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Viva Expeditions Reviews 505

TrustScore 5 out of 5

4.8

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Review summary

Created with AI, based on recent reviews

Considering 92 reviews, reviewers overwhelmingly had a great experience with this company. Customers consistently praise the staff for their helpfulness, knowledge, and positive attitude, making their holidays truly enjoyable. The service provided is frequently highlighted as exceptional, with many people appreciating the seamless organization of tours, transfers, and accommodations. Reviewers also loved the excellent locations of hotels and the overall user experience, noting that everything was perfectly planned and allowed them to relax and enjoy their trips. However, some customers mentioned minor issues such as a bit of confusion regarding trips, a desire for more detailed tour information prior to departure, and occasional instances where guides did not hold their names upon arrival. A few also felt that the expectation for tips seemed higher than what the company's guides suggested, and some noted that travel days in safari vehicles were unexpectedly long.

What people talk about most

Staff

Users describe positive interactions with staff. Customers consistently praise the staff for being helpful,... See more

Holidays

Reviewers consistently express high satisfaction with their holidays, often describing them as faultless,... See more

Service

Reviewers mention positive feedback about service. Customers consistently praise the comprehensive and... See more

Location

Consumers consistently express satisfaction with the locations provided. Many reviewers highlight that... See more

User experience

People report positive experiences with the user experience. Customers found that everything went smoothly... See more

Reviews shaping this summary

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Everything is organised for you. English speaking guides and luxury transport which is ready and waiting to whisk you to the next activity or sight. Great way to maximise your tour without waiting in... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

We had many questions during the booking process. Pia answered every one in a timely manner and thoroughly. Then the arranged connections and accommodations themselves were fabulous. We couldn’t have... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

This was the a superb trip! Pia had all the details including the small ones like transfers all taken care of. We just had to show up. The itinerary was comprehensive showing us the best of New... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Guides were good - often amazing - remember Vanessa, Luis, Leo, Melanie Sonia gave good information at start of tour. Would have liked detailed tour prior to leaving our home country. Loved Zocalo... See more

Company replied


Company details

  1. Travel Agency

Written by the company

A passionate team of travel specialists, sending clients on amazing adventures to Latin America, Africa, Antarctica and New Zealand. Offering independent itineraries as well as small group tours, every journey is inspired by a passion for fun, adventure and authentic connection. With extensive first-hand destination knowledge and years of experience, Viva's friendly travel experts make planning your perfect adventure easy. Founded in 2008. Opening Hours: 8:30am - 5pm NZT Monday to Friday.

Why Viva?

Written by the company

We believe that true inspiration and growth comes from real experiences and immersion in the world around us. When you travel with Viva, we take you beyond the sights in the guidebooks, for an authentic connection to the places you visit.

Travel with confidence!

Knowing everything is taken care of and your arrangements are guaranteed.

Knowing everything is taken care of and your arrangements are guaranteed.
* We have our own local operations at key locations * We are with you 24 hours a day, and our team are just a phone call or whatsapp message away at any time. * We are adventure travel specialists, we have been there, we have lived and breathed Latin America, Africa, NZ and the polar regions and we LOVE THEM! And above all we want you to love these places as much as we do!

Contact info

4.8

Excellent

TrustScore 5 out of 5

505 reviews

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Replied to 100% of negative reviews

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Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Trip of a lifetime

Very helpful, responsive and knowledgable . We felt so comfortable organising our trip with Pia, trusted her from the start.
Trip of a lifetime. Highly recommend. Thanks so much Pia.

January 13, 2025
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Reply from Viva Expeditions

Lovely to hear this feedback Judith, and wonderful that you enjoyed the Forgotten Islands of the South Pacific expedition cruise. I am sure Pia would love to help you with another adventure sometime! Thanks very much.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Incredible experience

Incredible experience! Thank you Viva for organizing such a fabulous trip. I especially appreciate everything that you did when my Latam flights were cancelled. Your team made it all work perfectly!!

January 10, 2025
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Reply from Viva Expeditions

Our pleasure Kara, it was great to have you travelling with us again, thank you for your support.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Pia at Viva was had excellent…

Pia at Viva was had excellent communications and provided lots of information about the pro and cons of different cruises, making the decision making easy.

December 17, 2024
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Reply from Viva Expeditions

Great to hear Robert, thank you!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Amazing Antarctica Adventure

Dealing with the team at Viva made my South America/Antarctica experience worry free, everything worked like clockwork. I had some arrangements before and after my Antarctica cruise organised through them as well and I was always met on time by drivers and communication was excellent.
I was really well prepared for my Antarctica experience by the team as they had been there several times themselves. They knew exactly what it would be like and that was a big help to me, especially in knowing what to pack! I'm so thankful to have been able to experience the wonders of Antarctica without any stress and really just enjoy the remoteness and the beauty. The Viva Team in NZ (particularly Tara and Pia) and their in-destination support crew, made that possible.

December 16, 2024
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Reply from Viva Expeditions

Thanks so much for the lovely feedback Natasha! It was a pleasure to help you.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

We loved going on holiday with Viva…

We loved going on holiday with Viva Expeditions. Everything was taken care of and I didn't have to do organise a thing. It was also top quality and the people we were involved with did excellent jobs, from the staff at the hotels, drivers, greet people and hiker guide. Especially liked our hiker guide, wonderful person. The quality at the hotels was also very good.

December 28, 2024
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Reply from Viva Expeditions

Lovely to hear you enjoyed your trip to Peru and the Inca trail hike! Thanks for travelling with Viva, it was a pleasure!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Your service and time management were…

Your service and time management were excellent. We were very happy for all the guides, drivers and the places we visited, attended specially in Buenos Aires. We think you are the best. We will positively recommend our friends and families to use VIVA for South America trips.

December 21, 2024
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Reply from Viva Expeditions

It was our pleasure, thanks so much for your feedback and recommendations, its appreciated!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

From Patagonia to the Amazon Jungle.......

Our months holiday was memorable because we achieved all the sightseeing and experiences we aspired to achieve in South America. From Patagonia to the Amazon Jungle, we were never stressed as all arrangements fell into place.
Due to meticulous planning, we were always picked on time, made every flight and happy to say, lost no luggage. All hotels met our needs and were well positioned in cities.

November 15, 2024
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Reply from Viva Expeditions

Wow! What a cool itinerary (if we don't say so ourselves).. you really covered a lot from the South America Circle and Patagonia too...fantastic to hear your feedback! Merry Christmas!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Viva created an excellent itinerary.

Viva expeditions created an excellent individual itinerary for us in Argentina and Chile. It was wonderful not to organise anything but our lunches and dinner. The pick up and drop off at the airport was also excellent. Everyone who we communicated with was super helpful during the trip. All communication with Viva was also excellent. I would highly recommend them.

December 13, 2024
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Reply from Viva Expeditions

Thanks so much for your feedback Iris, glad to hear everyone was super helpful and you were able to enjoy your adventure with everything taken care of.
We hope you will travel with Viva again one day, have a wonderful Christmas.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Excellent organisation

Excellent organisation. The itinerary was very accurate. Guides were informative and the tours provided great overviews of places and events. A trip of a lifetime showcasing destinations, culture and people. Would definitely recommend Viva. The Asado Fogon in Buenos Aires and Lima Food tour and cheese bread with Açai were extremely memorable culinary experiences

December 13, 2024
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Reply from Viva Expeditions

Glad to hear it was a trip of a lifetime! Thanks so much for travelling to South America with Viva, all the best.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Fun times

Overall, it was a great holiday jam packed with great hosts, sights and experiences.

December 5, 2024
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Reply from Viva Expeditions

Thanks so much for travelling to South America with us Chris!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Argentina Viva good , Brazil Viva average

Argentina Viva we’re outstanding good. I got the itinerary plan from them before departure and felt confident. The WhatsApp was great for them and the hotels and guides were super good
Brazil viva did not give me the itinerary until I asked when at Rio airport. When I got to the Airport from Iguazú there was nobody to meet me ! I could not connect my phone to the internet and it was 8pm. I managed to get a local person to connect to their internet and they called up Viva on their own phone. They informed me the pickup car had broken down on the way to the airport, but this was not the initial response I heard, they had forgotten to notify or book a driver. Finally another local sat with me at the airport for the next 2 hours before the driver arrived. I managed to get on the internet by going on to roaming and got hold of the head office Viva and the Brazil side of it. They apologised and sent through my itinerary plan. I gave the 2 people who helped me at the airport some tips in Real ( lucky I had the cash on me)
I was scared and disappointed in Viva Brazil
The next day the guide ( who was Brilliant and we became friends) asked if I had a voucher ? I had to show her my original itinerary from my travel agentto prove I was booked for half day tour. Same thing happened the next day as the guide had no idea what I was booked for and I had no vouchers ( which I was told I would not need) Again I had to show my itinerary from travel agent. The full day guides were very good
I enjoyed my trip very much but had no confidence in Viva for Brazil. I sent a message in my day of travel home to make sure that a driver was booked to take me to the airport on time.
Overall a magnificent holiday as far as accommodation, food, hospitality, entertainment and guides but had that moment of being let down at the airport in Rio and felt frightened.
Cheers Kath Buchanan

November 9, 2024
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Reply from Viva Expeditions

Hi Kath, thanks very much for your feedback, great to hear you had a wonderful trip overall. Sorry to hear about the miscommunications in Brazil, they are usually a fantastic team too. I will follow up and see what happened here and be in touch.

Hi again Kath,
I have checked in with our head office in Brazil, based in Rio, and the logs on your file.

For all Rio airport arrivals we have a person in the airport to receive our clients and take them to the driver. When you arrived and called the emergency number using the phone of a local, this went through to the main office in Brazil, and they notified the rep that you were there. This rep was the second person referred to above, not another local, sorry if this was confusing. This representative informed HQ that the car which had been enroute you had issues, so they had ordered another one, which arrived in half an hour, according to the vehicle log. It was our local representative that stayed with your until the car arrived, as stated.

In regards to checking the itinerary vouchers, the guide said they do not usually check these, but they have just had a few incidents lately of others trying to join their tour, that were not actually booked, so just wanted to check that it was you.

I do apologize for the anxiety caused, but please rest assured it was our local team that were there at the airport to help you.

Glad that it was a magnificent holiday in regards to the accommodation, entertainment, guides and so forth!

Thanks again for taking time to provide feedback to us.
All the best!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

BRILLIANT ... BRILLIANT ... BRILLIANT !!!

We thoroughly enjoyed our safari adventures through Kenya and Tanzania. The itinerary was brilliant, the accommodation excellent, and the tour guides/drivers were friendly and very accommodating. We couldn't fault the tour and it more than exceeded our expectations. I'm happy to give our trip 5 stars out of 5!!!

November 12, 2024
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Reply from Viva Expeditions

Thank you so much! Glad to hear how much you loved our Classic East Africa Safari! We would love to help you with your future travel adventures!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Condor

Liked the accommodations, organisation and would have liked an easier to understand English speaking guide. Guide himself was lovely.We felt we lost a lot of valuable information. Need to be low pitch, slower (Spanish speak fast!)

October 31, 2024
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Reply from Viva Expeditions

Glad to hear you enjoyed your time in Arequipa and the Colca Canyon. Thanks very much for your feedback.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

The Inverdoorn safari

The Inverdoorn safari was very good with pleasant staff, great food and a very knowledgeable safari guide, Ashlee.
As we had a late change of hotel accommodation, our pickup driver went to the wrong hotel even though we had confirmation that the change had been confirmed. We would suggest a slightly earlier pickup as the last 10kms of road is unsealed and slow which made us late to the lodge for lunch and the formal greeting. Allow for 3 hours travel not 2 hours.

October 17, 2024
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Reply from Viva Expeditions

Thanks very much for your feedback, we will share with the transfer team. Glad to hear you had a great safari!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Jam Packed with Magical Moments

Jambo :)
Our driver was friendly, professional and always did his best to get us as close as he could to the animals.
From entry to leaving : Pollmans delivered for me; being on time, caring and safe.
The whole experience was worth every cent for me. With the accomodation - the food was clean and plentiful. The rooms including the tent were luxe. The facilities ie. pools, gift shops, toilets, hospitality was better than Dubai!!
What I loved was the ambience of the Riverside champagne breakfast, Dinner under the stars and that breakfast outside after the Hot Air Balloon ride.
Even though it was long rides to get around the x4 lodges/reserves - I got to see the Kenyan people, the markets, nature and I really felt like I was part of Kenya.
The highlight for me was buying the usb of the Hot Air Balloon ride. It's the most beautiful capture of my whole safari. I love it immensely!!
Viva delivered for me.
Asante :)

September 30, 2024
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Reply from Viva Expeditions

Jambo! Wonderful! We are happy to hear your feedback of our Kenya Highlights Small Group Tour. We look forward to seeing you on a Viva tour again soon.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Brazil and Argentina from NZ travellers.

Terrific Guides and good personalities and on time.
Good accomodation but would have been good to have a couple of option showing price range.
The Argentina Estancia Los Potreros was not what we expected. We requested to view something agriculture and upon arrival we soon discovered the main focus was horse riding for rather with experience. We were not experienced. We are a NZ dairy farming family.
However we were novices but really embraced the experience particular due to the group meals and conversations with staff, guides and the owner.
We learnt much about the economy and really enjoyed the sharing of opinions.
We were not told that there was a minimum of 3 nights accommodation. However as mentioned we embraced and enjoyed.

September 15, 2024
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Reply from Viva Expeditions

Thanks so much for your feedback, great to hear you had a great time travelling in Argentina and Brazil, embraced things and learnt a lot. We hope we can be of assistance with future trips.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Memorable trip to South America

We had a very memorable trip to South America! The itinerary was well planned with interesting events and places to visit. The pace suited us well. The quality of the guides was exceptional, very knowledgeable and informative. All the logistical arrangements were well communicated and punctual. Our hotels were good with good locations. We felt safe throughout the trip, as we always had a 24hour emergency contact available. If we have the privilege to travel to South America again, Viva Expeditions will be our go to!

September 4, 2024
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Reply from Viva Expeditions

Glad to hear you enjoyed our Signature South America trip! We look forward to taking you on another adventure to South America, or perhaps Africa or the polar regions in the future! Thanks very much

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