Eclipse Traveler Reviews 

Excellent planning and logistics. Extremely helpful and informative guides. Comfortable and spacious luxury transport with 'bigger' buses throughout enabling us to all 'spread out'. Excellent hotels and an amazing variety of sights and historical monuments and ruins were packed in to ensure that none of the main highlights that Mexico is renowned for were missed. Exceeded expectations and it will be our first choice for future trips.

We were in the Texas version of the trip. There were many issues that made this a suboptimal experience.

The initial presentation by the ET president was difficult to understand due to a combination of poor PA system, bad acoustics, and the presenter's accent. This could have been amended with a simple PowerPoint presentation, but he did not bother.

He then left the next day for Mexico leaving us with local guides. There were no ET personnel with us for the rest of the trip. All we had were local guides and the bus drivers.

The only meal included every day was breakfast. Lunch and dinner were only included on the day of the eclipse. For the rest of the trip, it was our responsibility to find a place to eat lunch and dinner and to pay for the meals.

The initial itineraries had no times on them and the guides seemed at a loss themselves as to exactly when events were supposed to occur. The first itinerary only stated for the day of the eclipse that we were getting up "very early." How early? Apparently that was going to be a surprise. Several days went by before we got an itinerary with specific times.

While in Houston, we were advised to spend the entire day visiting the Galleria Mall which was in the same building complex as the hotel. This did not merit as a very special or interesting activity.

The next day was advertised as "a day at Houston Space Center" which was to include a presentation from an astronomer. There was no such presentation and the "day" consisted of three hours. There were no other activities for the remainder of the day.

There were few guided tours. Mostly we were dropped off at locations and told when to get back to the bus.

There were some odd stops including a bar on the way to the eclipse site and another day a stop at a shoe store. Neither were on the itinerary, nor was any explanation given why we would want to stop at these places.

A group photograph was taken on April 8. I have made several requests for ET to send it to me. Instead, they sent me the group picture for the Mexico trip. As of this post on May 21, they still haven't sent me the picture. I had to track it down myself from another customer.

There's more, but I think that's enough. We are not going to use ET in the future.

Dan and Margy

UPDATE 10/21/2024

This is our response to the reply ET posted to our review. The fact that it took five months for ET to do so is a statement in and of itself.

Once again, ET promised to send the group photograph--just as they did five months ago. I am not holding my breath.

Their claim that they received 95% great reviews from our group is surprising. At the last breakfast, someone at my table asked, "Is anyone else ever going to use Eclipse Traveler again?" His question was met with silence, to which he said, "I didn't think so." Given about eight people at the table and you claim that 95% gave "great reviews", you would think at least someone at the table would have said they would use ET again. Yet, they did not.

As for being happy to see the eclipse despite the weather, I also felt that way. Being happy about seeing the eclipse and how we felt about the performance of ET are two different things.

"Many" of the Texas group travelers have booked with ET for the Egypt trip? Really? Would ET care to share the percentage of the Texas travelers who have booked with ET again? Over 50%? 20%? 10%?

Note that there are three other reviewers from the Texas trip: Bill Sudow, CustomerJudith, and Sara M. None of them were favorable.

"I have traveled to more than 100 countries over 30 years, and this was the least professional group I have ever traveled with." -- CustomerJudith

"This tour wasn't up to the standards I'm used to when traveling, and I will search for another provider for future eclipse tours." -- Sara M.

If you reply to this update five months from now or whenever I will read it with great interest. But as for using your company for any future trips or recommending it to anyone else, no way.

Updated 10/23/2024

With regard to the update posted by Eclipse Traveler on 10/21/2024:

-- We have not requested a refund.
-- Our reviews are true, not false.

On 10/21/2024, the ET CEO sent us an email threatening legal action. I replied, asking that he point out the false portions of my review. I also requested his lawyer's contact information.

Thus far, he has not replied to these requests.

Logistics were weak until the local tour director took over. The itinerary didn't have meeting times or enough detail to prepare for a day until Esther, the local tour director heard complaints and created a more detailed itinerary. Transfers to and from the hotel weren't provided. Local guides in Houston and San Antonio seemed rusty and were often hard to hear. This tour wasn't up to the standards I'm used to when traveling, and I will search for another provider for future eclipse tours.

This was our second totality experience with Eclipse Traveler, and again, this exceeded our expectations by far! Very well run, with excellent hotels and meals, and the Astronomy guides and fellow astronomy nerds made it unforgettable. There is a lot of uncertainties that have to be managed right up until the last minute with these kinds of tours, and felt we were very well taken care of. Would definitely recommend! Looking forward to our next trip with them!

One thing that the tour company could have done a much better job of is having a time for each day when we would be back at the hotel, so that we can make Dinner Reservations far enough in advance....at least 1 week before we were to arrive. A second thing was that the Astronomy Guest Speaker should have been scheduled immediately upon our return to the hotel. Instead there was an hour and a half wait and hence too little time to go out to Dinner before the talk and too late at night for dinner after the talk. On the plus side, our Eclipse Hostess Esther was very delightful with a good sense of humor and the Hotels we stayed at were very nice.

We arrived late due to storm preventing plane to land. And so we Ubered to the Space Center to catch with the tour, but the tour was very short and everyone went back to the hotel to spend the afternoon on their own. We didn't get our breakfast voucher for the three days at the first hotel. Even when we asked about it, she didn't know anything about it. Then we asked the hotel, they didn't know either. So we had to buy our own breakfast for the first three days. Had one hour at the Space center, next day is on our own day, third day is travel day to another hotel. Tour of other places are disappointing, some just quick drove by. They gave us lot of time shopping. The eclipse day(last day) is ok, dinner was good. BTW, that's the only dinner provided.

The fact that I received this email addressed to "Mexico Eclipse Travelers" is typical of the way this tour company works. I did NOT go to Mexico, but to Texas. Throughout the tour, everything was just a bit - or a lot - off, from the opening night, in which the presenter seemed to not know that this was the computer age and one could use slides to back up the info being shared, or continuing on a tour where it seemed as if it was almost being planned as we traveled. I have traveled to more than 100 countries over 30 years, and this was the least professional group I have ever traveled with.

This was the best trip by far. It was a total solar eclipse , so we could see all the phases. We were given eclipse glasses, a pinhole viewer, and a solar filter for a telescope . The eclipse lasted for about half an hour.We had an amazing weather for the eclipse, and it was best experience of my life.

The venue for the actual eclipse was great and we had a very clear day! Although it was not on the exact central line (about 40 seconds off), we did see totality. The logistics for the trip kept changing, including the eclipse site, hotels, flights and tours. The tour company did not help at all with transfers in Santiago. As a single, older adult, I had a great deal of problems. The airport was chaotic given that Santiago received 800,000 more visitors than usual. That is likely to happen for the next eclipse.
ET personnel did not monitor our group in airports or give clear directions for how to go through customs, find gates etc.. The tour company focused on the eclipse and had 3 astronomers with the tour but their time was unevenly split between 4 bus loads of passengers. I won't travel to Chile again or to another eclipse with this company. I would discourage singles, esp. adults older than 60 to travel to Chile or with this company. But I did see a total eclipse, Silla Observatory and Easter Island (Rapa Nui) so am satisfied!!.

Another excellent total solar Eclipse Trip with Eclipse Traveler. This was my third total solar eclipse with them. We had astronomers with us during the entire trip. Not only did we get to see a spectacular total solar eclipse in the Atcama desert with a big white tent filled with tables and chairs. We were treated to appetizers, multiple meals with fabulous food, desserts, wine and champagne to celebrate. I was completely surprised when we walked to a nearby restaurant and had a wonderful sit down lunch of multiple courses. It was a first class event in the Atcama desert!! Throughout the trip when he had lectures and went out at night to view the southern hemisphere sky with the astronomers. We got to go to the Silla and ALMA observatories. We also had a wonderful tour through Chile( Santiago, La Serena, Valparisio, San Pedro de Atcama , Santa Rita winery ) and Easter island. Easter island history of the Moai & Birdman cultures was fascinating. I could not believe the size of the Moai. Easter island is beautiful with all of its volcanoes and Rapa Nui people!

This was a fantastic trip. My only regret is that there were so many people. We had four busses of travelers.

Eclipse Traveler studied the weather and traffic patterns and chose the ideal location for the perfect viewing experience.

This was a wonderful trip!! In addition to seeing an amazing total solar eclipse, we experienced other fascinating areas of Chile, including the Atacama Desert and Rapa Nui (Easter Island). The accommodations were excellent!! I feel very fortunate to have traveled with this company and plan to travel with them again!! Thank you so much, Eclipse Traveler!!

This tour was way beyond ET's logistical capacity, with way too many people for them to handle. The Eclipse site was great (with bathrooms for the first time, apparently). But everything else on the itinerary was changed continuously. Some "included" items were now extra. They left late and arrived late, causing dinners as late as 8:45 PM, followed by an early morning launch. Multiple times the buses had busted toilets and desperate riders. The day trip to Valparaiso was a long bus ride through town, lunch (nice!) and visit to a poet's house, then back, not much there. The Elqui Valley visit started so late, some missed the Pisco factory tour and others got back very very late. General disorganization many days. Once the bulk of the group left after 6 days, things went much smoother. The hotels and food were great - chops for that. If ET sticks to smaller groups they should be fine. (PS, even the staff got stressed out trying to handle the mob of guests.)

The trip was OK, but almost every item on the itinerary was changed without prior notice. For example, cities visited were changed; no trip was made to the penguin island. Also, the trip was expected to be a small group, but had over 100 people. Finally, an inordinate amount of time was spent on the bus. I didn't rate it worse because there were explanations for all of this. The season made the water around the island choppy. More people signed up than expected. The trip did not live up to expectations because of these unexpected changes.

This was an incredible tour experience, incredible eclipse. The logistics they did to make this an unforgettable experience for us is truly amazing. I loved our tour guides, and was so impressed by the quality of the hotels as well. I cannot wait for out next trip with this company - we had already booked for the Argentina tour next eclipse and I am so looking forward to it. It is really comforting to know we are in such good hands.

Summary: An excellent tour. 5 stars.
Positives: I can not imagine a better experience on Eclipse Day, July 2, 2019. The site and weather were perfect. The trip to La Silla Observatory was also fantastic - both the scenery along the way and the time on the mountain. Food was plentiful and good, especially the delicious seafood. Hotels were great. Local guides were great. Astronomers were fantastic. I especially benefited from discussions with Laura Danly from the Griffith Observatory. I really enjoyed my interactions with many of the 140 interesting people on the tour.

Negatives:
One day was an excursion to a Pisco factory in Elqui Valley including a stop at Gabriela Mistral's home. There was too much bus travel that day for my taste. I would have preferred some time along the way to hike around the hills and take some photos.

Conclusion: The trip was wonderful, well worth my while. I would travel with this company again.