheap Motel 6 that had not been updated since the 1970’s). The carpet and bathrooms were disgusting and like many of the Ryocans where we stayed the futon mats seemed as though they had not been cleaned In 30 years. Only after our tour guide checked us in did we realize we had been booked in the cheap rooms. I asked Tomo why. Immediately someone from MtSobek reached out to me and said, “gosh, I’m sorry you did not realize you were going to have a traditional Japanese experience”. Really? “Traditional” experience depends upon one’s budget. In the US, “traditional” to some people may be the Marriott, a Motel 6 or the Four Seasons Hotels. We were paying for a Marriott experience and received the one-star Motel 6 experience. Upon arrival in Tokyo I expected to be met at the airport by a driver (as many tour companies do). However, several days before our arrival dates in Tokyo, MtSobek sent an email telling us how to locate taking a city bus from the bustling Tokyo airport. That is interesting if you do not speak Japanese. MtSobek cleverly uses great photography and elaborate descriptions of the national parks and the hiking while using terms like “traditional Japanese experience with tatami-mat sleeping” to disguise sub-standard accommodations. At one point we were looking on-line at the very hotel where we were staying and did not even recognize it from the website pictures. The hiking was amazing. The group size was disappointing with just the three of us. I would absolutely recommend a hiking tour through Japan, just not with MtSobek."

What travelers are saying

"Phenomenal! Karen was awesome. We made a potato soup with an avocado rose set on cheese in the middle of the soup. Then we made a sword fish in a cream sauce and finished with a chocolate fondue dish with a variety of passion fruit and other local fruits. It was the best cooking class I have ever taken. Thanks Karen!"

What travelers are saying

"Because of the pandemic, we had to reschedule our cruise from July of 2020 to December 2020. Airlines were not flying out of our city to Manaus in December, so we had to cancel our cruise and asked for a refund, and was denied. I would never work with this cruise line again."

What travelers are saying

"I have not booked Journeyou but am close to doing so .After reviewing the reviews I am fearful of giving them my business. No recent reviews. Can anyone help?"