Travel Agents & Reviews for Senior Travelers

It was a wonderful trip to a beautiful country with so much history, natural beauty, and, most of all, friendly people. Our experience was nothing short of magical and we have to thank our travel planner, Catarina.

From accommodations (in Ambergris Caye and in Belmopan) to tours to the guides to all the logistics, there were no hiccups at all. We had different family members arrive and depart at different times/days. Very happy that the travel agency was so thorough, from the initial planning until the end of our trip. They were extremely patient with all our requests and made sure they gave us many options to pick from.

And the food we had was beyond good. A big thanks for making sure we had great choices as vegetarians, including on the food tours customized for us and special orders for dinner entrée at our resort in Belmopan. We couldn't have asked for more. We highly recommend using them for planning a perfect Belize trip.

Overall, the trip design was wonderful and we enjoyed our trip, without having to worry about logistics for our tours and day trips. Only feedback I want to share is the daily communication with the travel designer. It would be best if we could communicate easily via WhatsApp or Messenger if we had issues with a service or questions about the trip. They provided a main number to call. Which sometimes is not working, especially if we are International travellers. Giving us a mainline number does not make it feel personal. Other travel companies in other countries make us feel special by being available through WhatsApp and Messenger. We paid for the services, and it is quite expensive, but we expect more care from the team.

We used this travel agency for a 16-day trip to Lima, Cuzco, Machu Picchu, the Amazon ecolodge, Rio De Janeiro, and Iguazu Falls. The advisor, Ezequiel, was in frequent and timely contact with us in planning all the particulars of the trip. It involved 11 flights, two train rides, and two boat trips, as well as five-star hotels, a private driver, and guides in all destinations (except the Amazon ecolodge, obviously). 

All hotels, transfers, and guides were perfect. The hotels were beautiful, provided great service, the transfers were all punctual and flawless, with all the guides professional and wonderful. Traveling to South America was daunting for us, but the travel agency made the trip incredibly stress-free.

Due to the fault of American Airlines, our connection from Miami to Lima was missed. Our destination host (all clients of the travel agency get a destination host upon arrival, who stays in contact with you during your trip as needed) immediately booked us another flight from Lima to Cusco so our carefully planned itinerary remained intact. This despite it being midnight (his time) during our communication. He was most pleasant and helpful. They even helped arrange some refunds for unused services due to our missed connection from Miami that first day.

If planning luxury travel to South America (including Peru and Brazil), you cannot find a better company than this one. The staff were simply awesome and we could not have done this trip without them. Looking forward to traveling with them again to visit Argentina and Chile!

We had a fantastic trip. We are well-traveled. However, we cannot recall a vacation when every day seemed different, being in historic cities, beautiful mountains and valleys, and on warm beaches. We also do not remember a trip with so many frequent interactions from the travel company, checking that all was well and being willing to make changes. The travel company prepared both the Colombia entry and exit forms for us.

We enjoyed meeting and learning from the five guides that we met during this trip. All were enthusiastic and knowledgeable. When the original guide in Bogota had a personal emergency, the travel agency was able to locate another within 20 minutes. We were also pleased with the planning phase, where the travel agency listened to us and made changes to its initial proposal.

We were very happy that we booked with Zicasso and the travel company.

It was the trip of a lifetime. We were extremely happy with the travel company. Veronica helped plan the trip at the last minute, by Italy's summer standards of two months in advance, and was able to seamlessly fulfill all of our requests and more. We are so glad that Veronica recommended Syracuse to us, as we had not planned to go there, and it ended up being our absolute favorite city that we plan to return to.

On the trip, we fell in love with Palermo and Syracuse, and decided we wanted a little more free time in Palermo to make up for a boat day we missed in Capri due to rain. They made it happen with no problem whatsoever.

Their responses to us 24/7 were quick and helpful; we barely had to lift a finger. We loved the team of drivers, guides, and so much more. Everyone was so knowledgeable and truly made us feel at home. They gave us local tips on where to eat and what items to try, and we absolutely loved it and the team in general.

It was an all-around five-star experience that allowed us to relax and enjoy the culture and experience without worrying about the details of planning and logistics. I do not know how we will ever travel another way.

Comments:

1) I really appreciate how fast you guys responded to issues that came up, and they were corrected quite quickly.

2) All of the guides that we had were excellent and really knowledgeable, especially the climbing guides.

3) The areas that we visited were quite good and I enjoyed the food in almost every place we went to.

Some Negatives:

1) I asked some very specific questions regarding gear prior to leaving the States. Had I listened to your colleagues and not brought equipment, I'm not sure we would have been able to do some of the things that were scheduled. I know that the mountaineering boots were the main one and, in your defense, yes, you can use crampons with hiking boots, but it's quite uncomfortable and one of the guests that did use them did struggle a bit with the hike. 

Also, when we were doing the glacier hike in Valldal, our guide did not have mountaineering boots, so had we not brought our own, that hike would not have happened either. He indicated to us that their service does not provide those and that our travel company was informed of that. I realize a lot of people don't understand the difference between hiking boots, mountaineering boots, and how crampons adapt to those, but that is an important factor when it comes to mountaineering. 

So all in all, I would recommend understanding the gear list prior to providing that to your guests. I also did ask to see if our travel agency asked about the gear list prior to these hikes and it is my understanding that this did not happen, which is quite disappointing for the total cost I spent on this trip. They informed me when I showed them that this was a standard list you guys use, which was quite evident when I compared the gear list they provide on the Svalbard cabin hike.

2) In regards to Svalbard, I had requested stopping at Pyramiden on the way to or back from the cabin. When we spoke via email, that was a big part of going to the cabin and the glacier, as well as part of the cost, which was my understanding as to why you selected it. Also, with that said, when you look at your itinerary, it says at the bottom that we would visit Pyramiden. This did not happen and when I asked the guides about it, they indicated it was not part of the tour. Could you please explain why this did not happen and what recourse I have?

We worked with Bülent to plan a fabulous trip to Turkey and Greece. The first time we spoke, Bülent assured us he'd be in our back pocket the entire trip. He said he'd return our texts within two minutes, any time of day. Of course, I was skeptical and shocked that he actually did. We had a seven-hour time difference while working on the plans, but no matter when we sent a message, he responded immediately. I had to tell him to "go to bed!" one night when my text reached him at 3am and he replied to it.

Bülent was there for us via WhatsApp at every turn. He checked in regularly, made all transfer plans, and answered questions big or small. Bülent was also flexible. We made some changes to his recommendations of places to stay based on friends and our own research. In those cases, he honored our ideas rather than his own spots, thus allowing us ownership of the plans.

Bülent found incredible guides for us. Each guide went out of their way to make our trip what we wanted, not just a typical tour. We had a truly one-of-a-kind experience. For example, one guide brought us to his home and shared his homemade wine with us. My husband and I can't wait to plan another trip with Bülent and the travel agency, hopefully back to Turkey.

Our travel agent planned our trip exactly as I requested. She included all the cities and towns we wanted to see and the types of experiences we wished to achieve. Her team was there for us from the moment we arrived until the moment we left. They were always available and responded with helpful information whenever needed. We couldn't have asked for more of them.