Viva Expeditions Reviews 505

We recently returned from Viva Expeditions' Signature Rio to Buenos Aires Tour, which we experienced in reverse—starting in Buenos Aires, continuing through Iguazu Falls, and finishing in Rio de Janeiro. While I was initially apprehensive about the trip due to unfamiliarity with the region, concerns about language barriers (I speak neither Spanish nor Portuguese), and questions around safety, I’m thrilled to say those worries quickly melted away.

Each destination exceeded expectations. Buenos Aires was vibrant and elegant, Iguazu Falls absolutely breathtaking, and Rio de Janeiro both energetic and stunningly scenic. At no point did we feel unsafe—on the contrary, the locals were warm and welcoming, and the cities felt as safe as any major international hub.

The organisation of the tour was seamless from beginning to end. Each transfer, guide, and tour component was executed with precision. Guides and drivers were consistently early, fluent in English, and exceptionally friendly and knowledgeable. The "hand-offs" between different parts of the journey were smooth and gave us complete peace of mind throughout.

The hotels chosen by Viva were a perfect mix of comfort, location, and style:

Loi Suites Recoleta in Buenos Aires was charming and well-located in a lovely neighborhood.

Mercure Iguazu Hotel Iru offered a serene jungle setting with modern comforts.

PortoBay Rio Internacional in Rio provided unbeatable views of Copacabana Beach and great access to local sights.

We were fortunate to have excellent weather throughout the trip, which only enhanced the experience.

Some standout highlights included:

The Buenos Aires Highlights tour and the unforgettable Fogón Asado dinner experience – a true culinary delight.

The Parque das Aves bird sanctuary in Iguazu – a peaceful and engaging visit.

The full-day Corcovado & Sugarloaf tour in Rio – breathtaking views and unforgettable photo ops.

All in all, this tour delivered in every way. It was a well-curated, culturally rich, and perfectly-paced introduction to South America. We returned home with wonderful memories, a new appreciation for the region, and gratitude for Viva Expeditions’ attention to detail.

Highly recommended!

Viva Expeditions organised my trip from start to end including flights, hotels, local transport to and from accommodation. The trip was well planned. Enjoyed the whole experience and made new friends.

My expedition to Antarctica and beyond was well organised by Viva Expeditions. The whole journey went to plan, and I enjoyed everything. Pia did an excellent job organising the expedition and kept me well informed on everything.

The tours, guides and experiences that Viva arranged for us in South America all exceeded our expectations. We had a great time and saw and experienced some amazing things in South America. When we went to leave and one of our party had their passport stolen at Santiago airport, Viva and You Travel Bethlehem (our NZ Travel Agent) went above and beyond in their support of our party. Viva had no hesitation in providing a car with driver who could interpret English/Spanish for us in dealing with the necessary people in order to resolve our situation. Way to go Viva! Even the NZ Embassy were impressed with the level of support that you gave us. Thank you.

Absolutely the best experience of our lives. The great, professional, and kind staff made it even better.

We loved all the walking tours chosen for us in Costa Rica by Viva. Some accommodation was amazing and some not so great. Transfers between towns was not always reliable. We were told to be contactable by WhatsApp but no-one ever contacted us and when we tried to make contact most were not contactable via WhatsApp so we felt a bit out on a limb by ourselves. However most were issues we resolved and it didn’t take away from what was a fabulous trip in Costa Rica. We believe Viva should market this destination far more than they currently do.

We had such incredible guides in each country; Bryan in Santiago, Alexandra in Uruguay, Gabriella in Buenos Aires, Emmanuel in Iguazu, Mariana and Wilcelia in Rio.
Every experience was unique and each guide was just so passionate about their own city. Each guide also arrived at least 15 minutes sooner than the advised meeting time. Magic days were spent with these people.

This was for a booking on behalf of my clients :-)
I love working with Viva Expeditions as they make the whole process seamless.

This was the feedback e-mail from my clients 😊

"Omg. It was the best. Fab company that met us and gave us tours. Hotels were amazing. Loved the whole thing. Would highly recommend."

There were some uncertainties when I left NZ regarding a booked excursion. This was unclear also as if included or not. The itinerary came in 3 different documents and was not correct a couple of times on what was included and what was not. I made the original booking 1year ahead of time and my original travel adviser left the company before the final itinerary was put in place which may have caused some issues. Otherwise I enjoyed my holiday, saw the northern lights and found a new appreciation for snow filled cold destinations. Claudia

Our trip worked seemlessly. Good choice of accommodation, tours and advice.

Everything happened when, where and how it was meant to. No issues with the organisation of my trip.

Very helpful, quick to respond, got me flights when I'd left it a bit late. Good tips from staff who have travelled

Cannot fault our experience, informative attentive and great at communicating and keeping us updated on pick ups etc

We had an AMAZING experience through Viva Expeditions -- the booking process was a breeze, the trip itself surpassed all expectations, and the peace of mind we had knowing that we could contact Viva for any/everything made it all extremely comfortable!

Much more than I could have imagined. Excellent in every way

We were picked up at the airport and driven to our accommodation where we quickly dropped off our bags to start the half day tour to Brazil side of the falls. Our guide quickly got us through the border crossings and was very knowledgeable of the area.

Next day was the full day on the Argentine side, with 2 of us doing the boat ride and the other 2 walking the lower circuit. Our guide arranged for a golf cart to help the walkers travel a kilometre to/from part of the circuit.
The optional boat ride was a thrill and a great experience to see the falls up close.

The final day we spent the morning lazing around the pool before our transfer to the airport. I am glad we did the tour this way as we were refreshed and ready for a plane journey that ended up being longer than anticipated due to bad weather at Buenos Aires.

The guides we had for both days were excellent. They were very professional and helpful.

We booked a South America small group tour with Viva Expeditions which they customized to meet our needs. unfortunately we had to cancel it about 6 weeks prior to departure. It was completely paid for and we thought there would be no refunds - but we asked anyway. Beke followed through with our request, and was able to get us a nice refund which we so appreciated.
I a sure I will be traveling with them in the future. They very responsive and easy to deal with.

They have a toll free number that is so easy to use (we just have to be mindful of the 18 hour time difference) and they always respond to phone calls and emails promptly. Also we have done a Whats App video call with them too, which was nice.

They have a wonderful variety of trips to offer at reasonable prices, and we like the fact that they can tweak them to suit the customer's needs. We will definitely use them again in the future!! We give them 5***** rating for quality tours and travel service.

The Viva New Zealand team were very helpful and responsive throughout the planning stage, and helped us get a good deal on our trip. I would absolutely recommend them to anyone else looking to book a big trip!

We booked a South America small group tour with Viva Expeditions (customized to meet our needs) but had to cancel it about 6 weeks prior to departure. It was completely paid for and we thought there would be no refunds - but we asked anyway. Beke followed through with our request, and was able to get us a nice refund which we so appreciated.

They have a toll free number that is so easy for us to use (we just have to be mindful of the 18 hour time difference) and they always respond to phone calls and emails promptly. Also we have done a Whats App video call with them too, which was nice.

They have a wonderful variety of trips to offer at reasonable prices, and we like the fact that they can tweak them to suit the customer's needs. We will definitely use them again in the future!! We give them 5***** rating for quality tours and travel service.

Seamless travel, professional service and peace of mind.