SA Expeditions, San Francisco CA

We had a trip to South America all planned out on our own, when the operator (not SA) cancelled at the last second. I reached out to Jackie at SA on Sunday, and we had a new itinerary figured out on Monday, and we departed on Wednesday. We did the Galapagos and the Ecuadorian jungle trip. The folks from SA were absolutely wonderful. We landed at the airport and they were there to meet us and walk us through almost every step. It was great. I highly recommend them.

SA planned and coordinated a fascinating trip to Peru. They perfectly synchronized my Inca Trail Trek with my wife's separate tour which was booked through another operator. It was seamless airport to Andes service. Peru's combination of geography, culture and natural history is wonderfully intertwined. Above all, the people of Peru are the highlight. SA trail team leader Max Loayza was knowledgeable, personable and experienced. Max represents SA extremely well and always had my best interests in mind. Trail Chef Flavio prepared amazing meals from a micro kitchen and all porters were strong, focused and a joy to hike with. This itinerary began with two day hikes on other portions of the Inca Trail followed by the classic four day Inca Trail trek terminating at Machu Picchu. Climbing Huayna Picchu on the final day sealed it.

South America Expeditions was amazing planning an exciting two week trip to Ecuador for us, one week on land and another week at sea in the Galapagos. They provided seamless care every step of the way and their drivers/tourist guides were delightful and reliable. They prearranged vegan meals at restaurants and we stayed in five star hotels. We felt completely supported and fully enjoyed all the experiences hiking volcanoes to visiting Inca ruins, to swimming in the ocean with the turtles, penguins, seals, and sharks. We've travelled many countries around the world but this trip ranks right at the top. We highly recommend SA Expeditions.

Full Service! I typically plan my own trips, but this time I used SA Expeditions for the entire thing. Jackie was really great at not only listening to what we wanted, but also offering suggestions (that turned out so great!). In addition, SA used guides at each of the stops that took care of all of the finer details of traveling and took all of the stress out. Highly recommend the Galapagos, Amazon and Peru (Machu Picchu included) trip that Jackie put together for us for our 25th wedding anniversary. Particularly enjoyed our guide for Peru (Max) who took care of us and was filled with great information about the culture. Loved it!

We recently went to Costa Rica and Matt G from SAExpeditions helped us craft a personalized itinerary. We had the best time! The recommendations were top notch from places to stay to things to do. The entire trip was well crafted, we did not waste time in traveling but truly enjoyed the country and its culture. The company had amazing partners in Costa Rica that were locals that took us off the beaten path and enhanced our experience. Very professional, extremely courteous and above all everyone was fun.

We enjoyed a trip of a lifetime to the Galapagos in August 2023. Claudia at SA Expeditions helped us with every detail at every step along the way and was always available to answer the myriad questions we had. Every aspect of the trip was perfect - the hotels, the boat, the tours, the nature guides, and of course the nature viewing. I give SA Expeditions my very highest recommendation.

We travelled with SA Expeditions to Guatemala for an incredible trip. Everyone on the SA team, the tour guides, and all of their on the ground connections were incredibly knowledgeable, helpful, and worked collaboratively to give us an unforgettable experience. Highly recommend working with Jeanie and the full team.

SA Expeditions is the best company to work with. Our family has taken 4+ vacations with them - all to South and Central America - and each has been spectacular. They make it so easy and book beautiful accommodations and incredible experiences. Work with Jeanie if you can!

Adam Laughter and SA expeditions planned an amazing, once in a lifetime trip for family. The plans were complex involving family members arriving at different times, etc. The team was professional, responsive and knew the area really well. We were paired with a local driver and guide. The experience was amazing and we are already planning another trip with them.

I worked with Ms. Jackie Becker on a complicated last minute trip to Peru and was more than happy with her professional, expert assistance and competence. My client was very pleased with his travel plans, hotels, and excursions. I will certainly use SA Expeditions for future South American itineraries.

Our trip with SA Expeditions to Peru was fantastic, starting with the planning process 7 months before we left the US. Helen got on the phone with us to talk about the kind of things we like and don’t like and incorporated our feedback into a very special itinerary. Each of the hotels we stayed in were lovely and we could have spent a week in several of them.

Our guide in Lima, Carlos, was very knowledgeable and shared his restaurant and shopping recommendations for the evenings we had on our own. He helped us appreciate the city much more than we would have otherwise.

Our trip to the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, and Cuzco was magical, made all the more special by our guide, Johan. He accompanied us for the entire week, taking the train with us to and from Machu Picchu and explaining everything we saw along the way in excellent English. Johan took us off the beaten path a few times, such as visiting a Chicheria in a small village in the Sacred Valley, and he always knew the best way to avoid crowds at the tourist sites. We really enjoyed his company, which is very important when spending so much time with another person. Our driver, Gilberto, was pretty great too.

From what we could tell, SA goes out of its way to support the communities we visited, including having an intern join us for a day of touring in Cuzco. We would definitely recommend SA to anyone visiting Peru or elsewhere in South America.

My family's trip to the Galapagos was truly the trip of a lifetime that will pay us dividends for years to come. We were floored by how smooth the planning was, how incredible all of our guides were, the wonderful interactions with everyone we met, and the level of detail and attention paid to us across the board.

All the logistics were smooth, the accommodations were lovely and exactly as described, the food was perfect and delicious (we actually needed vegan options for 11 people and they made it happen!), the adventures chosen were doable for all family memories (ages 9 through 75), the itinerary gave us a wide range of landscapes and settings so we were always seeing something new and different, and all the hand-holding during the planning process to map out cruise options and land portion options and really settle on a 12-day excursion that would suit our exact desires was just unreal - we were treated like royalty every step of the way and are so lucky to have found SA Expeditions. Their whole team is fantastic! We worked with Matt Greenberg and cannot recommend him highly enough!

Seriously, out of all the traveling I've done in my life, I have never been so impressed by a holistic experience. I have been back for over a month and I'm still dreaming about that time away and still reeling from how perfectly everything went. If I could give them 100 stars I would. They went out of their way to build the adventure of a lifetime, and they delivered.

We love them and will be in gratitude to them forever!

My experience with SA Expeditions has been reliably excellent. We traveled to the Amazon and the Galapagos July 2023. Claudia planned the trip with care and all tours, guides, accommodations were wonderful. The Napo Wildlife Eco-Lodge was beautiful, food was plentiful and delicious, the resort rooms were well appointed and the guides were helpful and interesting. My granddaughters were spellbound by the jungle and even got a little used to the bugs! The Galapagos cruise with the Ocean Spray was even better than the last time I was aboard in 2019. The catamaran has been refurbished but all the great things about it are still present. The staff was helpful, fun and their attention to details made me comfortable entrusting my teenage granddaughters in their care during snorkeling and kayaking in the ocean! Food was excellent and the naturalist guide was informative and serious about showing us his islands. All the transfers, air flights and tours were planned and seamless. I had no worries and highly recommend this company.

I had one of the most memorable travel experiences, that SA Expeditions carefully crafted to my personal preferences, during my solo trip in Peru! I expressed my interest to Adam Laughter in wanting to do nature, adventure, and indulgence in cultural experiences. Adam crafted the best itinerary, where I spent time in the Amazon jungle doing lots of fun activities, visited Machu Picchu, explored Cusco and Lima and spend a day with a Peruvian family in one of the Inca villages. I had a lot of fun, learned a lot and made friends at every stop. Adam, the tour guide, driver and entire SA Expedition team is very professional and extremely knowledgeable! I highly recommend them!

Our trip to Cuzco and Machu Picchu was fabulous! Julia at SA Expeditions was friendly, informative, and very helpful with the planning. We were with a group of friends and family and she customized each of our trips while ensuring we were all together when we could be. It was quite a logistical feat and it couldn’t have gone more smoothly. Our transportation was comfortable and prompt, the hotels were top-notch, with beautiful rooms, wonderful food, and first-class service, and our guides were super friendly and knowledgeable. Everyone involved with our trip made sure we were their top priority. We saw and did so many cool things, there’s no way we could’ve done so much without the help and expert guidance of SA Expeditions. I wouldn’t hesitate to use them again and I’d certainly recommend them to anyone considering a trip to Peru!

The guide that met us at the airport and provided us with transportation and a tour of Quito was outstanding. The flights were great, no issues whatsoever. The boat was dated and lost an engine early in the trip but the crew and naturalist more than made up for it. As for highlights, I think that the biggest take away for me was the fact that the animals on the island were free from predators, on land not in the water, and were able to be their best. Sea Lions slept where they wanted, birds laid nests where they wanted, it was truly unique. One event I will mention was the very last snorkeling trip, we were able to PLAY with several juvenile sea lions in the water – they broke the 2 meter rule not us!