Central America & the Caribbean Budget Hiking Trips & Packages Tours & Trips

What travelers are saying

"When I signed up for the Wonders of Costa Rica at a slower pace. The hotel listed in the itinerary for day 8&9 was a 4 star hotel on the beach called the Punta Leona. I'm not sure when but Road Scholar changed the Punta Leona hotel for the 3 star Villa Lapis Jungle hotel. I was shocked when we drove up to this dump. Others in the group wanted to leave and find another hotel. I had black bugs under that shower mat and the shower did not drain, Spiders on the wall and roaches coming out of the cracked in the bathroom. The bed was a thin mattress on a board and was hard as a rock. The food they put out was covered with a wrap but 15 minutes after the plastic wrap was removed it was covered with fruit flies. I passed on the open food bowls. The walls were real thin and the neighbors were real noisy until 11:30 pm. Others in the group complained about the late night noise, spiders and toilet seat being broken. I'm not sure where this place gets 3 stars. After I saw the roaches, I give it a 1 star. Road Scholar put us up in beautiful hotels and then they take us here. You can do better than this Road Scholar. The end the story, Road Scholar customer service called me about my concern and said they have never used the Punta Leona, (I sent her my itinerary that said PUNTA LEONA). She also said they haven't had any complaints about this Villa Lapis dump. After her call, I'm not sure if I'll ever travel with Road Scholar again. Enough said...."

What travelers are saying

"We wanted a very customized culinary and art tour of Paris and France and found French Side Travel who took us under their wings and designed a most magnificent and memorable trip for us. I ended up planning a ten-day trip with Karen Hendricks in January and February 2024, and we then continued customizing it until we left Paris on September 20th. We booked the trip around my 90-year old MIL’s particular desires, tastes and fancies, and we had to make changes along the way to accommodate her changing needs. Humongous kudos to Karen for planning an impressive, impeccable truly unique, and varied trip and to Christopher Bourguignon for his extraordinary hands-on handling of our trip and ability to swerve as needed. We also especially appreciated our Paris driver Jerome, who took such excellent care of us. We spent six days in Paris and five in Provence. We stayed in unique luxury boutique hotels and villas that all gave us exceptional service. We had the most accommodating and truly amazing tour guides who all took extraordinary care of my MIL. We had an airport guide who expertly whisked us through CDG. We enjoyed a trip of a lifetime through French Side Travel."

What travelers are saying

"I recently took a trip to Kenya and I cannot imagine any other tour operator doing a better job. Let's start at the beginning. My flight from the US landed first in London and then a second flight was to have gone to Kenya. The airline nightmare began with AA being two hours late causing me to miss my next flight on British Air. BA had given my flight away before I got off the plan and had no acceptable replacement. I spent three days and nights at Heathrow airport forcing me to miss those days of my tour. I stood in lines hours long at the airport and my second replacement flight never left the ground after being held hostage in the plane for hours. I was ready to go home. My phone would not work much of the time in the airport, but I was finally able to contact Best Singles Travel. They figured out a way to arrange for a driver to meet me at the Nairobi airport three days after my trip began and take me to Samburu, a five hour drive where the group was then located. If it had not been for this effort in figuring out a way for me to meet my group then this trip would have been lost for me. And what a shame that would have been because once I finally arrived it was magical. I saw every animal as well as much of the countryside driving all over even with missing three days. The lodges were picturesque with monkeys playing on expansive grounds, wild birds and animals, beautiful colored geckos, mountains and streams in the background where the sun met a landscape expanding as far as the eye could see producing sunsets like those seen in National Geographics. Oh, did I mention the food? No US chemicals. Just organically grown and delicious. If anyone reading this decides to travel to Kenya then I hope you stop to see David Sheldrick's rescued baby elephants. I am grateful that Best Singles Travel and Patrick, our knowledgeable considerate tour guide, took the time, effort and resources to make the remainder of this trip happen for me because now I cannot imagine having missed it. This trip was organized, included lovely memorable hotels/lodges and attentive to our needs."

What travelers are saying

"Our group had such an amazing time at Half Moon Caye Feb 4-10! So thankful to have had a wonderful trip before coronavirus shut things down. The guides were incredible and made the experience fun and educational. Ms Ann's cooking was excellent and she even let me help out in the kitchen one evening. There were a great variety of different activities, but I enjoyed snorkeling the most! Thanks for a great trip!"

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

"Our trip started off with a lunch at Maya Gardens. We went to see the poultry in their pens while waiting for lunch, thinking it was a petting zoo. The poor birds did not have water or any indication that they ever had water. One of the turkeys was lying on it's side looking very sick. No one would give them water when I asked them to. The lunch was so awful I did not eat meat for the rest of the trip. I sent a video to Angela Bailey telling her this is not what we want to see when on a conservation trip and she acted like I was lying. Our guides were lazy and not caring about us. They took us to overpriced markets to get fleeced by the sellers there. At the anti-poaching farm tour, we had to walk over a bridge with wires on it, to keep wildlife in. One of our travelers, who was 65 years old, tripped over it and had to go to the hospital. No one warned her about the wires. Then, trying to get off the safari trucks, she was so very very sore and no guides helped her to get out of the truck. Completely appalling. The guides had very poor communication skills that worked for Discover Corps. I was forced to get vaccinated while in Kenya, because the laws changed while we were there. I asked if I could try to get out of the airport first and if I could not then get the vaccine. Discover Corps said "If you choose to do that, you are on your own". The conditions of medical in Kenya is not like the US and it was awful. The airport didn't even ask me for my vaccine card on the way out. DC could have worked with me on trying this first before forcing me to get this vaccine in a poor 3rd world country. Also, my vaccine card had the wrong date of birth and my name did not match what is on my passport. The doctor tried to get me to tip the nurse giving me the vaccine. The guides dropped us off curbside at the airport and left us there to navigate. I will NEVER use this company again. They did not have my back on anything that happened and Angela Bailey never contacted me to follow up about my experience after this trip was over."

What travelers are saying

"CharlieTheTraveler’s itinerary is just perfect! They dedicate a lot of work to make your trip perfect. From choosing the most important activities to make them happen on time, is basically the option for any great trip. They help us during all the process with their personal concierges and travel agents, making this experience absolutely fabulous from the beginning until the day we were back home! We can highly recommend them!"