"Perfection in Chile!"

As per our usual approach to holidays, we wanted a tailor-made trip, with very little notice (a couple of weeks or so) but we did also have a pretty good idea of what we would like to see in Chile. So, when we spoke to Ed to get the ball rolling and the reaction was so positive, despite the huge challenge we’d placed on him, we felt we were getting off to a good start.

The plan was to fit in Easter Island, the Atacama and Torres del Paine, and a little bit of Santiago. Despite the huge distances involved Ed managed to bring it all together perfectly, with just the right amount of time in each location for a first visit to Chile.

The itinerary had a total of 8 flights, 5 different hotels, for just 13 nights in Chile and there was not one problem at all. Even with such a late booking, all the hotels were of an excellent standard. Plus, the planning of the domestic flights worked exceptionally well (flying early or late in the day) in order to maximise the time spent in our chosen destinations rather than “in transit” during daylight hours. Everything was just perfect.

Bottom line, in a heartbeat we would do the exact same trip again, and would go straight back to Ed to bring it together for us. So, this does of course mean that Ed is going to have another mail from us in order to do something similar again this year!

Excellent experience all round from start to finish. Thoroughly recommend the South America Specialists and Ed.

"Honeymoon of our Dreams"

My husband and I had a great experience with The South America Specialists. We only had about a month to plan our Honeymoon to Argentina, so it was much more convenient to have their help in booking our flights and accommodations. Our specialist, Ed, was extremely helpful and understanding. I appreciated that he offered ways to save money where possible (i.e. getting taxis on our own instead of booking private transport). We traveled to Buenos Aires, Mendoza, and Iguazú Falls, and it was extremely helpful to have all 8 of our flights booked for us.

Each hotel that we stayed in gave us the luxurious feeling that we were looking for on our Honeymoon. I would have spent hours reading reviews of where to stay, but I am glad that I put my trust in Ed to book hotels for us! Buenos Aires is such a large, sprawling city, and it would be impossible to pick a place to stay. I'm very thankful that our hotel (CasaSur Palermo) was in Palermo (a very trendy part of Buenos Aires) and was a short walk from the subway that takes you anywhere you need to go. The hotel was very accommodating. We had a late flight after checking out, so in addition to holding our bags for us all day while we went sight-seeing, they even allowed us to use the showers in the spa before heading back to the airport for our long international flight. The staff at CasaSur Palermo also helped us book dinner reservations as well as a Tango dinner show with transportation included.
Mendoza was definitely our favorite part of the trip. Where we stayed, Club Tapíz, had a lot to do with that. There are only 11 rooms here, so your every need is catered to at top notch service (and the property is just beautiful). Every night at 8pm they held an informal wine tasting for all the guests. That was such a great time to meet people from around the world and make friends over a few glasses of delicious wine! As a bonus for us, there were puppies that had recently been born and were living in the garden outside! So after spending each day touring wineries, we'd come back to play with the puppies! Nothing could have been more perfect. And the restaurant at the hotel was superb as well. They even left us a bottle of sparkling Torrontés with chocolate covered cherries in our room as a honeymoon gift!
Our stay in Iguazú gave me the jungle feeling that I was looking for. The pool at La Cantera Lodge was gorgeous and nothing compares to the beautiful falls! If you're considering going to Iguazú, do it! And go to both the Argentinian and Brazilian sides! Both are breathtaking. Ed was able to book our tours for us, and added the cost to our total payment, making it much easier on the day of the tour to not have to worry about anything!

I can't thank the South America Specialists enough for helping us to have the honeymoon of our dreams! Sure, you can do all the research yourself, but it's so nice to be able to put your trust in a reputable company that does all the hard work for you! Everything worked out beautifully, and I am so glad!

"Off the beaten path Patagonia"

As we were researching this vast land called Patagonia in South America we became very overwhelmed with tailoring a trip to our personality. We came across The South America Specialists and reached out to them. We were contacted by Ed who listened to our vision of the ideal trip for my husband, myself and our newly graduated from college son and daughter. We were looking for adventure and relaxation. We wanted to immerse ourselves in the culture and get to know the locals. Ed heard us and helped us plan the perfect trip where we bonded as a family hiking, horseback riding, climbing glaciers, ate at great restaurants and relaxed at great hotels. We made friends with the local guides and met wonderful friends from all over the world. We didn't have to think about renting a car to get from one place to the next. Ed took care of all the transportation as well. It was truly a perfect adventure of a life time and South America Specialists made it all come together.

"Chile 2018"

Seldom does a vacation manage to end up checking off every box. I have to honestly admit that our vacation to Chile was one such! It helped that Chile is such a stunningly beautiful country, but what made it a truly remarkable vacation was that, while I was out there hiking and enjoying the splendors of Chile, everything had been taken care of by South America Specialists to the best of my satisfaction. I could just "be present" and savor every moment!" Thank you for taking care to do such a thorough job.

"Famous Five "do" Chile!"

SAS provided a disparate group of travellers with a fantastic holiday fulfilling all our myriad requests with calm efficiency and a willing smile! Nothing appears to phase Nick and the "in country" associates proved as efficient as the Ampthill team. Many thanks for a memorable trip.

"A month in Chile and Argentina that could have gone very wrong."

We normally book our own flights/hotels but not having been to South America before, we felt it was wise to book through a company. We came across The South America Specialists on a Google search and Nick has been excellent. He seemed to understand straight away the type of small hotel and areas of cities that would suit us and when Argentina cancelled internal flights over the G20 Summit, he quickly rearranged everything so that our holiday wasn't ruined. We had a month in Chile and Argentina and it was one the best holidays we have had. We have no reservations in recommending this company and we will definitely use them again.

"Total Professionals"

Typically my wife and I have not used a travel agency for vacation planning, but we are delighted we engaged The South American Specialists “SAS” for our trip to Argentina and Chile, specifically Nick French. On the front end, SAS was very helpful in guiding us through the process of building an extensive month long itinerary. We were not traveling with a group and planned stays in numerous destinations requiring lots of logistical support. However, the game changer was 6 days into the trip, there was an unexpected airline strike that caused us to be stranded in El Calafate and miss our flight to meet our cruise ship in Ushuaia for 4 day journey to Punta Arenas. We informed Nick of our situation and he swung into action. Arranging ground transportation from El Calafate to Patagonia Camp (remarkable place) outside of Torres del Paine National Park until we could transfer to Punta Arenas to catch the cruise in opposite direction back to Ushuaia, catching a new flight to Bariloche then travel across the Andes by ship and ground to Puerto Varas to resume our original itinerary. Needless to say, Nick turned around an impossible situation and allowed us to savor a magnificent trip. These folks are the real deal...total professionals. You know what they say...you get what you pay for and it was completely worth it. We’re already chatting with Nick about our next trip!

"Creating an ultimate holiday experience…"

Creating an ultimate holiday experience whether it's related to travel locations, pricing, comfort level and or joining a specific event. When local language and laws are not of your primary interest during your holidays, South America Specialists offer tailormade itinaries taking away these concerns. Also offering a very nice App showing your day-to-day itinerary, and counts down to your first day of your holiday.

"G20 itinerary disruption."

Our holiday to Argentina was disrupted as a result of the recent G20 summit. Nick was able to "save the day" by changing the itinerary/flights at quite short notice.We had a fantastic time in Argentina and fully recommend this Co. We still had the same experience, just in a different order. Thank You.

"Argentine November 2018"

Argentine November 2018
A wonderful holiday made even better by the excellent, inspired, efficient, responsive, kind and generous help we got from Nick at The South American Specialists. Big thanks. M&M Johnston